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So I have everything installed and ride height set. Today when I went to work on the same route I always take I have to go over some rail road tracks. So with the Strano/Bilstein setup it was a nice bump in the road nothing to crazy or harsh. With the AFCO coil-over setup I thought the rearend just dropped out from under the car. It was way harsh! After getting up under to check one last time and lock down the height adjustment nut screw, the drivers rear was still on full soft. So I set all 4 to 20 clicks (right in the middle) I was also noticing a bouncing in the rear over bumps. Does the rear need to be stiffened or softened to stop the bouncing?
So I have everything installed and ride height set. Today when I went to work on the same route I always take I have to go over some rail road tracks. So with the Strano/Bilstein setup it was a nice bump in the road nothing to crazy or harsh. With the AFCO coil-over setup I thought the rearend just dropped out from under the car. It was way harsh! After getting up under to check one last time and lock down the height adjustment nut screw, the drivers rear was still on full soft. So I set all 4 to 20 clicks (right in the middle) I was also noticing a bouncing in the rear over bumps. Does the rear need to be stiffened or softened to stop the bouncing?
Setting them to 20 clicks should make a big difference. (I think there are only 40 or 42 clicks total).
Second. How much clearance do you have between your axle and the bumpstops in the rear? And do you have an SS that has the aluminum spacers under the rear bumpstops? If so, pull those off (you don't need them). That will help too.
I raised the rear of my car a bit more than I expected in order to get the clearance I needed to the bumpstops to get the car to ride a little better. I think I have about 1 3/8" (between the bumpstops and the axle, but I'd have to measure to be sure). If the rear is much lower, it seemed to really cause a stiff ride in the rear. I kept raising the rear until it settled down and wasn't so rough.
So I have everything installed and ride height set. Today when I went to work on the same route I always take I have to go over some rail road tracks. So with the Strano/Bilstein setup it was a nice bump in the road nothing to crazy or harsh. With the AFCO coil-over setup I thought the rearend just dropped out from under the car. It was way harsh! After getting up under to check one last time and lock down the height adjustment nut screw, the drivers rear was still on full soft. So I set all 4 to 20 clicks (right in the middle) I was also noticing a bouncing in the rear over bumps. Does the rear need to be stiffened or softened to stop the bouncing?
Might want to give me a call on this one. Easier to discuss than via PM.
__________________ www.stranoparts.com --814-849-3450 Results matter. Talk is cheap. We are miles beyond the success anyone else has had with the 4th gens, and C5, C6, C7 Corvettes,
10 SCCA Solo National Championships, 2008 Driver of they Year, 2012 Driver of Eminence
13 SCCA Pro Solo Nationals Championships
2023 UMI King of the Mountain Champion
How long are these shocks from mount center to mount center when fully extended, front and rear?
To be honest I don't recall. Ramey probably does. They certainly aren't limiting droop travel much.
__________________ www.stranoparts.com --814-849-3450 Results matter. Talk is cheap. We are miles beyond the success anyone else has had with the 4th gens, and C5, C6, C7 Corvettes,
10 SCCA Solo National Championships, 2008 Driver of they Year, 2012 Driver of Eminence
13 SCCA Pro Solo Nationals Championships
2023 UMI King of the Mountain Champion
The k-member will not change and stay the same. We are working on revised boxed lower a-arms that will feature more caster with a relocated ball joint mount, double shear mounts for the front coilver shock (eliminates the t-bar) and swivel style sway bar end links. They will also feature an on-car adjustable rear rod to allow more caster if needed.
For the uppers we will be tweaking them slightly to gain more clearance and a little more caster. So stay tuned, everything is in the works.
Thanks!
Wow, so I just bolted on the old boxed lower A arms. That sucks. Did I get leftover stock or are the new ones not out yet?
It is tighter in there than you'd expect, but it all works quite well.
On a stock 10 bolt I'm at 1 3/4" between the bumpstop and the "pad" on the axle where the bump stop makes contact and I'm going to come up a bit more. Right now I'm at roughly 26.75" to the top of the rear fender. The front is a bit lower, but I'm going to move it up too. I've been measuring from the bottom of the threads on the coil over body to the spring perch. I'm at 3 15/16" from the bottom of the threads (the last thread) to the bottom of the spring perch on the rear shocks.
I have the bolt running from the LCA's in towards the center of the car. The stock swaybar clears in this configuration and the bolt head appears that it should hit the stock LCAs, but it has been ok so far. I'm swapping to UMI rear control arms and then I'll see if I can turn the bolt around and swap my 22mm rear bar back on.
The fronts were 4 1/4" from the bottom (last thread) on the front shock to the perch. That put me at right about 26" even to the front fender (top, center of the opening).
I started with the shocks at max lift just to see how far it can go. The fronts didn't drop at all and jumping in the door jam was like it was on jack stands still stiff in the front.
Fender height was 19" from fender to wheel center (add 12.125" to center for fender to ground, so 31.125").
First, I went down 8 threads got 18.625" to center.
Then, 20 threads down gave me 16.75" to center.
Next, 22.5 threads gave me 15.75" to center.
Last, 25 threads down has me at 15.5" center or 27.625" to ground. This is 3.25" from bottom thread to bottom of the perch (26 threads left below the perch, but not many more before the spring can just fall loose when lifted off the ground or if the car was jumped. I did see about an 1/8" sag after 4 days setting at the 22.5 threads down. Is there a lot more sag to come, so I will need to go up to 1" with the perch to stay above 26" at the fender later? Do I have different springs?
The rear max was 17" to center (29.125" ground) and 5 threads down got came to 16" at center. Going to go try and match the front right now or be just above it. Doesn't seam right to be so low in the front and almost at the top to match it in the rear. What am I doing wrong? I know my front alignment is about as screwed as it will ever be without a wreck. I'm trying to get it to a reasonable starting place to drive it on the street for this year and then I can' think about maybe lowering it if my exhaust allows once it's built.
Last edited by Crf450r420; 03-11-2017 at 08:05 PM.
I started with the shocks at max lift just to see how far it can go. The fronts didn't drop at all and jumping in the door jam was like it was on jack stands still stiff in the front.
Fender height was 19" from fender to wheel center (add 12.125" to center for fender to ground, so 31.125").
First, I went down 8 threads got 18.625" to center.
Then, 20 threads down gave me 16.75" to center.
Next, 22.5 threads gave me 15.75" to center.
Last, 25 threads down has me at 15.5" center or 27.625" to ground. This is 3.25" from bottom thread to bottom of the perch (26 threads left below the perch, but not many more before the spring can just fall loose when lifted off the ground or if the car was jumped. I did see about an 1/8" sag after 4 days setting at the 22.5 threads down. Is there a lot more sag to come, so I will need to go up to 1" with the perch to stay above 26" at the fender later? Do I have different springs?
The rear max was 17" to center (29.125" ground) and 5 threads down got came to 16" at center. Going to go try and match the front right now or be just above it. Doesn't seam right to be so low in the front and almost at the top to match it in the rear. What am I doing wrong? I know my front alignment is about as screwed as it will ever be without a wreck. I'm trying to get it to a reasonable starting place to drive it on the street for this year and then I can' think about maybe lowering it if my exhaust allows once it's built.
Don't worry if the spring is loose at full rebound. The car will NEVER unload the spring while driving, auto-xing or road racing or even drag racing. Our front springs are loose and it never causes a problem ever. If you run the car a bit higher than ours, the spring may not dangle.
The only thing I worry about is the on car adjustable I thought I read and more camber. Guess I'll see how they work for others later.
The coilovers, one, I had a buddy show up at my house one day with a Honda Accord on those cheap old adjustable ground control springs. I said something is wrong, he tried to argue, but when I looked the spring had almost cut the tire sidewall in half because it fell out of the perch. Now, I always think about this time of how it can go wrong.
My other cars has coilovers with a take up springs like the ones above, so they can never come loose and adjustment is only ever against that weak spring. Seems to be the right way to do things as the stress on threads when adjusting are almost nothing and it holds in place no matter what.
Two, the main question is why do I have my perch 1 inch lower than the guy I quoted and my ride height is 2 inches higher. I can't see the spring sagging 3 inches fast, so was there a spring change?
The boxed a-arms are currently being updated but not released yet, so not old stock. As Ramey mentioned they are subtle changes. We are working on a double shear mount to work with the UMI/Strano coilovers that eliminates the t-bar. But these need purchased as a kit to work together. The upper a-arms were released a few months ago and offer more inner fender clearance and travel.
We are working on adding the helper springs to our site as a purchase option as well. If you emailed Ramey he can get you a price on them. The loose front springs at certain heights is common with any coilover, as you see with the Bilstein set up. The Vikings do it too. Longer springs don't always allow the correct heights. The other option is zip tie the spring to the upper shock cup. There should be a hole in it, I feel dumb not remembering this but I can't remember if the fronts have a hole or not. If not you can drill a hole in the upper spring cup and zip tie the spring to it. That is what our car has instead of helpers.
We will get the helpers added to the site quickly. Hope that helps,
Ryan
Strano said the upper was close to being out, so I look forward to hearing how it works for him when he tests it.
I'll keep an eye out for the new lower and what it brings to the table along with how it reviews.
Cool, I'll certainly call and order the helper springs if I do go down where it gets loose at any time. Thanks for the info.
Any clue why the one guy's car is 2 inches lower than mine with the perch being an inch higher than mine? I wonder if my lower can be that far out of adjustment that it is causing this difference? I don't see it, but I certainly don't know enough to be sure.
I started out mapping things as much as I could because I couldn't get any info the help me set mine up. I hope to at least help some of the next people get them close to where they want to be when the bolt them on the car, but I guess that won't work if things are still changing.
On a car that sees the street/highway driving 3 days out the week then sees the track (drag strip) twice a month..... What shocks is the ultimate setup for a 6 speed all motor F body that has the power to run low 10s- high 9s on a stiff wall slick? Afco or Viking?
Strano said the upper was close to being out, so I look forward to hearing how it works for him when he tests it.
I'll keep an eye out for the new lower and what it brings to the table along with how it reviews.
Cool, I'll certainly call and order the helper springs if I do go down where it gets loose at any time. Thanks for the info.
Any clue why the one guy's car is 2 inches lower than mine with the perch being an inch higher than mine? I wonder if my lower can be that far out of adjustment that it is causing this difference? I don't see it, but I certainly don't know enough to be sure.
I started out mapping things as much as I could because I couldn't get any info the help me set mine up. I hope to at least help some of the next people get them close to where they want to be when the bolt them on the car, but I guess that won't work if things are still changing.
I'm not 100% sure on the height, I know you posted measurements and I am sure you posted where you took them from. I guess it depends on wheel size too. The helper springs will cure the loose spring. Or the zip tie method or both.
Setting up is tough, every customer has a different height they desire as well as a different ride. Halfway everywhere is a good start I think but we will see if we can tune the instructions up. Sometimes we hate adding too much because then they don't get read.
I know wheel size is a factor and that is the reason my main measurements remove the wheel from being a factor by measuring fender to hub center over the fender to ground. Either way there is a huge difference when my front spring perch is 1" lower than someone and the fender is 2" higher. Pretty sure the other guy would need to be on 13" one hundred spoke Dayton wheels to have the suspension be the same. I doubt he is racing on such a wheel, LOL.
The only thing I worry about is the on car adjustable I thought I read and more camber. Guess I'll see how they work for others later.
The coilovers, one, I had a buddy show up at my house one day with a Honda Accord on those cheap old adjustable ground control springs. I said something is wrong, he tried to argue, but when I looked the spring had almost cut the tire sidewall in half because it fell out of the perch. Now, I always think about this time of how it can go wrong.
My other cars has coilovers with a take up springs like the ones above, so they can never come loose and adjustment is only ever against that weak spring. Seems to be the right way to do things as the stress on threads when adjusting are almost nothing and it holds in place no matter what.
That lower spring would be stronger than you think If the lower spring does not become solid...then it's a dual rate system. At which point that smaller spring does more than simply "keeping the larger spring in place when making adjustments". I have a similar looking spring with oval wire and it's a damn stiff little guy!
09-16-2016, 04:17 PM
If the lower spring does not become solid...then it's a dual rate system. At which point that smaller spring does more than simply "keeping the larger spring in place when making adjustments". I have a similar looking spring with oval wire and it's a damn stiff little guy!