Burna Posted September 24, 2019 Share Posted September 24, 2019 Here's a couple of photos of mine on german bilsteins and eibach springs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
samdale Posted September 24, 2019 Share Posted September 24, 2019 Can you post a pic of your ride height after fitting? If I remember. On holiday for a week but can do when I get back. - - - Updated - - - Here's a couple of photos of mine on german bilsteins and eibach springs This looks pretty low. Are they 18s? I'll be on OEM 17s Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
radion_auto Posted October 6, 2019 Share Posted October 6, 2019 (edited) I want to see them ON THE CAR before machining anything, something very odd here. How much compression is on the rear springs when fitted woth the dampers off the car? They will need a bit of existing preload if we are going to move the lower seat lower. Are Eibach springs a common denominator by any chance? Hi Chris, I've had chance to pull the car out of the garage this morning, albeit only briefly. The rear springs have what seems like a reasonable amount of preload on them, certainly not remotely loose when the car is jacked up fully off the ground. I double checked all the part numbers on the dampers and springs, everything looks fine on that front. Springs are the right way round, spring platforms are the correct way up. It had been suggested that the correct fitting advice is to only tighten up the lower strut bolt once the car is under load rather than when it's up in the air - so i did this too. Can't help but think that something is massively wrong with my setup as it's not just "a bit out" or "leaning a bit" as with some other cars i've seen (leaning seems crazy common). Mine is up in the air on the drivers side rear and sky high on the passenger side rear. I took a few measurements to illustrate the difference. To be honest i've drawn a complete blank here, and reading extensively the amount of stories of people who have done everything from replacing bushings to control arms etc and had no joy, i'm seriously thinking about just getting a half set of coilovers and being done with it. I had the car checked out by a motorsports shop i use and he could see no reason why it sat so lobsided or so high at the back. Running out of options really, i want the suspension sorted before i take it off the road to do the necessary bodywork. Where do i go from here? I could send off the struts to have new grooves machined in, dropping the rear. Problem is, it's so uneven at the back that this is only going to sort part of the problem Rear comparison Strut length - Nearside (40cm total, 30cm from bottom of spring perch to bottom of strut) Edited October 6, 2019 by radion_auto (see edit history) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnm400 Posted October 6, 2019 Author Share Posted October 6, 2019 Was yours even left to right? My nearside rear is noticably higher than the offside rear. Hmm, I cant say I really noticed a difference in height on each side. It was just mega low at the front and mega high at the rear. The only thing that can alter the ride height is either the spring itself or the distance from bolt eye to lower spring mounting on the shock absorber being different. Check you've not fitted one of the lower spring seats the wrong way around as that would cause the car to sit higher on that side. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
radion_auto Posted October 6, 2019 Share Posted October 6, 2019 Hmm, I cant say I really noticed a difference in height on each side. It was just mega low at the front and mega high at the rear. The only thing that can alter the ride height is either the spring itself or the distance from bolt eye to lower spring mounting on the shock absorber being different. Check you've not fitted one of the lower spring seats the wrong way around as that would cause the car to sit higher on that side. All looks correct to me in terms of installation, although i'm no expert. Springs are correct. Distance from the bottom of the spring mount to the bottom of the strut is 30cm, i've not seen any figures from other users on this though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnm400 Posted October 6, 2019 Author Share Posted October 6, 2019 (edited) All looks correct to me in terms of installation, although i'm no expert. Springs are correct. Distance from the bottom of the spring mount to the bottom of the strut is 30cm, i've not seen any figures from other users on this though. [ATTACH=CONFIG]233465[/ATTACH] Spring seat is installed the wrong way around. Thats your problem right there. You also need a new dust cover otherwise those Bilsteins are going to be leaking in no time. Edited October 6, 2019 by Johnm400 (see edit history) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
radion_auto Posted October 6, 2019 Share Posted October 6, 2019 Spring seat is installed the wrong way around. Thats your problem right there. You also need a new dust cover otherwise those Bilsteins are going to be leaking in no time. Are they really? Bloody hell.. Had no idea (previous owner fitted them) . OK well that's easy enough to sort out at least! How much of a difference will that make in terms of ride height? Suspect I'll still be left with my problem of the nearside being 20mm higher but it should improve things, thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnm400 Posted October 7, 2019 Author Share Posted October 7, 2019 (edited) Yes the spring seat in the picture is installed upside down. I'm surprised it hasnt pushed the circlip out of its seat and collapsed. Dont drive it until it's fixed. . I'd put money on the other side being the right way. Once you turn it round, it should lower it by about an inch. It will also make the other side go down slightly too as this bad side will be holding the other side up slightly. The car will then be level. Edited October 7, 2019 by Johnm400 (see edit history) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
radion_auto Posted October 7, 2019 Share Posted October 7, 2019 Yes the spring seat in the picture is installed upside down. I'm surprised it hasnt pushed the circlip out of its seat and collapsed. Dont drive it until it's fixed. . I'd put money on the other side being the right way. Once you turn it round, it should lower it by about an inch. It will also make the other side go down slightly too as this bad side will be holding the other side up slightly. The car will then be level. Thanks, I'll heed hour advice and sort immediately! Worryingly the car has been driven fairly quickly with this setup. I've got pictures of the other side and they're both actually fitted wrong! Assume the front is correct as it's mega low, will check it out though. Guess the height difference is still a mystery. Seems really common though from what I read. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
radion_auto Posted October 8, 2019 Share Posted October 8, 2019 Could somebody post me a link to the correct rear bilstein strut dust cover please? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
samdale Posted October 8, 2019 Share Posted October 8, 2019 Could somebody post me a link to the correct rear bilstein strut dust cover please? http://www.tcbparts.co.uk/ Click suspension on left hand menu Search in page for part number 48257-24010 Not the flashiest website but a really helpful bloke. Best to just ring him and tell him what you're after. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
radion_auto Posted October 8, 2019 Share Posted October 8, 2019 http://www.tcbparts.co.uk/ Click suspension on left hand menu Search in page for part number 48257-24010 Not the flashiest website but a really helpful bloke. Best to just ring him and tell him what you're after. That's great, thanks! Is it the same dust boot as the OEM shocks then? 48257-24010 appears to be the OEM dust boot. It has been a long time since i saw a website that looked so 90's...! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
samdale Posted October 8, 2019 Share Posted October 8, 2019 That's great, thanks! Is it the same dust boot as the OEM shocks then? 48257-24010 appears to be the OEM dust boot. It has been a long time since i saw a website that looked so 90's...! That what I've used. Bilsteins were OEM on some cars with Toyota labels on them. Interesting side note: The top lip of these dust boots rests on top of the spring. I guess this means the car will ride slightly higher than if they weren't fitted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
radion_auto Posted October 9, 2019 Share Posted October 9, 2019 That what I've used. Bilsteins were OEM on some cars with Toyota labels on them. Interesting side note: The top lip of these dust boots rests on top of the spring. I guess this means the car will ride slightly higher than if they weren't fitted. Thanks, i got in touch but sadly he didn't have them available until friday. I wanted them in time for the weekend. Managed to find them elsewhere though, albeit slightly more expensive. Any way to fit these without them raising the ride height? The rear of my supra is already way too high. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
samdale Posted October 9, 2019 Share Posted October 9, 2019 Any way to fit these without them raising the ride height? The rear of my supra is already way too high. Fit lowering springs? They're held in place by sandwiching between the top of the spring and the top mount so no avoiding it really. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
radion_auto Posted October 9, 2019 Share Posted October 9, 2019 Fit lowering springs? They're held in place by sandwiching between the top of the spring and the top mount so no avoiding it really. I already have, it's on eibachs. On the nearside i've got 100mm of arch gap, the offside has 80mm. As above it has been spotted that my spring perchs are upside down so i'll be correcting that when i fit these. however i can't see it making more than 30mm difference on the grand scale of things. I guess we'll see though! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
samdale Posted October 9, 2019 Share Posted October 9, 2019 At a guess, the tops of the rubbers are ~10mm thick so not much difference. I'm going to go work on my car tomorrow so will take a look and take plenty of pictures. I've got OEM 17s, eibach springs and bilstein B6s and I'm deciding on spacers so perfect opportunity to take plenty of useful photos. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
radion_auto Posted October 9, 2019 Share Posted October 9, 2019 Thanks, i'd be interested in that. Anyone got any recommendations on how i could space out the front dampers somehow to give a bit of extra height? it's actually too low for me at the front as it is, and raising it a little might help reduce the notable difference between front and rear too. going up like 10-20mm would do it, does anyone offer some sort of spacer perhaps? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
samdale Posted October 11, 2019 Share Posted October 11, 2019 Ok so the following measurements were taken installed with eibach lowering springs. Measurements taken as per pics. 1) From the underside of the top mount to the highest surface of the spring seat. 2) From the lowest TOP SURFACE of the spring seat to the centre of the lower bolt. Rear 1) 280mm 2) 280mm Front 1) 257mm 2) 245mm Another incorrect installation that COULD affect ride height is the little collars that hold the bump stops in place. These are different lengths front and back. The threaded top of the shock has 2 flats to locate the top mount. This also means the top mount will only go down so far when tightened. It is POSSIBLE BUT UNCONFIRMED that a longer collar installed where a short one should be may result in the top mount resting on the collar and NOT bottoming out on the "flatted" part of the shock. Another thing you could check is that the little collars are installed the correct way up. I guess this MAY cause the bump stop to sit too high and also get in the way of the top mount bottoming out. Sorry about all the "may"s "possible"s and "could"s but I am far from an expert so don't like to assert things. I'm just someone with this suspension setup fitted without problems. If your quick and want me to take another measurement, I'm still playing around fitting spacers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
radion_auto Posted October 13, 2019 Share Posted October 13, 2019 Ok so the following measurements were taken installed with eibach lowering springs. Measurements taken as per pics. 1) From the underside of the top mount to the highest surface of the spring seat. 2) From the lowest TOP SURFACE of the spring seat to the centre of the lower bolt. Rear 1) 280mm 2) 280mm Front 1) 257mm 2) 245mm Another incorrect installation that COULD affect ride height is the little collars that hold the bump stops in place. These are different lengths front and back. The threaded top of the shock has 2 flats to locate the top mount. This also means the top mount will only go down so far when tightened. It is POSSIBLE BUT UNCONFIRMED that a longer collar installed where a short one should be may result in the top mount resting on the collar and NOT bottoming out on the "flatted" part of the shock. Another thing you could check is that the little collars are installed the correct way up. I guess this MAY cause the bump stop to sit too high and also get in the way of the top mount bottoming out. Sorry about all the "may"s "possible"s and "could"s but I am far from an expert so don't like to assert things. I'm just someone with this suspension setup fitted without problems. If your quick and want me to take another measurement, I'm still playing around fitting spacers.https://jza80.mkivsupra.net/imports/2019/10/33.jpghttps://jza80.mkivsupra.net/imports/2019/10/34.jpghttps://jza80.mkivsupra.net/imports/2019/10/35.jpg /QUOTE] Thanks, those pictures were really helpful. I've seen a key item that's different, the little spacer that sits immediately under the top mount is different on my rear shocks, it's longer whereas yours is much shorter. Picture attached. have i got the wrong component for the rear shocks here? Also, i don't seem to have a bump stop at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
samdale Posted October 13, 2019 Share Posted October 13, 2019 (edited) Thanks, those pictures were really helpful. I've seen a key item that's different, the little spacer that sits immediately under the top mount is different on my rear shocks, it's longer whereas yours is much shorter. Picture attached. have i got the wrong component for the rear shocks here? Also, i don't seem to have a bump stop at all. [ATTACH=CONFIG]233521[/ATTACH]That little spacer is the thing I was talking about that holds the bump stops in place. The rear one is indeed longer than the front one (as in my picture) so your parts look correct. As for running without a bump stop, I've no idea if it's a good idea or not. I guess it depends how hard you're likely to hit some big bumps and need it. Shouldn't have any effect on ride height mind. Edit: I see you are using spring clamps, I had no need to do this when assembling as the lowering springs were already short enough to enable the top nut to bite. Edited October 13, 2019 by samdale (see edit history) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
radion_auto Posted October 13, 2019 Share Posted October 13, 2019 That little spacer is the thing I was talking about that holds the bump stops in place. The rear one is indeed longer than the front one (as in my picture) so your parts look correct. As for running without a bump stop, I've no idea if it's a good idea or not. I guess it depends how hard you're likely to hit some big bumps and need it. Shouldn't have any effect on ride height mind. Edit: I see you are using spring clamps, I had no need to do this when assembling as the lowering springs were already short enough to enable the top nut to bite. Yeah I used clamps partially as a precaution. Didn't need them for reassembly really. Don't you think your spacers look a different length to mine? Yours seem really short. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dash Posted October 13, 2019 Share Posted October 13, 2019 I'm sure you don't use those spacers, it says something in the instructions about them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnm400 Posted October 13, 2019 Author Share Posted October 13, 2019 I'm sure you don't use those spacers, it says something in the instructions about them. You do need the spacers no matter what set up you are using otherwise the top mount will not tighten up and will knock like crazy on every bump. There is nothing in the Bilstein instructions that suggests leaving them out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnm400 Posted October 13, 2019 Author Share Posted October 13, 2019 (edited) Thanks, those pictures were really helpful. I've seen a key item that's different, the little spacer that sits immediately under the top mount is different on my rear shocks, it's longer whereas yours is much shorter. Picture attached. have i got the wrong component for the rear shocks here? Also, i don't seem to have a bump stop at all. [ATTACH=CONFIG]233521[/ATTACH] Your wiper seal has moved to the top of the shock rod directly under the spacer. This is because you have no top plate on the shock body to hold it in place. Whoever fitted those from new should never touch a spanner ever again! You really should have a bump stop, its there in case you hit some big hole in the road otherwise the top mount could strike the top of the shock absorber but highly unlikely except in extreme circumstances. Edited October 13, 2019 by Johnm400 (see edit history) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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