TeamCapri
Tech, Repairs, Upgrades => Brakes/Suspension/Tires/Wheels => Topic started by: aussie on April 14, 2003, 01:34:00 PM
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i was wondering if anyone is happy on how low there car sits! ive got suspenion tech springs just not low enough!!
ive cut coils off cars in the past and i know its now recommend but TUFF :) i was thinking of cutting off like ont whole coil i think that would lower it another 1''
anyone done this!!
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I bought lowering springs from SSV and had them installed at a local tire shop. I don't think cutting the springs is safe.
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I agree spring cutting isnt safe. Exspecial if you cut the wrong end and loose the stiff of the 2 ends.
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i have to agree i wouldnt cut for safety reasons i have h&r springs on mine it was a nice drop and ride i think i have about 1-2 inch fender well gap but very good handling
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You should get coilover setup from corksport or any other place, this will allow you to change ride as you like..
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yeah coil over is a very nice way to drop ride height
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BUT COIL OVER COMPRESS THE SPRING RIGHT?? WOULDNT THAT AFFECT RIDE AND HANDLE IF YOU OVER COMPRESS THE SPRING????
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Hmm.. I don't know what you mean, but every setup compresses the spring (http://smile.gif)
Originally posted by aussie:
BUT COIL OVER COMPRESS THE SPRING RIGHT?? WOULDNT THAT AFFECT RIDE AND HANDLE IF YOU OVER COMPRESS THE SPRING????
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No. A coilover will not compress a spring more then if it was on struts alone. All a coilover doesnt is give a adjustable seat for the spring to sit in. Struts have a place that the spring sits in so it doesnt slide up/down on. A coilover sits where the spring would normally sit on the strut then providing a seating area in itself for the spring. The bottom seat of the coilover is where you typicly find a two piece design. One being the seat the other being the threaded cynlinder. The seat spins around the cynlinder allowing it you to adjust your ride hieght up or down. One warning. Springs from a coilover will not fit on struts alone. They area acctually little larger then standard springs for your strut. This is so that the spring doesnt come in contact at all with the strut during compression and decompression. Hope this helps and answers anyones question.
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Hi!
I#M new here. I live in Austria, and it's very hard to get parts for the Capri Conv. Now I got some problems with law, because my car is to low.
They told me to put the original Springs in. But I don't have them.
Can I put all 4 Coil Springs from a Mazda??
Which Mazda what year? Model?
Please help!
Thanx in advance!
Dejan
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You can use struts and springs from a 86-89 mazda 323 non gt/gtx. Also springs from a mecury tracer, ford escort and or ford festia will work to for springs.
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The cops busted you for having it too low? That’s ridiculous, there are stock cars that could nearly get high centered on a pebble. (http://graemlins/Oo.gif) Is there some law down there that stipulates that you have to keep a car pretty close to factory specs?
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Well even the highest performance springs for the capri drop the car 1 inch the rest go even lower. These are all reading below stock spring height.
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my h&r drop my capri a littl over 2 inches. i measured before and after
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Well it is finished. My baby is safely back home in my driveway. What happened today you ask? Well she got her new legs a new set of 4 HP struts and a new set of 4 coilovers and she is sitting with a nice 2 inch drop. Yep I did say coilovers. (http://graemlins/alien.gif)
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And when will you paint her red, black or teal?
Hey, did ya ever check out the pix of my doba?
BTW, it's being shipped out next week.
I feel like an anxious groom, lol.
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HAHA. Groom? HEHE. Still waiting for 2 more parts before it gets painted though I did want the struts and springs to be put on first in fear the mechanic you scratch her after she was painted.
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Anthony,
what springs/struts are you going to have installed? How much will the drop be and what do they say the ride quality will be?
C
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Well if you want posted price your looking at 600-700 for the struts and 400 for the coilover. The ride is not comfy but it is tight on the cornerings. Those prices do not include shipping either. I got mine at a much lower price. (http://graemlins/alien.gif) Ya Me! (http://graemlins/alien.gif) But they lower the car anywhere from 1"-3" from stock. But if you didnt like the lowering springs on your car this will not even a little bit make it better infact it may be rougher since the springs used are Eibachs Pro Series springs.
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Who makes springs and struts that provide a nice combination of performance AND ride quality? I refuse to believe that every ride out there with lowering springs feel like s%&# when hitting the smallest of road imperfections aka potholes.
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Well its true. Any lowering spring will feel like crap. They are not called lowering springs they are performance handling springs. Which are not designed for comfort. If you got stock springs and cut them down they you will have comfortable ride but also have a hell of alot of bottoming outs. I have Tokico HP struts and Ground-Control coilovers. I think the combination is great but they are not comfortable since they are designed for great handling. If you want to have more cushin in your ride you may want to try better struts the struts I have provide more stiff resistence with more cushining on bumps.
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ive never lowered a car before, and was wondering what the instructions would be if i where to lower my capri myself, plus when buying springs how do i know if their good and if their coil overs or not, please helpssssss because i heard its DANGEROUS lowering a vehicle, hints, tips, or instructions would help alot
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Putting in lowering springs is and aftermarket struts are like replacing the old strut and springs. When using lowering springs with your old strut the new lowered hieght will call stress on your strut. If your struts are more then 30-40K in milage old you may want to think about replacin them with OEMs or aftermarket struts. Last you want is a strut to blow out on you when driving. The dangerous thing when lowering a car is the chances of bottoming out when hitting bumps or potholes. Also more stress is on the car since the springs will not be absuorbing as much of the bumps as before. A lowering spring is just a spring like stock springs and run 50-300 bucks, good ones will run retail 150-300. Coilovers are adjustable springs. Imagine a spring with endcaps on both ends of the spring. The car sits on the top cap while the bottom cap has a hollow threaded cylinder in it that rest on the strut. Now when you want to raise or lower the car you just twist the bottom cap and the threaded cylinder will raise or lower depending. A Coilover set will run you 200-600, good ones will run retail 300-600 for are car and I seen some for other cars run 1000 just for the coilover. My biggest recommendtion for anyone is to replace the struts and bolts when using either lowering option.
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also it is a good idea to keep an eye on your toe in when messing around with this area of your car wouldnt want thoes tires to go bad
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That is a good point. Caster and chamber are stuff to look at. When I lowered my car with a 2" drop I didnt need to change anything else. Thought other cars may need it. I think when you drop below 2" or 2 1/2" you need to get caster screws for the low section of the strut where it connects to the rest of the car to correct it.
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thanx i just bought my car and looking at the springs they have like a round thing on the top of the springs where the car sits on, i cant see the other end of the springs though
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also inside the springs there are tube looking items, would that mean its coilovers or not neccesserly
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Not sure exactly what you mean. Around the strut towards one of the ends of the spring you see a thread like tube, that is part of a coilover. you know when you see them.
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there is a pic of coilovers in his gallery
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hey anthony (aka ste) my cars springs or coilovers look exactly like the ones you have in the picture in the gallary, what does that make them? springs or coilovers (please dont laugh) and if they are coilovers which im pray to god they are, how do i adjust them please please please help thanx doods
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If they look like mine then they are coilovers. Adjusting them are easy. The bottom seat is also a height adjuster, turnin it will raise and lower the car. The directions will tell you that when you get them, cause all coilovers come with atleast that. What company did you get for springs/coilovers? Here is a picture of my coilovers before I had them installed. Notice how clean and shiny they are before I used them hehe. If it was only easy to keep them clean 24/7. (http://teamcapri.com/projectcapri/images/gccoilover.jpg)
Wont laught at ya man. Only laught a certain people like bill. hehe (http://graemlins/alien.gif)
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haha how clean are they, nah my mistake they dont look like that, they look like picture 10, in your galary i take it their not coilovers? i bought the car with them like that so i dont really get instructions... are the ones in picture 10 of the capri gallary coilovers?
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Its hard to tell in the picture but that is my coilover in the picture 10. See the end caps are hidden on the bottom by the pirch and the top one is just out of camera view.
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im in australia here dood, i asked people in the office what pirch means, i dont think we have that word in our dictionary, (http://smile.gif) could you be a little more specific what a pirch is? i really do apreciate this help mate, so the main thing to know if my capri has coilovers is to look if it has the 2 caps, no caps no coilovers, caps = coilovers right? and i just spin the bottom cap to alter the height? dont need to have the car sitting on a jack before i alter the height either?
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Should has typed perch. On the strut half way up it there is a seat or a perch that the spring sits on. All capris have struts and springs stock. After market upgrand most common is lowering springs. The company that most people get and talk about are proble the H&R springs. With coilovers you will need to jack them up inless you have ground-control due to the design.
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okay thanx heaps dood
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looks like i dont have coilovers, i can see the two cone looking things, with the springs inside em and a tube looking item inthe middle but i dont see anything else to turn to lower the car
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Thats probly the strut it self or a boot cover.
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Anthony's quote
"I only laugh at people like bill"
Thanks bud.
BTW, that clicking noise from my drivers side rear wheel well is a bad strut.
The mechanic wants 520 bucks for a new set of struts and mounts for the rear.
Says I should change em both at the same time.
Is that a fair price?
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Its usally good idea to replace the oppisite side strut to get the same feel from both sides of the car. If its been a while for all the struts, chances are your gonna see them go up soon too. You can get new struts for around 200 if you get KYGs i believe and strut mounts for all 4 struts may run you 50 bucks. I'd look around online or maybe someone here knows of a good deal that you can get. Even performance struts with OEM springs will still give you that great ride but at a longer live age.
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oh is that all, that okay then, well after reading that i got a guy to do it today , and he only lowered it 1 inch which looks dumb its still the same, so im gonna go back complain about that, but he said itll settle in a few hours and sit lower so hmmmm, mechanic or honest talk? i dont know...
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does anyone recommend i instal my own lowering springs, because these guys in sydney charge an arm and a leg for labour, or would installing them be dangerour in the case that the springs will fly and poke my eye... in that case money would be a better option?
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Have you ever installed springs before on a car? Also I wouldnt worry about poking your eye out. More like breaking your jaw or breaking your ribs.
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there's a limit to how low you can take a car from it's god (and ford) given design. typically, more that 1.5" is a no no - it creates poor handling, and will prematurely wear out the struts/tires from bottoming out/excessive camber change
i bought a set of H&R's and cut one coil from them... i haven't installed them yet, but i hope they give me 1.5" and a firmer spring rate (the end coils have a lower spring rate when they are progressive, like the H&R's).
rob
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hey Rob,gotta question.since your last post in dec
on this subject,have you installed those H&R springs?did you cut a full coil off the bottom or top?finally,how much did it drop the car as opposed to installing them as is?i've got the Tokico's and i'm fixing to order the H&R's but was
wondering whether to cut them or not.one inch doesnt seem like very much on these cars wheel gaps!any suggestions or advice?
thanks.
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If your worried about wheel gap 1" isnt gonna be enough. you can lower it 3-4" and may get rid of the gap with stock wheels. Capris have wheel gaps that make truck jealous. hehe.
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i used spring tech lowering springs i got 1 3/4 inchs all round!
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Where can you buy Spring tech springs?
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Suspension Technique
Suspension Techniques Inc
2822 East California Ave
Fresno, CA 91721
US
tel: 209-266-9173
fax: 209-266-4348
www.belltechcorp.com (http://www.belltechcorp.com)
NOT TO FAR FROM YOU!