How to make rear coil-overs using factory struts, with pics. (Page 4/49)
fierohoho FEB 12, 11:47 AM
Just to answer a few questions:

dguy-there are no set screws to pin the sleeve to the strut tube. To adjust it I plan on jacking the car up to take the load off the spring, give the lower perch a few turns and drop it back down to see how I did, not the fastest way but when you're done I doubt there would be much need to readjust later. There may be enough pressure on the sleeve to keep it from spinning but I'm not sure. The lower perch does have an allen head set screw in it so when you get everything set where you want it you can lock it down and forget it.

spearce-the ID of the sleeve is about 2.035 and the OD of the strut tube is about 1.985

Rickady88GT-it looks like the knob that sticks down from the spring retainer plate that the bushing I made sits around should be adequate enough to keep the spring centered, if you look at the pic of the underside of the assembled strut you can see the washer I put back on, that washer seats on the underside of the knob, I guess that and the washer will keep it centered good enough for me.

It would be fairly easy to find a piece of tube with an ID a little bigger than the OD of the spring and figure out how long it needs to be and then weld it to the underside of the spring retainer plate, I will definately look into this in the future though.

My guess for the rolled lips on the stock spring perchs is due to the fact it's so big in diameter and sits so far from the strut tube whereas this upgrade has the spring very close to the strut tube.

Fiero STS- I looked and found the bushings you mentioned and the dust boots, I took some pics and will throw together some additional info on the snubber later today hopefully.

cancerkazoo-here's the links for the parts I mention:
The springs- http://www.secureperformanceorder.com/onlinestore/get product.cfm?CategoryID=17&ClassID=223&SubclassID=1058&ProductID=1241
The adjusters- http://www.secureperformanceorder.com/onlinestore/getp roduct.cfm?CategoryID=16&ClassID=207&SubclassID=1016&ProductID=830

I hope that helps you.

Everyone-this in not the only source for these parts, MNGreenGT found a link for cheaper than I found, shop around and I bet you can do even better.

Rob-PM sent

[This message has been edited by fierohoho (edited 02-12-2004).]

MinnGreenGT FEB 12, 05:28 PM

quote
Originally posted by cancerkazoo:

Which kit works with our struts BRP606 or BRP617?


I used the BRP 617-7 (the 7" tower) on mine...

Chicken McNizzle FEB 12, 07:00 PM

If you had inverted the bumpstop plate you would have saved yourself from constant bottoming-out, also - find some tubing that has a 1/2" larger ID than the spring OD and weld to the plate you fabricated - this will be far more effective in centering the spring rather than relying on the rusty, decomposing bumpstop to "center" the spring.

Also, didnt see if you did or didnt reinstall the dust boots around the strut shaft, DONT, they just trap moisture that will soon rust through the chrome finish on the strut shaft which will make your new struts worthless by allowing the nitrogen ( assuming that they are N charged ) gas to escape past the seals.
Posthumane FEB 12, 07:14 PM
Someone please take the info from this thread and turn it into a more friendly format so that Cliff can put this up in the 'Tech Articles' section on the main page. This info is GOLD! I would do it myself, but I'm very busy lately. If nobody does it by next week, i will.

Btw, thanks for the awesome writeup!

fierohoho FEB 12, 07:48 PM
Rob, what do you think would be better, the 5" sleeve or the 7" sleeve, I can't think offhand that one would be better than the other.

Posthumane- thanks for the compliment, I allways thought Cliff should have a tech article section that these types of threads could be posted in where they don't eventually fall off and then drop into the archives.

MinnGreenGT FEB 12, 08:15 PM

quote
Originally posted by fierohoho:

Rob, what do you think would be better, the 5" sleeve or the 7" sleeve, I can't think offhand that one would be better than the other.


The only real benefit to using the 7" sleeve is that you could possibly get by with a shorter spring (10" - which might even be what I have)... that and it covers the whole shock body, so it's visually a bit nicer.

filthyscarecrow FEB 13, 03:57 AM
i had been thinking about this since january of last year when i got coilovers for my integra.

i just measured the ID of the sleeve for my integra C/O's (pulled them in favor of H&R sports) and it's 2 1/16 inch. these are the cheap ebay coilovers. they cost <$80 shipped for a set of 4. yes, 4 sleeves/springs/hats. meaning you could buy them, do your conversion and sell the leftover parts. they also come with upper spring hats to better center the springs. the springs they come with are generally in the 450-500lb/in rate, but new C/O springs can be had for as little as $30/ea from various online vendors (i think i got mine at race tech fab).

as for securing the threaded tube to the strut body, large diameter o-rings actually work very well. they hold it secure and center it at the same time. make sure you put one at the very top of the threaded tube though, or water will get in and rust out the strut body. to install them this way, basically you just put 3 or 4 o-rings on the strut body, about 3" above where the very bottom of the sleeve will end up, spray the inside of the sleeve with hairspray and slide it over the o-rings. they'll slide down the strut body a little bit. once the sleeve is in place, use one last o-ring to seal the very top of it so water can't get in. once the hairspray dries up, the sleeves will not turn on the strut at all. you will need a solvent to remove the sleeves in the future.

a quick search on ebay for "integra coilovers" gave me a page of results with sets as low as $40 before shipping.
integra sets should all be slightly over 2" ID for the tube and should work with stock shocks, but aftermarket shocks like KYB may have a larger diameter (the ones for my integra were about 3/16" larger diameter).

hope this is useful info..

[This message has been edited by filthyscarecrow (edited 02-13-2004).]

Lambo nut FEB 13, 11:21 AM
In the middle of doing this very thing. I did not like the clearance between the coil and the upper plate's center piece, so I slide a piece of 2" schd 40 pipe, 2" in length over the snub on the upper spring plate, and tack welded into place. Won't move around much any more, and allows for a 2" unload, before the spring tries to relocate itself ( I don't plan on jumping anything anyway! ). Also, I did not reuse the big piece of the upper assembly, with the studs on it. I just took some 3/8", grade 8 bolts, 3/4" long, and tacked to the bottom of the smaller plate. they fit right in these holes, but will need to drill the ones on the car slightly larger, as they are closer to the 5/16" size. I did reuse the washer on the strut though, and had to turn it down to fit in the 2" pipe. This piece appears to keep the strut from extending through the top plate if the rubber were to fail in the upper piece. Might keep the rod from going through the deck lid. And it does go as in the picture, if installed the other way, it will not allow the rubber in the upper piece to do it's thing. Like I said, still in the middle of this, but so far so good. I am using the 7" sleeves to cover the strut body as well, and went with 300#, 12" coils. Sleeves and nuts from Coleman racing, and coils from Summit Racing.

Kevin

watts FEB 13, 01:06 PM
With regards to securing the tube to the strut...

When I got my Held coilovers for my 88cradle->87body kit, they simply have you smear a film of silicone on the inside of the tube. Slide it in place, clear off the squished out mess, and you're golden!

It's a minor PITA to get them off if you need new struts (already upgraded mine once), but it's totally do-able.

Deezlfitr FEB 13, 01:24 PM

quote
Originally posted by Master Tuner Akimoto:

Great documentation+ for ya.


Ditto from me... and very timely! I just received new struts and want to go to coil-overs! Thanks

------------------
Deezlfitr
"Life is just a bowl of cherries... ya just gotta watch out for the pits!"

1986 GT/Auto (my first)