Some Shock and Strut Thoughts
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I have a friend with an ae86 running mid 80s camaro shocks in the rear. Apparently they bolted right on and are nice and stiff (they're just monroes). Mind you he is dropped well over 3 inchs so he wanted a shorter shock.
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Problem there is that the Camaro shocks are already almost 3" shorter extended than the ae86 shocks, which are already 2 1/4" shorter than the mk2. Thats a total of over 5 inches. I don't think its even possible to lower our cars that much.
Christian
Christian
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Ray,
Yeah, would be good to get together and share some ideas and specs.
Christian is an excellent resource for more than I can imagine.
Not sure when the next autox locally that I can attend, but I live in Fremont and we can always meet at my house, or a shop if you have access.
Appreciate all you work.
Don L.
Yeah, would be good to get together and share some ideas and specs.
Christian is an excellent resource for more than I can imagine.
Not sure when the next autox locally that I can attend, but I live in Fremont and we can always meet at my house, or a shop if you have access.
Appreciate all you work.
Don L.
anyone tried standard AE86 shocks in the rear on a lowered car? btw the front damper inserts on the AE86 have some play in them. When I installed Tokico HTS there was a few degrees of play before I installed the strut cap. I was planning on tryin to see if I could adapted some to work with the MA60 and find a good rear shock.
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Don L.Don L. said:
I have tried to use a monroe set and it is a little to soft still then went with the KYB Gas-a-Just and to my excitement it is good for high spirited driving while in drag racing it is not acceptable due to to hard of a shock, then I got some gas-matics and that thing is also too soft and from the way i look at my car is looks like it has blown shocks and shoot spring. I went and ask my friend who works a t a performance shop and we looked for some shocks and he went and called CompEng and they said they have one for the 85 supra but when i checked their site is was for the MK3... well they have some shoks for the older celica and corolla but it was 2 inch shorter from our MK2 rear shocks... then i we were looking at QA1 but they have one that is about 1 inch shorter but my friend haven't have a chance to order for fitting on the car...
It would be really nice to see and compare shocks for our cars... I would like to meet up with you guys but I am on the other side of the country. Just LMK know what comes up and I will see if I can some source some other shocks for our car for better handling.
Jay
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Jay,
good point about some shocks make the car look lower in rear. The Ranchos I just put on are not gas pressured, but the Konis I took off were low gas pressured. The rear of my car seems to have settled almost 1/2" lower now. I'm going to shim the rear higher by using some poly hose from hardward store on top and bottom coils of my rear springs. This is my ghetto way of fine tuning the height
Don L.
(wishing the the spendy double adjustable shocks)
good point about some shocks make the car look lower in rear. The Ranchos I just put on are not gas pressured, but the Konis I took off were low gas pressured. The rear of my car seems to have settled almost 1/2" lower now. I'm going to shim the rear higher by using some poly hose from hardward store on top and bottom coils of my rear springs. This is my ghetto way of fine tuning the height
Don L.
(wishing the the spendy double adjustable shocks)
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Don L.
BTW... the shocks I have now (gas matics)yeah I know it the cheap ones... but I am still in the process of getting the right shocks for the rear... well being too soft makes the car hit the bump stop on hard lauch out of the corner and also some bottoming out when shifting to second gear.
Jay
P.S. I have about two sets of rubber spacers from the new toyota camry when they come from Japan to the dealer. I might pop it back in and see if this will help some. Or if you want to try it I can send you a set for the rear.... It is actually a rubber spacer used for the spring so that it won't sag during shipping across the pacific
BTW... the shocks I have now (gas matics)yeah I know it the cheap ones... but I am still in the process of getting the right shocks for the rear... well being too soft makes the car hit the bump stop on hard lauch out of the corner and also some bottoming out when shifting to second gear.
Jay
P.S. I have about two sets of rubber spacers from the new toyota camry when they come from Japan to the dealer. I might pop it back in and see if this will help some. Or if you want to try it I can send you a set for the rear.... It is actually a rubber spacer used for the spring so that it won't sag during shipping across the pacific
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Jay,
Thanks, I'll try a few different things to raise the rear 1/2" first, then think about bump stops. I didn't want bump stops originally with the konis because I was concerned about the sudden increase in shock resistance when the bump stop is contacted. My springs in rear are fairly stiff, maybe good enough.
Don L.
Thanks, I'll try a few different things to raise the rear 1/2" first, then think about bump stops. I didn't want bump stops originally with the konis because I was concerned about the sudden increase in shock resistance when the bump stop is contacted. My springs in rear are fairly stiff, maybe good enough.
Don L.
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Don L.
How was the ride on the koni's BTW. Are they adj. and how much is it?? I mean hard launching... how much squat did you get on the koni's??
Jay
How was the ride on the koni's BTW. Are they adj. and how much is it?? I mean hard launching... how much squat did you get on the koni's??
Jay
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Jay,
The yellow koni sports I've run for the past 3+ years. Single adjustable for rebound only, but the compression setting is stiffer than the Ranchos I just got. My rear springs are approx 300 lbs, so the ride is pretty firm anyway, but with the Konis or Ranchos the ride is fine, unless I hit a pretty big bump at freeway speeds. Rear springs are non-progressive and is prob the reason I get no squat on acceleration. The konis definitely helped with that too. Everyone keeps saying the stock rear springs are best for drag racing, and I don't dispute that. At stock height the rear camber is better, and you get more squat. I don't drag race so I prefer my car not to shift lots of weight front to back on take offs.
My guess is that with stock springs in rear, or even the Eibachs, the Konis will be ok for launching but still a bit too stiff. That's just a wild guess on my part though. Think about the Ranchos. Made for rear of a Isuzu Trooper. Compression is softer than I would have guessed. The rebound adjusts till you really can't extend the shock. Set full soft, it prob would give a great ride.
Don L.
The yellow koni sports I've run for the past 3+ years. Single adjustable for rebound only, but the compression setting is stiffer than the Ranchos I just got. My rear springs are approx 300 lbs, so the ride is pretty firm anyway, but with the Konis or Ranchos the ride is fine, unless I hit a pretty big bump at freeway speeds. Rear springs are non-progressive and is prob the reason I get no squat on acceleration. The konis definitely helped with that too. Everyone keeps saying the stock rear springs are best for drag racing, and I don't dispute that. At stock height the rear camber is better, and you get more squat. I don't drag race so I prefer my car not to shift lots of weight front to back on take offs.
My guess is that with stock springs in rear, or even the Eibachs, the Konis will be ok for launching but still a bit too stiff. That's just a wild guess on my part though. Think about the Ranchos. Made for rear of a Isuzu Trooper. Compression is softer than I would have guessed. The rebound adjusts till you really can't extend the shock. Set full soft, it prob would give a great ride.
Don L.
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Don L.
Well I will just have to see about the ranchos when I get the chance to order it from Summit. By then I will just have to settle with what I got.
So what kind of springs are you running anyway and are you still in factory spec ride height. And do you know what the stock spring rate is...LMK... I still what stock ride height for I am running tall DOT slicks on my car 26"... and with the stock springs it is about .25-.5" gap. I will try this week end or so the rubber hose on the spring to raise it up a little biut when I get to the track.
Isn't there is somebody who is making a rubber spacer for the bottom/top or the spring on the rear.... I am not sure who it is, but pretty sure it was on the old topics... I just cannot find that topic. Do you have any idea who might it be???
Jay
Well I will just have to see about the ranchos when I get the chance to order it from Summit. By then I will just have to settle with what I got.
So what kind of springs are you running anyway and are you still in factory spec ride height. And do you know what the stock spring rate is...LMK... I still what stock ride height for I am running tall DOT slicks on my car 26"... and with the stock springs it is about .25-.5" gap. I will try this week end or so the rubber hose on the spring to raise it up a little biut when I get to the track.
Isn't there is somebody who is making a rubber spacer for the bottom/top or the spring on the rear.... I am not sure who it is, but pretty sure it was on the old topics... I just cannot find that topic. Do you have any idea who might it be???
Jay
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well, i agree wit hthe stock height fro drag racing, personally id like a 1/2-1" higher hight and a stiffer then stock spring at the track. when the tires hook, the rear end drops alot. with stock springs i was sitting on the bumpstops for over 1/8th mile and spinning as a result. personally, for the best compromise i would like stock rear height with double the stock spring pressure, maybe more when i up the power more. a 5m stock might be ok but a highly modded 7m it just wont do at all.
william
william
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oh, and jim king is the one working on the spacers for the rear springs.
william
william
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I'm not sure of the stock spring rates, but I think Eibachs are approx
175 lbs/in in rears and 250 lbs in front. Not positive, and not sure where to look it up, but that's just my estimate. Makes sense if you have a built motor, drag slicks, you car would squat in rear much more than mine (little ole built 5mge). I'll defer the drag race rear susp tips to others.
Also, if you are going to try the hose on the coil spring ends to raise the rear of the car, I'd suggest not the rubber hose, but the clear plastic stuff. Wears a bit longer but still after 2 years need replacing. At least its cheap.
Don L.
175 lbs/in in rears and 250 lbs in front. Not positive, and not sure where to look it up, but that's just my estimate. Makes sense if you have a built motor, drag slicks, you car would squat in rear much more than mine (little ole built 5mge). I'll defer the drag race rear susp tips to others.
Also, if you are going to try the hose on the coil spring ends to raise the rear of the car, I'd suggest not the rubber hose, but the clear plastic stuff. Wears a bit longer but still after 2 years need replacing. At least its cheap.
Don L.
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has anyone tried some of the spring spacers on the market? My local parts store has several on the shelf. The bottom of our springs might be hard to find a match for but some of these might fit the tops
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well, i put some 1in metal spacers in my rear springs. they are the twist in kind. cost like $6. i put those in the day i went to the 1/8th mile track and as dave can attest i got some serious traction off the line. it hooked hard, then the rear tires broke loose and when they grabbed again "BOOM". the spacers raised the rear of the car noticeably and it seemed to increase the spring pressure. it even started cornering better right off the bat. heres a link to daves post about my launch.
http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/mk2/message/95200
william
http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/mk2/message/95200
william
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Yes, sometime this summer, I will be investigating the mfg rubber spring spacers.
Perfect for Eibach owners who have that permanent squat.
Basically, the same style as stock, but 3/4" to 1" longer.
I made a prototype and installed it on top of the stock cushion
to compensate for the Eibach's drop.
It works, though a bit squeaky, as it's two pieces of rubber.
The main issue is I need to have a mold made. Preferably aluminum
as silicone molds are too much trial and error.
I need to find a shop that can make these at a reasonable price,
which is a bit of a challenge for a one-off piece.
The same applies to the console foam replacement. The primary delay as well.
Perfect for Eibach owners who have that permanent squat.
Basically, the same style as stock, but 3/4" to 1" longer.
I made a prototype and installed it on top of the stock cushion
to compensate for the Eibach's drop.
It works, though a bit squeaky, as it's two pieces of rubber.
The main issue is I need to have a mold made. Preferably aluminum
as silicone molds are too much trial and error.
I need to find a shop that can make these at a reasonable price,
which is a bit of a challenge for a one-off piece.
The same applies to the console foam replacement. The primary delay as well.
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