Springs And Shocks In Ke20

[dfunkt]

i wasn't sure whether to post this here or in the ke thread, but anyway....from the top:

 

removed the original front springs and shocks from my ke20 over the weekend.

the inserts weren't OEM, but a replacement made sometime around 9 years ago.

the springs i believe to be original. (i can't see any reason for them to have been swapped)

to replace the old shocks and springs, i have koni red's (bought from yahoo.jp) and low springs from pedders (i cross referenced the part numbers from their website and confirm they are lows).

the koni red's have the same length, both at full compression and full extension as the shocks i removed.

the removed springs were about 1-2" higher in free length than the lows.

 

 

and as it stands now:

 

upon getting everything bolted up and letting the car back down onto all four wheels, the front end is still sitting at about the same height as it was before the swap. there is also a god awful amount of positive camber on both wheels.

 

 

pics of awful camber (excuse the bad phone pics, i haven't been home in daylight yet to get a nicer photo)

 

passenger

 

driver

 

 

my thoughts are the old shocks and springs were so rooted, that they were already giving the lowered look.

 

if worse comes to worse, i'll just put my old springs back in with the koni's on saturday, try and solve this one variable at a time.

 

all thoughts and questions appreciated.

 

cheers

dFUNKT

[jordan_ke]

could just take an angle grinder to the pedders springs

 

or

 

just get some that are lower with a shorter stroke shock to keep the spring remotely captive.

 

both options i would get a shorter stroke shock

[drc_ke20]

your car will go lower more than that as the springs has not settled yet,drive it around first for a couple of weeks and get a wheel alignment!

hope this helps you?

[dfunkt]

could just take an angle grinder to the pedders springs

 

or

 

just get some that are lower with a shorter stroke shock to keep the spring remotely captive.

 

both options i would get a shorter stroke shock

 

regardless of the shock stroke, the car shouldn't be so high nor should it have such awful positive camber....

 

your car will go lower more than that as the springs has not settled yet,drive it around first for a couple of weeks and get a wheel alignment!

hope this helps you?

 

so drive it with nasty positive camber to get wheel alignment and "hope" they can get rid of the positive camber.

 

then after 2-3 weeks go back and get it 'checked' again to fix up the change after the springs have settled...

[13BT_KE20]

has the car moved at all since being dropped back onto its wheels???

 

I think you'll find most cars look like that until you atleast take it round the block and let the suspension settle back down.

 

Take it round the black and see how it looks

[slapper]

I can't see your pictures from work, so I can only guess the extent of your problem.

 

When you dump the car from the jack, it will sit high ... roll it back and forth a few times (up and down the driveway should probably be enough) to let the wheels find their natural position.

Are KONI reds gas shocks? If so, they will tend to pump the car up a little - I had to go back to the maker and have my low springs reset even lower when I put them in with Monroe Gas dampers.

 

Don't expect your car to "settle over the next couple of weeks" ... in reality this effect will be negligible unless you've assembled it incorrectly.

 

The Pedders springs will be stiffer than the OEM ones you've removed. They won't compress as much as the OEM ones will with the weight of the front end. As I mentioned before, LOW springs from another manufacturer, coupled with gas shocks had my KE25 higher only marginally lower than it originally was with the 25 year old OEM configuration.

 

Hope that helps,

Slapper

[dfunkt]

the koni's are an oil cartridge, so they aren't 'lifting' the car any.

 

it might just be that the springs are that much stiffer that it won't allow the car to settle as low as i'd imagined.

 

i will be taking the car for a short drive and see how things look afterwards. hopefully it should reveal what i (still) need to do.

 

thanks all :)