Anyone try spring lowering caps?

[Cop Magnet]

Partsrack advertises these. I've heard of them used in other applications, but don't recall anyone talking about them here. I wondered if they would allow lowering the car without changing the shocks/springs. The other popular alternative appears to be the Bilsteins, which I've heard too much mixed info on to commit to. Although I still can't help but wonder if you can use Bilsteins with these caps(sorry 1/2 - 3/4" on these McDonald's Golden Arches is nothing).

 

[Snakester]

I installed a set of Northwind caps and I really like the results. The Viper is already low so I didn't want to have lowered springs that dropped the car 2".

The shorter caps drop the car almost an inch, but use all of the stock factory suspension components. I still had the suspension realigned afterwards, but but was a relatively easy installation.

The standard 4-finger wheel well gap is now reduced and the Viper looks great, and the suspension feels tauter without being too rough or bottoming out.

 

[jimster]

Can you post a link to the product you're referring to?

 

[RedEnuf93]

http://www.viperclub.org/Northwind/

Check #23.

PS. You have to do alignment in either case.

I went with Eibach's, lowered about 1".

 

[Cop Magnet]

Here's the Partsrack item, which looks and sounds identical. Except for that one number.

http://partsrack.blastmart.com/customer/product.php?productid=1330&cat=149&page=1

Can these be used with lowering springs also, or a bad idea?

 

[GTS234]

Also, has anyone used item #20 in the Northwine list ("Ride height adjuster"), and if so, how easy/hard was the installation?

Seems like an inexpensive way to make the stock coilovers adjustable. You could drop the car the full inch, check it out, run it up a little if you didn't like it, then have it aligned when you were happy with it. And if you track the car, you could weigh the car out before hand and have the adjustability available to tweek the set-up at the shop before going out to the track, and a little adjustment available at the track too.

Anyone tried these?

 

[Anthony - 98 GTS]

Can these be used with lowering springs also, or a bad idea?

I have them in conjunction with the Eibach lowering springs. The fronts are perfect - but I had some rubbing in the rear with a 19" rim and 345 rear tire.

I think if you had the stock 18's the rears would not rub.

 

[Cop Magnet]

Anthony, do you have pics of your car lowered this way? How is the handling? Do you track your car? I am running stock size HRE's and Pilots on the street, but Comp Coupe wheels with Hoosier slicks on the track. Rubbing, even in the front, may be more of a problem for me.

 

[Tom F&L GoR]

GTS234, it is a cool idea. I did something similar before I saw the Northwind parts. Rather than create an adjustable bottom seat as they did, I reduced the diameter of the upper end of the shock to allow a typical racing threaded sleeve to fit over the body of the shock.

Now you can corner weight the car, which I think it is truly valuable in improving the braking since you can get the front wheels to carry an equal load and not have one lock up before the other.

If you are counting up the costs remember that, like me, you will have to also purchase shorter springs ($60 or so each.) The plus is that you can change to whatever spring rate you like.

 

[GTS234]

Tom, Great shots of your project in your gallery. Thanks for the idea!

What brand sleeve and spring seat did you use?

What rate (and brand) springs did you wind up running (front and rear).

And what was the ride height before and after (front and rear), and where did you measure it from (frame rail, top of wheel opening)?

Thanks alot!!

 

[Tom F&L GoR]

Robert, let me know if you want to talk about how to machine the shocks - holding them in the lathe is the trick.

Here's the description:
http://vca2.viperclub.org/forums/showflat.php?Cat=&Board=UBB14&Number=116889&Forum=All_Forums&Words=spring%20coil%20shock&Match=And&Searchpage=0&Limit=25&Old=allposts&Main=116888&Search=true#Post116889

Hypercoil; Stock is 250F, 450R, went to 450F, 650R which was good balance, but later went to 550F, 800R, which is still good balance, but maybe about as stiff as a street car should go.

Ride height was pretty much tuned by how often and hard I hit the bump stops. Comparing to a nearby stock '94 (which I kid about being the SUV version) I'm probably 2.5" lower in the rear, almost 2" lower in the front.

 

[GTS234]

Tom,

The thread was great. Nice job getting the shocks set up to turn the ends down.

Was that correct about running 200 to 250lb. heavier springs in the rear? How'd the Viper wind up being backwards? Round trackers (and most street cars, I think) are the other way around (heavier springs in the front, which I'm sure you know).

 

[Tom F&L GoR]

The rear springs have less mechanical leverage - the bottom end of the spring sits closer to the frame and farther from the ball joint. So yes, the rear spring stiffness is larger than the front.

 

[RedEnuf93]

For sale at E-bay:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=42609&item=7948812523&rd=1