Thoughts about leaf vs 4 link. Hotchkis/ridetech

[Carlsson]

Thank you for your answer! That was a kind of answer I was looking for!

[Josh@Ridetech]

Originally Posted by Carlsson

Done a lot of research and also spoke to ridetech. Super nice company...

Thanks for the good words, it was good talking to you! Let me know if you have any more questions.

[simon455]

Just by checking out the classified section, Looks Like lot of guys eventually are upgrading to a 4 link set up from the leafs.

[MCB Matt]

Yes, many are running 4 links or panhard bars. Either is a world of difference in ride quality and adjustability. The cost is not much more than good leafs and shocks either.

Matt

[Carlsson]

I haven't been able to DRIVE the ridetech system yet. But I have been looking at it irl on two cars(rear), underneath, and it looks good! And seems like it's not that of a big deal to install it either.

I think the price is wery good. As I wrote in the beginning I Have the hotckis leafs now and they are good quality and all that... But if I had done my research a little better before I started buy stuff I should go with ridetech right away! No doubt!
But as soon as I is on the right side of the budget again it will be ridetech...

For example, if you care about stance... Seems soooo much better to be able to adjust it with a coilover system, Ridetech or not..
Instead of cutting springs, use lowering blocks etc..

[jonathonar89]

Tires, like mentioned, are something to think about with either link or leaf suspension kit. Most of the performance 275-315 tire selection for 17" wheels at this time are short. 18" wheels have a pretty nice selection of performance tires which are taller and fill the wheel well. You may want to consider modifying this before buying kit to lower your suspension further.

The more and more you lower your car, the less suspension travel you will have. A coil-over spring that is compressed to lower the car has that much less suspension travel until you're riding on the bump stop. This is why I'm saying you may want to really consider getting a taller tire in there.

Also, the body can be lowered 1/2-1" to the subframe if you go with an adjustable solid body mount. This approach will lower your car slightly and still retain all of your current suspension travel. I would suggest the Pro-Touring F-Body setup for that. I know PTFB is not a sponsor on this forum and I'm a new member but they also have a really nice looking "Tall Spindle Kit" for 1st gens on their website. You may want to check that out.
http://pro-touringf-body.com/chassis_components.html

Hopefully this helps.

[Carlsson]

Thanks for your input!
Since I wrote this thread I have been researching like crazy and spent months of reading articles and on forums. I decided to pull the trigger on the ridetech level 2.
It's not only that I want the car lower in the rear. I also want the advantages of being able to adjust the stance a little bit to get it as good as possible with bolt on stuff. But higher wheels is necessary. I've looked on those cars I like and see what tire sizes (height) they're having and go from there.
I've already have solid body mounts.
I'm pretty shure that I would get the right stance with my leafs but that will for shure need some type of spacer in the leafs.

With that being said it's also about show. I've owned the car for almost 7 years and now I'm the version 2.0 there is new flawless paint, ls engine, wilwood brakes, more custom made interior... So for persons like me that like details I realized that a 4 link also is a esthetic question for me, and then I'm not just meaning the stance

And one other thing that I noticed now when taking the old engine out and the stock contro arms. Now I have NOT been driving with a good/quality shock in the front. But Hotchkis (cut) Springs. All new bushings) I've been lined up the car for at least 3 times in this years, but still I'm not satisfied. And now when taking it apart pretty much everything was done when it comes to bushings, spindles (that where brand new) alignment and so on. Not the springs of course... And I thought that the subframe it self could be the issue but that seems just fine. The problem that I see (and I'm not a chassi expert or a hard core auto cross car builder) is that the stock control arms and so on doesn't hold up over time if the car isn't lowered correct. And what correct is, is there a lot of opinions about. And not tho mention on all the forums

I can just speak for my self... My car haven't been driven very hard or that much in this years.

So it's gonna be fun (or not?! ) to see how the ridetech stuff will work. And I will post here for a review when it's been tested (that will
Be a couple of months though)

And some other stuff: since I live in Sweden it's being a lot of emails. And Ridetech (when it comes to chassi) was the only ones that actually cared and have a killer customer support! Emailed a lot and also spoke on the phone with Josh. And for customer service it is top nop notch. A lot of the other company's didn't reply at all. And one of the companies that "have cred" answered me with "ours is better than ridetech".... No explanations why and not even a "hello".
And then it doesn't matter if you have the chassi of a bat mobile, I don't like the approach to talk down others stuff.

Hotchkis, that this thread started about have not replied in a single one of my 10 emails they got from me under one year or so...

with that being said, the deal is closed and I'm waiting for my stuff to come home. And a review will be put here....

[Josh@Ridetech]

Thanks again, Janne!

Let me know if you come up with any questions throughout the install. Looking forward to hearing your review .

[jonathonar89]

Carlsson, at least you've made your decision on the Ridetech kit knowing that you could've made the same ride height using leaf springs. Many other people would fail to realize that. There's no argument that the coil-overs will look much cooler under there.

I've had the same issue myself with regards to email communication and some aftermarket suppliers for "performance" parts. This is part of the reason why I have gone about using Pro-Touring F-Body for my suspension supplier. Dave at that shop is extremely knowledgeable and has been involved with the performance/racing scene for that past 30+ years. I also live near that shop so I've gotten to know him more personally than the typical customer.

Keep us posted on the review/install. Also, make sure you tighten or weld the brackets to the frame good. I saw someone else on another forum have issues with the bolts becoming loose and falling out. This obviously was an install issue rather than an issue with the kit.