ABS

I've posted some questions on the 5th gen board but I didn't get any responses so I'm hoping some of you 4th gen guys could help me out. I'm running H&R springs with KYB GR2. I just bought KONI's for the rear because I didn't have enough rebound damping in back with the GR2. Here are my questions:

I'm trying to decide if I should adjust the height in back to the upper notch to get a little more height in back, any input as to whether this is a good idea or bad would be appreciated.

These shocks have adjustable rebound set by rotating the input shaft anywhere from 0-720 degrees rotation. Recommendations for a good starting point on this adjustment would be greatly appreciated.

I'm planning to do this work on Saturday, so quick feedback will be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

happyricefob

iTrader: (7)

http://vbxmaxima.8m.com/koni.html

even though this is the instruction for front koni yellows, but i'm pretty sure the rear is similar. just wanna give you a reference that's all

drewm

Nope, leave it on the lower perch, unless you like the "drag racer" look. The upper perch is for towing.

Since I have Konis too, I'd recommend 3-half turns when you install them, that should be a pretty good setting for aftermarket springs. A little more info about adjustment is here:
http://maxmods.dyndns.org/index.php?MaximaKoniSettings

ABS

Thanks for the input. I will definitely start with 3 half turns per your recommendation. I am going to give the uppper perch a try because I just took some measurements and I got some interesting results. I measured from the ground to the top of the rim, front and rear, and discovered that the front tires are sitting about .25" lower (due to the weight of the engine compressing the tires). Then I measured from the top of the lower door sill to the ground at the front and the rear and I discovered that the rear is sitting about .25" lower than the front. Based on my measurements, it would suggest that the rear of the car is actually sitting .5" lower than the front altogether. Interesting to note that the upper perch on the KONI's is just over .5" higher than the lower perch . . . Ever since I put in my H&R, I've felt like the rear was low, now I know why . . .

Thanks for the feedback, I really appreciate it.

Gibby

Do you have the 5-spd? Most aftermarket springs are tuned for the more common auto trannys. Therefore, they tend to drop less in the front, since the manual tranny is lighter weight. That's why many with 5-spds have "saggy a$$ syndrome."
I've heard this before on the H&Rs, and other springs.
P.S. The way I measured ride height, was middle of the wheel hub, to the wheel well. You have to make sure the car is on level ground and you don't have tons of excess weight you normally woudn't be carrying in the car.

ABS

Hmmm . . . that's an interesting observation. Yes, I have a 2K2 6-speed, so I bet it is lighter than an auto . . . I think another reason why the rear springs might drop more is to try and make the wheel gaps between the front and the rear look better? Unfortunately, if I were to measure from the wheel hub to the top of the fender well, my measurements wouldn't mean much since the OEM gap on the 5th gens is different front vs. rear . . . although I bet this technique works well on the 4th gens.

One thing did occur to me, the lower perch setting on the KONI "might" not be the same as OEM? I'm going to compare the height of the GR2 versus the KONI before I do the install just to make sure I don't end up higher than I expect.

I'm thinking I won't have to cut the bump stops. Any thoughts on that one? Thanks!h

Gibby

Actually, you have to do this measurement before AND after the drop, the same way each time, in order to correctly measure your drop.

If you are keeping the same springs, and you never had any problems with bottoming out before, I'd guess you won't need to cut the bump stops. If the lower setting drops your rear by any real significant amount that would require altering the bump stops, I would imagine your car would sit pretty funny, and you'd switch to the higher setting, eh?

ABS

[QUOTE=Gibby]Actually, you have to do this measurement before AND after the drop, the same way each time, in order to correctly measure your drop.



If you are keeping the same springs, and you never had any problems with bottoming out before, I'd guess you won't need to cut the bump stops. If the lower setting drops your rear by any real significant amount that would require altering the bump stops, I would imagine your car would sit pretty funny, and you'd switch to the higher setting, eh?[/QUOTE

Oh, I see your point - If I measured the fender gap with OEM and then measured after the drop, that would work pretty well. Unfortunately, I didn't keep a record of the OEM fender gap although I seem to remember having measured it when I first dropped the car about 1.5 years ago.

H&R claims a mild drop with their springs for the 5th gen of about 1.4" and 1.3" f/r but I think those numbers might be conservative. Seemed to me that the car really dropped a lot when I put in the springs with the GR2.

At any rate, I've got the KONI's in now, took the car for a quick test drive and it is handling much better. The old GR2 were wasted and I was getting excessive understeer. The car now feels a lot more lively. Also, when I gun the engine in 1st gear (and 2nd for that matter), the rear end doesn't "squat" as much as it had been. The car seems to be handling speed bumps very well so far. I won't really have final impressions until this week when I drive to work and get the car on the highway and also over some really monstrous speed bumps and some bad/bumpy roads too.

I appreciate your comments. Thank you for your advice.