Ultimate Street suspension guide

[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.

[mikemounlio]

On my last set i found out that the ring on the strut needs to be grinded down a bit but so does the body of the strut. Not to much tho as its a weld but i hit mine just a bit. I took the sticker off as well but its the weld on the body that causes the hang up.

My last set the sleeve went over the body almost with no play.

[firebush357]

Finally have collected all the parts for this upgrade. I've never played with sleeves before and they came with an assortment of rubber o-rings etc. Do you use these? Or just put the sleeve right over the struts?

I didn't use any on mine. Just grind the aspire struts down slowly so you don't take off too much material and it will be a nice tight fit. You might want to take the Paper Sticker off of the side of the strut to keep it from snagging, use some WD-40 to get the glue residue off.

[shorestiva]

If there is a gap between the strut and the sleeve you use the o rings to keep the sleeve from moving around. If you're using the recommended sleeves they should be tight enough that you won't need the o rings iirc.

[joeboomer999]

Finally have collected all the parts for this upgrade. I've never played with sleeves before and they came with an assortment of rubber o-rings etc. Do you use these? Or just put the sleeve right over the struts?

[w4rkry]

Can you share the shop/company details please?

Yea, I am still looking for it haha. I sent it in a comment to Joel ages ago on Facebook

[reddragon]

Springs fit for the coilovers, proper length, diameter and spring rate, for Decent price

Can you share the shop/company details please?

[w4rkry]

Proper springs, as in stock springs, or springs to suit the coilovers?

I couldn't find springs locally at a reasonable price - it was cheaper to have the black magic springs from Southwest Speed shipped over here.

Springs fit for the coilovers, proper length, diameter and spring rate, for Decent price

[reddragon]

I found a place that sells proper springs in the AU Though.

Proper springs, as in stock springs, or springs to suit the coilovers?

I couldn't find springs locally at a reasonable price - it was cheaper to have the black magic springs from Southwest Speed shipped over here.

[reddragon]

Yeah I'd say it would be, amazon doesn't ship to Aus so I can't buy em from there, and I looked on eBay and that was where I got the price from


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I purchased mine from Amazon, they shipped. Individual stores on Amazon may not ship, but you can usually find one that does.

There seems to be plenty of Kia Rios being parted out on gumtree, and/or try your local wreckers

Just checked, in March 2017 I paid $90.74 aud for a pair of strut mounts, including shipping to Australia. They arrived the following week.

[Robalan]

May be cheaper to have someone ship you a set from here, they are all over Amazon.

Being in the AU, I am not sure which parts would be easy to find in comparison to here in the US. I found a place that sells proper springs in the AU Though.

Yeah I'd say it would be, amazon doesn't ship to Aus so I can't buy em from there, and I looked on eBay and that was where I got the price from


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[ryanprins13]

I could only find top hats for 160 aud which I though was a bit pricey


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Did you try ebay? They are like the equivilant of $80aud here for me, a lot of that was shipping from the usa to canada.

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[ryanprins13]

Ok, so it's possible to use the stock ones? No difference in bearing inner diameter? Just harder steering?


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Dunno, festy ones are narrower. I had to make spacers to use festivas struts in the rio mounts.

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[w4rkry]

I could only find top hats for 160 aud which I though was a bit pricey


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May be cheaper to have someone ship you a set from here, they are all over Amazon.

Being in the AU, I am not sure which parts would be easy to find in comparison to here in the US. I found a place that sells proper springs in the AU Though.