bilstEin coilovers on budget
#1
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bilstEin coilovers on budget
Used Bilstain shocks from 99 10ae, eBay perches, FCM bump stops. QA1 springs to come.
sending shocks to SD for a revalving tomorrow. am I missing anything?
sending shocks to SD for a revalving tomorrow. am I missing anything?
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Yeah, those are spring retainers. I'm still unsure whether I'm going to use those. How were the springs rubbing? I'm guestimating that with bump stops those tall perches will be fine but I will cut them if necessary.
#7
It was not a bumpstop issue really. I would try them out as is, no need to cut them up if you don't have a problem yet. I just wanted to mention it so you can keep that in mind if you start getting noises from your suspension on travel. It was a problem more common on the fronts btw.
#9
I believe your bumpstops are inverted. Are you running them as is, or cutting them??? I am debating this at the moment. I just installed 450/300 springs with NB tophats. Shaike has a thread on M.net where he talkes about cutting the 36mm spacer in half. I'm not sure if it is necessary on an NA with the NB hats. I was able to put the tire in the fender.
http://www.fatcatmotorsports.com/FCM...ns_3_12_10.pdf
Bump stop orientation
1. All bump stops are placed with the narrower end facing the shock body (see photos below).
1. All bump stops are placed with the narrower end facing the shock body (see photos below).
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I like how the collars are marked for perch height.
Your front collars are not fully installed. They need to go lower. Get a 2.5" diameter pipe that is longer than the shock rod, place it on the seat, and hit the pipe with a hammer. That will seat the collar fully.
Your rear collars might not be all the way down either, hard to see in the pic.
<edit> Are you sure you didn't install the collars upside down?
Your front collars are not fully installed. They need to go lower. Get a 2.5" diameter pipe that is longer than the shock rod, place it on the seat, and hit the pipe with a hammer. That will seat the collar fully.
Your rear collars might not be all the way down either, hard to see in the pic.
<edit> Are you sure you didn't install the collars upside down?
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Last edited by Ben; 02-20-2012 at 08:10 PM.
#12
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There are set screws on these collars and the only way to secure those is if collars are installed this way. Unfortunately they won't go any lower on the rings - they only have around 1mm clearance over the shock body.
I was thinking about taking them to a machine shop to make a little groove inside the collars to fit over the rings. What do you guys think?
Also, do you think it is safe to pinch-weld the rings in place to make absolutely sure they don't pop out?
I was thinking about taking them to a machine shop to make a little groove inside the collars to fit over the rings. What do you guys think?
Also, do you think it is safe to pinch-weld the rings in place to make absolutely sure they don't pop out?
#13
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I believe your bumpstops are inverted. Are you running them as is, or cutting them??? I am debating this at the moment. I just installed 450/300 springs with NB tophats. Shaike has a thread on M.net where he talkes about cutting the 36mm spacer in half. I'm not sure if it is necessary on an NA with the NB hats. I was able to put the tire in the fender.
http://www.fatcatmotorsports.com/FCM...ns_3_12_10.pdf
http://www.fatcatmotorsports.com/FCM...ns_3_12_10.pdf
#17
I was thinking about taking them to a machine shop to make a little groove inside the collars to fit over the rings. What do you guys think?
yeah it is no problem, I dont know about a machine shop, but for sure bilstein does it and various shops that sell shocks with custom perches, for specific aplications. some use the threaded body set up and some just cut a bunch of grooves so people can pic how low or high they want to go based on preference or spring choice.
Also, do you think it is safe to pinch-weld the rings in place to make absolutely sure they don't pop out?[/QUOTE]
I would not weld anything, to the body because any slight distortion in the body and the shock will not work right. if you look at how it is set up it is pretty unlikely that the could ever come out, no where for them to go assuming they are seated properly and not bent or whatever. if you are worried call their race shop that does custom valving, they will discuss options, rebuild the dampers to you preference/spring rates, and cut new perches for you. as I recall its 10 bucks per cut from them, and you'll know they are cut to the right depth and width.
yeah it is no problem, I dont know about a machine shop, but for sure bilstein does it and various shops that sell shocks with custom perches, for specific aplications. some use the threaded body set up and some just cut a bunch of grooves so people can pic how low or high they want to go based on preference or spring choice.
Also, do you think it is safe to pinch-weld the rings in place to make absolutely sure they don't pop out?[/QUOTE]
I would not weld anything, to the body because any slight distortion in the body and the shock will not work right. if you look at how it is set up it is pretty unlikely that the could ever come out, no where for them to go assuming they are seated properly and not bent or whatever. if you are worried call their race shop that does custom valving, they will discuss options, rebuild the dampers to you preference/spring rates, and cut new perches for you. as I recall its 10 bucks per cut from them, and you'll know they are cut to the right depth and width.