tgpguy21 Posted January 20, 2003 Report Share Posted January 20, 2003 I was looking at my car the other day and noticed there is alot more wheel well space then what I had thought. Does anyone have any suggestions on what kits to use to lower the back about 1-2"? I already need new struts also mine are shot? also are there any springs on the back struts of these things? if there are suppose to be, well.... i dont have any. any help much appreciated Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted January 20, 2003 Report Share Posted January 20, 2003 There are no springs on the back struts. Probably the best way to lower it would be coil-overs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
90TGP Posted January 20, 2003 Report Share Posted January 20, 2003 http://www.fastfwdperformance.com You can buy the coil-overs with or without struts [come with KYB's]. If you don't already have a rear strut tower brace, I'd suggest that you buy one for about $20. Just stop by your local GM dealer and ask for a 98+ Buick Regal F-Bar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tgpguy21 Posted January 20, 2003 Author Report Share Posted January 20, 2003 Do you know if its possible to lower it more than that? or is that about as low as youd wanna go?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tgpguy21 Posted January 20, 2003 Author Report Share Posted January 20, 2003 do you know of anyone else who offers them except for fastfwdperformance.com ????? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted January 20, 2003 Report Share Posted January 20, 2003 I can't remember who else has them but I'm pretty sure you won't find them cheaper. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris A Posted January 20, 2003 Report Share Posted January 20, 2003 The cheapest way is to remove the spare tire and replace it with a few bags of sand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted January 20, 2003 Report Share Posted January 20, 2003 The cheapest way is to remove the spare tire and replace it with a few bags of sand. Or you could do it that way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
90TGP Posted January 20, 2003 Report Share Posted January 20, 2003 Or you can always get some nice subs and put a box back there to weight it down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted January 20, 2003 Report Share Posted January 20, 2003 Or you can always get some nice subs and put a box back there to weight it down. That's what I'll be doing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tgpguy21 Posted January 21, 2003 Author Report Share Posted January 21, 2003 arent both those ideas going to f with gas milage and also put stress on the struts though??? i dont know a heck of a lot about car but i'd think those would just kill the struts... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedZMonte Posted January 21, 2003 Report Share Posted January 21, 2003 arent both those ideas going to f with gas milage and also put stress on the struts though??? i dont know a heck of a lot about car but i'd think those would just kill the struts... the best, safest and now the only way is to do the http://www.Fastfwdperformance.com. Ram Air Tech/TDC used to make them but they are nonexistant now. With the kit you get * Upper Strut mount (billet Alluminum-GOOD) * Spring * Sleeve and nut * Polly bushings * KYB GR-2 Strut assymbol it all and do a direct swap of your existing strut. then adjust it up or down on the sleeve to adjust the height (jacking car up obiviously). Count the threads on both to ensure you get a equil height. Its very simple to put in and easy to adjust. I am putting a set on my monte as we speak and i am making a set for my Lumina. RedZ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GnatGoSplat Posted January 21, 2003 Report Share Posted January 21, 2003 You could also use leaf spring helpers in reverse. I question whether coilovers are that safe, because the strut towers are nothing but sheetmetal, and they weren't designed to take the constant pounding and stress that they'll see with coilovers. The way the car is designed, the center of the rear axle takes the stress and transmits it to the frame rails. To move this stress point to sheetmetal strut towers doesn't seem so safe. BUT there's no proof one way or the other. I personally will avoid coilovers until some guy on the W-body design team from GM comes out and says they'll take the stress. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris A Posted January 22, 2003 Report Share Posted January 22, 2003 arent both those ideas going to f with gas milage and also put stress on the struts though??? i dont know a heck of a lot about car but i'd think those would just kill the struts... You took my idea too seriously. Sure it will put more stress on the struts, lowering it will too as the suspension will cycle more, so will putting people in the back seat, or loading groceries etc etc. It all depends on what tradeoff you want. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest TurboSedan Posted January 22, 2003 Report Share Posted January 22, 2003 Do you know if its possible to lower it more than that? or is that about as low as youd wanna go?? i have coilovers and i can set the rear of the car on the ground if i want too. joshua Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedZMonte Posted January 22, 2003 Report Share Posted January 22, 2003 I question whether coilovers are that safe, because the strut towers are nothing but sheetmetal, and they weren't designed to take the constant pounding and stress that they'll see with coilovers. The way the car is designed, the center of the rear axle takes the stress and transmits it to the frame rails. To move this stress point to sheetmetal strut towers doesn't seem so safe. here is a pic of the mount. it distributes the weight more then you think.. look at how the monte is done. it is also sheetmetal. i had to open the holes up a little to get my new coilover mount installed on my monte.. using a unibit it chewed right threw it. i don't think it will be a problem as long as you don't get billion lb springs. he recomends 275lb springs. that what my HMS kit came with as well. I would personally like to try a set of 300lb springs. but with my koni's as stiff as they are allready i would be beating the SHYT out of the sturt towers. her it is on a stock mount. RedZ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GnatGoSplat Posted January 22, 2003 Report Share Posted January 22, 2003 Well, the Monte rear strut towers are definitely different though. Sheet metal thinness is not the only concern, because sometimes sheetmetal can be formed in a way to give it strength. Flat sheetmetal is less stong than a piece that is more curved. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest TurboSedan Posted January 25, 2003 Report Share Posted January 25, 2003 i have close to 40,000 miles on my car since i put the coilovers on. i am going to rotate my tires tomarrow and will inspect the upper mount area for damage (i seriously doubt i'll find anything wrong, but the forum will be the first to know if i do). i have put the car thru hell delivering pizza (city) and also alot of interstate trips. one thing i'm also worried about with the coilovers....rear alignment. what if one coilover is adjusted just a tad higher/lower than the other? is it close enough just by matching the thread count on both sides? i hope to replace my TDC coilovers with the FFP kit soon. the TDC upper mount is a joke and makes alot of noise. joshua Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest TurboSedan Posted January 25, 2003 Report Share Posted January 25, 2003 just wanted to add - my big problem with the lowering kit is that the front Eibach 1.5" drop springs hardly lowered the car. i am going to need to cut them to get my car lower. this probably wouldn't be a problem with the guys that have a DOHC/auto, but since i have a 3.1/Getrag, i have a pretty light front end. i plan on cutting 1/4 coil off each spring, and then adjusting the rear coilovers down some so the car sits even. i may have to cut 1/2 coil off each front spring to get the stance i want. i'm taking the front strut/knuckle assemblies out anyway soon for the '95+ front brakes, so the front end will be apart anyway. oh yeah, i'm also going to be using 225/55-16's on my 16x8 GTP crosslace wheels and that will get the car a *little* lower too. btw, i think Micheal @ FFP cut his front springs also....but i think he has ST drop front springs. joshua Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff M Posted January 25, 2003 Report Share Posted January 25, 2003 First off all I want to see is success, so no matter what I might mention, its only in the behalf of the owner(s). I would love to see either kits work, last a long time and do what the owners wants, to get rid of the off-road look a lot of the W-Bodies have, but I would do like you say, and Shawn and just keep an eye out for stress cracks in the sheet metal. Taking a slight engineering look, and with some respect to GM designing it they way they did, I would say that the rear strut locations are sharing the load of the rear of the car along with the mono-leaf spring, take out the mono-leaf spring and now the strut tower does a lot more work of holding the rear suspension in place. And that is holding things in place not just up and down movements, but also for heavy round the corner g-forces, with up and down at the same time, AND hold when the brakes are applied (if your rears have been returned to working order, well all know what that means :-)). I would say that the after-manufactures should have taken all these issues into account and taken a look at where it would have been good to add a metal brace, plate or whatever to their kits to address spreading out those additional stresses. Last, if someone does not hit a few big woop-de-doos, or goes around a hard long highway merge with a loaded/weighted car, then the setup might last just fine, but GM has to design their vehicles for all possible/worse scenarios and they have used the 2 locations in the rear to share the many loads and angles those loads could achieve, and must be considered. Maybe it’s not all that much of an additional strain with the mono-leaf gone, hard to say without some tests. Now, my TGP looks like a Sport Brute sitting up so high that my cat can jump into the wheel well and rest comfortably on top of my tire and look-out at passing prey, I would like to not have such a huge gap there between the top of the tire and the wheel well opening so, I would also appreciate any and all feedback on how these kits work out. I will mention that one W-Body owner last year admitted his car had some damage from one of these coil-over kits, not sure how that turned out though, but that is only one out of a few owners of these so maybe its not so bad. Jeff M Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
90TGP Posted January 25, 2003 Report Share Posted January 25, 2003 Too bad there isn't a way to have both coil-overs and the mono-leaf spring. I saw on a Beretta website where A guy bought strut helpers from his parts store. All they where were two coil springs he put around the strut. It wasn't adjustable, but he said it helped him with handling. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GnatGoSplat Posted January 26, 2003 Report Share Posted January 26, 2003 i have close to 40,000 miles on my car since i put the coilovers on. i am going to rotate my tires tomarrow and will inspect the upper mount area for damage (i seriously doubt i'll find anything wrong, but the forum will be the first to know if i do). Be sure to also check the strut towers themselves and those seams (most of which have been covered with some kind of rubbery sealant). Mainly I would be most concerned with where the strut tower sheetmetal is spot welded to other sheet metal. One way to check for strut tower deformation would be to get the car aligned, drive it for awhile with the coilovers, and see if camber changes. I rarely see alignment change unless I change out a suspension component or hit a curb. So if the camber changes without either of those two occurring, that would definitely make me wonder. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff M Posted January 27, 2003 Report Share Posted January 27, 2003 Yes!! What he said (Shawn), that would be a great way to confirm any changes to the body's attachment points, and if Sears still has that life-time warranty for their alignments (or others) it would not cost anything to get it re-check each year!! Jeff M Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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