ecotec swap (Page 57/98) wftb OCT 31, 07:44 AM front end changes : you can see that with the shock upside down , there is very little interference .a little grinding of the old spring pocket and spring perch and then some touch up welding.i need to get some new springs for these shocks .my old springs were 10" long but narrower and after cleaning one off found out they were 300 lb rate .being 1 7/8 ID they have a tendency to sag about a half inch over the summer so i want a slightly higher spring rate .the new shocks have a slightly shorter travel than the old shocks , so i may go with a 9" spring .i will have to find my old QA-1 catalogue to find which spring i am going to need .that info used to be on their web site , but the new website has everything but the charts i need . wftb OCT 31, 09:53 PM i called QA-1 today and they said the spring i need is a 9" 350 lb that should work out slightly stiffer than my 300 X10" springs .dont know where all the charts went off of their web site but they said there is a lot of work yet to be done on the new site .i called summit racing to add two springs to my brake order that has not been shipped yet.so i am now prepping my front suspension for the larger diameter springs and shocks and everything will fit really well .the new shocks are QA-1 DR 4855P and have about 8 steps on the adjuster knob .the neat thing about them is you can mount them upside down , crank the tire out with the steering wheel and change the setting with no tools and carry on .i was playing around with them today and on the stiffest setting i could barely depress the shaft but on the soft setting i could lean on it a hair and it collapsed .just amazing .and i just have the cheap version .the better version has two knobs , one for compression and one for rebound . doublec4 OCT 31, 10:47 PM Man, you don't waste any time when you say you're going to do something! You get it done! wftb NOV 01, 10:48 PM when i work on something i dont quit until it is done or i need to go to sleep so i can work the next day .and it really helps that all of my kids are either married or away at school and doing really well and i dont have to worry about them anymore .i have enjoyed being a father but it is really funny at 57 i now have the same freedom i had before i got married .only now i have more money luckily .so plan your lives well my young apprentices , there is fulfillment coming .except i really did not plan that well , i hate to say but i think i have been more lucky than good . my dad always said if i stepped in a bucket of sh@t i always pulled a boot out that smelled like roses .you dont have to be really good , just good enough .anyway , i got one side done today and it really went a lot better than expected .pics: plan B if i cant get the subaru stuff to work all back together for now .got to put the wheels back on so i can spin it around and do the other side .i like the way the red springs look but are 2" to short . wftb NOV 01, 10:53 PM forgot to post the comparison shot between the two shocks : wftb NOV 06, 05:58 PM got the other side done yesrerday .went a little quicker .while i have things apart i am setting the caster to around 4 and hopefully the same on both sides .my last allignment only had one thing in the red and that was pass. side caster .when i put this suspension on originally i did not have a welder , so i cut out what i had to and just folded the joint over .since the control arm mount tube is welded top and bottom i figured it would not move .and it hasnt , but now it is welded properly and looks a lot better .before : after : still waiting on more parts .i am going to start the rear clip replacement while i wait . wftb NOV 17, 09:28 AM i cancelled the willwood kit today .it got back ordered for the third time so since i had already prepaid for it i cancelled the order to get my money back .summit is going to put the money back in my credit card acct so no problems there .i am going to call willwood direct to see if i can get it from them .there is also some other online sites i can try .plan b is starting to look better though , since i already have those callipers .the lighter weight discs are the main appeal of this kit . BigBrother NOV 17, 05:48 PM StopTech and some others also make pretty lightweight 2-piece setups... wftb NOV 20, 12:02 AM looked up the wrx stop tech stuff .over 3000.00 .and it does not look as good as wilwood stuff .i am going to use the willwood gm metric racing calipers until i can get the willwood subaru kit .for 930.00 it is a real bargain . wftb DEC 02, 02:45 PM got my new 9" 350 lb springs installed .so other than setting the ride height , this mod is now finished .i am going to put new rod ends on this year as well , but i will do that just before i take it in for allignment . starting the HT bumpsteer kit install . axle nut came off easily with my electric impact wrench : the axle has to be removed to install the kit .have to work nights all weekend but i should get a lot done between now and monday .i will try to get a lot of pics of this mod to the rear suspension .