1sicklsx

iTrader: (1)

What's the benifit of going to a coilover setup? And what drawbacks would there be?

mitchntx

iTrader: (14)

Pros:

Almost infintie choices of spring rates and ride heights
Use of common, off the shelf components
A rate change costs about $100 for new springs and there are used springs for sale all over the place for cheap.

Cons:

Rear coil-over mounting is iffy IMHO. The F-Car unibody just isn't reinforced for long-term use.

I've never heard of a failure, but all the weight and loading is concentrated to a localized point that was intended for a shock only. Again, MHO


I run a "hybrid" system ... adjustable coil-overs up front (threaded collars and a 2.5" spring) and an aftermarket Pigtail spring in the rear. Pigtail springs come in a wide variety of rates and a couple different free lengths. Adjusting ride height is not as precise, but can be done.

1sicklsx

iTrader: (1)

so what ur sayin is I shouldn't spend the extra money on a coilover setup?

SOMSS

iTrader: (1)

No he's not saying that. He's say he isn't sure of the longevity of a true coil over in the rear. I have Ground Control coil overs and have used them for 5 years without incident. My rear shocks are not coil overs, the springs have a threaded adjuster for the rear springs for hight adjustment.

mitchntx

iTrader: (14)

Exactly.

You can build your own front coil-over kit easy enough for $50 excluding the spring and shock.

SOMSS ... that threaded adjuster is located on the axle, correct? If so, how? Welded?

Uses a standard 5.5" spring?

Do you ever inspect the axle mounted spring perch?

Under race conditions, we've been seeing a lot of cracked PHB mounts on the axle side.

ShortChevy

iTrader: (21)

Anyone ever seen someone fab a plate to bolt into the top spring pocket? I have Penske 7500's in the front and would like to put the same in the rear. I was thinking of fabbing a plate with two mounting tabs facing down to bolt and kind of sandwhich into the top mount. Then a couple of mounting tabs welded to the top side of the axle and hopefully come up with a C/O setup all around. What do you think Mitch?

BowTieDrifter

i used to run the same kind of adjustable spring perches as SOMSS on my old corolla GTS. worked like a champ.
forgot the brand name but it was a circle track suspension company. i think the whole setup cost me $75 w/o springs.

similar to this
http://www.afabcorp.com/AFCO_Dynatec...ct_coil-access

i would say you could even replace the bottom spring prech on the axle with these. rather permanent, but i think it would be ideal.

mitchntx

iTrader: (14)

At the spring mount? You would have to get rid of the big dimple where the spring seats.

Sandwiching plates adds strength, but it's still surrounded by thin sheet metal at the perimeter. That'll be the point of failure ... if it does. You would be distributing load and there is double/triple thicknesses at places ...

You would also need to orient the shock eyes so that as the rear end moved up and down, it will allow the mounts to freely articulate.

But all that considered, that's going to be a little bitty shock ... maybe 8 or so inches at full droop. Do they make Penkes that small for the weight of the F-Car?

Sounds like an aweful lot of effort for very little gain.


There rear spring cups are found at places like this ...

http://www.daymotorsports.com/produc...SPRING-SPACERS

Here are the shock mounts ...

http://www.daymotorsports.com/produc...N_SHOCK_MOUNTS


Here are the front coil over sleeves for just about any shock diameter ...

http://www.daymotorsports.com/shop/S...Coil-Over-Kits