Thoughts about leaf vs 4 link. Hotchkis/ridetech

[Carlsson]

Hi,
I have Hotchkis lowering springs/front and 1,5" drop leaf springs from Hotchkis.
Also planned to mount there tubular arms. This along with red koni shocks.
The plan have been to get a full tvs stage 2 kit eventually. I get stuff when my budget let me.

I bought my car in 2010 and it have been a rolling restoration. But now it's getting a ls1, new paint, wilwood brakes and it starting to look very nice.

And then.... I started to look on the ridetech stuff and as a nerd for details I started to think about 4 link. I'm probably not gonna mini tub it for now. And the goal is around 400hp with really nice (street) drive ability.
Not just straight forward.

One thing that bothers me with Hotchkis is that it's hard to get the right ride height especially in the rear. I realize that I should go with the 3" drop from the start. And I'm not a fan of lowering blocks.

Another thing is that I don't like to mix parts. So I stick with one brand.
What kind of benefits do the ridetech 4 link have? I need to consider if it's worth the money for me. But this time I do the chassi one time for all.
And if I should go with the ridetech stuff it will also be the same in the front.

When it comes to quality i really like Hotchkis but i also don't have much to compare with. As far as there leaf springs goes I think it will be absolutely fine for me.
This is a question about looks, quality, drive ability.
Also a lot of money

Maybe some of you members here have been in the same position?

Goal: street and show.
Car: Camaro 67

[Carlsson]

Pictures of my car...

[Carlsson]

and this is pretty much how i want it to look. The look of the car will be some kind of "classic" look, and not crazy pro touring. My goal or working line have been "how a 67 camaro could look like from factory" if that make any sense
And that with modern parts...

[Carlsson]

and right now its way to small tires on the car. Want more profile to gain a little more "muscle car feeling". The rear wheels is 24" tall now so that is also a issue of course.
The plan is to go with 275 in the rear and PROBABLY 18" but it would work with 17" also...


So bring me your knowledge!! =)

[Josh@Ridetech]

Hey Carlsson. Good looking car!

With what you're looking to do with the car, I think that our level 2 coilover package would be a very good fit for you. The kit would make a tremendous change in ride quality and handling for you (and still be an easy installation). I suggest the level 2 because of the HQ series coilovers that are part of the kit. With the rebound adjustability, you can fine tune the shocks to your driving style/preference. Having the wide range of adjustments to decide from really helps with making the car exactly what you want. The kit is designed to lower the car 2" compared to factory height but you can play with that height to get it exactly where you want it.

If you do the front suspension as well, the control arms will help correct geometry, allow more caster, and the tall spindles improve the camber gain. We also use delrin bushings in the arms that allow the control arms to move without seeing any of the stiction that you would see from a poly bushing.

On the rear, the four link allows the suspension to have more travel and movement than a leaf spring. A 275 tire will work just fine on the rear with our kit and the factory tubs, no problems there at all. The upper tabs for the upper control arms to mount to are the only parts in the kit that will require any welding.

[Carlsson]

Hi!
Thanks for answer! I haven't had any thoughts at all on 4 link before. But just recently I spent some time on your site and learned some more, and it grew on me. And messed with my head...
And I realize that I will have to replace my rear leafs with lower ones to be happy with it if I go that way.
Because lowering blocks that is around 2" is ain't gonna happen. And after all I want a top notch car. Both finish and drive ability.
If it's ridetech there will be that in the front as well!

[Carlsson]

@josh

Oh, one other thing, i bought a Wilwood brake kit with 6 Piston in front and 12'19" rotors. Its are ordered to fit stock spindle. How is this working with your spindle?
After spending some more couple of hours of research I'm getting more and more into change everything to ridetech.

[Tinker]

Hi Carlsson,

Just thought I would pop in on this thread to tell you the wildwood brake kit should fit the Ridetech spindles. In fact if you look on Wilwoods website it should list compatibility with the Ridetech spindle.

BTW, keep up the nice work. car looks great and enjoy the process of "getting it where you want it"

[Carlsson]

Ok, is there any more with experience out there that have something to say here before I make up my mind?

Done a lot of research and also spoke to ridetech. Super nice company...
Hotchkis have not replied on any of my questions, that's not so good customer support...

[David Pozzi]

I have experience with both. Hotchkis makes a great setup for a simple bolt on kit. The tuning is where they shine and the parts are well made. Hotchkis does not address suspension geometry flaws other than increasing caster settings which helps a lot.

Ride Tech goes a couple of steps further in fixing not only caster but offering tall spindles for improved camber gain. The tall spindles increase the already bad bump steer but they have a Tru-Turn kit for that. Fixing bump steer and using a firm feel steering box will vastly improve steering response & makes the car less twitchy/more precise, - more like a modern car. These fixes will really make your Camaro feel good to drive, it won't be pulled to one side when you hit a bump. It makes the car go exactly where you steer it.

In the rear suspension, the 4 link Ride Tech suspension reduces rear unsprung weight. You can feel the improvement in ride, even at low speeds. There is a handling improvement but it's not as large as the ride improvement in my opinion. Hotchkis makes a rear leaf that I like a lot but it's heavy so it isn't going to ride as well. It has a built in traction bar so wheel hop is usually not a problem, no extra traction devices are required. The advantage here is simple installation/factory appearance. A guy with a stock look Z/28 would want this combo.

Another option is the Ride Tech Street Grip package. It's more like a Hotchkis bolt on kit with lighter weight better riding fiberglass rear leaf springs. It's better riding than the Hotchkis kit, I think not as stiff.