Questions about mounting CRII coil-overs

jwinkler · #1 (**permalink**) 06-13-2004, 05:51 AM

Don and the cRII team managed to get me a full set of coil-overs (front and rear), and now it's time to put them on.

For the rears, do they simply mount in place of the existing shock (the one that sits behind the axle)? The placement and diameter of the spring caps makes me wonder if there's enough clearance at the mounting points. I also haven't yet pulled the wheels off to see how to remove the spring that's currently in place.

For the fronts, it looks pretty straightforward, but now I'm wondering about whether I'm going to have any problems with the lower control arm (I've got stock MII front suspension pieces right now).

Thanks (and thanks to CRII for getting them to me so quickly - it was less than a week from the time Pete called to let me know they had gotten them to the time the parts arrived at my door) -

JLW

Ron61 · #2 (**permalink**) 06-13-2004, 07:32 AM

JLW

I am not sure if this will help as mine is an older car and I use the QA1 coil overs. But mine do not mount where the old spring was. I had the old type screw down jack bars which I removed, then I lifted the frame some and compressed the springs a littleand they came right out. The QA1s bolt on right where the old shock was with the spring around them to adjust ride height. Yours may be different being a newer car.

Ron

dscott · #3 (**permalink**) 06-13-2004, 07:43 AM

JLW, The rears mount to the same place as the old shocks, you need to use the spacers that we sent with and the new bolts. The fronts will mount just fine with the stock lower arms. You will need to remove the old spring by dropping the spindle from the upper control arm. It makes it easier to loosen the strut rod at the frame so you can drop the lower arm with the spindle as low as you can. If you have a front sway bar you will need to remove the bolt where it attaches at the lower arm. You will need to do a little fitting with the spacers on the bottom of the shock to get it to fit in the lower arm.
Don

jwinkler · #4 (**permalink**) 07-15-2004, 08:59 PM

In light of klayfish's scary breakdown, is the mount point for the rear coil-overs stout enough to take the load of the shock and spring? It seems like it would be forced to handle a lot of pushing during suspension travel. Kind of makes me want to leave the old springs in there for insurance.

Thanks,

JLW
(currently pricing replacement upper and lower control arms for the front!)

Curt C. · #5 (**permalink**) 07-15-2004, 09:43 PM

They should hold in my opinion. I run them on mine and road race fairly regularly. As I looked at the setup, the weak point appears to be the bolt as it is mounted in single shear vs. double shear. As a result, I ordered some AN aircraft quality bolts for fastners. I have read that the bolts will bend long before they break. The welds on my brackets look pretty good so I am comfortable with the set up. BTW, I was so impressed with the aircraft bolts that I ordered a whole bunch for the suspension. Better safe than sorry.

HI Cobra · #6 (**permalink**) 07-15-2004, 09:58 PM

I put the coilovers on the rear of mine and left
the original springs on also. One of the rear
shocks had blown a seal (no leaks) but offered
no resistance on compression. As you can well
imagine the ride is much better with no bottoming
out, and I have put about 1,000 miles on it since.
No racing but I do drive it when opportunity
permits. No problems.

Flip