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Old Feb 21, 2012, 11:24 AM
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custom coilovers

I know people have thought about doing this but it seems like none have actually attempted it. Well I have done it. Look on my blog to see how and what I have done. I may just end up posting it, but w/ my given time it may take some time, if you could be as so kind to look at it and let me know what you think.

thanks
Old Feb 21, 2012, 01:47 PM
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Originally Posted by DaFastOne
I know people have thought about doing this but it seems like none have actually attempted it. Well I have done it. Look on my blog to see how and what I have done. I may just end up posting it, but w/ my given time it may take some time, if you could be as so kind to look at it and let me know what you think.

thanks
This is no different than Ground Control Coil overs and I have used them on other cars and it never rides properly. A TRUE coilover will not decrease the travel as you lower the car, whereas this set up will decrease your strut's travel as you lower your car which does nothing to help the ride out and will bottom out easy if lowered to much.

You are better of just going with springs on the OEM struts than this or a high end coilover
Old Feb 21, 2012, 02:06 PM
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^I hate you out of jealousy for your garage
Old Feb 21, 2012, 02:12 PM
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ur absolutely right about lowering you will loose travel, but I had no intention in that.

I dont like the lowering springs that are current available, they all seem too low. I know my pic shows the car lowered, but that was just an initial picture and not the height its riding on.

Also majority of the affordable coilover on the market are just junk when it comes to dampening.

By converting to coilover im aslo able to corner weigh the car. and can change rates to help improve the handling aspect I need. Most likely that will probably mean a revalve.
Old Feb 21, 2012, 08:36 PM
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Originally Posted by Freebs
This is no different than Ground Control Coil overs and I have used them on other cars and it never rides properly. A TRUE coilover will not decrease the travel as you lower the car, whereas this set up will decrease your strut's travel as you lower your car which does nothing to help the ride out and will bottom out easy if lowered to much.

You are better of just going with springs on the OEM struts than this or a high end coilover
True high end coilovers like JRZ, Moton, AST, KW competition, etc. etc. etc. are not dual height adjustable like so many people crave since that simply is a marketing feature as much as it is anything else. The high quality motorsports level coilovers are simply built to the right length and you generally end up with more a lot more stroke than dual height adjustable coilovers.

In this case since the shock body is the same as stock, it's true you wouldn't be able to lower the car really low, but it's a decent quality set-up for the money. Good work. I'd highly recommend having the Bilsteins revalved to match whatever spring rates were chosen as they're a little soft stock.

- Andrew
Old Feb 21, 2012, 11:04 PM
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do you by any chance know if bilstein can shorten the dampers when they revalve them to match the lowered ride height? if they can would this be an expensive affair?
Old Feb 21, 2012, 11:22 PM
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Originally Posted by warmmilk
^I hate you out of jealousy for your garage
haha thanks.... If you google "The Dream team... 3,000hp..." you will find a little bit more info..


Originally Posted by GTWORX.com
True high end coilovers like JRZ, Moton, AST, KW competition, etc. etc. etc. are not dual height adjustable like so many people crave since that simply is a marketing feature as much as it is anything else. The high quality motorsports level coilovers are simply built to the right length and you generally end up with more a lot more stroke than dual height adjustable coilovers.

In this case since the shock body is the same as stock, it's true you wouldn't be able to lower the car really low, but it's a decent quality set-up for the money. Good work. I'd highly recommend having the Bilsteins revalved to match whatever spring rates were chosen as they're a little soft stock.

- Andrew
I took a look at some pictures of the JRZ and AST coil-overs for the Evo X and I never even noticed you could only lower it by threading down the lower collar essentially decreasing travel. I don't get why they would do this unless they are really not meant for lowering the car at all and just there for adjusting the pre-load on the spring? The valving would be all thrown off if you took a JRZ coil-over and dropped the car say 2" would it not?

I look at the Ohlins coil-overs and they allow you to thread the strut into the mounting point (sorry its 12:30am and I can't think of the name right now hahah) which means you could drop the car 2" (or how ever much you can thread down into it) and still retain the exact same travel you would at stock ride height. This to me seams like a much better setup for someone looking to lower their car with coil-overs.


Old Feb 22, 2012, 07:37 AM
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^ b/c they want to meet European standards TUV testing. TUV testing doesn't allow the bottom perch to be adjustable and doesn't pass their safety standards
Old Feb 22, 2012, 07:53 AM
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^ Not necessarily....JRZ doesn't give a crap about TUV standards on their motorsport 4 ways. I think that may be true for the Bilstein PSS9 and KW V3 type coilovers though.

These types of coilovers are like a dual height adjustable coilover that is already adjusted down. They generally have a lot more total travel, so you often end up with just as much or more bump travel plus you get some droop travel from the helper springs, which the dual height adjustable coilovers lack.

In theory there's nothing wrong with a dual height adjustable coilover but in practice I see it more as a manufacturing advantage that's marketed really well. Megans for example use the same exact shock insert for Impreza, Legacy, EVO (possibly more) with just different lower mounts threaded on the body. Great way to mass produce a ton of shocks for very little money but you're not getting something that's really well thought out for your car. The problem is you almost always see them with so little total travel that even with the dual height advantage they do not come out ahead of say a KW or an AST at most drops. If you're completely slamming the car, then they may have an advantage.

Ohlins R&T are the only dual height adjustable coilovers I really like because they do have some travel (and the awesome Ohlins valving).

- Andrew
Old Feb 22, 2012, 10:04 AM
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Originally Posted by GTWORX.com
^ Not necessarily....JRZ doesn't give a crap about TUV standards on their motorsport 4 ways. I think that may be true for the Bilstein PSS9 and KW V3 type coilovers though.

These types of coilovers are like a dual height adjustable coilover that is already adjusted down. They generally have a lot more total travel, so you often end up with just as much or more bump travel plus you get some droop travel from the helper springs, which the dual height adjustable coilovers lack.

In theory there's nothing wrong with a dual height adjustable coilover but in practice I see it more as a manufacturing advantage that's marketed really well. Megans for example use the same exact shock insert for Impreza, Legacy, EVO (possibly more) with just different lower mounts threaded on the body. Great way to mass produce a ton of shocks for very little money but you're not getting something that's really well thought out for your car. The problem is you almost always see them with so little total travel that even with the dual height advantage they do not come out ahead of say a KW or an AST at most drops. If you're completely slamming the car, then they may have an advantage.

Ohlins R&T are the only dual height adjustable coilovers I really like because they do have some travel (and the awesome Ohlins valving).

- Andrew
Man, you learn something new everyday . Thanks for that Andrew. I will defiantly be looking at coil-overs differently now if/when the time comes to purchasing them. For now my SWIFT Spec R's and re-valved Bilsteins will have to do
Old Feb 22, 2012, 11:11 AM
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No problem! Glad to help. And yeah...damn nice garage.

- Andrew
Old Feb 22, 2012, 11:23 AM
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Very cool and instructive! What kind of threaded sleeves did you get, and which diameter?

Originally Posted by DaFastOne
I know people have thought about doing this but it seems like none have actually attempted it. Well I have done it. Look on my blog to see how and what I have done. I may just end up posting it, but w/ my given time it may take some time, if you could be as so kind to look at it and let me know what you think.

thanks
Old Feb 22, 2012, 12:34 PM
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you should include a parts list and such. what kind of springs did u use?
Old Feb 22, 2012, 12:53 PM
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Given the color, you can be 99% sure those are HyperCos.
Old Feb 22, 2012, 03:55 PM
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Springs are hypercoils. The sleeves are DSS exclusive, its a snug fit and a very nice fit. DSS is hoping to have these available for the general public to purchase in the near future. There are some things that have come up and im currently working out all the bugs for them.


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