Who has done Bobby Archer or Sean Roe's revalved Koni/spring Upgrade?

[Brad Manhattan Beach]

Who has done Bobby Archer or Sean Roe\'s revalved Koni/spring Upgrade?

I would like to hear feedback from anyone who has done these upgrades on their daily drivers? I have a GTS that I would like to upgrade shocks and springs. I only go to the track about 5 or 6 times a year and can't justify the upgrade to Moton, JRZ or Penske's.

I would also like to hear which springs (Hypercoil or Eibach R's) you are using (as well as the spring rates)?

Thanks all in advance for your feedback.

 

[Sean Roe]

Re: Who has done Bobby Archer or Sean Roe\'s revalved Koni/spring Upgrade?

Other than my own car The following Viper owners have our shock and spring upgrade:
- Rick Jenkins
- Mickey Craig
- Ed Robertson
- Ron Coleman
I'm sure that any or all of them would be happy to give you their opinions on street and performance use.

Sean

 

[Brad Manhattan Beach]

Re: Who has done Bobby Archer or Sean Roe\'s revalved Koni/spring Upgrade?

Sean:

Can you drop me an email with their email addresses (or the best way to contact them)?

Thanks and have a great day.

 

[Sean Roe]

Re: Who has done Bobby Archer or Sean Roe\'s revalved Koni/spring Upgrade?

Just sent their e-mails to you in a personal message, check your inbox on the main page.

 

[Brad Manhattan Beach]

Re: Who has done Bobby Archer or Sean Roe\'s revalved Koni/spring Upgrade?

Sean:

Thanks for your feedback. I guess that there aren't many Archer users on this BB?

Brad

 

[Supercharged Vipermad]

Re: Who has done Bobby Archer or Sean Roe\'s revalved Koni/spring Upgrade?

Dudes!
I did the Tommy/Bobby Archer Moton shocks (1st Gen 1 car ever done) and I love them! I took it to the track and I could dial in stiff or soft as the temps came up and my confidence came in. You'll be surprised at the spring rates they recomend, but they feel like a caddy on the road and a race car on the track.
just my $0.02

 

[Brad Manhattan Beach]

Re: Who has done Bobby Archer or Sean Roe\'s revalved Koni/spring Upgrade?

What spring rates did you go with? Were they progressive or linear springs (I know that Archer has both)? Do you use your car as a daily driver? I think that I remember that you don't, so how do you think the ride would be for a street application?

Thanks for your feeedback.

 

[RoyV101621]

Re: Who has done Bobby Archer or Sean Roe\'s revalved Koni/spring Upgrade?

Got the re-valves on my "old" RT. Stiffer but not jarring. Lower, but I only drag on the curb into my driveway (drag the side-sill covers).

The back of the car now follows the front without the long wait for the weight transfer.

I'm still learning how to use the new set-up. There is <FONT size="4">so much more handling </FONT s>that I don't know where the edge is anymore.

<font color="#ff0000">[This message has been edited by RoyV101621 (edited October 27, 2000).]</font>

 

[Brad Manhattan Beach]

Re: Who has done Bobby Archer or Sean Roe\'s revalved Koni/spring Upgrade?

Roy:

Sorry to ask, are you talking about Sean's kit or Bobby Archer's upgrade? What exactly did you upgrade (springs, shocks, bushings, sway bars, etc.)? Which spring stiffness and brand (Hypercoil or Eibach) did you go with?

Thanks for your feedback.

 

[RoyV101621]

Re: Who has done Bobby Archer or Sean Roe\'s revalved Koni/spring Upgrade?

Archer Racing stuff from Minnesota revalued the stock shocks w/their spec. linear springs from Eibach. Left rubber bushings in the shocks but new bushings on the sway bars.
shocks, springs & alignment = $2000

You must be registered for see images

Does anyone have a non-basis opinion about anti-toe in brackets on a GEN I car? Seems to me that the steel suspension might not need such stuff.

 

[GTS Dean]

Re: Who has done Bobby Archer or Sean Roe\'s revalved Koni/spring Upgrade?

Roy,

The rear inner toe links deflect quite a bit under nearly all situations except for sitting still. I would definitely recommend the inner supports.

Dean

 

[Paul Fischer]

Re: Who has done Bobby Archer or Sean Roe\'s revalved Koni/spring Upgrade?

I had the pleasure of driving Paul Bilberry's Archer suspensioned ACR on a road I am intimately familiar with and I have never driven an American car that had such poise and road manners. The ride was firm yet comfortable, ridiculously compliant. Turn in was crisp and I found myself braking far in advance of what the suspension was capable of (my GTS had cut stock springs lowering it about 2 1/2 inches, not even close so far as ride quality or performance envelope). It felt like a Benz, not a Dodge. The best I've felt so far though he had all bushings done as well, about $5k I guess. Well worth it.

Dean should have mentioned his EMS (Eric Messley's) shocks on his GTS. That car with a fresh set of Hoosiers rides like a Cadillac which I believe were my very words as I got out of it. Dean told me I did 1:58 at TWS one morning while I was just getting a very gentle feel for the car loafing in driver's ed traffic, what you could do after getting a feel for that car would be downright impressive. Smooth, predictable and compliant. Very impressive when one considers what Dean has put his car through.

 

[Brad Manhattan Beach]

Re: Who has done Bobby Archer or Sean Roe\'s revalved Koni/spring Upgrade?

Paul:

As usual, thanks for your feedback. I'm not sure if I can justify putting this into my daily driver (which is why I was looking at the revalved Koni's from Archer and Roe. The JRZ/Moton or Penske's are probably the best option, but out of my price range.

Thanks again.

 

[JBenko]

Re: Who has done Bobby Archer or Sean Roe\'s revalved Koni/spring Upgrade?

My car was one of Archers original "test mules" when they worked out the spring / revalve kit. Without a doubt I'd have to say that the brothers (Tommy and Bobby) are probably the most experienced pro drivers that have raced street based Vipers. Tommy spent considerable time dynoing and enginnering the curve for their re-valve kit. In combination with stiffer springs they can give your car a whole new ability to cheat the laws of physics. They have also done this in a manner that retains a significant "streetabilty" aspect. If you are interested I can put you in touch with 4 or 5 guys here in MN that have the kit.

That being said, I am aware of at least 2 of us who have since made the commitment to upgrade to coil over Motons. If you are ever going to be serious about racing I highly reccomend making the investment. Coil overs allow for adjustment of not only shock settings (compression, rebound, jounce) but they also allow tuning of ride height and corner weights. With coil overs at Gingerman last summer, and with the engineering help on the phone from Tommy, I was able to make adjustments that knocked off just over 3 seconds from my fastest lap ! It really does make a huge difference, even for us amateurs...

Feel free to call or email if you have any questions I can help with.

 

[Mark Young]

Re: Who has done Bobby Archer or Sean Roe\'s revalved Koni/spring Upgrade?

So, as an ACR owner, how do my Koni coil-overs compare with what everyone has mentioned so far? I'd guess that they fall somewhere between a stock GTS and the tuned packages.

Thx!

 

[Supercharged Vipermad]

Re: Who has done Bobby Archer or Sean Roe\'s revalved Koni/spring Upgrade?

My ONLY CONCERN:
Shock travel.
The stock shocks have a couple/few inches of travel. If these 're-valve' packages are using the same shock body, than the travel distance does not change. Meaning that if these spring and shock kits drop your car 2+ inches, the car will most likely have less than 1/2" travel and ride on the bump stops while turning or going over bumpsin the road and create bind. Not good. This is one of the reasons the early Saleen Mustangs handle poorly. The car rides on the bump stops and binds movement. Wondering what everyone thinks or has experienced.
Someone must have some measurements; at the very least put a G-Tech before and after these kits to see lateral g's.

 

[JBenko]

Re: Who has done Bobby Archer or Sean Roe\'s revalved Koni/spring Upgrade?

Don't hold me to it but I believe that Archers kit lowers the car just around 3/4". I seem to remember that it actually varied slightly (by design) from front to rear.

I've never had the desire to watch my g-tech, especially sideways, when I've been in a corner on the track. I suppose it would be reasonable for someone to try a parking lot skidpad test. Even still, its not just the lateral g's that are at issue here. With the shock upgrades the significant performance increase is related to how the car comes into and out of high g situations, and how the shock reacts to vertical transitions (bumps etc.). I think the thing the revalve kit will do for even the most novice driver is to allow him/her to get back on the gas a lot sooner through the corner. The car just simply becomes easier to drive faster. Where my car used to kick out its rear end it simply planted itself and accelerated through the corner after the revalve / spring change.

I would reccomend that anyone interested try to find a way to ride in a car with the changes. It's a definite possibility at most of Skips events, or if the snow keeps holding off here in MN ...