haygeebaby

Hey - anyone got a source for additional lock collars and the locking/unlocking wrench ?
I am told that it does not come with the HD kit.
Regards
Ken

haygeebaby

Ok -found a source locally.
Do I need an additional 4 locking collars - or just 2 ?
Looking at the configuration it seems logical that two lock collars are needed for each strut.
Anyone ?

shadow993

You should only need 2 extra for the rear for a total of 4 on the rear. The front doesn't require an extra colar, as it shouldcome with 4 ....if I recall.

Macca

Haygeebaby. Could you tell me the insid diameter of the locking rings for HD struts?

Cheers
M

haygeebaby

2 inches man.

Macca

Thx. I have 52 and 55mm rings from Bilstein (from memory althought that could be 50mm and 55mm). One set are for HD and other PSS10. Ill assume the smaller fit.

Cheers
M

haygeebaby

Yeah - 52mm would be the right fit.

haygeebaby

Ok - so the saga continues. Some problems I've encountered ...

I eventually put everything together and put the car back on the ground to let the suspension settle and to measure the height. My measurements after setting the height according to Jeff's Suspension DIY was Front L/R 144/138 and Rear L/R 131/131. Pretty much ROW Sport height - which is 144/144 127/127.

After looking at the ride height of the car at ROW sport - I'm thinking a little lower would be better - so now I'm aiming for RS +10mm.

1st problem - after removing rear tires to check on the rear struts I noticed that the black plastic perches from the original struts where crushed. I'm going to remove that piece. It doesn't fit well - a little too tight.

2nd problem - having an additioanl two lock collars on the rear struts will not give you enough space to drop the rear much more than ROW sport height. You are going to have to use thinner lock collars to achieve this. I used Bilstein lock collars.

Also - if you use 2 additional collars - better to put one below the drop link bracket. Otherwise the drop link bracket is too low for the sway bar.

haygeebaby

So I'm going to try this to try to acheive RS +10mm.
The spring is going to sit on a locking collar - which will not be locked - so it is free to spin up and down.

When I look at the way the spring sits in the suspenion there does not seem to be a way for it to turn. So do you think the single collar acting as the spring perch will move ? I observed the original front suspension strut and it only has the one adjustable spring perch with no lock either.

Thoughts ? How did you HD/30 guys achieve a ride height below ROW sport ?

Regards

Ken

Macca

We did manage to get mine to RS+ approx 10mm

Unfortunately the front shocks were actually the limitation to me getting any lower. Even with the extra 30mm threaded front HD we ran out of adjustment at the front.
We didnt use the extra locking ring on the rear although i do now have a set incase I ever need them.

In order to get the extra drop, we have at the rear the drop link arm with no collar below it at the lowest position (end of thread) with a single Bilstein supplied (with shocks) locking ring above it tightened REAL TIGHT. I did have troble with the arm moving when the car was lifted on a hoist when i first installed these but after using a prioper locking ring apnner and a mallet these have never moved since after 3-4000km spirited driving and half a dozen hoist raises.
Im using RS drop links so dont have room for error and Ive never busted a drop link with this set up. Although the second ring is a good idea it isnt actually essential (hence its not supplied), and it does limit how far you can drop. However the single top ring really needs to be very tight for the arm to not move fractionally when loaded with suspension (like on a hoist) especially when using the under type RS adjustable bars (which I am).

I can take pictures if you like. Heres a few side to side picture sof my ride height fo you to compare. Unfortunately there is 5mm variance side to side on my rear fender heights (RHS lower than LHS). Its not obvious unless you know its there. Weve made numerous measurements and the car is all level to the road and uing the factory recommended measurements wiithin 2-3mm side to side. It looks like its a case of the twoc sides of the cars (in particular the two rear panels) being slightly different. I know the history of teh car insce new and its never been in an accident. I noticed when playing with the alignment of the rear deck lid the other day that panels are not exact from sde to side on these cars!

I would still like to drop 10mm at the rear and 5mm at the forn on my set up but ive done as far as I can with HD/M030 so to achieve that will probably go PSS10 as although I have some new H&R springs that will achieve it there is alot of labour costs each time to make such changes and Ive already played with this set up twice!

best of luck.

Garth S

#1 ..... correct to toss the plastic piece: it cannot work with your new suspension, and was not intendet to be reinstalled.

#2 .... two lock nuts together achieves nothing - fortunately, fate intervened
The idea is that with one lock nut tightened up either side of the drop mount, the twisting torque applied via the sway bar as the suspension compresses is nullified - ie, the drop mount now faces a lock nut in either direction of rotation ..... which happens as the car is driven.

No extra nut req'd in front, as there is no twisting force applied to the lower perch.

If you leave the bottom lock nut loose, it is useless ..... might as well toss it away now.

My car is set @125mm rear with ROW MO30 turbo springs, and could be dropped lower: that is a stiffer spring than you are installing, so I do not see a problem in going lower if you so choose.

I have found that it takes some time to determine the final height - more than a casual drive about the block.

If the rear still sits too high, note the plastic spacers in the top mount - 3 colours are offered, each of different thickness: this is the OE approach to tune rear height: one shouldn't have to dick with those, but it remains an option.

Dudley

I bought lowering collars from Hergesheimer MotorSports for my front struts.
That said, I think your car's stance looks very good already.

haygeebaby

Thanks for the feedback - Maca / Garth / Dudley.

Maca - the colour of your car looks different in those pics. Darker - looks nice as usual. Midnight blue has to be one of the best colours.

Well - another day of playing with the suspension. This is the configuration I used with the rear struts. This is as pretty much as low as I can go with a locking collar below and one above the drop link bracket. They are all tightened up including the top collar perch. The lower collar is pretty much at the end of the thread - and has been adjusted to keep the drop link bracket in the correct position.

I also drilled a small hole on the top spring perch and used a plastic zip lock to hold the spring in place.

These are my final measurements before I head to the corner balance.

Front (Left/Right) 141/137 Rear (Left/Right) 123/121

ROW Sport is 144/144 127/127

The car is just a little under ROW sport - I'm happy with the height. We'll fine tune it this week. And then get the alignment and kinematic toe. I am amazed that there is one guy in Perth that does this.

haygeebaby

Ok - after about a week of shake down testing and letting the suspension settle I have finally had the car aligned.

My final heights are:

Front (L/R) 128/125
Rear (L/R) 120/118

Some impressions of the HD/M030 suspension setup:

The car is noticeably more comfortable than before. The car soaks up bumps much better. This is coming from wasted bodge units and ROW M029 springs. For me this has to be the most noticable improvement.

Obviously the car also corners much better and tracks flatter when cornering hard.

The 20mm+ drop makes the car look much nicer. And I have had no problem with the car bottoming out.

This is probably one of the more expensive upgrades. I'm glad I did it, but would not say that the noticeable change for a daily driver is all that much. For example - the initial night and day difference is not as great as installing HID lights, Engine mounts, or chipping.

However, having the confidence that the suspension is new, and the more compliant and comfortable ride, I am very happy with the upgrade, and the car is even more of a joy to drive now.

I could not get to RS height on the rears with the extra lock collars. My rears are as low as I could go - 120/118. If I didn't have the lock collars - I'd say the struts would definetly get to RS height. Fronts have no problems getting to RS height.

I don't think you could do this project without the Hazet tool. I had problems obtaining the item so I did what Ryano did and purchased some extra long socket bits and dremmeled a hole to insert the allen key. That worked perfectly and didn't cost much at all.

Big thanks to you guys and especially to Jeff for his (InTheAir) DIY write up. Best write up I've used. Thanks Jeff.

Hope this info helps some other guys out who are thinking of pulling the trigger on the suspension upgrade.

Regards

Ken

haygeebaby

Before and after ...