joeb Posted April 3, 2007 Report Share Posted April 3, 2007 are there passive replacements for front struts on this car? i assume it has stabilitrak. will passive struts work with that? or is this OEM parts time? the car has a mechanical clunking sound and no damping. they put on new strut mounts but that did not help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimD Posted April 3, 2007 Report Share Posted April 3, 2007 You can find passive struts for your front suspension. ACDelco, or Monroe, or Gabriel all have a passive strut that will bolt in. No, they will not respond to Stabilitrak commands. All they do is absorb rebound the same way all the time. But Stabilitrak is more about brake application and engine power management than it is about altering suspension response. Your mechanical clunking might or might not be struts. But the "no damping" is certainly struts. Going with passive means you will have to deal with fooling the CVRSS module into thinking the OEM struts are still installed. Not a big deal to do that, just know that it will be required. Jim Drive your car. Use your cell phone. CHOOSE ONE ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JasonA Posted April 3, 2007 Report Share Posted April 3, 2007 Arnott sells a passive strut system for the 2001 STS. Both front struts and both rear air shocks, for about $650 for the parts. Folks seem to be pleased with Arnott's stuff, and they have a lifetime warranty (even against wearing out). Jason(2001 STS, White Diamond) "When you turn your car on...does it return the favor?" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joeb Posted April 4, 2007 Author Report Share Posted April 4, 2007 its for a friend of a friend. I know there are passive struts for my 96 but I was not sure about the 2001. I think he said he had found a set of front passive struts and the black box to fool the computer. $300. that does not sound bad for 2 struts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimD Posted April 4, 2007 Report Share Posted April 4, 2007 That would be a good installed price. Not a good price for parts only. The last time I checked RockAuto.com, ACDelco passive struts for a 2001 Seville were $68.00 each. Looks like he would be paying 68 plus 68 for struts plus 124 for a "black box" if that is a parts only price. None of these aftermarket suspension specialists manufacture their own struts and shocks. What they do is buy the same parts anyone can buy and package them with a "black box" (that might or might not work) and sell the package as a complete solution. At a pretty good premium. I can fool the (CVRSS) computer for $1.00. There is a tendency for folks to assume the CVRSS system is much more complicated / sophisticated than it really is. If this friend of a friend is inclined to DIY, send him here. Jim Drive your car. Use your cell phone. CHOOSE ONE ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JasonA Posted April 4, 2007 Report Share Posted April 4, 2007 None of these aftermarket suspension specialists manufacture their own struts and shocks. What they do is buy the same parts anyone can buy and package them with a "black box" (that might or might not work) and sell the package as a complete solution. At a pretty good premium. I asked this very thing to Arnott and they said that they manufacture their own strut cartridges and shocks. I don't know if that's true or not, but that's the word from them... Also, even if you could fool the computer yourself (and I know you can) I'm not sure an ACDelco strut for a 2001 Seville (SLS) would work well with the stiffer spring rate of the STS, would it? Maybe it would, I don't know. But I would think that soft strut valving combined with a stiff spring would provide for a rather bouncy ride, no? Jason(2001 STS, White Diamond) "When you turn your car on...does it return the favor?" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimD Posted April 4, 2007 Report Share Posted April 4, 2007 I asked this very thing to Arnott and they said that they manufacture their own strut cartridges and shocks. I don't know if that's true or not, but that's the word from them...From their web page "....We have revolutionized the air suspension industry, establishing exclusive partnerships with the industry's leading contenders like KYB, Bilstein, Gabriel, Viair, Goodyear, and ContiTech to name a few." IF they are manufacturing their own struts from scratch, I owe them and our readers an apology. If they are manufacturing their own struts, what is gained from the partnerships? Also, even if you could fool the computer yourself (and I know you can) I'm not sure an ACDelco strut for a 2001 Seville (SLS) would work well with the stiffer spring rate of the STS, would it? Maybe it would, I don't know. But I would think that soft strut valving combined with a stiff spring would provide for a rather bouncy ride, no? The original post was concerned only with compatibility with Stabilitrak and OEM pieces (which infers pricing to me). Ride quality is only one of the many compromises a person has to be willing to make when considering the installation of other than OEM parts. When cost becomes the dominant factor, something else is going to be compromised. Jim Drive your car. Use your cell phone. CHOOSE ONE ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JasonA Posted April 4, 2007 Report Share Posted April 4, 2007 IF they are manufacturing their own struts from scratch, I owe them and our readers an apology. If they are manufacturing their own struts, what is gained from the partnerships? The partnerships could refer to other components of their systems, like air suspension systems for Fords, etc. If they don't manufacture their own struts, they owe me an apology, because I asked that question direct and that's the answer they gave. Ride quality is only one of the many compromises a person has to be willing to make when considering the installation of other than OEM parts. When cost becomes the dominant factor, something else is going to be compromised. Of course. But where I was going with that is there are passive replacements that would be tuned for the STS's suspension system that may be more appropriate than SLS dampers. For example for 1997 model cars (in which both STS and SLS had CV-RSS), they sell passive damper conversions for both models. I would assume that would be because the STS kit is tuned firmer to complement the STS's spring rate. I agree that there are compromises in the aftermarket, I was simply suggesting that the ACDelco Seville springs with a $1.00 computer fooler may not offer the best compromise compared with an engineered product like the Arnott stuff. Again, I haven't used their stuff, so I don't know how it is or the quality. Jason(2001 STS, White Diamond) "When you turn your car on...does it return the favor?" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnnyG Posted April 4, 2007 Report Share Posted April 4, 2007 So, how many here think that AC Delco makes their own struts? I don't know if they do or not, but in today's world of outsourcing, I'm a little skeptical that they would. I'd also be careful of your shop's diagnosis of " no dampening" of the original shocks. What if the originals NEED to be hooked to the CVRSS computer before they will provide any dampening at all? I'd say this would be particularly apparent in the "rebound" mode, which provides somewhat less dampening even on passive struts. As the guru once explained, the computer dials in more dampening to the affected shock, similar to "adding wedge" on the race track. The shock needs to be in an active condition in order to do that, like on a bumpy road. Many here are on their original shocks with over 100,000 miles on their cars. I think you need to find out what is causing your noise before you go out and buy passive struts. Never underestimate the amount of a persons greed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rickster Posted November 21, 2008 Report Share Posted November 21, 2008 Lets bring this thread back to life because I'm going to replace my struts and I am sure many others out there are thinking the same as our cars are in need. Also, this thread is the closest to the info I have been looking for. So here are the questions, What would you be giving up if the replacements were passive? Or active Monroe's? Would you really notice it? Arnott passive or Monroe active? There are some good alternatives showing up these days. Has anyone here gone the Monroe active route? Is there some good solid info-research done on this? Lets see if we can put together a good resourse thread for us all that are concidering replacement. Rick 2001 STS Mettalic Otter Grey, Black Leather, 213,000 kilometers - miles - ? Still running strong! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jking220 Posted November 21, 2008 Report Share Posted November 21, 2008 Lets bring this thread back to life because I'm going to replace my struts and I am sure many others out there are thinking the same as our cars are in need. Also, this thread is the closest to the info I have been looking for. So here are the questions, What would you be giving up if the replacements were passive? Or active Monroe's? Would you really notice it? Arnott passive or Monroe active? There are some good alternatives showing up these days. Has anyone here gone the Monroe active route? Is there some good solid info-research done on this? Lets see if we can put together a good resourse thread for us all that are concidering replacement. Rick When I was looking for my 01 STS I drove 2 that had passive replacement shocks, and I hated them. They made the car feel like a "boat", IMHO. Dont get me wrong, it was nowhere as boaty as a deville, but it couldnt turn like an STS with active shocks could. I also noticed it when I was braking or accelerating, much more car movement. I felt it made the car feel sluggish as it was not as responsive. I should add that I would prefer my active shocks to be even stiffer. I wanted the F55 suspension, but couldnt find it in my price range. I would suggest going and test driving some SLS's and seeing how you like the suspension on that. Ive driven 3 SLS's in my life, and I think it compared to that pretty well. Jonah Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rickster Posted November 22, 2008 Report Share Posted November 22, 2008 Good info, thanks. 2001 STS Mettalic Otter Grey, Black Leather, 213,000 kilometers - miles - ? Still running strong! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Logan Posted November 22, 2008 Report Share Posted November 22, 2008 Dont know about a 2001 STS. But 2001 Deville you can add or remove the ride control using a GM Tech2 from the options list. Logan Diagnostic LLC www.airbagcrash.com www.logandieselusa.com www.ledfix.com www.ledfix.com/yukontaillightrepair.html www.ledfix.com/ledreplacements.html www.ledfix.com/j42385toolrental.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jking220 Posted November 22, 2008 Report Share Posted November 22, 2008 Dont know about a 2001 STS. But 2001 Deville you can add or remove the ride control using a GM Tech2 from the options list. I dont know about this, but it made me think, what if you just unplugged the shocks? or maybe pull a fuse? I know it will throw codes, but maybe just for a short drive? Jonah Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimD Posted November 22, 2008 Report Share Posted November 22, 2008 ....or maybe pull a fuse? I know it will throw codes, but maybe just for a short drive? Pulling the 10A CVRTD fuse in the underseat box will kill power to the strut solenoids. Should produce a full time stiff ride along with the codes. Jim Drive your car. Use your cell phone. CHOOSE ONE ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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