So has anyone ever used delco struts for coilovers on an 87 GT? I plan on purchasing the held(aurraut) motorsports kit 12"spring, 5" sleeve, 275 lbs springs. Its a standard 2.8, no swap yet. I question the integrity of these struts, cause i dont hear much on them within the forum. I also cant find any dimensions of the strut, mainly the diameter of the strut itself to make sure the coilover sleeve will fit. I believe the sleeves are a hair over 2" (2.04"?) Anybody have input or opinions to share, im stuck. Thankyou.
Just a personal preference, ogre has a good reference that monroes dont like being lowered. In my opinion gabriel, monroe, kyb are all about the same. Kyb only makes gr2, no more gas adjust. Monroe only has sensatrac, gabriel are ultras. No big differences. Just thought mayne would have some experience with delcos, like longevity, ride, anything fishy about em? Koni is really the only real difference in rear struts for an 87, but sadly they arent in the budget.
...ogre has a good reference that monroes dont like being lowered.
I respect what The Ogre posts here, and I don't know exactly what he has or hasn't said about Monroe Sensa-Trac struts, but to suggest that these struts "don't like being lowered" is... wrong.
I autocrossed my '84 for four years on cut springs and Sensa-Trac shocks and struts. Worked fantastic. I now have Sensa-Trac struts on the back of my Formula with lowering springs, also now being autocrossed. Feels really good.
If Delco struts are anything like the OEM struts, then they don't have any resistance on compression, only on the rebound. I prefer having resistance with shocks and struts going both ways.
I appreciate real life testimony, that means alot. I cant find a lot of technical data on delcos, so thats why im asking so much, there really isnt much in search ane i dont hear much about them. I dont know about rebound and compression resistance on the new ones, i would assume they would, just like all modern struts out there. I just havea bad taste in my mouth reguarding kyb, we use them at the shop all the time for various cars and ive never been impressed with them, especially when they sometimes fail prematurely. There is no warranty option on struts wih cut off perches im sure of that.
Originally posted by Patrick: I respect what The Ogre posts here, and I don't know exactly what he has or hasn't said about Monroe Sensa-Trac struts, but to suggest that these struts "don't like being lowered" is... wrong.
If Delco struts are anything like the OEM struts, then they don't have any resistance on compression, only on the rebound. I prefer having resistance with shocks and struts going both ways.
Monroe with PSD (All Fiero premium products) use grooves in center of piston tube. Monroe's own words:
quote
Disadvantages: If vehicle ride height is not within manufacturer's specified range, piston travel may be limited to the control zone
Lowering the car can mess shock/struts "adjustment." Is more complicated then that for "Training" page. End result lowed cars have no clue where the slots/grooves are. Low cars could be fully in Control zone, fully in Comfort Zone or at the "border" where two zones meet.
Gabriel and most others doesn't care about ride height as long as the units doesn't hit end of travel. Hitting that while driving can/will kill the piston etc.
ACDelco and Delphi makes most products under contract from lowest bidder. Current ACDelco only offers "Premium Gas Charged" units. You need to find who won the contract. Is Monroe then you can have same issue.
edit to fix link
[This message has been edited by theogre (edited 07-09-2014).]
I too lowered my car with Monroe SensaTracs and had no problems. The ride is good and I don't see any problem with them wearing out
What The Ogre states is undoubtably true as are all of his posts, however, I am running Sensatracs on my lowered car with coil overs and it is a huge improvement over whatever brand it was that I replaced. The logic that the strut might not perform properly if the piston is not positioned in the stock bore area makes sense, but they do seem to work with the position that results from my lowered suspension.
How far are you lowered on monroes, im going down 2"
Good question. The car had the coil overs when I bought it. I just replaced the old worn struts. I could measure the distance from the rear wheel opening to the ground but I'm out of town right now. I did try it with the rear height about stock and then lowered it quite a bit and the ride didn't changed. It's not slammed. The height is about what a Fiero looks like with lowering springs.
Monroe with PSD (All Fiero premium products) use grooves in center of piston tube. Monroe's own words: "If vehicle ride height is not within manufacturer's specified range, piston travel may be limited to the control zone" www.monroe.com/en-US/suppor...ing/Shock-Absorbers/ Lowering the car can mess shock/struts "adjustment." Is more complicated then that for "Training" page. End result lowed cars have no clue where the slots/grooves are. Low cars could be fully in Control zone, fully in Comfort Zone or at the "border" where two zones meet.
Ogre, this is all good info... but let's look at it a bit more in depth.
Here's an image of a Sensa-Trac shock showing the "zones".
And this is what's stated in the Monroe blurb which accompanies the image. The bolding of certain passages is mine.
quote
Originally posted by Monroe:
The second zone, the control zone, is utilized during demanding driving situations. In this zone the piston travels out of the mid range area of the pressure tube and beyond the grooves. The entire fluid flow is directed through the piston valving for more control of the vehicle's suspension. The result is improved vehicle handling and better control without sacrificing ride comfort.
So if a car is lowered, it's conceivable that the Sensa-Trac shock/strut might be in the "control zone" full time. Reading what's stated above, would that be that such a bad thing? The ride might be stiffer. Isn't that what most (all?) of us are after when we alter our suspensions?
If the suspension is lowered with cut and/or shorter springs, the strut might have a stiffer feel to it due to where the now more compressed strut sits at rest.
There seemed to be some agreement that flipping over the strut mounting plate may return the strut to the "comfort zone", and I went on to state...
quote
Originally posted by Patrick:
In conclusion, it would appear then that struts with variable rate damping can retain their smooth riding "sweet spot" on a lowered car if the strut top mounting plate is flipped over and the strut is extended a bit. I imagine the same should occur with front shocks if a spacer is used between the bottom shock mount and the lower control arm. (That would also help prevent the front shocks from bottoming out as discussed HERE.)
All I can say is that any apprehension over using Sensa-Trac struts/shocks with lowering springs or cut stock springs is probably unfounded. In my opinion, the possibility that Sensa-Trac struts/shocks might end up in the "control zone" full time is a positive potential outcome... especially for hard driving, autocross, etc.
This is a good, thought provoking discussion.
[This message has been edited by Patrick (edited 07-10-2014).]
I'd understand that as the shock already being partially through its travel all of the time, so it's always in the firmer 'control zone', and with less travel.