I've had my car on BMR springs and used the lower perch on my Koni's. Looks and feels great but I have a few questions. I apologize for the long windiness.

1 - How are you supposed to get the snap ring off of the upper and move it to the lower? I pried it off and pushed it back on to the lower but the ring was clearly stretched out a bit. I even gave it some gentle pressure in a vise to get it to close back up but I had to stretch enough while installing it that once it was on, it was slightly loose. Not falling off loose, but it took awhile and a few tries to make sure that I got the ring to sit correctly while reassembling. - Forgive me, it's been a couple of years - there is a cup that goes over the ring and THAT is what is keeping the ring in place rather than having the ring have a nice, tight snap onto the shock itself. Is this making sense? I'm concerned that all of that force is sitting on that thin litle ring and that the ring is only 75% in the groove. Is there a better way of getting it on the lower perch? I don't mind buying a new ring and taking things apart.

2 - Durability. While searching for help with the above I came across some threads that mentioned that the shock was not designed to be used in conjunction with lowering springs and the lower perch. That performance and durability would suffer. I don't recall seeing anything about this when I did my research before purchasing the setup. I find it hard to believe that a half of an inch can make such a difference but I'd like some guidance here.

3 - Shock mount/shock tower mod. There seems to be a couple of things that people do to get the correct travel back related to the above. Is this something that I need to worry about?

Overall the car looks and feels great but I am concerned that that little ring is gonna snap off one day while I'm going 100mph and kill me. And that the most expensive shocks that I have ever purchased are being used and abused.

 

Twisting the ring obviously compromised its tension, but I don't know if there's a way to quantify risk of failure. My thought is that the spring force is going to hold it in the groove and it won't go anywhere. But this is a peace of mind issue. I'd like to hear Sam Strano's input on it.

I had the same thought about everything riding on that flimsy ring but of course it's not an issue in as-new condition.

Your lowering springs on the lower perch are fine. I have a friend with that setup and it's all good.

 

I appreciate the feedback. I've had to just go on the assumption that, as you said, the spring force will hold it where it needs to be. Sam's input would obviously be appreciated as well, but I'm not running his springs so I don't know how much interest I can expect him to have. (My decision to go with BMR was because they were offering 25% off the Koni's and giving the springs away for free with a purchase of four. I know that Sam's springs are great.)

Did I do something wrong when transferring the ring to the lower perch because the ring was obviously compromised.

Car seems fantastic how it is, just wondering if I'm hurting the shocks or leaving something on the table.

Thanks for reading my novel RevGTO.

 

Without looking at it, it's hard to say for sure, but most likely all of that spring pressure will hold the ring in the groove, and you'll be fine.

That said, you are not supposed to take the ring off the shock to switch grooves. I can't remember if I used my fingers or needle nose pliers, but you grab the end of the ring and pull out a little bit to jump it onto the lower groove. Once that is started, it is easy to walk it the rest of the way around until the entire ring is in the lower groove.

I have had mine on the lower setting for several years now as a daily driver, as the upper perch had the nose of my car higher than the rear even without removing the rubber donuts off the rear springs. The only issues I have had are several failed parts-store outer tie-rods, and one MOOG one that ripped the boot. I have the whole front end and motor out of the car at the moment, and I discovered that one side no longer has full-range adjustability anymore (maybe 70%) but it is set where I want anyway, so I will leave it. If it gets worse, I can always use the lifetime warranty to get them fixed.

 

Thanks for your feedback as well.

 

Don't beat yourself up about it. The Koni's ship with next to nothing when it comes to instructions. I'm sure you could call them and ask for a couple of new rings if it really bothers you. They could mail them in an envelope for the cost of postage stamp. I don't know how you would get them on, but I would assume you would remove the dust boot and slide them down from the top.

I had never heard a reason for the rumored, "Don't use the lower perch" rule. This might make sense, as the piston only has so much travel available, and it has to work much harder to dampen as the travel is reduced. Pressure is also higher the more things are compressed. However, these aren't soft 2.0" Eibach Sportlines, they are heavy-rate Stranos. And again, I will cite the lack of included instructions for the warranty. If lowering was not covered, it should have been stipulated when purchasing.

As far as the specifics of my loss of adjustablility, it's pretty simple: I can no longer turn the adjuster through as many sweeps on one side. I think they were maybe 7 originally, and now one side will only do 5. Something like that. It still is in the zone where I originally set it to after initial testing though, so it is not preventing me from doing anything.