CSI_MuNkY Posted December 18, 2007 Report Share Posted December 18, 2007 Coil overs! I have the Held Motorsports coil overs all around my car. Right now I have it riding at stockish height for the winter, but it will be going back down again in the spring. I say stockish because I have the coil overs adjusted all the way up and the car is still .75 inch lower than what the manufacture says the stock ride height was. That being said it is higher than it was before I started the suspension work, I had sagging suspension pretty bad. If you REALLY want to keep stock ride height, I'm sure Lee can send you longer threaded tubes. I'd never worked on suspension before I did my swap and the rear was a peice of cake. I went as far to drop the rear sub frame, but you won't have to do that. I was replacing lateral links and didn't want to pull the gas tank to get at the bolts. Here is a 13 page thread on the suspension work I did. I had the car off teh road for 1 week to do the fronts and rears. I also installed a new 7/8" sway bar in the back end to combat that body roll (and boy does it ever) http://www.w-body.com/forum/index.php/topic,61157.0.html Jamie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockfangd Posted February 7, 2008 Author Report Share Posted February 7, 2008 ok so now that i will have funding i want to get coilovers for the rear and just leave the old monoleaf in place. I dont want lowered or adjustable or anything special. Can someone post some sites where i may be able to find them. Thanks to all in advance Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
19Cutlass94 Posted February 8, 2008 Report Share Posted February 8, 2008 http://www.w-body.com/forum/index.php?topic=55751.0 This is why I made this thread.......... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockfangd Posted February 8, 2008 Author Report Share Posted February 8, 2008 well i am looking for the rear for a 1994 oldsmobile cutlass supreme. The ones i see in the pics have studs. 3 studs. I am having a difficult time finding them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
19Cutlass94 Posted February 8, 2008 Report Share Posted February 8, 2008 All you need are struts, sleeve, spring and adjuster nut. Use your stock top mount. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xtremerevolution Posted February 8, 2008 Report Share Posted February 8, 2008 ok so now that i will have funding i want to get coilovers for the rear and just leave the old monoleaf in place. I dont want lowered or adjustable or anything special. Can someone post some sites where i may be able to find them. Thanks to all in advance So you want both your monoleaf and coilovers to work at the same time? That thing will ride like 2 feet off the ground in the rear. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CSI_MuNkY Posted February 8, 2008 Report Share Posted February 8, 2008 Agreed, just take the monoleaf out while your under the car. Its the addition of taking off 4 bolts on the subframe. The ends will already be free when you pull the struts to install the coil over kits anyways. You may have to put one of the monoleaf brackets back in because it has an exhaust hanger off it. Jamie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
19Cutlass94 Posted February 8, 2008 Report Share Posted February 8, 2008 ok so now that i will have funding i want to get coilovers for the rear and just leave the old monoleaf in place. I dont want lowered or adjustable or anything special. Can someone post some sites where i may be able to find them. Thanks to all in advance Seeing as how I read this wrong... lets see if I can clear up anything. Its either monoleaf or coilovers. You cannot have both. The GOOD thing about coilovers is that you can adjust them. This comes into play to the tune that you can adjust the rear of the car to match the front. You can also match the right quailty by getting the right spring rate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xtremerevolution Posted February 8, 2008 Report Share Posted February 8, 2008 ok so now that i will have funding i want to get coilovers for the rear and just leave the old monoleaf in place. I dont want lowered or adjustable or anything special. Can someone post some sites where i may be able to find them. Thanks to all in advance Seeing as how I read this wrong... lets see if I can clear up anything. Its either monoleaf or coilovers. You cannot have both. The GOOD thing about coilovers is that you can adjust them. This comes into play to the tune that you can adjust the rear of the car to match the front. You can also match the right quailty by getting the right spring rate. So far as I can tell you can only adjust the ride height, not the stiffness of the spring. Aside from that, using coilovers doesn't seem to have any advantage over a leaf spring. Flex-a-form makes an excellent lowered rear monoleaf that you can have ordered to spec according to what stiffness you prefer. When they send it to you, if you're not happy with it, you send it back and they make you a new one free of charge till you get exactly what you want. Its cheaper ($350 shipped for a monoleaf), it doesn't require new struts, it assists in further reducing body roll, and I believe it might also be lighter than coilovers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
19Cutlass94 Posted February 8, 2008 Report Share Posted February 8, 2008 There are different spring rates you can get which means different springs for each different spring rate Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xtremerevolution Posted February 8, 2008 Report Share Posted February 8, 2008 There are different spring rates you can get which means different springs for each different spring rate I'm well aware of that. You can also get different load ratings for the monoleaf. If you're trying to imply that the coilovers are a better option, I fail to see the logic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
19Cutlass94 Posted February 8, 2008 Report Share Posted February 8, 2008 I was answering this: So far as I can tell you can only adjust the ride height, not the stiffness of the spring Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CSI_MuNkY Posted February 8, 2008 Report Share Posted February 8, 2008 I have yet to see anything that says a monoleaf system is superior to coil overs. Having done the swap, I say coilovers all the way, I'd do the swap again in a heartbeat! True, coil overs are not going to reduce body roll. If you want to reduce body roll you have to look into a 7/8" sway bar, like the one I got fro p-s-t.com When it comes to spring rate options and adjustability, coil overs are far superior to the monoleaf. Jamie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xtremerevolution Posted February 8, 2008 Report Share Posted February 8, 2008 I was answering this: So far as I can tell you can only adjust the ride height, not the stiffness of the spring I believe I was still correct in saying this, because it cannot be adjusted. You can specifically order different spring rates, but you can't adjust it. Though it kinda isn't really much of a point since you can't adjust the stiffness of any spring out there... I have yet to see anything that says a monoleaf system is superior to coil overs. Having done the swap, I say coilovers all the way, I'd do the swap again in a heartbeat! True, coil overs are not going to reduce body roll. If you want to reduce body roll you have to look into a 7/8" sway bar, like the one I got fro p-s-t.com When it comes to spring rate options and adjustability, coil overs are far superior to the monoleaf. Jamie Coilovers are superior to the stock w-body monoleaf. However, I have yet to see anyone else other than myself using the Flex-A-Form rear monoleaf, which is made lower and stiffer than the stock monoleaf. In this sense, my car sits just as low as yours does in the rear (unless you sag your rear end to unreasonable levels), and has the same stiffness and load capacity, if not even more. However, the FAF rear leaf also assists in reducing body roll alongside my 7/8" addco bar, and is less expensive than coilovers. My only disadvantage is the inability to adjust them. Given the lower price and reduced body roll, I opted for the FAF monoleaf. I would appreciate that unleess anyone else here has or has used th FAF monoleaf, that they don't compare it to coilovers. I've been in a car with w-body coilovers so I know how they feel, so I can make somewhat of a comparison. I doubt any of you know how the FAF rear leaf feels because I don't think any of you are using one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mra32 Posted February 8, 2008 Report Share Posted February 8, 2008 There have been plenty of guys with the flex a form monoleaf, and it has been said before that the birchwood monoleaf is superior to everything in ride but its just heavy. And just a thought...with coilovers, the cost of adjusting spring rate is less than $75 for both sides and the cost for adjusting spring rate with an upgraded monoleaf, which is somewhere around $300 IIRC. Coil Springs are also much more available than monoleaf upgrades, which to my knowledge are custom made. The availability of coil springs in itself is worth a ton. I'd feel much more comfortable knowing that if i was dissatisfied with the spring rate I chose, that I could completely change my spring rate for under $75...and have an easier time unloading my old springs since the coilovers are pretty modular. Think about if you werent satisfied with your springrate on your FAF. Thats alot of money to waste on a guess. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Venom Posted February 8, 2008 Report Share Posted February 8, 2008 There have been plenty of guys with the flex a form monoleaf, and it has been said before that the birchwood monoleaf is superior to everything in ride but its just heavy. And just a thought...with coilovers, the cost of adjusting spring rate is less than $75 for both sides and the cost for adjusting spring rate with an upgraded monoleaf, which is somewhere around $300 IIRC. Coil Springs are also much more available than monoleaf upgrades, which to my knowledge are custom made. The availability of coil springs in itself is worth a ton. I'd feel much more comfortable knowing that if i was dissatisfied with the spring rate I chose, that I could completely change my spring rate for under $75...and have an easier time unloading my old springs since the coilovers are pretty modular. Think about if you werent satisfied with your springrate on your FAF. Thats alot of money to waste on a guess. Actually if you look a few posts up, Xtreme states that Flex-a-form makes an excellent lowered rear monoleaf that you can have ordered to spec according to what stiffness you prefer. When they send it to you, if you're not happy with it, you send it back and they make you a new one free of charge till you get exactly what you want. Extra time and hastle yes, but you dont have to keep paying til you get one that you want. Me personally I will probably build some coil overs just for the heck of it. But right now its "if its aint broke, dont fix it" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
19Cutlass94 Posted February 9, 2008 Report Share Posted February 9, 2008 Its just peference... which one do you perfer really... The availability of coil springs in itself is worth a ton please explain? Maybe Im just missing the point of this Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockfangd Posted February 9, 2008 Author Report Share Posted February 9, 2008 well i definately would like to go with coilovers and basically stiffness is not an issue. it is ride height. the car sags in the back and sags even worse on the driver side.I dont need lowering tuning or anything special but i really like the idea of coilovers. I have heard so much good about them. I would prefer spending money on coilovers instead of a monoleaf in the long run Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
19Cutlass94 Posted February 9, 2008 Report Share Posted February 9, 2008 If you get a 7" sleeve with the coilovers then you will not only be able to match the hight of the front, but you can even raise it higher if you wanted to. and coilovers will not sag like the monoleaf that you have. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockfangd Posted February 9, 2008 Author Report Share Posted February 9, 2008 so i wonder what size i should get. maybe i can post a few pice for reference Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CSI_MuNkY Posted February 10, 2008 Report Share Posted February 10, 2008 What size of what? Coils? generally they are going to be 11" +/-1", as for the spring rate thats entirely up to you. But you want something comparable with what you have on the front. If your staying stock up front I would recommend a 250lb spring rate tops. If your going with aftermarket lowering springs in the front, use abut 50-75lb less in the rear... Example, I have 350lb in the front and 300 in the rear. If you go stiffer in the rear than the front you will regret it later. Jamie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockfangd Posted February 10, 2008 Author Report Share Posted February 10, 2008 well i do not want to mess with the front. i just want the back to almost match the front. I still have to email him to get some more info Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CSI_MuNkY Posted February 10, 2008 Report Share Posted February 10, 2008 I'd say get springs in the 250lb range then. I believe that was the default spring weight for the FFP kits. Jamie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mra32 Posted February 11, 2008 Report Share Posted February 11, 2008 Its just peference... which one do you perfer really... The availability of coil springs in itself is worth a ton please explain? Maybe Im just missing the point of this What I mean here is that you can get coil springs in the right size just about anywhere. There are also lots of manufacturers that make them so you have a choice between different manufacturers that you like, eibach being the most well known (and dont they make a couple of the other maufacturers springs?). The fiberglass monoleaf is only made by flex-a-form, and you must order it from them, correct me if i am wrong. You cant go down to the speed shop and just pick up a fiberglass monoleaf. Same thing with the birchmount ones. The thing is, to reduce cost (not necessarily price) you cannot be buying many custom parts. custom parts mean long lead times and generally high prices. To get what you want at a decent price, the amount of custom parts need to be reduced as much as possible. I'm sure this is less true with cars that are made to be custom, since the owners pride themselves in having stuff that is one off, but to me, and alot of other people, this is my daily driver an i'm poor. Reducing cost is very important to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
19Cutlass94 Posted February 12, 2008 Report Share Posted February 12, 2008 Gotcha yeah for coilover springs there are MANY companies that make them, and all of them have MANY different spring rates Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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