did I get the wrong suspension?

[mkPOTO]

Here is the car the AST came off of. I helped in installing his setup and there was NO problems installing them. I would have the tech put your car back to stock and find someone else. This is not hard to do.

This car was running the following setup:
apex arc-8 18x8.5 +45 with Michelin PSS 245/35 - 18
a 5mm spacer was needed to clear the struts up front. There was literally a 1mm space between the tire and the strut when we added the spacer.

The rear adjusters are brand new, this is the latest design from AST and why they are a different color.

[tuj]

g0d@mn I wish I could just wrench on this myself, although I have an eternal fear of those diabolical spring compressors. I'm sort of at a loss as to who to go to next as this guy actually came highly recommended (but clearly isn't worth those recommendations...) Maybe he's really good at alignments on stock suspensions? I don't know.

My good friend and fellow racer has a Euro/Porche/BMW shop he is recommending next, but there is also a BMW dealer here on the island. I have never been a fan of dealers, especially not the one here in PR, but at least they will probably know how to put in an E82 suspension?

Quite the dilemma. Then add in the fact that 90% of mechanics here don't speak English and my Spanish is not very good... well that doesn't help. That's actually not the problem with this particular "tech", he speaks reasonable English, but he's clearly clueless about the E82.

mkPOTO No worries, you did me right. I just have El Stupido Tech.

[mkPOTO]

Originally Posted by tuj

g0d@mn I wish I could just wrench on this myself, although I have an eternal fear of those diabolical spring compressors. I'm sort of at a loss as to who to go to next as this guy actually came highly recommended (but clearly isn't worth those recommendations...) Maybe he's really good at alignments on stock suspensions? I don't know.

My good friend and fellow racer has a Euro/Porche/BMW shop he is recommending next, but there is also a BMW dealer here on the island. I have never been a fan of dealers, especially not the one here in PR, but at least they will probably know how to put in an E82 suspension?

Quite the dilemma. Then add in the fact that 90% of mechanics here don't speak English and my Spanish is not very good... well that doesn't help. That's actually not the problem with this particular "tech", he speaks reasonable English, but he's clearly clueless about the E82.

mkPOTO No worries, you did me right. I just have El Stupido Tech.

I wasnt worried, just wanted you to take your car and go elsewhere. That is sucks that this is going.

[chris82]

Curious, are the 4100 single or double adjustable?

[tuj]

4100 is single adjustable (rebound)

[chris82]

Originally Posted by tuj

4100 is single adjustable (rebound)

Looks like you have all the right parts especially since the seller is confirming they were on his car AND is helping you out. You can confirm the camber plate though as Vorshlag engraves the car chassis model on the top of the plate.

[tuj]

Yeah man, everyone on the 1addicts has been SUPER HELPFUL!!!! I LOVE THIS FORUM! You guys are almost as good as Miata.net....maybe even better!

I know a lot of you guys are moving away from the E82 to the F-whatever's now that our cars are getting a bit long in the tooth, so I really appreciate all the time and advice that you guys have been able to give me.

[RyanDavies]

You don't need spring compressors.

The rears are very easy, I can change rear springs in my car in 30min or so for the pair. Shocks maybe 20-30 a piece. I recommend using a spherical lower mount, and a stiffer upper mount (I run AKGs).

The fronts require removing headlight sensor, sway bar Endlink on the strut side, loosening front ball joint from tie rod, loosening the control arm bolts, then spreading the strut (I use the Schwaben spreader for this). Pull the whole assembly out. Install is the reverse of removal. An hour or so per side the first time you do it, unless you struggle to get the tie Rod loose or the strut out of the knuckle. Which you won't, since they've clearly already been loosened recently.

[tuj]

Quick question, apparently my rear adjusters are TC-Kline. How do you install those? Is there any trick?

[houtan]

no trick. the factory spring sits in a black cup that is inserted into a hole in the body. After you remove the spring, just take a rubber mallet and tap downward on the cup and it will come out.

Make sure the bolt on the tc insert is a little loose, then insert the perch into the hole. Give it a few taps with the rubber mallet to make sure it is set in the hole well, then tight the bolt snug. I think its a 13mm bolt.

Keep in mind, the TC adjuster was not designed to be adjusted with the weight of the car sitting on the perch. It will spin by hand until the spring starts putting tension on the perch. at that point it wont budge so you may have to loosen the top of the shock to allow the shock piston to fall through the bushing a little bit to release the tension on the perch so you can spin it.

[ShocknAwe]

Originally Posted by tuj

Quick question, apparently my rear adjusters are TC-Kline. How do you install those? Is there any trick?

Remove the upper spring cup from the body with a pry bar and a hammer if you need it. Place the narrow conical end of the adjuster into the hole. Tighten the screw on the other end until tight. Done.

Here's a picture of a stock type assembly, the cup I am talking about is the black puck shaped object holding the isolator and the top of the spring.

[mike082802]

Fwiw I have the same setup and almost bought the exact kit from mkpoto. I thought it was a pain in the balls not having somewhere to line up the knuckle on the front struts with. My buddy let me use his lift and he was in and out since he had a baby in January and basically left me there doing the suspension myself. I had to redo it 2 or three times. He came back at 7pm and was like wtf you doing. He had 4 raceways in his shop and thank God one of them was a 135, but he said he never saw front struts like these where there wasn't a defined place to sit in the knuckles. I emailed the seller and he sent me this
https://vorshlag.smugmug.com/Instruc...T-strut-shock/
Hope this helps

[tuj]

Well guys, I have to say, I must be a patient man. I chatted/texted with the tech today about the issue regarding the struts and the need to raise them in the knuckle and that they were not structurally located by any lip. We got this issue straight through some mediation/translation and he agreed to try raising the struts in the knuckles enough so the springs would clear the tires and I would achieve near-OEM ride height.

So, in front, we were able to fit the OEM 215 tires no problem, the challenge came with the 245's on ET52's (261-style rears). With the 12mm spacers I had, we had about 1mm clearance with the strut. Moving the car, there was some rubbing.

Now don't laugh at this, I thought this was actually pretty ingenious...the point of interference was the back-side of the sway bar mounting tab. He took a little bit of material (about 2mm) off the protruding section of the ring and we gained 3mm clearance with the strut.

I have ordered 15mm spacers which should be about perfect with the ET52 wheels and the ride weight and camber settings.

So, out back, he figured out how to install the TC Kline rear adjusters with the expansion bolt/plug and got the ride height near OEM.

It was a lot of trial and tribulation, and we're not out of the wood's yet...the car still needs to be aligned and test-driven. However I am tentatively excited.

I want to thank you 1ADDICTS. Couldn't have pulled this one off without you guys.

[PrematureApex]

While not impressed by his initial observations...I like that he seemed to keep at it and work to find a solution...

Tip him, and don't go back.

[ShocknAwe]

Originally Posted by PrematureApex

While not impressed by his initial observations...I like that he seemed to keep at it and work to find a solution...

Tip him, and don't go back.

We have to tip car techs the US now too? Balls.

[PrematureApex]

Originally Posted by ShocknAwe

We have to tip car techs the US now too? Balls.

I don't go to shops/dealers in general...

But if a guy worked on my car for 2 days, for what should have been a 3 hour job...and he stuck with it, learned, and saw it through? I'd be inclined to let him know I appreciated his honest effort, even if not an ideal situation.

[tuj]

We use these as tips on the island.



It's terrible beer and my wife says it makes me smell like pickles and if you drink too much you get the cramps in your legs...but its still the local king. Go fig.

Fingers crossed that it test-drives and aligns ok on Thursday (tomorrow is his day off; he was going to even come in and work on it Wed. but I said 'no, take your day'.) His concern is in the right spot, namely that he wants me to have a safe suspension for the track. He is also very concerned about his reputation amongst the racers. I told him 'dude, you don't have to worry, my Espanol is so bad, I probably couldn't bad-mouth you if I tried.'

This has been a heck of a journey so far. I've had to have every part shipped down here, which adds up. (Thanks Jones Act...) But its all worth it for our track days, which are cheap and fun. Believe it or not, there are actually two tracks here on the island.



Up next (after the first track day with the sticky tires and new suspension) will be front and rear sways, and RSFB's.

[ShocknAwe]

Dont get a larger rear sway unless you have a lsd. Glad it worked out. I have gotten a six pack for guys who have done an impeccable job before. Guess that is tipping. Haha

[tuj]

Originally Posted by ShocknAwe

Dont get a larger rear sway unless you have a lsd.

No? I was thinking it would make the car a little bit more neutral and add some roll stiffness to pair with the relatively soft spring rate I am running.

I do not have a real LSD yet, although that is part of the plan along with more HP in Phase 3. Our rules down here allow flashing of the ECU without any penalty points so I think I'm going to either go to Dinan Stage 2 or at least the PPK.

Last time I was at the track (bone stock, RFT's), I found my best times with the DSC single-push disengaged (so the e-diff and DSC was working partially). With the DSC/TCS fully disengaged, the power on exit had to be applied very very carefully to prevent inside wheel spin.

[houtan]

I think the consensus is adding a rear sway with no lsd will make the inside rear wheel spin even worse.

[ShocknAwe]

Originally Posted by tuj

No? I was thinking it would make the car a little bit more neutral and add some roll stiffness to pair with the relatively soft spring rate I am running.

I do not have a real LSD yet, although that is part of the plan along with more HP in Phase 3. Our rules down here allow flashing of the ECU without any penalty points so I think I'm going to either go to Dinan Stage 2 or at least the PPK.

Last time I was at the track (bone stock, RFT's), I found my best times with the DSC single-push disengaged (so the e-diff and DSC was working partially). With the DSC/TCS fully disengaged, the power on exit had to be applied very very carefully to prevent inside wheel spin.

DSC/DTC and the eDiff are separate systems. DTC allows the wheels to spin without cutting engine power like DSC and turns off the yaw sensors, yet the brakes are intrusive bilaterally. DTC off and all you're left with is the eDiff. The eDiff brakes the wheel with the least traction only to send torque to the other side, but it has a delay of ~1 second, meaning it can be very quickly overwhelmed.

A stiffer rear sway will increase weight transfer to the outside wheel in corner, meaning more spin on the inside, more intrusion by the nannies, and less traction and less go fast.

If you want more grip on the inside wheel without a LSD, you need rear body roll so the tire doesn't lift as much.

[tracer bullet]

Originally Posted by tuj

Last time I was at the track

I'd give the new suspension a couple rounds before you decide what you want to fix. The car will be pretty different now. Forget about it for a little while and just enjoy it. Think about more changes next year (unless there's something terrible of course).