Ultimate Street suspension guide

[Serafancho]

Very solid write up. Really appreciate your guys time for these.

[mikemounlio]

The last kit that i got in are pretty nice. I will be placing another order this winter so i hope to find just the front this time. Unless i use the bottom of the rear to make mounts as will has said.

[RobotKarate]

I got the Caddy kit which was just the fronts from Hot Tuning so I only have the springs and litttle top hats from SW speed left over now.

[TWFodor]

I ended up selling my rear coilovers from the kit to a local guy for $80. Took a while, but it was worth the wait

[william]

Cut the bottom off the mk3 rears and make transmission mounts . That's about all i know or keep them for a lifted offroad festiva.

[RobotKarate]

Is there any reason to keep the leftover parts from the VW coils or southwest speed kit? I'm cleaning out the garage of clutter and need the space.

[Eviljimchicken]

It really blows my mind that I saw these cars in person a few days ago.

[ThisVelologist]

Stock vs Advanced on the Tail of the Dragon

[Eviljimchicken]

Good advice! Ill go do that today. Also I had no idea the threads were self locking ty1

[Advancedynamix]

I just finished and it handles really well, but it doesn't seem perfect, at least for me. The springs I used were #120 in the front and #105 in the back.

First of all I can't seem to get the car quite as low as I want. The front struts are pretty much slammed on the bump stops which I don't believe results in optimal handling. Is it possible to cut the bump stops in half or remove them without damaging the valving in the strut?

The second concern that I have is that to get the ride height that I want in the rear the spring has no preload and can move up and down about an inch. I'm not sure how to solve this because #105 was the lightest spring rate. Also i'm not entirely sure if it is an issue.

I also can't figure out a way to lock my ride height on the rear sleeves either because there is no jam nut like on the front or set screw. I noticed that it came with yellow circlips, I cannot figure out what those would be used for.


Here's a tip that might help some people out: To make the sleeve fit perfectly I chucked the strut up in my drill with tape protecting the treads, and rested the body on something it could easily rotate on. What worked for me was a cardboard box that was dented in with a cloth on it. As the whole strut is spinning you can hold a file (or sandpaper) on to the parts you want to turn down. It worked perfectly for me, and the sleeve has no play whatsoever.

I suggest that everyone starts out with the car set up properly first, then go for looks after driving it with a good setup for a few weeks. The difference in handling is not small. A properly adjusted setup will provide a car which can easily out corner just about anything on the road or track. Too low and the car pushes badly and spins the inside tire easily.

[Advancedynamix]

Acme threads are designed to lock with pressure on them, so the rears don't need locking nuts or set screws. I only finger tighten my front lock nuts as well. No need to lock them tight with the spanner wrenches.

[mikemounlio]

My rears have never self adjusted. I have tension on tyem so they are always tight even with tires off the ground.

[Eviljimchicken]

Optimal handling is lower ball joints about 3/4in to 1in below the control arm pivot point. The back should be slightly higher if you measure pinch weld heights. Sounds like you're trying to run way lower than that. I'm running no bump stops in the front and my rear sleeves are cranked up as far as they'll go. My rear sleeves had 3 little holes in the ring for set screws.

I just checked and on mine those holes that look like they are for a set screw actually just taper and end before going all the through, so even if I did tap threads and put a grub screw in it wouldn't accomplish anything. Since its like that on all three holes on both sleeves I just assumed its for some sort of coil over wrench. How are you securing yours?

And yes, i'm definitely sacrificing some performance for coolness in terms of ride height lol.

[shorestiva]

Optimal handling is lower ball joints about 3/4in to 1in below the control arm pivot point. The back should be slightly higher if you measure pinch weld heights. Sounds like you're trying to run way lower than that. I'm running no bump stops in the front and my rear sleeves are cranked up as far as they'll go. My rear sleeves had 3 little holes in the ring for set screws.

[Eviljimchicken]

I just finished and it handles really well, but it doesn't seem perfect, at least for me. The springs I used were #120 in the front and #105 in the back.

First of all I can't seem to get the car quite as low as I want. The front struts are pretty much slammed on the bump stops which I don't believe results in optimal handling. Is it possible to cut the bump stops in half or remove them without damaging the valving in the strut?

The second concern that I have is that to get the ride height that I want in the rear the spring has no preload and can move up and down about an inch. I'm not sure how to solve this because #105 was the lightest spring rate. Also i'm not entirely sure if it is an issue.

I also can't figure out a way to lock my ride height on the rear sleeves either because there is no jam nut like on the front or set screw. I noticed that it came with yellow circlips, I cannot figure out what those would be used for.


Here's a tip that might help some people out: To make the sleeve fit perfectly I chucked the strut up in my drill with tape protecting the treads, and rested the body on something it could easily rotate on. What worked for me was a cardboard box that was dented in with a cloth on it. As the whole strut is spinning you can hold a file (or sandpaper) on to the parts you want to turn down. It worked perfectly for me, and the sleeve has no play whatsoever.