For those that are curious...
07-13-2013, 09:09 PM
#23
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Join Date: 01-13-2008
Location: Washington State, where it rains
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Decided to expereeement today and lopped off another 1/4 coil from the FE5 frint springs...put in some camber bolts( the narrow dont have to grind onthe strut kind..) and since I was already in there, pulled the struts. Took about 45 min per side... Results? Well..I now sit at exactly 26 in frm the ground to wheel well lip. Perfect height. Didnt take it on the big road yet, worked last night and up all day..maybe tomorrow... around the block felt good though..so total cut off is 1 and 1/4 coils ... for anybody who wants to attempt this, some pointers. The stock coils dont have an awful lot of coil wrap so 1-1/4 shortens them quite a bit..to the point where when installing them they are not compressed..( yay!! No more compressor tools!) But have no fear..once the first side is lined up, and the front bar link is attached..the other side holds itself in place , but this only applies when jacking one side at a time...which is why i did it this way. So xwhen its all together, it stays together. But before anyone copies this, let me beat the p-p out of this set up and make sure no problems exist. I have RR tracks..ruts...grooved roads..bad bridge joints..and a few more wish it were a whole lot smoother type roads...so stay tuned!
07-13-2013, 11:47 PM
#24
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Join Date: 01-09-2007
Location: SE USA
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"No more compressor tools!) But have no fear..once the first side is lined up, and the front bar link is attached..the other side holds itself in place , but this only applies when jacking one side at a time...which is why i did it this way. So xwhen its all together, it stays together."
So does this mean if you get it put on a rack & lift, the frt springs stay seated or not ?
So does this mean if you get it put on a rack & lift, the frt springs stay seated or not ?
07-14-2013, 02:02 AM
#25
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Join Date: 01-13-2008
Location: Washington State, where it rains
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Thats part of the let me beat on it process....I had the front end up and down a bit while doing a shop alignment..( string and measuring tape) and had no problems ,, and now when you jack one side up,the other side follows at around 3/4 way up...goes to show how stiff the front framework is,, ( a fully caged chassis will pick both sides up jacking one corner) , but didnt pick the front up from the middle The sway bar keeps the either side from dropping out...but like some springs for the rear, its always a good idea to watch them as you go dovwn.
07-14-2013, 03:29 PM
#27
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Join Date: 01-13-2008
Location: Washington State, where it rains
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Its all an experiment...Im sure there are curious peeps out there toying the what if game...heck, I might not even like it.I want to be able to drive it like any normal car without all the hassles..and I still have a set of back up springs just in case.
07-15-2013, 10:59 AM
#29
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Join Date: 01-13-2008
Location: Washington State, where it rains
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Well..I'll tell you..the 1st coil chopped left the front end with a slight bobble,,like the strut wasnt keeping up, but a tad bit better then the stock feel, had some stock softness to it yet..then I lopped off another 1/4 coil..WOW! All front bobble gone..corner tip in is right now..the ride is smoother then ever.But, when you nail those pesky hiway tongue biters your reminded its lowered..not that it bottoms or anything ( was worried about that because of the shorter spring), its just that the jounce is a bit stiffer..no banging or unrealistic jarring,afterall, it is lowered and to be expected to pick up some stiffness. Overall its great. Though I'm sure my raceday alignment helped a bit too. Has a nice rake..not too low as to mess with normal driving but low enough to be noticable, about a finger and 1/2 between tire and well lip on 18's ( or 1 finger if your thick handed). I like it, was really surprised as i thought it would be too much. My driveway is on a slope so have to find a level spot to grab a couple of pics..I'll try to get a spring shot too so you can see the 'squeeze'..One thing I always thought looked unbalanced was the front air dam height..made it look like the front bumper was a bolt on piece instead of a factory performance one. Looks more realistic now.......
07-16-2013, 12:41 PM
#30
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Join Date: 01-13-2008
Location: Washington State, where it rains
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The more I drive it now the more I like it...before it seemed there wasnt enough bar in the front..now that the CG is lowered, thats no longer the case...corners flat as it takes alot more to lift the opposite side. RR track checks good..hwy bridge bumps handle ok, and there is this one section of road on the way to work that has a short nasty dip, that will shoot you airborn if not paying attention to speed, it handled it fine ,just a short rise and settled right back down..and as mentioned before..really smooth, even on the not so smooth roads here. For me..its a keeper...best part..no cost!