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Skeeter update thread #5!!
Skeeter update thread #5!! My last update thread is HERE. It ended with my B6 install... that thread was in Dec of 07, so my next update thread is more than over due!
I. Coilovers
II. Aspire Swaybar
III. Custom header-back exhaust
IV. Misc
V. Non-festiva work
VI. Future plans!
I. Coilovers
I’ve a few ppl ask about my coilover setup, I may take this little bit of info here and try to do a more informative write-up if folks are interested. I used KYB GR2’s on all four corners, I got cheap coilover body setups from e-bay ($25, they came with springs, I didn’t care about the springs), and then 10” 150/125lb springs from South West Speed (also e-bay). This gives a 25% increase in spring rate and a 15% increase in strut dampening... a little stiffer strut would be nice but it worked out pretty well and doesn’t feel under damped. When looking for coilover bodies on e-bay I was mostly looking from something that had aluminum top hats, because a lot of the cheap e-bay kits have rubber/plastic top hats that I can’t imagine ever using!
Some of the goods (Note: these are the springs I didn’t use that came with the bodies):
Coilover bodies and adjustors installed on rear strut.
Old vs new:
The way the top of the coilover will mount to the rear strut mount. No modifications required for the rear.
Rear installed:
In the front I had to grind the top hat out a bit so that it would fit over the top of the strut. In this pic the top one has been adjusted, the bottom one hasn’t been ground out yet.
Front assembled:
Front installed:
Finished:
The above pic is with both the front and the back lowered all the way. It dropped it almost 1.5” in the front, and actually raised the back about 1”. But as you probably noticed, I didn’t remove the spring perches! When I remove the spring perches I should be able to go about 2” lower (maybe a little more), on both ends, which is way more than enough for me, I don’t want it to be real low because I live out in the sticks and bottom out even with it like that sometimes. Also, depending on what you want, you may want to go with a different length or different rate of spring. That’s the beauty of coilvoers, at $30 a piece playing with spring rates/lengths isn’t real expensive!
I can say that for my somewhat aggressive style of daily driving this combo has been amazing! It is comfortable enough for long hwy rides and bumpy roads, and yet makes the car handle so much better. Seems like a good compromise to me, but it may not be exactly what your looking for, so do some research first!
II. Aspire Swaybar
A while ago I did some measurements showing that contrary to what a lot of people said, the aspire front swaybar should fit (thread here). A few people then actually did it, and I also finally got around to doing it! One of the main reasons I didn’t do it before is b/c I had just gotten polly bushings for my stock swaybar, but I decided it was time to switch them out, and man, what a difference!! The swap process is straight forward, the only problem I really ran into was trying to get it to fit past the front trany mount. It took some work to get everything lined up, and the swaybar does contact the front trany mount, but my car has been in a few front end accidents so that may have caused some of the problems. I’m working on making a front trany mount with more clearance for the bar and also filled with urethane.
You can see where it runs over the top of the xmember, that’s right where it contacts the front trany mount. Also... the coolant is because I had just pulled my radiator out at that point, lol.
{{apparently I'm extremely long winded, my post was too long, contunued in the next post}}
I. Coilovers
II. Aspire Swaybar
III. Custom header-back exhaust
IV. Misc
V. Non-festiva work
VI. Future plans!
I. Coilovers
I’ve a few ppl ask about my coilover setup, I may take this little bit of info here and try to do a more informative write-up if folks are interested. I used KYB GR2’s on all four corners, I got cheap coilover body setups from e-bay ($25, they came with springs, I didn’t care about the springs), and then 10” 150/125lb springs from South West Speed (also e-bay). This gives a 25% increase in spring rate and a 15% increase in strut dampening... a little stiffer strut would be nice but it worked out pretty well and doesn’t feel under damped. When looking for coilover bodies on e-bay I was mostly looking from something that had aluminum top hats, because a lot of the cheap e-bay kits have rubber/plastic top hats that I can’t imagine ever using!
Some of the goods (Note: these are the springs I didn’t use that came with the bodies):
Coilover bodies and adjustors installed on rear strut.
Old vs new:
The way the top of the coilover will mount to the rear strut mount. No modifications required for the rear.
Rear installed:
In the front I had to grind the top hat out a bit so that it would fit over the top of the strut. In this pic the top one has been adjusted, the bottom one hasn’t been ground out yet.
Front assembled:
Front installed:
Finished:
The above pic is with both the front and the back lowered all the way. It dropped it almost 1.5” in the front, and actually raised the back about 1”. But as you probably noticed, I didn’t remove the spring perches! When I remove the spring perches I should be able to go about 2” lower (maybe a little more), on both ends, which is way more than enough for me, I don’t want it to be real low because I live out in the sticks and bottom out even with it like that sometimes. Also, depending on what you want, you may want to go with a different length or different rate of spring. That’s the beauty of coilvoers, at $30 a piece playing with spring rates/lengths isn’t real expensive!
I can say that for my somewhat aggressive style of daily driving this combo has been amazing! It is comfortable enough for long hwy rides and bumpy roads, and yet makes the car handle so much better. Seems like a good compromise to me, but it may not be exactly what your looking for, so do some research first!
II. Aspire Swaybar
A while ago I did some measurements showing that contrary to what a lot of people said, the aspire front swaybar should fit (thread here). A few people then actually did it, and I also finally got around to doing it! One of the main reasons I didn’t do it before is b/c I had just gotten polly bushings for my stock swaybar, but I decided it was time to switch them out, and man, what a difference!! The swap process is straight forward, the only problem I really ran into was trying to get it to fit past the front trany mount. It took some work to get everything lined up, and the swaybar does contact the front trany mount, but my car has been in a few front end accidents so that may have caused some of the problems. I’m working on making a front trany mount with more clearance for the bar and also filled with urethane.
You can see where it runs over the top of the xmember, that’s right where it contacts the front trany mount. Also... the coolant is because I had just pulled my radiator out at that point, lol.
{{apparently I'm extremely long winded, my post was too long, contunued in the next post}}
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