Succeeded & failed coilover attempt on the ae92

[toyotaspeed90]

well.... when we were moving, we had to clean the old garage out....... there were several parts to cars that we didn't own.... there was a set of (cheap) front coilovers from a CRX (one with the full strut assembly, the other just with the collar, nuts, spring, & top retainer)..... so, i was thinking that the front of the ae92 looked a little high, & i would attempt to put them on..... worst case scenario i figured would that it would look good but ride terribly & i can just swap the old springs back in...

well.... first off when i got the ae92 strut assemblies out i realized the collar wouldn't fit over part of the strut....... i easily took a dremel to it & shaved it down enough for the collar to fit snugly (i figured that could also act as something to hold the spring in place better)....

after a little work, i was able to get the collar on:

(sorry it's sideways... i'm too lazy to switch it, lol)

obviously the spring fit just fine...... though the collar & spring were shorter than the old spring (with the collar at fully lowered).... i started with the first side about 1 1/2" up (shown).... however, to get the top retainer on i had to drill out the top hole...... which was easy as the retainer was aluminum....



when i finished one side... i wasn't too pleased with the differences in sides....... in fact, at first what i had before was about 1/2 lower.... after raising the car up & bringing the coilover down to fully lowered, the 2 sides still seemed about the same...

i thought to myself, well the other springs might be holding that side up a bit still..... i'll do the other side anyways

well....



if anything it *might* be a 1/4" lower than before.... but the ride is terrible & it makes noises over bumps.... i'm gonna go back to what i had.... i'm thinking i might try getting my old springs & cutting a coil off, see how that goes though...

[Flashmn]

You're probably at the upper limit of the shock = not good.
You did the whole thing wrong, what you need to do is cut off the spring perch and install the sleeve much lower and have it welded in.

[toyotaspeed90]

Originally Posted by Flashmn

You're probably at the upper limit of the shock = not good.
You did the whole thing wrong, what you need to do is cut off the spring perch and install the sleeve much lower and have it welded in.

the whole attempt was because they were free...... and so that when i went to tracks i could still put the ST springs in.... as i can drive the car better like that than with anything else..... no big deal... i'll just sell them or hold on to them... they were free

with these coilovers... yeah they're near the "upper" limit of the shock..... when the car is lifted there is a good 2" between the top retainer and the spring (maybe even 3") but the spring is just so stiff it only moves down maybe an inch (total of 3" travel when just sitting on the strut)..... the ST springs aren't quite that bad, and they're softer springs....