DIY Coilovers

[Mr.Crossfire]

Very hard to compete with KW, with price anyway. Or what is the main point of this diy?

[speeding-g60]

the DIY i put together does not use the bodge job o-ring setup, Error.... the sleeves actually fit really tightly to the strut housing.

and if you were here, i would have like 10 front strut inserts to lend.

[Error404]

wasn't having a dig at your set-up matey, as you say its the tight fit between the sleeve and the strut that is important here.

[Error404]

Got my parts through from Compbrake this morning. They're not amazing quality but still good value for money I think considering the price.

I bought one 2.5" convertion kit to test the water, and I have to say it works an absolute treat with the S2 struts.
The strut tube needs a slight massage to allow the threaded sleeve to slip over, but once thats done its a perfect fit. I've done mine so that the threaded tube only slips over the strut tube once its heated it up to about 200deg in the oven, so it is a slight interferance fit. I'm also going to weld the sleeves round the bottom.
Certainly with Konis the cap nut needs to be screwed down most of the way so the sleeves for the front strut tubes could do with about 5mm taking off them. Rear sleeves fit perfectly with a little tickle to the droplink mountings.

I'm going to get my the struts blasted before I weld the sleeves, then I think I'm going to zinc plate them I think

Will post some pics tomorrow

[Rusty]

Sounds good, looking forward to seeing some pictures of them

[andy10v]

Sounds good, what springs are you planning on starting off with?

[Error404]

not sure yet, I'll probably try 250s or 275s something like that, want it still civilised on the road

[Error404]

Right, some pics:

Lop the original spring seat off; careful not to cut too deep and damage the strut tube.
Cut most of the way through, then **** it with a hammer, it will break off


Then grind back the lip left from cutting so you can pull the old spring seat off


The you're left with the weld line to grind back flush with the strut tube


Be careful not to go too crazy and damage the strut tube, you need it nice and even all the way round for a good fit of the sleeve.
Use the top cap to protect the threads from damage


Next step is whack the oven on to 200+ degrees, and chuck in your threaded sleeve
Use marker pen and colour in the strut tube, if you are posh or simply more organised and professional than me you can use marking blue


You'll also need to switch to a linishing disc on the grinder, to gently fettle the OD of the tube - I used 60grit.
Once your sleeve is good and hot, take it out and try and fit it over the strut tube - wriggle it about and twist it round, this will rub off the marking and show you where you need to tickle it with the grinder to make it fit


You really don't need to take much off the tube at all before the sleeve fits over.
If its a tight fit when its hot let it cool and you'll notice as it cools it won't quite fit on - this is perfect.


At this stage you'll probably need to tickle the top weld on the steering arm a little to let the sleeve fit as low as possible, as you can see really need to take about 5mm off the length of the sleeve so it lets the top cap tighten down fully. Repeat exactly the same for the rears, except the sleeves will not need cutting to fit. Took me about 3 hours to do all 4 struts.

Just needs the sleeve trimming and then fitting and welding now.
Going to blast mine first, then weld the sleeves on. Then I think I will try and zinc plate the finished article. Done.

[skid]

How much did this stand you in if you dont mind me asking?

[andy10v]

Nice write up there.

Are you planning on running matched springs or stiffer rears? Also what length springs are you going for?

[Error404]

Not sure yet on springs, will probably go for matched front and rear since my rear ARB is pretty stiff already, I suppose the beauty of this kind of setup is its easy and reasonably cheap to try different springs. Need to have a look at Andy's spreadsheet in a bit more detail.

[Rusty]

I agree with your 250-300 idea to start with, I would personally follow Bo's setup with 400Fr & 450Rr and look to remove or downsize the ARBs to improve ride and corner traction. Big ARBs are a fudge for compromised spring rate choice really.

[bivw]

i have build also my own front coilovers for my rs2 whit the same parts as you
only made a little test drive and its pretty good
i compleet my set whit

2 1/2 spring conversion kit 26euro each
new h&r springs from a the h&r coilovers 110euro each
new h&r topcaps 32euro each
bilstein inserts ??? dont now have them already

what i say it drive,s very good but i think you better can buy a compleet new h&r coilover kit

i think its gona be cheaper at the end off the story

[Error404]

you paid WAY too much for your springs dude

[Rusty]

Even Eibach springs are less than half that price. If you go Faulkners then you'll pay about £35 a spring.