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ordered el cheapo coilovers and .. wtf ?

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compression

15+ Year Contributor
1,433
12
Dec 9, 2004
vero beach, Florida
So I bought the eBay special coilovers, and a spring compressor, I have never played with suspensions or lowering kits for any car so its all new to me. But how in the hell do I put these in ? I understand the basics , compressor the spring , take the nut off then the spring , blah blah blah. But the size difference in between the stock springs and the coilovers is huge, like a gallon jug compared to a small water bottle, I searched around to try and find a tech article but I had no luck.

<a href=http://s48.photobucket.com/albums/f224/mxdawg121/?action=view&current=IMAG0365.jpg target=_blank><img src=http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f224/mxdawg121/IMAG0365.jpg border=0 alt=></a>

<a href=http://s48.photobucket.com/albums/f224/mxdawg121/?action=view&current=IMAG0366.jpg target=_blank><img src=http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f224/mxdawg121/IMAG0366.jpg border=0 alt=></a>

<a href=http://s48.photobucket.com/albums/f224/mxdawg121/?action=view&current=IMAG0364.jpg target=_blank><img src=http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f224/mxdawg121/IMAG0364.jpg border=0 alt=></a>

I assumed when I bought these, it was like. Compress, switch springs and compress again and voila , is there custom fab required? Do I need the take the perch off of the stock unit? Or does the bew spring sit inside of it ?
 
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I recommend against anything on eBay car related (eBay Brand), minus wastegates, blow off valves, air filters, intercoolers, intercooler pipes. Ive had really good luck personally with all these parts

Turbos, suspension parts, seats there all garbage and all fall apart. Spend the money on quality used parts.
 
Do you have a link to any threads pertaining to this? i am not arguing with you however i am very curious to read some first hand experience. we have some experiences here, but i doubt the springs from 13 years ago are the same ones around today.


Why are you STILL on this???? How can you not grasp the concept that 100$ and under coilovers are a waste of time and money? You have been told the spring rates printed on the springs are junk...you received no installation/warranty info with the product...hell, you the description of the product it self didnt even give information!!!

I get money is tight for lots of people...but lets be realistic here. You have 2 options...

1.Buy shitty parts because you either cant save money or are dumb enough to think the shitty parts are actually good parts for cheap

2.Save money and buy quality, proven, warranted parts

Its pretty basic logic. You get honest feedback from people with more experience than you, then complain when you get answers you dont want to hear. A simple search would have given you even more info on this exact subject. Nothing really to argue about.

If you had actually read, there were no spring rates printed in the springs. Which is why I measured them , they were roughly guestimated spring rates.

Stock spring rates are 146 f 140 r , so even though the spring rates aren't 600 and 400, they are quite higher then the oem.

And please just stop stop stop with the eBay talk. That's not why we are here. I AM NOT ARGUING THE FACT I HAVE LOWER QUALITY SPRINGS for gods sake look at the title , I obviously pointed that out so it wouldn't be the main concern . I know I should just buy a high price quality unit. I am looking for installation advice, unless is a legitimate reason to not install them will put my oem's back on.
 
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Even if the springs are ok, the oem struts are not made for lower then oem ride height. The ride quality will be god awful if its more then maybe a 1.5". That means you could have just got a set of quality springs for $100 and been better off.
 
<a href=http://s48.photobucket.com/albums/f224/mxdawg121/?action=view&current=IMAG0388.jpg target=_blank><img src=http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f224/mxdawg121/IMAG0388.jpg border=0 alt=></a>

<a href=http://s48.photobucket.com/albums/f224/mxdawg121/?action=view&current=IMAG0389.jpg target=_blank><img src=http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f224/mxdawg121/IMAG0389.jpg border=0 alt=></a>

<a href=http://s48.photobucket.com/albums/f224/mxdawg121/?action=view&current=IMAG0390.jpg target=_blank><img src=http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f224/mxdawg121/IMAG0390.jpg border=0 alt=></a>

The struts I put these on are blown completely. They were allready on the car, so I'm obviously not worried about blowing the struts . I have more if I decide I want to jeep this setup.

http://static.photobucket.com/playe...ucket.com/albums/f224/mxdawg121/VIDEO0095.mp4
 
Here's a picture of the ones I have laying around.
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The taller springs are marked rear, and are paired with the shorter adjusters. The shorter (front) springs are with the taller adjusters.
 

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Yours look like a better quality set. Are those from eBay as well? Or is that a name brand. My springs were all the same height, however I needed to out the taller adjustment in the rear to compensate for the size.
 
got everything installed tonight and the front is WAY to high. i am not sure where i messed up. the rears are perfect. the sleeves rest on the perch. the front doesnt. it rests up a little near where the shock comes out. maybe i need to trim the little bit of weld there to let the sleeve rest on the perch.
 
got everything installed tonight and the front is WAY to high. i am not sure where i messed up. the rears are perfect. the sleeves rest on the perch. the front doesnt. it rests up a little near where the shock comes out. maybe i need to trim the little bit of weld there to let the sleeve rest on the perch.

I would call this off. I foresee your suspension failing and someone getting hurt
 
oh my.... can somebody please link me a thread or a video or something to where they used an inexpensive coilover and they got hurt from its failure? at this point everything is on i just need to modify it a tad to make it sit correct. i am not going back to stock until i have properly tried these out.
 

Whether the coils on eBay are $30 or $60 a set, not worth it. :nono: Next time send the $ to me, I'll invest it for you and when the profits are high enough, (about 30 years ;) ) I'll buy you a good set of coils. :D

Kidding aside, I understand you determination on getting these installed. Please be safe.
 


Hahahahaha...the link to the 240 forum has a kid complaining that his front end sat way to high after the install!! ROFL
Oh and compression, the first link is almost exactly what my sleeves looked like when my split.....guess they havent made much improvement over the last 13 years...
 
Yea I saw, I believe its because the sleeves aren't where they need to be. If I just grind the weld a tad they will rest on the perch where they should.and then I can actually drive on these and see what the deal is.

i grinded the welds down and the sleeves still do not fit down the strut to the perch. i've contacted the seller and we are trying to find a solution. Sucks because the rears went on smoothly and look like they are going to be great, no crazy up and down bouncing, nice firm feel.
 
I did a little more grinding today, and voila! the sleeves went down flush with the strut and they are right where they need to be now!(after a few love taps with a nice size hammer). i haven't actually driven the car yet to feel them or launch it for that matter but i will for sure tomorrow!

<a href="http://s48.photobucket.com/albums/f224/mxdawg121/?action=view&amp;current=IMAG0397.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f224/mxdawg121/IMAG0397.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

is it better to have the rear a little higher for an awd launch? that is how it is currently.

before

<a href="http://s48.photobucket.com/albums/f224/mxdawg121/?action=view&amp;current=IMAG0307.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f224/mxdawg121/IMAG0307.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
 
Well your saying this is a drag car? I really think you should do some research on proper suspension tuning. Your very obsessed with these springs and thinking they are going to help your launch, and in a certain way they may (note I say they MAY).

If your going to be drag racing this only you need to toss your front sway bar right in the garbage, stiffen up the rear shocks bound and lighten up the rebound, and stiffen the bound on the front and lighten the rebound. The reason for this is for weight transfer. You made a comment about your space shuttle type launch, but your really failing to realize how much that helps you being your driving an AWD car. You should also adjust your toe so that when your rear is under full compression your tires sit perfectly flat. Meaning your tires should look like this when your not under power \\ = // So when the weight of your car transfers to the rear as your launching it will look like this ||=|| That will give you the largest contact patch.

Next drop those larger rims and low pro tires for the track. Get yourself some light weight 15" rims and some tires with a sidewall on them. So when you lower the tire pressures your sidewalls will be able to flex a little. Have you ever watched a true drag car on a slick launch with wrinkle walls on a tube tire? Its to keep the biggest contact patch possible during the launch. Then as the vehicle gets to speed u will see those tires round out on the tops. As someone who sells tires for a living im sure you know about those types of things.

I know you say you cant afford 500 to a grand for suspension, but the eibach springs are maybe 250 bux? Probably less. Then add to that a set of something like a KYB GR-2 at about 70bux a corner. You can put the eibachs on the stock suspension and swap out the struts later. This way your not putting out the entire cost all at once. As far as spring compressors, u can rent them from autozone, or buy a set from a place like harbor freight for maybe 25bux.

The biggest concern with those ebay coilovers I have seen across a few platforms now is that the ride height adjusters slip on the sleeve and sometimes fail. I have actually watched a guy using those on an AutoX MK3 supra have the height adjuster slip under heavy load and he damaged his front end heavily when it slammed to the ground. Tore the bumper cover off, destroyed his front mount and damaged his radiator when the FMIC slammed into it. Damaged some other things too but thats the short version. If your going to run those as a track only application on your car, I would caution care and say to inspect those after every couple passes. They are not exactly built with the tightest of tolerances like a Tien system or something of the such.

I mean no disrespect in it at all, just hope to offer you a little insight on those. I dont know anyone that has been severely injured, but I have seen failures of these products, and they generally cause a lot of damage.
 
i made the mistake of putting the cheapo coilovers on my 2g

looked AWESOME sitting still

it drove like a shitty tractor.
 
i made the mistake of putting the cheapo coilovers on my 2g

looked AWESOME sitting still

it drove like a shitty tractor.

+2... my blue car had ebay coilovers on it when I bought it... they immediatly went in the trash can. Car handled like crap, rode like crap and there were even stress cracks forming on the strut towers.

Went with a set of Eibach springs on Koni's. WORLD of difference.
 
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