new suspension

[Bernie Benz]

Ken, 

Why don't you just put the stock rear springs back in?

As you may know, using the 2B camber plates the camber and caster
adjustments are not independent.  Do you know exactly what the camber and
caster on each side were adjusted to?  They should be exactly equal, side to
side.  Zero tolerence, my spec.

Bernie

> From: Ken Keith <auditude at gmail.com>
> Hi,
> 
> I finished the suspension on my 200q20v (mostly).  I went in the last
> time to replace the control arms.  That's a fun job!  Those in
> addition to Bilstein/Eibach's, 2B plates, S-car strut mount/spring
> seat/strut bearings, dust boots, and tie rod ends.
> 
> I got it aligned and used up all the camber plate adjustment on one
> side, while the other side was pretty much in the middle.  I'm
> wondering if there's enough room in the subframe mounting area to move
> it over and split the difference somehow.  I have heard the answer is
> no.
> 
> I have the 1529.140 springs, and the rear is pretty low compared to
> the front.  Of course the fender cutout is part of that, but the body
> itself is either level or even lower in the back.  For example, I have
> "half a finger" gap in the rear and "four fingers" in the front.  When
> it is going down the road, it looks as if it is accelerating and
> squatting, when it really isn't.
> 
> If it wasn't for the lack of further camber adjustment, I might cut a
> coil off the fronts, but I want my tire wear to be decent so I'm not.
> I'm aware of the ECS spacers for the rear, and heard of some from
> Shox.com too.  I would prefer to reserve the use of spacers for when I
> have a speaker box in the trunk, and I think the 20mm spacers might
> not even be enough to make it sit right.
> 
> I left a message with Eibach to see what they have to say about it, in
> case they want to swap my rears for different springs, or offer
> spacers.   I'm a bit surprised that it is so low in the back, because
> I checked the part numbers on the springs themselves and they were
> supposedly the longer of the different variations.  I don't remember
> the numbers right now tho'.
> 
> Anyway, as far as how I like the suspension itself, how it handles and
> rides, I have to say I like it.  When I first drove around the
> neighborhood, I felt I had ruined my car.  All the ups and downs in
> the road that were previously imperceptible moved the car, and the
> texture of the surface itself seemed to be transmitted as well.  This
> is even with the stock tires and wheels.
> 
> However, after driving it more and getting used to it, I have to say
> I'm very pleased with the setup.  Shifting, launching, changing lanes,
> and "emergency maneuvers" are much tighter and under control.  It does
> transmit the undulations of the road surface, but I can't say it
> bothers me as much as the initial shock of how dramatically the cars
> personality changed.
> 
> Now I have to just deal with the low rear suspension issue, or accept
> it, and then I will focus on getting some adequate braking in place.
> I'll work on getting some pics posted somewhere so someone can tell me
> if its stance is normal for one of the 3 versions of 1529.140 kits.
> 
> Cheers,
> 
> Ken
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