Got the TEL Pro-Kit and KYB AGX on...pix!

Rear:

Front:

I haven't driven it yet, since as you can tell I'm boxed in.

Its not slammed, and I'm happy with its new stance.

Thanks to Hertz for the image hosting!

 

Is the rear lower than the front?

 

Its not lower in the back, but the car is "level" now.

I haven't driven on it yet, so I don't know what will happen once it all "settles".

 

I had the Pro Kit on my car last year, I tried to convince myself it looked ok for a few months(it was low in the rear) and finally got tired of it. Solution? Use a set of stock DSM springs in the rear, it makes it look great.

It will be squat even worse when you have any weight in the car.

 

it may just be the pics but it looks dumped in the rear. i remember when we did my buddies car with the same struts, we ended up dremeling off that red perch on the front strut(what you see in the pic) and allowed the car to settle down in the front more so it had even wheel gap all arund. good job i think your car looks real nice.

 

I have enough of a warehouse of old TEL parts, so if I'm not happy with this I'll put the TEL springs on the back.

I haven't driven it yet, so I'm undecided so far.

 

[Hertz]

Stupid question? Are front/rear springs the same? i.e. if meshwork decides to go with TEL in the back, would his rear springs work on my front?

 

quote:Originally posted by Hertz:
Stupid question? Are front/rear springs the same? i.e. if meshwork decides to go with TEL in the back, would his rear springs work on my front?

No.

(Whoa, I feel like Harry!)

 

Looks nice Ryan... does anybody know if the stock TEL springs are the same size as our stock springs. I'm talking about the front springs BTW.

 

Are those Falken Azensis tires? How do you like them? I'm thinking about a set for the GVR4 and the Miata.

Dave Flaherty

 

quote:Originally posted by smokindav:
Are those Falken Azensis tires? How do you like them? I'm thinking about a set for the GVR4 and the Miata.

Dave Flaherty I like them a lot, they suck in the snow, but that was my own fault for putting them on so early. I haven't really pushed them to their limits, I've been driving like an old lady ever since the turbo went.

 

Ok, so now that I'm back at work, it is lower in the rear, but only by a little bit.

 

Got new pictures today in the sun...

And I measured how high it is. I went from the bulge of the rocker panel right behind the front wheel to the ground and that showed 7.5". Then from the same area right in front of the rear wheel showed 7". All in all a half inch difference.

 

[turbowop]

Mine did that with the sportlines when I had them and I cut a half coil out of the fronts to level it out. It worked out just fine.

 

What do you guys use to cut the springs? Hacksaw, die grinder, Dremel, etc.?? The spring should have a firmer rate after being shortened; is this noticeable in ride/handling after cutting only 0.5-1.5 coil?

 

[blacksheep]

Jon

Based on my limited knowledge, I know this:

Springs can be wound linear and progressive. They are easily told by the way the coils are.

- Even distributed coils are linear wound.

- Coils which have spaces go wide to narrow are progressive like H&Rs for the gvr4. The wider part has a lower spring rate level??(dunno right term) and is there mainly to provide a smoother ride and handle little bumps. The stifness comes mainly from the tighter wound inner coils. These are similar to helper springs found in coilover setups.

So, on the progressively wound springs, cutting the 1/2 to 1 of the upper coils (like on the H&R for the gvr4s in the back to level the car out) does not cause much of a difference. The ride will be a little stiffer, but dunno if the difference is apparent.

IMHO, doing the same thing on a linear spring will make a bigger difference compared to the above.

They can be cut with something electric, I think. A hacksaw would take a bit of time to do coz they are hardened steel in most cases. I am sure a sawzall will fly thru it.

As always, avoid putting any heat on springs such as a torch etc etc to help lower the car. That is the ghetto fabolous way of doing things.

I hope this is helpful for the newbies when searching the archives about springs. Keywords: spring rate, cutting springs, TEL springs on gvr4, eibach pro-kit on gvr4 etc etc.

KC

 

Quick update:
I got the car aligned today, and it was completely wacked out beforehand. After alignment, its right in factory specs, and I didn't need to get the whiteline bushings. Granted, the adjusters are ALL THE WAY out but its the way it should be now.

So the bushings aren't really needed, at least in my situation, that is.

 

[blacksheep]

turbowop - I was thinking of doing pro-kits at one time as well and cutting 1/2 to one coil in front to level out the car

Does anyone have a comparison of spring rates between the H&R and eibach pro-kits? I wanna see which is the stiffer of the two to begin with since I have H&R's. The pro-kit lowers the TEL 1.2 inches, so ours I am guessing 1.5 or so. Then, the front can be cut to level the car out. This gives the front a higher spring rate.

Thanks!

 

KC, just FYI the reason springs get stiffer when you cut them is because they're now shorter. I don't mean in height, but in length. Know what a torsion bar or torsion spring is? A lot of trucks have them, and old 911's did too, to my knowledge. Anyway, these provide a spring action because when the vehicle hits a bump and the suspension is compressed, the bar is twisted. It doesn't like this, so it untwists and extends the suspension. Voila, a spring. A coil spring operates on exactly the same principle. In essence, it's a very long torsion bar that has been wrapped up. When a coil spring is compressed, it's almost impossible to see but the coils do twist a bit. Anyway, the reason the spring becomes stiffer is when you shorten a torsion bar, you reduce the leverage the same amount of weight has to twist it. Therefore, to get the spring to compress the same amount as before requires more weight or more force when hitting a bump. I know very little about progressive springs... they hurt my brain.

EDIT: Sorry, this post came off a bit rude. Whoops. I didn't mean to imply KC that you didn't know, or needed to know, or slight your base of knowledge in any way; I was just trying to share what I know.

 

[blacksheep]

Jon

Its all good, I said my knowledge was limited and I wasnt lying