1G Ground Control coilovers to provide lift?

[brewcrewfan28]

Hello everyone!

The weather is warming up here in Wisconsin, and it's inspiring me to get back to working on my currently garaged 1990 Eclipse GST (FWD). I'm at a bit of a crossroads as to how I should move forward with a specific issue relating to the wheels and suspension system.

I purchased the vehicle last spring from someone who told me that he had replaced the struts and installed lowering springs on the front of the car. However, the non-stock wheels/tires that he installed on the car are too wide, resulting in rubbing and excess wear to the outside of the tires. To try and account for this, I installed coil spring spaces to add roughly 2" of lift. But I don't like the way that the car rides with the spacers and I am looking to invest in a more permanent solution to the issue.

I found on another old forum someone suggest installing Ground Controls and adjust them all the way up to add lift. So I looked it up and found Ground Control coilovers for 1G Eclipse/Talon. I am wondering if anyone has any experience with this product and can offer feedback about whether this would achieve the desired lift I am looking for? I like look of the current wheels, and I also think that having the car sit up a little higher would be easier for my back getting in and out of the car. I already have to remove one of my rear struts at some point this spring, as well, to replace the strut mount.

If not these Ground Controls or another lifting spring, I think I might be stuck with having to buy a set of stock wheels to swap out.

Thank you all for any help you can provide!

 

[Justin DuBois]

Budget?
This is a thing - Someone has this car, makes a bad wheel and tire choice because (reasons), and then the new owner is left scratching their head on trying to make it work.

Coil over struts are only as good as the setup. It's all in the details of ride height, spring rate, available strut travel , bump stop material etc... Budget shocks on a good setup can out perform OHLINS on a bad setup. If you start with limited suspension travel because the wheel and tire package runs into everything - you will be fighting an uphill battle.

The very first thing we do in the shop to setup suspension is to remove the springs cycle the suspension travel on a lift and inspect the clearance issues. The more travel you have the better ride you can dial in.

If you just want a street car with nice wheels at a good looking ride height - make sure the wheel and tire package fits under the fender at full travel.

 

[RamenPride]

As long as the spring is tall enough on any coilover, you should be able to raise the ride height. I've done this in the past to keep it at stock height to maybe an inch higher than stock. The one issue I can think of is the spring might be compressed and reduce travel/bind depending on the spring rate.

 

[r3dmak]

I was not happy with ground control customer service, the spring they sent was too short and they didnt want to exchange it. After that I learned that eibach got springs in all kind sizes and rates.

 

[pagosa dsm]

don't try to make the wrong set up work. I have a 92 Talon. I have Evo wheels with 235x45x17 tires. I built a set of Bilstien HD inserts with custom housing. they are set about stock height. Have Ground control camber plates with ground control coil overs. the front springs are 375 and the rears are 250.

 

[Justin DuBois]

Can you raise the spring perch? Maybe put a spacer under - or on top of the spring? Throw in a longer bump stop.

 

[BLACK'98DSM]

I ran the same Ground Control coilovers on a 2g. While the suspension system is a bit different, I'd imagine the result being similar.

At maximum height, the car sat approximately a half inch higher than with the stock springs. At minimum adjustment, the car sat LOW. The issue with going to the highest adjustment is that the spring will already have a fair amount of tension with zero load. I think they would bottom out too early due to a lack of travel compared to OEM spring with a fair amount of coil spacing. Extending the bump stops will help, but not prevent the springs from reaching full compression in a demanding situation. You can ride this way, but I personally wouldn't suggest it. The intention of those coilovers is to stiffen the suspension, with the option of lowering adjustability. While they can raise the height, you sacrifice performance by over stiffening the suspension and greatly reducing total travel.

One complaint I had with those coilovers is the aluminum washers provided for the strut towers. One of mine broke during a harsh cornering situation and the strut completely pulled through the tower. For anyone using the Ground Control kit, I would definitely use the stock steel washers instead.


The day my Ground Control aluminum washer crumbled:

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Minimum height adjustment:

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I don't have any pictures of maximum height adjustment since I quickly decided not to run the car that way and lowered them.