AWD Tokico blue struts in a FWD

[Johndoe007]

Hello all. This is my first post in this forum. I just got my first 97 eclipse RS that is in pieces. I got two engines and the car. I'am fixing all of the problems and just put together one good engine between the two. That leads me to my question. I can get a full set of tokico blues struts from a 2g AWD for $18 a corner. The problem is I have a FWD 2g and $18 a corner is a great deal. I do know that the fronts are the same but the rears are different. I assume it won't hurt anything just raise the ride height. Anyone know how much more will it raise my ride height in the rear? I plan on using my current spring which are H&R.

 

[gsxeclipse97]

I believe they are the same. But it the shocks are adjustable it won't matter. I know many of the springs are the same

 

[Spyder1]

I swapped AWD suspension to my FWD spyder, rear height is about 1/2 an inch to 3/4 higher. Doesn't look way off, but could cut the rear springs a little to bring the height down.

 

[crash89]

Dont cut or heat your springs to bring ride height down. It messes up the spring rate, makes for a crappy ride and most of the time you wont even get it even.. As far as bolting up, yes they will fit just fine. I swapped some illuminas straight my my buddys GSX to my GST spyder. You will also not want to lower the rear much anyways due to excessive camber these cars run into. Regardless, after swapping out the suspension you will want to go to get an alignment check.

 

[2GbTalonGuy]

I believe they are even the same part number. I swapped my old tokico blues from my old ESi into an AWD and they sat at the same height.

 

[RamenPride]

The spring perch on the AWD shocks is a little higher, maybe half an inch or so?

 

[Johndoe007]

Maybe I 'll just have to put a sub box in to help with the height. Oh darn . I had tokico blues tein spring in my EF hatch and they ride great. At this price its well worth it. I just didn't want to damage anything or give it a rake look. I don't think it would be too noticible at 1/2 or 3/4 inch difference. I think will be great upgrade. Thank you for the information guys.

 

[jeromea]

Pretty sure they're the same, or at least damn near equal. I bough a set of Tokicos off craigslist from a guy who had them on his AWD, and they look just fine to me.

 

[jtmcinder]

Dont cut or heat your springs to bring ride height down. It messes up the spring rate, makes for a crappy ride and most of the time you wont even get it even..

You went there, eh?

Okey-dokey. Please answer me this: when you cut a spring and "mess up the spring rate," does the rate go up, down, or change randomly. For now, let's assume that it was cut correctly. Thanks in advance.

 

[jtmcinder]

I believe they are the same. But it the shocks are adjustable it won't matter.

Um, adjustable damping will not solve the core issue: that the rear perches are in the wrong place.

 

[crash89]

You went there, eh?

Okey-dokey. Please answer me this: when you cut a spring and "mess up the spring rate," does the rate go up, down, or change randomly. For now, let's assume that it was cut correctly. Thanks in advance.

Depends what kind of spring you are saying you are cutting.. There are three different kinds of coil springs, only one of which is "safe" to cut. Tangential I believe is the name of it. Cutting a spring with a torch will most definitely weaken the spring which will ultimately lead to spring failure. So, that leads you to a hack saw or bandsaw.

So, hypothetically, lets say you have a spring that has 4 inches of travel before bottoming out. You, want to lower your car 2 inches.. You either A) cut your springs or B) buy lowering springs. So, if the suspension at stock ride height has 4 inches of travel, and the stock spring has a constant of 100 lb/in, then the spring will absorb up to 400 lb of force before the suspension bottoms out.

If the stock spring is then cut so that the resting height is the desired 2 inches lower, then there is 2 inches of suspension travel left. The spring constant is roughly equal to the old constant multiplied by the length ratio, so the spring can absorb only 250 lb of force before the suspension bottoms out.

If a 2 inch lowering spring with a spring constant of 200 lb/in is fitted, the spring will be able to absorb 400 lb/in before the suspension bottoms out, as was the case with the stock spring.

So, If you want to bottom out your suspension on a regular basis, I would suggest NOT to cut your springs..

 

[jtmcinder]

The spring constant is roughly equal to the old constant multiplied by the length ratio....

Excellent. Not only the above, but the general point that cutting springs always reduces available travel. I will not bother asking what your quest is and what your favorite color is ... please, pass.

 

[Jesse2012]

Old thread, but does anyone know if it's only the struts that are different for awd and fwd on the rears, and not tokico's springs that are included when you buy them in a kit? I bought a set for cheap for an awd that I put on my gst, and I'm wondering if I can just buy rear matching fwd struts and swap the springs onto them. The ride height is a little higher in the back with the awd setup I have now