Handling and suspension planning help

[BlitzEclipz]

Well it has been 4 months since I've had my 2g now. For those that don't know I DD it, so far I've replaced the pads rotors. And a short while ago the water pump developed a leak which was a major pain to change out. And I decided on getting koni and GC, and then later decided on doing the Dennis grant set up which added much more time to setting things up. I managed to finally install it yesterday in the snow Which i might add feels and handles so amazingly it blew my mind.

Anyways thinking about upgrading the control arms, sway bars, bushings ect. I was reading in the handling tech and in the planning your suspension upgrades thread jtmcinder states that not all the upgrades are compatible with what type of driveline set up you have. I plan on installing a quaife in the future. Does anyone know what kind of limitations this while have on suspension selections? I would think not, but will it effect my choice of koni/gc/dg set up?

Another thing is when I was adjusting the koni's all four of them leaked a small amount of oil from the adjustment knob, some more than others but not more than a few drops. Is this normal? I read online that it means they need to be rebuilt, but they are all brand new. I don't see why they would all be defective.

What type of adjustments do you guys prefer? At the moment I have it set one full turn down from full stiffness, it seems good.

 

[mootink]

i am look at handling upgrades too. i was looking at getting some fender braces people say they help out a lot but i don't know first hand. also where did you get the Dennis grant set up? sorry for being off topic.

 

[gst-turbo]

When my koni started to leak 2 weeks later my strut blew on my way back from the race track and the car bottom out a few times

 

[BlitzEclipz]

Since then it hasn't leaked at all, which is good. Maybe it's because if the cold. I really hope they don't blow considering they are new.

@mootink
It was kind of a pain because I didn't really follow the directions on far north racing's website very well. They have blue prints for the upper mounts and stand offs. I was going to make them myself but getting the aluminum where I live was a pain and super marked up, so I ordered them from rtm racing. If you get the springs from ground control kit they are eibach and you need to also order a spring hat from koni and spring adapters for all four set ups. Koni also offers their own coil over sleeve but I can't say how good it is or what is different than the ground control sleeve.
http://farnorthracing.com/autocross/konis.html the part numbers for the spring adapters and tophats are on that Web page plus everything else you need to know.

 

[new to eclipse]

Since then it hasn't leaked at all, which is good. Maybe it's because if the cold. I really hope they don't blow considering they are new.

@mootink
It was kind of a pain because I didn't really follow the directions on far north racing's website very well. They have blue prints for the upper mounts and stand offs. I was going to make them myself but getting the aluminum where I live was a pain and super marked up, so I ordered them from rtm racing. If you get the springs from ground control kit they are eibach and you need to also order a spring hat from koni and spring adapters for all four set ups. Koni also offers their own coil over sleeve but I can't say how good it is or what is different than the ground control sleeve.
http://farnorthracing.com/autocross/konis.html the part numbers for the spring adapters and tophats are on that Web page plus everything else you need to know.

In regards to you sound suspension, while I got motor out for rebuild, I am considering a coil-over spring/drop kit.

Is something you have done? Or did?

 

[BlitzEclipz]

@new to eclipse
I think it's relatively the same as coilovers. Adjustable ride height and damping. Do your research before investing in anything it seems there is a lot of coil overs that are just rebrand. and suspension is one of those things that are is largely a subject of opinion. From what I've read it's hard to get something that is good for our cars with out spending a lot of dough. I'm still new to the whole after market scene and apparently what I have is good for a good price but I still feel like I spent way to much.

Also if you do lower your ride don't forget to reset your bushings.

 

[cmehlxl]

i'd look into front camber kit. also, you can do the rear camber kit with some bolts and washers from hardware store.

it'll give you some adjustability as you start changing parts. plus, you wont eat tires as bad if you can correct camber as you go. buy a set and throw them on when you decide to change control arms. Takes 1hr.

 

[cmehlxl]

also, i think by "depending on drive line" they mean the size of the casing for rear differential.. i could be wrong but depending on the case, not the internals, it might impede or conflict with stock sway bar path. especially if you're going with a super thick sway bar..

not 100% sure but i dont think anyone's brought up that part of your post.

 

[TehRiceBandit]

Not sure what you mean about all that. But sway bars would be your next best "bang for your buck" mod. You should do a rear camber kit too. Also, what car is this (GSX.. Etc)? You don't have a profile, that helps out a lot.

Congrats on the DG setup, it's great to see a new member who actually did research before slapping on parts

Oh and #1 suspension mod is tires

 

[BlitzEclipz]

I have a gst, so I'm guessing putting in a lsd unit would not effect what I can use for sway bars then.

 

[new to eclipse]

@new to eclipse
I think it's relatively the same as coilovers. Adjustable ride height and damping. Do your research before investing in anything it seems there is a lot of coil overs that are just rebrand. and suspension is one of those things that are is largely a subject of opinion. From what I've read it's hard to get something that is good for our cars with out spending a lot of dough. I'm still new to the whole after market scene and apparently what I have is good for a good price but I still feel like I spent way to much.

Also if you do lower your ride don't forget to reset your bushings.

Thank you for the advise! I've been looking on eBay and see the coilovers/adjustable sets and also see strut assemblies. Looking at all of these, there is also complete kits from name brand companies and it's about. $900.oo.

My motor blew right after I got my car. I've been a passenger (not in an eclipse) in cars with stiffer suspensions and drop kits. (ie: Honda civics, vw-jetta, dodge-neon). I'm just kind of confused on dampened vs. Undampened.

What did you use and where did you purchase and did you do this yourself?

 

[BlitzEclipz]

What type of budget do you have?

And dampening basically controls the rate of energy release from the spring as it uncompresses after being compressed from bumps in the road or turning, going, stopping. Soft or fast speed damping is good for bumpy surfaces or off roading. While stiff or slow speed is good for smooth race tracks, high speed cornering, hard braking.

 

[new to eclipse]

What type of budget do you have?

And dampening basically controls the rate of energy release from the spring as it uncompresses after being compressed from bumps in the road or turning, going, stopping. Soft or fast speed damping is good for bumpy surfaces or off roading. While stiff or slow speed is good for smooth race tracks, high speed cornering, hard braking.

Budgeting.... Lol. I've seen kits that would not be too expensive. Like less than $500.oo. then looking thru eBay, there are some better kits and looking about $7-800.oo.

Any info is good info. The car has kun shocks on it now and they look rather old and since I got

 

[BlitzEclipz]

I sourced parts from different companies and people. Bought the koni shocks eibach springs and gc sleeves from a guy out east. Ground control does not ship to canada or appears to have any suppliers here from what I could find. So I went that route which was about $1200 cnd. Was planning on building the upper mounts myself had a machinist friend that was going to do it for free, the bearings would have been about $250 but I was having troubles getting the aluminium. So I ended up purchasing them already made from rtm racing for $600ish. Had to change the leaking water pump so just ordered them together. Then had to get the top hats from koni another $200. Then the various spring adapters and ect. I probably spent about $2300 plus the time putting them in myself.

Kw3 variants are also a good option but probably a bit more expensive.

Set yourself a budget and do your research. Can't stress the research part enough, don't be afraid to ask questions. I know I did not do enough.