well heres my problem cant really figure it out....i have a 2000 camaro ss and i recently started to mess with the suspension a bit. the car came with stock 16's naturally but i have the 17x9 zr1s on it. on top of that i used an eibach pro kit and tokiko struts all the way around. id say on about 50 percent of bumps im slamming the rear passenger bump stop hard...i cracked the stock one right off along with two aftermarket poly stops. this is even with nobody in the car and i shaved them down about an inch....figure i lost an inch of movement with the upgraded rim but got it back after i took some off the stop. well give the springs an inch too. i can take about another inch off the stop but idk if its safe to have it down that far but it will bring me back to the stock clearance. i had somebody double check over my work and look for anything bent underneath as well and nothing came up...ideas anyone? everything else is stock under there.

You used lowering springs and that is what happens. Most shock manufacturers won't even guarantee their shocks when used on a lowered car. The 17 inch wheels have nothing to do with it. Just wait till the springs sag into coil bind, then the ride gets really exciting.

Did you specifically order the shocks to work with the Pro Kit? If you did not, then your shocks are not going to function properly. The valving is set for a 1" longer travel before it dampens properly. You may want to look into that.

Matt

Your Car should have come with 17's from the factory.
Anyway Pro kits are known for sagging over time and since you have an SS your bump stops are larger then the standard Z28 ones. Another problem is the shocks can't deal with the shorter travel distance of the Pro kit. The best regular replacement shock that can are Koni's and their not cheap. (the best seldom is)
I don't know a whole lot about the Eibachs but what I have read is the Pro kit just drops the car and doesn't increase the spring rate enough to compensate for the drop, so the car rides on the bumpstops more often then not.
My best suggestion is to swap the stock springs back in so your new shocks will live longer.

Check out the Suspension Section on LS1Tech
My current setup is from Sam Strano at Stranoparts.com
Strano 1.2" drop Springs 550# Fronts 150# linear rate Rears
Strano Hollow Swaybars 35mm F 22mm R
Koni Single Adjustable Shocks
UMI Adj Panhard bar (a must for lowered cars)
This stuff made a night and day difference in how the car rides and handles compared to the original parts. I have flogged the car pretty hard on the back roads and never touched the bumpstops. And the ride is firm but not harsh and the car maintains composure at all times.

Craig, My 2000 Formula came stock with 16'' wheels. My question is; Does the Formula = Camaro Z28, or does formula = Camaro ss ? Hope this makes sense. Thanks Dave.

All springs will sag somewhat after a short period of time. The OEM springs are correctly chosen to sag and still give a usable right height and to maintain the suspension geometry and correct shock action. If lowering springs are used, it generally screws everything up, and when they sag, it gets even worse, esp if they are not good springs to begin with. Been thru this problem with my own car.

9T8W66 is correct about buying a kit that is assembled to work correctly from the get go, but even that will cause problems as the springs sag, but at least the springs can be replaced with the same type. Lowered springs should be stiffer than OEM to prevent hitting the bumpstops.

Just letting the OEM springs sag will guarantee about .5 to .75 inches of lowering, but they can do this without encountering coil bind or keeping the shocks from working properly.

Dave,

a formula would the the equivilant of a Trans Am or Z28...a Firehawk would be the closest thing to an SS...im not sure if the Firehawks are a tad different or not when it comes to suspension when compared to an SS...

Formula is basically a "V6 look a like" V8 Bird...(ie non-raised spoiler hacth, no fog lights, or side skirts, and no cutouts in the rear bumper for the tips)-it has no suspension upgrades...

WS6 is the suspension and ram air differences, available as a GM Option on TAs and Formulas...this was a GM performance option, the Firehawks where SLP performance optioned cars...

Camaros dont really have a GM equivilant to a WS6...

Firehawk is above the WS6, and Formulas when it comes to suspension


basically to answer your question simply...

formula=trans am=z28

firehawk=SS


I Know, its confusing

Actually this is a very confusing topic.
From 1998 on, the Camaro SS had exactly the same upgrades as the WS6. Firehawks are higher on the chain than the SS's are, as they have higher HP ratings and more upgraded parts.

The real confusing part is that up to 97, the SS's could be "customized" by the buyer, and could choose from a selection of different cat-backs, and suspension set ups. Such as the SLP springs with bilstein shocks. Up till 97, the SS's were higher than the WS6's were. In 98 they became basically the same car.

VERY confusing stuff, I know.

Fatalshot's Camaro SS should have come stock with 17" rims though...not sure why 16's were on there. That pro kit drops the car WAY down, you need to make sure you have the right shocks for that type of drop.

so in everyones overall opinion what should i do after u hear the following...my original bump stops are gone replaced with aftermarket ones about the same height cuz they cracked. i also cut them down a bit to see if it would help and it did a lil bit. should i shave more off? is it save? btw this only happens on the rear passenger side and never on the rear driver side is that 'normal' ? im kinda thinking something is bent cuz i took it for a ride in the woods one time b4 if so wat could b bent?? i am not very knowledgable about anything involving suspension really and didnt do 2 much research about it be4 hand either...fault on my part...in other words i need a working combo. would a panhard rod help much? and the stock springs had 120k on them...they needed to go i dont even have them to put back on. which springs will work with the tokikos? should i go get new stock ones and lose the drop in the back and put a thicker tire on? or switch the back 2 shocks to adjustables...do they really help? has anyone ever heard of or used a set of 'spring helpers'? eibach makes them could that b a quick fix? everything in the front works fine just the rear gives me problems. i would love to fix this cuz its making my car almost un driveable now. any help and opinions is greatly appreciated.

Ok heres my thoughts.
If you didn't put on an adj panhard bar you need to do that because your right rear wheel may be impacting on the bumpstop under certain conditions.
Stock the rear ends are biased towards the left when you drop the car the rear swings even more towards the left bringing the inside edge of the right wheel closer to the bumpstop mount. This may be part of your problem,

Also like we said before the Tokico shocks probably arent designed for the lowering springs so they aren't able to properly damp them in the shorter distance. This makes the car impact the bumpstops more abruptly causing a very harsh ride.

I hate to tell you to change everything out so IMHO I would try swapping Springs first since overall they are cheaper to replace. You can also recoop some cash by selling the eibachs.
It's hard for me to reccomend a spring to go with since I don't want you to buy everything all over again cause the drop springs really need the beter dampers and Koni's are the best.
There are options though, you could pick up some stock springs install them and leave it alone.
Then down the road in a couple yrs when the shocks wear out you could replace them with Koni's. do the lower perch on the fronts and the hose mod in the rear and drop the car 3/4" all around. My buddy did this to his droptop SS and loves it.

And always remember to research as much as possible.

so basically if i grab a set of 8241-1140 Sport konis then im good along with the panhard bar? instead of switching springs cuz i like the ride height. everything there i can get for like 500 and sell the tokikos off to someone for a buck to save a few dollars.

Yes you could do that but be aware that your front shocks are still likely to wear out faster and should be changed also. But that doesn't have to be done imediately.

ya i should...the front ones already make some kind of wierd noise as it is....only wen im going slow like 35 and under id say i hear a 'clicking' when i ride over bumps thats hard to describe that wasnt there before the swap. do they make anything like this http://www.spohn.net/shop/1982-1992-GM-F-B...rut-Mounts.html for the 4th gen car? seems like it could help out in a good way along with a strut tower brace.

3rd gens have struts 4th gens actually have shocks.

Not trying to thread hijack, but it sounds like you can help me out with my question i've been thinking about 9T8W66: If you take a look at my sig, my rear of the car is a lot higher than the front...and i was thinking about dropping the rear to match the front (looks like a 1 or a 1.5" drop) If i bought some springs just for the rear, would i need to replace any other parts other than the springs?

Freshbake
You might want to look into the hose mod before you buy anything.
The hose mod is you remove the rubber isolator above the springs and wrap some heater hose around the top coil. then reinstall the springs (make sure the bottom pigtail of the springs is pointed towards the front of the car). This mod effectively drops the rear about 3/4" and it's cheap.
It's usually used in conjunction with setting up a set of Koni front shocks on the lower perch while using stock springs. Doing both should equate to about a 3/4" drop all the way around.
Anyway give the hose mod a shot and see if you like the change the only cost would be about 1 foot or so of heater hose.
If you're unhappy with the ride or handling of your car I can tell you the single best thing to start with is the shocks. I'm a huge advocate for Koni's, they may be expensive but their worth every penny. Drive an F-body with a set and you'll wonder how you lasted so long with the stock DeCarbons, cause they are that Good.

Thanks man, yeah i've heard and read up on the heater hose mod, but i've heard from people that it causes the car to have worse control. I'll give it a shot though, i actually do have some spare hose laying around from when i was replacing my coolant lines. Maybe one of these weekends when i can actually find time. As for the Koni's, i've definitely heard nothing but great things about them. Maybe i'll look into them with the money i'll make over Christmas break.

Not sure why there would be control issues unless maybe they had some worn out parts esp. the shocks.