I have an 87 GT with an intercooled 3800SCII and a 4T65E. Build was done about 2003 and it's been riding on suspension techniques rear springs and cut stock springs ever since. When I was in college, the pogo-stick ride didn't bother me much, but now that I'm a bit older and have a kid, the bumpy ride is just annoying. I have a project Fiero with Intrax springs on it and thought they rode very nicely for the little bit of test driving I did with it but wanted to get some opinions on what the nicest riding lowering springs are currently since I've been out of the Fiero game for quite a while (see the mention of kid above). I'm looking for a pretty big drop, probably about 2", so I think the Eibachs are out if I remember correctly and I think they were pretty stiff too. I have a set of front suspension techniques springs that I'm considering throwing in since they have to be better than cut stock springs, but before I take the time to do that I want to see if there's something better I should go with on all 4 corners. Current shocks/struts are KYBs in the rear and maybe Gabriels up front and were new when the swap was done in 2003. About 20k miles on them. Also, are most people trimming the bump stops when lowering in the 2" range? I'm not sure if my pogo stick ride is the cut springs up front or maybe I'm hitting the bump stops constantly.

quote Originally posted by V8Dreamer: I have an 87 GT with an intercooled 3800SCII and a 4T65E. Build was done about 2003 and it's been riding on suspension techniques rear springs and cut stock springs ever since. When I was in college, the pogo-stick ride didn't bother me much, but now that I'm a bit older and have a kid, the bumpy ride is just annoying. I have a project Fiero with Intrax springs on it and thought they rode very nicely for the little bit of test driving I did with it but wanted to get some opinions on what the nicest riding lowering springs are currently since I've been out of the Fiero game for quite a while (see the mention of kid above). I'm looking for a pretty big drop, probably about 2", so I think the Eibachs are out if I remember correctly and I think they were pretty stiff too. I have a set of front suspension techniques springs that I'm considering throwing in since they have to be better than cut stock springs, but before I take the time to do that I want to see if there's something better I should go with on all 4 corners. Current shocks/struts are KYBs in the rear and maybe Gabriels up front and were new when the swap was done in 2003. About 20k miles on them. Also, are most people trimming the bump stops when lowering in the 2" range? I'm not sure if my pogo stick ride is the cut springs up front or maybe I'm hitting the bump stops constantly.

I put Eibachs on the front of an 86 a couple years ago and the ~1" drop I was expecting turned out to be more like 2" and it did ride rougher up front as well as became more prone to hitting the upper fender well with 225/40R18s and contrary to what some say, depending on the extent of the drop you can not run the stock stops as they will make matters worse on rough roads.

I put the stock springs back in and immediately noticed the improvement in ride quality. I'm going to try the little clamps to compress two coils on each front spring to level the front end off with the rear coilover setting which is slightly lower and my intent to begin with. I would not do it any other way after that experience. It's much easier to go backwards to stock that way.

[This message has been edited by Joseph Upson (edited 04-28-2013).]

Check your bump stops... most of the time the bouncy ride is because you are sitting on or hitting the bump stops during normal driving. Check and trim/relocate the bump stops so they will only keep the tire from touching the fender. However, if you lower the car to the point of only have 1/2" between the tire and fender, then with only 1/2" of suspension travel you will either have to run some really stiff springs or hit the bump stops frequently.

Here is a pic of the front of an 88 with the springs removed and sitting entirely on the stock bump stops (wheel/tire is 24.6" in diameter). So if you want anything close to this, then you need to check/modify your bump stops:


Here is the same car once I trimmed down the bump stops:


Once you have the bump stops modified to increase suspension travel while keeping the wheel/tire out of the body panels, then you can start experimenting with spring rates to determine which is right for your available suspension travel and local roads.

Funny you mentioned that. I just came in from the garage before I even saw your post and took a look at the suspension with the car on the ground. The bump stops were touching...that explains a lot. Mine is an 87 though, so it looks like the bump stops are a little tougher to trim than the 88s. Do most people trim the landing pad on the lower control arm or trim the top portion of the bump stop? I'd like to do what you did and test the right height with the tire mounted, but it looks like the bump stop is part of the control arm, both upper and lower so I'm not sure it can be removed and the wheel put back on for testing/measurements.

You may want to consider the lowering ball joints as trimming the bump stops will provide some improvement if they're already in contact but it will not address the effects of the increased static compression of the shock making it less capable of performing its job, it's still going to be bumpy and this is an area I believe the 88 suspension has a design advantage.

Lowering springs AND good ride? At the same time? my son went the lowering spring route. I went with lowering ball joints/stock springs in the front and a coil over set up in the rear. MY car will not beat you to death.
I have the red 84 V8 car. Adams car is a black 85 GT 3800sc. Red is on 19's , black is on 18's. The coil overs seperate spring rate from ride hieght in the rear.

quote Originally posted by V8Dreamer: I just came in from the garage before I even saw your post and took a look at the suspension with the car on the ground. The bump stops were touching...that explains a lot. Mine is an 87 though, so it looks like the bump stops are a little tougher to trim than the 88s.

Yes, it's definitely "a little tougher" to properly lower the front of an '84-'87.

The following is from Here. The reason why 3/4" is the suggested maximum removed from the bump stops (which translates to about 1 1/2" of added travel at the wheel) is because any more removed from the bump stops would result in the front shocks bottoming out.

quote Originally posted by Patrick: I cut off two complete coils from both the front and back springs of my '84. The back was fine, but the front was definitely sitting on the bump stops. Made for a rough ride! I got some assistance from Fiero club friends of mine (with welding equipment) to cut and weld the metal cones. I had read that removing 3/4" was ideal, as removing more could possibly lead to the shocks bottoming out. Not a good thing! Pictured below is a cone on my parts car to show how long it is before being shortened. The rubber bumper was removed prior to this picture, but on my '84 the rubber bumper was reinstalled after the cone had been welded back on. The metal cones are now 4.5" long.

Perfect. Thanks for the precise info. I'll have to get it up to my buddy's shop and get them trimmed. I'm guessing it will ride like a totally different car when there are actually springs being used instead of a rubber bumper.

quote Originally posted by V8Dreamer: Perfect. Thanks for the precise info. I'll have to get it up to my buddy's shop and get them trimmed. I'm guessing it will ride like a totally different car when there are actually springs being used instead of a rubber bumper.

I autocrossed a few times before I realized my lowered '84 was sitting on the front bump stops. Yes, it made a helluva difference in the handling when we did the procedure posted above and I again had a functional suspension!