How to lower a W-Body ( Gen 1, Gen 1.5 )

[Imp558]

I don't mind doing the tweaking and buying a different set of springs if need be.

To me the most important part is being able to adjust front caster, I think I can tune a lot of the W-Body understeer out with that.

[jman093]

6 hours ago, Amanita said:

Thanks for letting me know, Maybe I'd be better off then sticking to the leaf spring in the back.

You don't have to go coilovers all the way around. Front coilovers are a huge pain, the results are usually lacking, and the bearings and shocks tend to wear out very quickly under DD use. Rear coilovers are simpler, and work well. I've lowered and autocrossed a few 1st gens. My combination is cutting a coil off the front springs. Lowers the car. It rides better. It handles better. It uses all the factory components built to withstand the elements, so there's no hit on reliability. I slot the strut towers to get more caster and negative camber. This is the factory approved method for alignments, and it works well. The rear I run coilovers. Never run a lowering leaf. As I mentioned, coilovers work well in the rear. I've been running a 250 lb or 275 lb spring. 300 lb is a little stiff. GMPP trailing arms, fully adjustable set of 2G/3G lateral links.

[Imp558]

9 hours ago, jman093 said:

I slot the strut towers to get more caster and negative camber.

Does caster adjustment help with understeer? I was just theorizing based on things we did on another platform.

[jman093]

Camber more than the caster. My cars also serving as DD's, I was running around -1.7 degrees in the front. On lots of non-street driven vehicles (not talking about w-bodies specifically. Nobody autocrosses w-bodies) it's very common to see guys running negative 3 degrees. I sent the tail end around on my green GTP on more than one occasion. It definitely didn't understeer much and I'm a crappy driver.

More caster will help as well though, because it helps the car gain negative camber when the wheels are turned. It's why a lot of cars now have around 10 degrees of caster from the factory.

Edited February 9, 2019 by jman093

[Imp558]

When I was a kid we jacked the ass of a 1979 Lesabre way up and dropped an Olds 403 in. We also replaced a missing tooth in the grill with a gold one which was badass but not performance related of course.

We immediately noticed a substantial amount of oversteer, which is where I'm looking to caster on my GS, which I'm intending on autocrossing this year after L67/4T65E-HD, and all four coilovers incidentally.

[Go4DaMo]

All I want is for my 1st gen FE3 sport suspension not to sag like a bitch on my '93 Z34.

ANYBODY have an 88-91 monoleaf?  That seems to be the only way these cars dont SQUAT.  It drives me nuts.  At least the 245/50s on Xlaces mask the squat now.  But, damn, GM really skimped out in 92 when they changed manufacturers to a cheaper monoleaf that started creeping after 10 years.

I got stoked when I saw this.  Then, I realized it would need a compressor, etc.

I had air SHOCKS on my 1st pickup truck, which I enjoyed.  I could pump them up at a gas station air compressor when it was under load, etc.  Doubt anything like that ever existed for a 1st gen, especially now...

[Go4DaMo]

Would this Park Avenue application work using the old school Schrader valve to add air manually?  It APPEARS the same as a W-Body.  Wondering if anyone knows about the fitment.  Thanks.

Amazon.com: Monroe Shocks & Struts Quick-Strut 171798 Strut and Coil Spring Assembly : Automotive 

[SuperBuick]

On 2/7/2019 at 6:04 PM, Imp558 said:

An old member who I suspect was coilover patient 0 once said his Regal handled better before the coilovers.

I figure on trying some different weight springs if it's not what I want.

Old post but I think that was me circa 2001. Heres my coilovers after I pulled them from the car back when I was in college.  They were terrible and I pulled them off forthwith.