Ground Contorl?

[Tarn]

Reading some old posts i see people saying that coil overs fail on roads and should only be used on track. Also i read that GC is a "low" quality brand compared to H&R. Also do you have to cut and weld your origonal strut mounts? Is the above ture or am i reading the wrong stuff?

Thanks, Tarn.

[Jean]

Post a link to the thread(s). You don't have to cut, but you can and then run shorter front shocks.

If the kit would brake on the street, do you think it would then make sense to run on the track where you are going even faster and putting more load on it ? I think not.

[Tarn]

Post a link to the thread(s). You don't have to cut, but you can and then run shorter front shocks.

If the kit would brake on the street, do you think it would then make sense to run on the track where you are going even faster and putting more load on it ? I think not.

I will look for it later im at work. What you say makes sence i just want to be sure. As for the lower shocks is that just to get a lower stance?

[JRKOUPE]

I will look for it later im at work. What you say makes sence i just want to be sure. As for the lower shocks is that just to get a lower stance?

GC's are well proven........

short shocks allow one to maintain proper shock travel.....

cutting tubes allow you to go very low...you can get low w/o cutting.its not necessary.

[Tarn]

short shocks allow one to maintain proper shock travel.....

So not cutting the tubes you will have improper shock travel??

[JRKOUPE]

So not cutting the tubes you will have improper shock travel??

no.

Lowered cars lose shock travel......short shocks allow you to keep travel.

Shortened strut tubes allow you to lower car even more.....its not needed. Youll get alot of lowering w/ stock st. tubes......w/ the GC kit.

hows that?

[Tarn]

hows that?

lol thats great! thanks for the help :D

[etxxz]

here's why

cutting the tubes is only required if you're going to drop the car a lot with stock struts you can put GC's and some koni/bill sport (~ 4" shorter shocks) and set up the adjuster perch so that the spring doesnt separate from the top hat even when lifted then you'll have optimun traven on that shock and still drop the car an inch - inch.5

now, if you cut the strut 1" for example, if you set it up correctly like i stated above, you'll get 1" of extra drop since everythings moving down 1 extra inch.

remember: you dont want the shock to be compressed far down when you put the car back on the ground = newb mistake and you'll live on the bumptops and/or blow the shocks. you wanna set it up so that the shock tube can travel up and down as much as possible

think geometrics, draw it if you must. calculate that the spring compresses a bit when you put the car back on the ground and that this little distance is good to have 'cuase otherwise you'll lift a wheel whenever the shock goes all the way up = BAD. play with the heigth, tune it out.

but if you're going for looks and the perfect drop well...do yar thing....you can play with the tube/spacers inside the strut and with some immagination you can accomplish both. good luck, someone correct me if i said something wrong i'm newbiish at this too.

[Mystikal]

I have around 140,000km on my GC setup. Never any sort of issue.

-Jay

[JRKOUPE]

cutting the tubes is only required if you're going to drop the car a lot with stock struts you can put GC's and some koni/bill sport (~ 4" shorter shocks) and set up the adjuster perch so that the spring doesnt separate from the top hat even when lifted then you'll have optimun traven on that shock and still drop the car an inch - inch.5

now, if you cut the strut 1" for example, if you set it up correctly like i stated above, you'll get 1" of extra drop since everythings moving down 1 extra inch.

remember: you dont want the shock to be compressed far down when you put the car back on the ground = newb mistake and you'll live on the bumptops and/or blow the shocks. you wanna set it up so that the shock tube can travel up and down as much as possible

think geometrics, draw it if you must. calculate that the spring compresses a bit when you put the car back on the ground and that this little distance is good to have 'cuase otherwise you'll lift a wheel whenever the shock goes all the way up = BAD. play with the heigth, tune it out.

but if you're going for looks and the perfect drop well...do yar thing....you can play with the tube/spacers inside the strut and with some immagination you can accomplish both. good luck, someone correct me if i said something wrong i'm newbiish at this too.

Your post was so long I couldnt get thru it.......so Im not sure if I even know u said sumthin wrong.

[Massive Lee]

To be clear. The e30 shocks will work in the stock length tubes. If you want to lower the car a lot, you will need shorter shocks and to cut the strut. Bilstein Sport by themself will not help much. You must use even shorter shocks that where not intended for the e30. Corrado inserts are the way to go. They are much shorter and will require a tube/spacer to be inserted at the bottom of the strut.

[1991 318is]

Most tracks are pretty smooth. Streets and roads can have some horrendously large and fast input to the suspension (fancy way of saying potholes). Also there is a lot less mileage on track cars. In addition warranties are less strict for competition parts. In that sense your statement is probably true.
a pothole with 600 pound springs will make you think the "Big Bang" is happening again!

[Tarn]

ok points taken and appreciated. As for ride hight, i only want to lower alittle to the point were the wheel arches are allmost flush with the top of the tire. Nothing crazy low because i still want to drive it :P

[etxxz]

on the rear 1/2"-1" should do it but the front has like a 3" gap so if you want performance and eliminate 2.5" of that gap you should do some cutting. i have a friend running billies sports on GC 500/650 and a finger.5sh of gap on the front and hits the bump stops more often than not and although i think w/o the bump stops he'll be find but he'd rather not take that chance

[golde30]

on the rear 1/2"-1" should do it but the front has like a 3" gap so if you want performance and eliminate 2.5" of that gap you should do some cutting. i have a friend running billies sports on GC 500/650 and a finger.5sh of gap on the front and hits the bump stops more often than not and although i think w/o the bump stops he'll be find but he'd rather not take that chance

this is how my car is setup, i took out the bumpstops, and i am fine.