Coilovers. Someone get me on track

[BrettsE30]

Hey ive got an 87 cabrio and it needs to get low. I want to do coilovers. Im not racing it but i do drive pretty hard on some not so nice roads. I usually have atleast one other person in the car and some stuff in the trunk. I will be putting some new wheels on soon too. I have been looking at ground control kits and just have a few unanswered questions. I have no problem buying the full kit but id like to know if i can make it better and save a few bucks by doing it myself with different shocks like bilsteins instead of the included konis, and different mounts, camber plates etc.

The rear looks pretty straight forward, short springs with adjusters. What spring rate is used and do i need to get a shorter shock? Again brands and any part numbers/ reviews would be great.

Now for the fronts ive been reading about shorter inserts but im not sure where to buy them. Also where to shorten the housing. How does the kit actually attach to my housings? And what rates on the front.

Any info would be greatly appreciated and if you need me to clarify anything just ask. Thanks guys.

[JRKOUPE]

Hey ive got an 87 cabrio and it needs to get low. I want to do coilovers. Im not racing it but i do drive pretty hard on some not so nice roads. I usually have atleast one other person in the car and some stuff in the trunk. I will be putting some new wheels on soon too. I have been looking at ground control kits and just have a few unanswered questions. I have no problem buying the full kit but id like to know if i can make it better and save a few bucks by doing it myself with different shocks like bilsteins instead of the included konis, and different mounts, camber plates etc.

The rear looks pretty straight forward, short springs with adjusters. What spring rate is used and should i get a shorter shock? Again brands and any part numbers/ reviews would be great.

Now for the fronts ive been reading about shorter inserts but im not sure where to buy them. Also where to shorten the housing. How does the kit actually attach to my housings? And what rates on the front.

Any info would be greatly appreciated and if you need more info from me just ask. Thanks guys.

You really need to search...there is so much info on this everywhere.

You may not need camb. plates......they may offer an upper spring perch to be used w/ your oe strut mount..just ask.

rates can be what you want.....frts can be 350 or so......rrs can be 450/500 or so...very comfy. To get very low you need to cut your housings...or GC can do that. For the street at modest rates, Billies will work fine. There may even be a short billie avail to buy online.....I cant recall......maybe for a Corrado?...

[BrettsE30]

I want the car to be real low like almost on the ground low, when they're adjusted down. When it's all the way up I want it to be reasonably comfy to drive. If that's not possible I completly understand. I'm learning. I just want to get a good solid start to the world of suspensions. The biggest Concern is the shocks, and rates. I've been told verts need a stronger spring.

[z31maniac]

Talk to Jay (Hellabad) at Ground Control. Shortened front housings with the custom valved Konis should get you where you want to be. I ran 550/750 on the street with 40 series tires on 17s and thought the ride was great, even with our terrible roads here.

Yes the Verts need heavier springs, because they are few hundred pounds heavier than non-vert cars.

[BrettsE30]

Everybody likes the konis the kit comes with? No other opinions? Also how do I get the rear real low? Super short springs?

[MG325i]

gc would be the way to go. with the koni shortened front shocks. your rates for your vert would be around 525F/800R with shortened strut housings.