C3 Motorsports users PLEASE.

[DSP74]

As I understand things, you are supplied with 450lb springs, Vorshlag plates, and VW short body inserts....
Awhile back community member Stuck mentioned that he has no issues with the spring dropping out of position when the car is jacked up.
So in checking with all other C3 users, what is your front setup?
How much lower than stock are you?
How far down the adjuster are you?
How much did you shorten the strut housing?
Finally if you have them, can you post pictures of the cars spring setup when jacked up?
I'm looking to juggle shortened strut housing length, and spring perch/adjuster position to not need any helper/tender springs.
FWIW I'd like to shorten my housings 3" and run a spacer of 1" on the top side of the insert.

This will mean I simply won't just cut off the seat and drop the adjuster on top of the remains....It can go ANYwhere.

[Slyder]

As I understand things, you are supplied with 450lb springs, Vorshlag plates, and VW short body inserts....
Awhile back community member Stuck mentioned that he has no issues with the spring dropping out of position when the car is jacked up.
So in checking with all other C3 users, what is your front setup?
How much lower than stock are you?
How far down the adjuster are you?
How much did you shorten the strut housing?
Finally if you have them, can you post pictures of the cars spring setup when jacked up?
I'm looking to juggle shortened strut housing length, and spring perch/adjuster position to not need any helper/tender springs.
FWIW I'd like to shorten my housings 3" and run a spacer of 1" on the top side of the insert.

This will mean I simply won't just cut off the seat and drop the adjuster on top of the remains....It can go ANYwhere.

As most products normally do, the kit has evolved from it's original contents. The C3 kit has not used VW inserts for a while now, but rather a specialized race insert. The adjusters have a full 3.5" range of adjustment, but that is going to depend on where you weld the perch to the strut. The location shown in the instructions is more of a recommended placement than a requirement.

With either a race insert or the VW insert, you will not be able to shorten the housings by three inches and use a one-inch spacer. It's mathematically impossible. Stuck (aka Jordan) does not have any issue with the spring coming loose when the car is jacked up because he is using one of the newer race inserts with shorter piston travel. This would be more of an issue using the VW insert, but still does not have any real effect on performance.

It's not really recommended to shorten the housings by more than an inch, wspecially for street cars as you'll end up with a radically reduced amount of usable wheel travel.

The 450# front springs are only a baseline for the kit. Customers are allowed to specify what springs they want to run. So you will find a variety of folks running anywhere from 375# through 650# in the front and from 475# to 1250# in the rear. It all depends on the intended use of the car.

[DSP74]

With either a race insert or the VW insert, you will not be able to shorten the housings by three inches and use a one-inch spacer. It's mathematically impossible. Stuck (aka Jordan) does not have any issue with the spring coming loose when the car is jacked up because he is using one of the newer race inserts with shorter piston travel. This would be more of an issue using the VW insert, but still does not have any real effect on performance.

It's not really recommended to shorten the housings by more than an inch, wspecially for street cars as you'll end up with a radically reduced amount of usable wheel travel.

The 450# front springs are only a baseline for the kit. Customers are allowed to specify what springs they want to run. So you will find a variety of folks running anywhere from 375# through 650# in the front and from 475# to 1250# in the rear. It all depends on the intended use of the car.

As I understand it the VW inserts are 4" shorter than a standard body insert.....
How is it mathematically impossible to shorten the housing 3"


The statement about shortening the housing makes no sense whatsoever. Having the housing shortened will only increase suspension travel. Never decrease it.....On a car lowered 2"-(standard procedure) the housing would need to be shortened approximately 1-3/4" just to get back to stock. As far as suspension travel is concerned.

A long shaft/short body insert will be more likely to bottom internally hence the spacer on top. Lower the car two 2" and the shaft is 2" closer to the bottom of the insert housing. Now put a 2" spacer on the bottom and you are now 4" closer to bottoming the insert....Hit a bump while weight is transferred in a corner and..........well it's plain to see what the results of that will be...

With a 4" insert the spacers need to go on TOP.

From other folks via PM I've realized that in almost all instances your kit in front will leave the springs unseated when jacked up.....Without going into all of this again, I will say that is COMPLETELY NORMAL.
But not desireable IMO.....There are ways around it....And it would only increase price...But something worthlooking at for those folks looking to do more than just slam their car so it looks cool.

[deansbimmer]

I dont remember by how much my housings were shortened, but with 16" wheels, the rim sits 3" below the pulled fenders. The spring perches are about 1/2" from their bottom-most possible adjustment.. I'm using 450/750 springs.

My fronts don't seperate when I lift the car either.

[Slyder]

As I understand it the VW inserts are 4" shorter than a standard body insert.....
How is it mathematically impossible to shorten the housing 3"

The inserts are 3.25" shorter, not 4". If you shortened the strut by 3", you would need a 0.25" spacer.

The statement about shortening the housing makes no sense whatsoever. Having the housing shortened will only increase suspension travel. Never decrease it.....On a car lowered 2"-(standard procedure) the housing would need to be shortened approximately 1-3/4" just to get back to stock. As far as suspension travel is concerned.

You may want to rethink your example. By shortening the insert, the piston, and the strut itself...you are reducing travel. You can regain some travel lost by shortening the strut body to a point. But as you lower a car, you are going to reduce the amount of usable travel.

A long shaft/short body insert will be more likely to bottom internally hence the spacer on top. Lower the car two 2" and the shaft is 2" closer to the bottom of the insert housing. Now put a 2" spacer on the bottom and you are now 4" closer to bottoming the insert....Hit a bump while weight is transferred in a corner and..........well it's plain to see what the results of that will be...

The C3 kits haven't had long shaft/short-bodies since the first generation of the kit a couple years ago (the first GB). The inserts with replaced with different ones for precisely that reason, plus the VW insert was not designed to handle spring rates above 450#.

The kits currently include a short-body, short piston insert...and the spacer goes below the insert, not above it. If you put the spacer above the insert, you'd have about enough room for the bump stop. This was also one of the reasons for the price increase on the kits.

With a 4" insert the spacers need to go on TOP.

Again, see above post. With the VW inserts, the spacer would go above the insert. But again, the kit no longer uses them and hasn't for a while.

All of that being said, my e30 is about 2.75-3" lower than stock (depending on whose car you're comparing it to) and I have no problems with the springs coming unseated nor any loose condition. That is primarily going to depend on the individual installing it, their experience and what they're trying to achieve.