Current lowering springs too low, which Viking Coilovers would work best?

[JKGeorge1116]

A bit of background. I have been building my Buick with the goal of being a decent all rounder with a large focus on improving the handling. Here are the mods that I have done suspension-wise.

• SC&C Street-Comp Stage 2 Plus Upper Control Arms with greaseable Delrin bushings w low clearance Nascar ball joints
• SC&C Front End Brace
• UMI Rear Shock Tower Brace
• GNX Rear Seat Brace
• Viking non adjustable shocks
• DSE 2 inch lowering springs
• Hellwig Tubular Front Sway Bar
• Hellwig Tubular Rear Sway Bar
• Lee's Power Steering Box
• 16" Enkei GNX style wheels
• F Tire Size: 245/50/16
• R Tire Size: 275/45/16
• Factory Spindles

I recently installed an older Baer 12 inch brake kit that utilizes C4 calipers, 12 inch rotors, and Baer hubs. Now the car has always sat SUPER low with the DSE springs but with adding the hub, it pushes the wheels out just enough to where the tires are hitting the passenger side fender and very close to touching on the driver side. Based on pictures of other folks with 2 inch drop, it seems like my car sits significantly lower. I did buy the DSE springs when they first came out with products for the G-Body back in 2011 and they use a different part number now so not sure if that first batch dropped the car lower than advertised.

I am looking at getting a set of Vikings Double Adjustable Coil-over kit. It looks like Viking offers two versions on their website, and Gbodyparts seems to have a third.

• Stock to 1.5" Drop: PN A224-450R
• 1.5 to 3" Drop: PN A234-350R
• 0-3": PN A204-450R (Gbodyparts)

Obviously the A204 version if it actually gives you 3 inch of range would be the best solution but wanted to see if anyone had any experience with that part number?
Otherwise For anyone running Viking coil-overs and has a similar brake setup, do you have any suggestions? 0-1.5 inches seems like it could be a bit too high but could be wrong. Ideally I'd like the car to be low but not at the expense of rubbing or bottoming out on bumps etc. Any feedback would be great.

 

[Turbo6inKY]

It's currently too low for the suspension to actually work right, especially in the back.
Drop ranges listed on kits are approximate. They may or may not do that on your particular car.
I'm not familiar with the Viking "coiloverover" kits. I thought Viking just made shocks?

The Viking kits you shared put the entire spring load (and the entire weight of the car) directly onto the rubber bushing at the top of the shock up against the frame. That's not enough. That spot in the frame isn't strong enough. The bushings will fail quickly and fall out, the shock lower washer will hammer the frame, making a racket and destroying itself, the hole will eventually deform, and you're going to end up with a collapsed front end at some point. That would be bad.

If you do coilovers on the front, you have two choices to do it right:

1) The QA1 style kits that use a conical spring that sits in the factory frame pocket (works, but limited spring rate and height choices)
2) Going to a 2.5" cylindrical spring, but this requires adding an upper shock mount and measuring the car to get the right length shock for what you want (best, but it's a weld-in): Enhance Your Car Performance with G-Body Chicane Brackets

Since you've already gone through one suspension setup and aren't happy with it, it may save you a pile of trouble and money if you stop here and take few minutes to call UMI or Ridetech or QA1 and talk to one of their folks. They'll talk you through your goals and give you some measurements you can take and then translate that into a product set.

Obviously the A204 version if it actually gives you 3 inch of range would be the best solution but wanted to see if anyone had any experience with that part number?

Stuff like this can be tricky. The kit can provide that kind of range, but to do that you're looking at a pretty long shock with a lot of travel. Depending on your car, you could end up bottoming that thing out and destroying it pretty quickly. Conversely, if you don't have enough shock travel, you'll yank the piston rod right out of the top of the unit. I know because I've done it. Just because it bolts in doesn't mean it'll work right. Measure five times, swipe credit card once.

 

[1986 Buick GX1]

That does look really low.
Some brake kits really push the wheels out as Turbo6inKY can attest.
Since DSE doesn’t offer 1” lowering springs, maybe some 1” lowering springs from UMI Performance would fit the bill.
The UMI springs are rated at 600 lb/ in front and 130 lb/ in rear.
The newer DSE springs at 575 lb/ in front and 125 lb/ in rear are really close to the UMI, but you might want to call DSE to verify your early ones.
I doubt you’d notice a difference.

3050 UMI GM G-Body Springs Kit - 1” Lowering, Premium Quality US-Made Springs

Upgrade your 1978-1988 GM G-Body with UMI Springs (SKU: 3050) for superior handling and reduced body roll. Made in the USA with top-notch materials, these 1"

www.umiperformance.com

If you really like the stance GNS Performance sells the GNX front wheelhouse extension kit (cut out pockets, not flares) to give the front wheels more room as another option.

Scroll down towards the bottom.

Body/frame-g-body | gns-performance-

www.gnsperformance.com

 

[1986 Buick GX1]

If you have your heart set on coilovers, UMI Performance sells Viking brand and are very knowledgeable about G-bodies.
They’re quite fun to talk to as well.

 

[JKGeorge1116]

It's currently too low for the suspension to actually work right, especially in the back.
Drop ranges listed on kits are approximate. They may or may not do that on your particular car.
I'm not familiar with the Viking "coiloverover" kits. I thought Viking just made shocks?

The Viking kits you shared put the entire spring load (and the entire weight of the car) directly onto the rubber bushing at the top of the shock up against the frame. That's not enough. That spot in the frame isn't strong enough. The bushings will fail quickly and fall out, the shock lower washer will hammer the frame, making a racket and destroying itself, the hole will eventually deform, and you're going to end up with a collapsed front end at some point. That would be bad.

If you do coilovers on the front, you have two choices to do it right:

1) The QA1 style kits that use a conical spring that sits in the factory frame pocket (works, but limited spring rate and height choices)
2) Going to a 2.5" cylindrical spring, but this requires adding an upper shock mount and measuring the car to get the right length shock for what you want (best, but it's a weld-in): Enhance Your Car Performance with G-Body Chicane Brackets

Since you've already gone through one suspension setup and aren't happy with it, it may save you a pile of trouble and money if you stop here and take few minutes to call UMI or Ridetech or QA1 and talk to one of their folks. They'll talk you through your goals and give you some measurements you can take and then translate that into a product set.



Stuff like this can be tricky. The kit can provide that kind of range, but to do that you're looking at a pretty long shock with a lot of travel. Depending on your car, you could end up bottoming that thing out and destroying it pretty quickly. Conversely, if you don't have enough shock travel, you'll yank the piston rod right out of the top of the unit. I know because I've done it. Just because it bolts in doesn't mean it'll work right. Measure five times, swipe credit card once.

Thank you for the detailed response. I took your advice and spoke to the folks at QA1 and based on my application/use case, they recommended a Single Adjustable 450lb/in coil-over which is more or less the same price as the Viking DA ones.

GS401-10450C Front Pro Coil Shock System, Single Adjustable, 10in. Spring, 450lb./in.

Suspension kits, coilovers, shocks, driveshafts, and more. QA1 offers high-quality performance parts for circle track racing, drag racing, classic muscle cars, trucks, and industrial applications.

qa1.net

This was a bit of an unexpected expense so I was planning on just doing the QA1s in the front for the time being and getting a set of UMI or BMR 1 inch/1.5inch lowering springs for the rear for the time being to get the rear of the car raised as well. Any thoughts on that setup?

Also, I was told to target around 200 lbs/inch of spring for the rears? I may be limited on spring rate options with the drop springs just based on a quick search. But I am assuming this would still be an improvement?

I would love to go the proper route and welding in the upper shock mounts and such but I got hit with a bunch of unexpected expenses at once and the car is currently stuck at the shop so I need to get it sorted as quickly/affordably as possible.

 

[JKGeorge1116]

That does look really low.
Some brake kits really push the wheels out as Turbo6inKY can attest.
Since DSE doesn’t offer 1” lowering springs, maybe some 1” lowering springs from UMI Performance would fit the bill.
The UMI springs are rated at 600 lb/ in front and 130 lb/ in rear.
The newer DSE springs at 575 lb/ in front and 125 lb/ in rear are really close to the UMI, but you might want to call DSE to verify your early ones.
I doubt you’d notice a difference.

3050 UMI GM G-Body Springs Kit - 1” Lowering, Premium Quality US-Made Springs

Upgrade your 1978-1988 GM G-Body with UMI Springs (SKU: 3050) for superior handling and reduced body roll. Made in the USA with top-notch materials, these 1"

www.umiperformance.com

If you really like the stance GNS Performance sells the GNX front wheelhouse extension kit (cut out pockets, not flares) to give the front wheels more room as another option.

Scroll down towards the bottom.

Body/frame-g-body | gns-performance-

www.gnsperformance.com

Than

Thanks for the response. So I did talk to GNS about the front wheelhouse extension, and that could potentially solve the rubbing issue but the car does sit way too low currently. So my goal is to try to correct that as well so that it's more drivable. And I was originally thinking about just getting another set of springs but with the variability between all these springs, and how much of a pain it is to do the front springs, I really didn't want to be in the situation where it still sits too low or end up sitting too high.

 

[pacecarta]

get a set of rear gta rims

 

[Turbo6inKY]

Thank you for the detailed response. I took your advice and spoke to the folks at QA1 and based on my application/use case, they recommended a Single Adjustable 450lb/in coil-over which is more or less the same price as the Viking DA ones.

GS401-10450C Front Pro Coil Shock System, Single Adjustable, 10in. Spring, 450lb./in.

Suspension kits, coilovers, shocks, driveshafts, and more. QA1 offers high-quality performance parts for circle track racing, drag racing, classic muscle cars, trucks, and industrial applications.

qa1.net

This was a bit of an unexpected expense so I was planning on just doing the QA1s in the front for the time being and getting a set of UMI or BMR 1 inch/1.5inch lowering springs for the rear for the time being to get the rear of the car raised as well. Any thoughts on that setup?

Also, I was told to target around 200 lbs/inch of spring for the rears? I may be limited on spring rate options with the drop springs just based on a quick search. But I am assuming this would still be an improvement?

I would love to go the proper route and welding in the upper shock mounts and such but I got hit with a bunch of unexpected expenses at once and the car is currently stuck at the shop so I need to get it sorted as quickly/affordably as possible.

I run the QA1 setup in the front, but I swapped the shocks out for Viking Berzerkers. The QA1 shocks that came with the kit ended up being too short for my setup (I was running a tall lower ball joint) and I destroyed them. My fault for not measuring. So be sure to measure.

I have 210s in the rear, and I think they're really too stiff for street work. I think a 200 or a 190 for a street car would be more appropriate.
Good thing is the rears are a standard 2.5 diameter 11" spring, so they're cheap and easy to swap out. Get the 200s. If they're too much, it's like a $100 and maybe an hour to swap them out for a set of 190s.

As for single vs. double adjustable, I agree with the recommendation for the single adjustables. Unless you're racing and having to adjust for various different surfaces based on the track, you don't need the extra adjustment. Keep it simple.