iLLeffeKt vr-4
Well-known member
hey all, i don't knot if this is the right place to post this or not but i'll give it a try. if its not, i'm sorry, and you could move it to the appropriate forum.
when i purchased the car it came with kyb agx'a all around, ground control coilover springs in the front and 1g awd springs in the back. overall the ride was comfortable for the pothole/bump infested NYC street. but not even 3k miles after owning the car the front right agx blew and the left one couldn't't be adjusted anymore (frozen knob).
this is where the HotBits came in. i talked to Larry (Larry Parker) and decided to go with a Hotbits setup. i ordered them from Peter at motorsport-dist.com which was very helpful.
i decided to go all out an get all the options such as camber plates, and ajustability.
Front springs are 80kg or 450lbs, Rear springs are 50kg or 280lbs.
Helpers are 112lbs and the shock/struts are 40 way adjustable.
total price including shipping from Canada was just a tad over $1900.00
install went without any hiccups. fit and finish is perfect. no need grind/bend/cut/modify anything. just take them out the box and bolt them in. the brake line brackets fit perfectly onto the shocks without any modifications needed.
its a lil tricky to have them adjusted to the right height, so what i did was i set the height to the minimum drop recommended. after lowering the car to the ground i discovered that it was at about the same height as it was before with the ground controls/1g awd springs, maybe even a tad higher. so i removed everything again and lowered it about 1" more. now the front has 1.5 finger gap (you can stick one and a half fingers between the top of the tire and the bottom of the fender) and the rear has about 2 finger gap.
initially i set the shocks on 1 (softest) all around and went for short ride. it felt just like the previous setup, very comfortable.
then i bumped it to 5 all around. immediately i noticed the difference, a much firmer ride but not bouncy at all. still takes small/medium sizes bumps/potholes with ease and no bottoming out at all. on big to large bumps at all you can really feel it stiffening up but it still doesn't bottom out. i haven't gone above 5 but plan on doing so very recently and i'll post an update.
i got an alignment last week from a shop close to my house just so i can drive it to a shop which is specialized in lowered cars and can set it up to whatever setting you want.
if you plan on getting an alignment make sure you drive the car for a day or at least couple of miles before you get to the shop because the suspension will need to seat properly. i saw a difference of 1/4" with my setup.
some tips:
1. if you get the adjustable shocks/struts make sure the adjustment knob is set to full stiff prior to and during install. if its on its softest settings its more likely for it to break/bend while you install them.
2. use the instructions that come with the springs just as guidelines, you don't really have to follow them to the teeth because those are the exact same instructions sent with every kit.
3. make sure the two bottom locking perches on the shocks are tight before you lower the car to the ground.
4. if you have extra time/money this would be a great time to install new tie rods/ball joints/ wheel bearings. i got new tie rods and ball joints.
thats about it for now.
if i remember more things i will post them. if any of you have any questions related to this please let me know.
when i purchased the car it came with kyb agx'a all around, ground control coilover springs in the front and 1g awd springs in the back. overall the ride was comfortable for the pothole/bump infested NYC street. but not even 3k miles after owning the car the front right agx blew and the left one couldn't't be adjusted anymore (frozen knob).
this is where the HotBits came in. i talked to Larry (Larry Parker) and decided to go with a Hotbits setup. i ordered them from Peter at motorsport-dist.com which was very helpful.
i decided to go all out an get all the options such as camber plates, and ajustability.
Front springs are 80kg or 450lbs, Rear springs are 50kg or 280lbs.
Helpers are 112lbs and the shock/struts are 40 way adjustable.
total price including shipping from Canada was just a tad over $1900.00
install went without any hiccups. fit and finish is perfect. no need grind/bend/cut/modify anything. just take them out the box and bolt them in. the brake line brackets fit perfectly onto the shocks without any modifications needed.
its a lil tricky to have them adjusted to the right height, so what i did was i set the height to the minimum drop recommended. after lowering the car to the ground i discovered that it was at about the same height as it was before with the ground controls/1g awd springs, maybe even a tad higher. so i removed everything again and lowered it about 1" more. now the front has 1.5 finger gap (you can stick one and a half fingers between the top of the tire and the bottom of the fender) and the rear has about 2 finger gap.
initially i set the shocks on 1 (softest) all around and went for short ride. it felt just like the previous setup, very comfortable.
then i bumped it to 5 all around. immediately i noticed the difference, a much firmer ride but not bouncy at all. still takes small/medium sizes bumps/potholes with ease and no bottoming out at all. on big to large bumps at all you can really feel it stiffening up but it still doesn't bottom out. i haven't gone above 5 but plan on doing so very recently and i'll post an update.
i got an alignment last week from a shop close to my house just so i can drive it to a shop which is specialized in lowered cars and can set it up to whatever setting you want.
if you plan on getting an alignment make sure you drive the car for a day or at least couple of miles before you get to the shop because the suspension will need to seat properly. i saw a difference of 1/4" with my setup.
some tips:
1. if you get the adjustable shocks/struts make sure the adjustment knob is set to full stiff prior to and during install. if its on its softest settings its more likely for it to break/bend while you install them.
2. use the instructions that come with the springs just as guidelines, you don't really have to follow them to the teeth because those are the exact same instructions sent with every kit.
3. make sure the two bottom locking perches on the shocks are tight before you lower the car to the ground.
4. if you have extra time/money this would be a great time to install new tie rods/ball joints/ wheel bearings. i got new tie rods and ball joints.
thats about it for now.
if i remember more things i will post them. if any of you have any questions related to this please let me know.
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