Coilover kits

[samurai]

Im thinking of buying a front coil over kit for my mex,i have the 2.8i struts already.

 

If i get this kit what springs would i need as you can buy different lb rates and lengths...

 

I kinda like the stiffness of the 2.8i springs even tho ive not had my car on the road yet to test them..

 

What length to?

 

I want to lower the car at least by -1 inch and be able to go to -4 inch

[herb capri]

mate im interested on doing the same but does anyone know what is good and fair priced ,or sh*te and a rip off ,as id like to see feedback from those who tried them

mike

[samurai]

I see at Peter Lloyd the kits are 70 pounds and 20 pounds for eash spring.

 

Im adding to the group buy lol my list is getting longer everyday!

 

I need more people yet before i ask for discount.

 

Anyone else interested in Peter Lloyd group buy?

[Retro-gone.]

i got mine from rsgraeme, he was the cheapest and a really helpfull guy, he will advise you..

[dyt397c]

i just got mine today off the `bay. £32 the pair. cheapest i found but look good quality aswell

[samurai]

Whaaaattt

 

i go look now

 

Is there a link?

[samurai]

Like these?

 

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/COIL-OVER-SPRING- ... m153.l1262

[dyt397c]

same as mate but the top`s are anodised blue. i`ll log into e-bay now and let you know who i got them off

[dyt397c]

sellers shop is - motorsport at Compbrake

[livewire7116]

I got kit from compbrake at the time they were about £14 a side, but the threaded tube isnt that long compared to some others, i managed to borrow pair of springs which were to long and ended up getting some 250x8 inch length, bit harsh for road use but its used for motorsport i can compromise. Thing is you can have a short tube and fit it higher up the strut with short spring or vice versa, very much a grey area unless you copy someone elses set up using same parts

[samurai]

I was also thinking the tubes look short...i think i would prefer longer ones so i can play around more

[DAZZA]

ive got some 2.8's to go on mine I want to convert, so any additional on inserts would be handy too

[stickerboy]

I know i'm going to the other end of the scale but I've just sent my old capri legs off and Gaz are converting them, fitting new inserts, new springs, top mounts and finishing them in black zinc for £470.

Some may say it's a rip off but I don't think that's bad after seeing what some people are asking for them.

[Retromotorsport]

if you want to go -4" on the drop you'll need shortened legs. Sorta stops the idea of using a kit dont it.

 

Personally, i could make a lot of money doing conversions, piss easy to do and you can charge a lot, but i dont, i tell my customers to get the crappiest set of 2.8 legs they can find and ship them to GAZ for them to do them to my spec.

 

I used to do them when LEDA where charging the earth, but for comp cars, LEDA got the job, and when Dave left LEDA i followed him to GAZ.

 

People spend fortunes on the cars trying to get them quicker and quicker, and the truth is, its the tyres and suspension that make a quick car, not the engine.

Ive been in cars with converted legs, slammed to the ground and running way to heavy springs... reason, the legs body crashes into the top-mount because they are too long for the ride height, so they fitted 400lb springs.. thats a spring for Thruxton !!! not the high street. The cars understeer, skit around on bumps and you can tell wether it was heads or tail on the coin you just ran over.

 

The springs should control the bodies and wheels movements, not stop it. Yes in F1 in the 80's there was no spring movement at all, spring rates of 1500lbs where used, and the tyres did the work. Those tyres have huge sidewalls and the cars are racing on smooth tarmac.

Look at your springs like a hammer and nail.. a big hammer just bouncing on the nail and it goes in a little.. but the hammer bounces up the same distance..... same hammer flying at it, and its driven home with the hammer resting on the nail head.

Rally car landing from 10foot in the air, big spring needed.. road car hitting a painted white line, small spring.

Then you have the most important bit, the dampers.. the readily avalible dampers are set to to a spec laid down for ... RALLY CARS !!! forrest or tarmac, so you have a damper valved for a heavy (1000kg+) car jumping through the air ... the car compresses the spring almost fully, and the spring wants to bounce the car up in the air again. the damper rebound is stiff to stop this happening. Your road car compresses the spring what?? 2" - 3".. If the damper is too stiff it will hold the wheel off the ground ......

 

Then you have the conversions on old dampers.. the dampers work hard, really hard, feel the body of a damper after its done a few miles..its hot. On the race cars these get re-built regulary. and your using a damper thats 20 years old and done 100k miles

 

My advice... if you have a 150 horse engine and want to go quicker, its going to cost you £1500 to get 170bhp (new cam, carbs etc) then spend the money on suspension and tyres, you'll go far quicker and the engine will still last as your not screaming it round to 9k.

If you allready have a maxed out engine... then still spend on the suspension.. i've seen some cars with mega bucks engines using lowering blocks and knackered dampers getting beaten by a lesser engine on better suspension so many times.

 

So add the cost of the kit, new inserts, paint, and if you cant weld, include the cost of getting them welded and compare that to a set of Built legs, with the damping suited to your requirements.

[herb capri]

DUDE IM IMPRESSED! that really is good info but is there a do it yourself halfway house ?coil over kit ,new inserts,spring reccomendations,and tips for those who want to say " i did it" andmaybe you could supply a road /track package?

mike

[Retromotorsport]

Theres allready a "kit" out there, its used on cossied engined cars running full trim and 175/50's ... its used on cossied engined cars strippped and ruuning 10" wide wheels... its used on 1300cc xflowed cars pintoed cars, XE'ed cars, Capris, Escorts, Cortinas Anglias etc .. its a ballpark 'kit'

 

By going to a damper manufacturer, you can say, ' I've got this with that, it runs those with that bit fitted and i want to drive it on the road with a few trackdays at Castle Coombe, and maybe a run at the pod' and then the spec will be closer to what you want.

Also with Gaz you can set the car up, run it around, find your setting the dampers at the high end for the road, at the track you'll need to run stifferm, so pop them back to Gaz and they will drop the valving for a few quid.. so on the road the dampers are set soft, and track, hard.

 

The most important thing though, is to make sure you have a minimum of 3" of damper piston showing when the cars at ride height.. any less and you risk a 'solid suspension' moment, which normally results in a ' loose moment' in your undercrackers!!!!

 

as for saying ' i did that ' .... no one takes a lump of alloy and machines their own pistons or brake calipers. I know its cheaper, and yes you can say i made them... but really your just adding a bolt on part (ok its got some tack welds) like anything else thats added to the car, some people say about ' chequebook cars' ... but even those have to be paid for by doing work.. and we cant all be mechanics, we would'nt have any bread or beer...

[richie_stix]

once again some sound advice from mr retro!

[stickerboy]

Very Good advice by Retro. I can't weld jack shit hence why I have sent them to Gaz to have them done. Igave Dave a call, told him what I was using it for and he told me exactly what I needed.

I'll put pics up as soon as they arrive next week.