hotchkis vs firm feel [ suspension ] who has better stuff ?

[flyinbrian]

both are nice looking parts , not sure what brand i want to put on my car.[please help]

[Final Challenge]

both are nice looking parts , not sure what brand i want to put on my car.[please help]

This is something only you can decide.  The basic consideration for me was this: bolt-on vs. cutting, welding and fitting. Bolt-on is Hotchkis. You can store your stock components to put back on your car should you choose to.  The XV approach is not return back to stock friendly.


The other issue is cost and how much of the product do you need to make your ride the way you think it needs to be.  I decided to purchase just the Hotchkis components I need to achieve my goal. I can add more or delete with ease.  Once you have made the XV decision, it is pretty well there for good.

Cost for the two is very different. The full Hotchkis is 10 to 25% of the XV depending on how much you purchase and apply.  Also, are you capable of doing the work or paying someone to do the work.

Some choose to take elements  of both kits.

The decision was easy for me. I could not see putting $12,000-14,000 plus into a car that is only worth $15,000 or so, even though I may have $30,000 plus into it.  If high dollar and fully modern is what  you are into; buy a new Challenger.  A fully built XV car (by them) had $125,000-175,000 price tags before the new Challenger was released (at least that was the Canadian price I was quoted by the guy who was doing the work in Canada at the time).

I tried to include the picture of the $175,000 car, but I don't know how to resize the pics.

[Strawdawg]

Not sure how we got from Firm Feel to XV, but you get a three way for the price of two! 

I think they both compare well.  Hotchkis has certainly done their homework on the geometry to improve over stock and their kit may well be technically superior for those that want to X their cars, or otherwise race them (not drag race)

Firm Feel mounts their rear bar similar to the factory which is good for unsprung weight.  On the other hand, Hotchkis uses tubular bars which are nice and lightweight plus the rear is adjustable so one can fine tune the handling.

The Hotchkis front upper is a trick piece to fix bump steer which is nice if you are looking for the optimum handling but it is damned expensive.  The rear springs are flatter and the eye is rolled differently to provide better rear geometry and a lower ride height.

My gut, unscientific/unproven opinion is that Hotchkis will take you farther but the average guy on the street will probably not know the difference.

If you go Hotchkis, either buy thru one of their distributors or wait for their sales as this makes the price much better.  I bought from Matts Classic Chevelle on ebay after seeing it mentioned here.   I liked the total package and the ride stance of the Hotchkis package and I bought most of the stuff outside of the front uppers.  I thought the prices were comparable to any mixing and matching I tried to put together elsewhere.

I bought some miscellaneous things and the shocks straight from Hotchkis.

Both my dealings with Firm Feel and Hotchkis have left me impressed with their customer service and attention.  I have a steering box rebuild and some other parts from FF.  They have been very helpful with advice when I asked.

[PlumCraZRT]

Both my dealings with Firm Feel and Hotchkis have left me impressed with their customer service and attention.

Same here.

I've have a Firm Feel box and was talking with Dick from Firm Feel the other day.  He's a really nice guy. 

On the other hand, I've called Hotchkis asking for initial settings for the upper control arms... something to get me to the alignment shop.  While I waited on the phone, they went out and measured their own Challenger to get me a close setting.

[flyinbrian]

thanks guys for the info, talking to the firm feel guy he said proformance would be very close on the track or auto x and it looks like there are more options as far as torsion bars ect, parts look very close to one another, price is a little cheaper thru firm feel maybe more bang for your buck, but i have seen hotchkis tvs kit for 2,500 and 400 for rcd shocks thru summit with no tax has anyone seen a better price?

[Strawdawg]

I bought the PST tb's which were about $200 for the 1.03" bars.  that saved money

If the price you quoted above has everything in it that this includes, that is one hell of a deal. 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/70-74-Challenger-Suspension-Upgrade-Hotchkis-TVS-Total-Vehicle-System-USA-Made-/270896433812?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&fits=Model%3AChallenger&vxp=mtr&hash=item3f12af8a94#ht_2476wt_1165

As I stated, I did not go with the upper arms as I had a new set of tubular arms already...maybe someday

[flyinbrian]

do you guys see the similarities in the firm feel an hotchkis they even use same rcd shocks,who came up with the parts first???

[Strawdawg]

Hotchkis uses corrected geometry springs and control arms/tie rod ends so I don't see much similarity in the kits and they use lightweight tubular anti roll bars as well.

I don't know who came up with the revalved Bilsteins first as I see RCD versions for other cars as well.  Hotchkis does sell a special length version of the rear shock to go with their springs due to the different ride height.

[Final Challenge]

This is something only you can decide.  The basic consideration for me was this: bolt-on vs. cutting, welding and fitting. Bolt-on is Hotchkis. You can store your stock components to put back on your car should you choose to.  The XV approach is not return back to stock friendly.


The other issue is cost and how much of the product do you need to make your ride the way you think it needs to be.  I decided to purchase just the Hotchkis components I need to achieve my goal. I can add more or delete with ease.  Once you have made the XV decision, it is pretty well there for good.

Cost for the two is very different. The full Hotchkis is 10 to 25% of the XV depending on how much you purchase and apply.  Also, are you capable of doing the work or paying someone to do the work.

Some choose to take elements  of both kits.

The decision was easy for me. I could not see putting $12,000-14,000 plus into a car that is only worth $15,000 or so, even though I may have $30,000 plus into it.  If high dollar and fully modern is what  you are into; buy a new Challenger.  A fully built XV car (by them) had $125,000-175,000 price tags before the new Challenger was released (at least that was the Canadian price I was quoted by the guy who was doing the work in Canada at the time).

I tried to include the picture of the $175,000 car, but I don't know how to resize the pics.

Sorry Brian, read too many threads too early, and had a senior moment.

Firm feel products deserve serious consideration, and customer service is very good. I chose the Hotchkis upper control arms only because the relocation bracket made sense to me. I bought mine at the garage sale price and also got a deal on the strut bars. I would have stayed with stock upper control arms with the speacial bushings otherwise. Something about a product has to trigger a reaction to buy. For me it was the relocation from stock and seeing the Hotchkis E-max car do as well as it does against competition cars that cost 5 to 10 times more.
 

[BS CUDA]

And just in case you didn't have enough to consider already.........  I am looking at the Alterktion by Reilly Motorsports. Have not heard any bad about this stuff at all - priced right between XV and Hotchkiss and trust your life with it kinda claims. Also complete bolt in front end. I have never looked at firm feel b4 but I might just to compare. 

['Cuda Hunter]

Sorry guys, I posted in the wrong thread.  Sometimes, I tell ya.

Deleted my dumb ars mistake.

[flyinbrian]

i too like the higher end kits as well but to pricey for me, also i heard theres a little more to the hotchkis challenger but close to the same, so im still on the fence over the two i can afford [ firm feel and hotchkis ]

[_Russ_]

i too like the higher end kits as well but to pricey for me, also i heard theres a little more to the hotchkis challenger but close to the same, so im still on the fence over the two i can afford [ firm feel and hotchkis ]

This was actually posted today on another forum about the Hotchkis Challenger's setup

Hotchkis E-Body TVS (torsions are adjusted so there is about .5" in between the lower bump stop and frame).
Stock Spindles.
Firm Feel stage 2 Power steering box.
Howe Steering quickener 1.5:1.
There really isn't any tricks. Nothing is super custom or one-off.

Stoptech Six-piston calipers (four piston on the rear) and 14-inch rotors.
18-inch Forgeline wheels.
Tyres: Front: 265/35R18. Rear: 295/30R18. Yokohama Advan Neova.

[flyinbrian]

i live near the hotchkis company and at this past sema show they would take me for a spin, i hope to do that soon

[Strawdawg]

One thing to decide is if you like the ride height of the Hotchkis set up.  As they state, the rear springs are made to lower the rear of the car an inch...that inch is relative, however, as many people's car ride high in the rear with air showing above the rear tire and they like it that way.  Reminds me of the air shock days of the '70s when hiked up rear ends were popular and handling was not a criteria.  As a result, there are some that have complained that the drop is not appealing.

If you like the jacked up look, then the Hotchkis rear springs are not going to be to your liking.