DIY Coilovers

[Acidburn]

They look good! could home make the fronts and buy s4 rears for the Avant, what's the projected price?

Can you buy s4 rears? if so where from and how much please

haha, well I already converted my spare set of struts, just never did anything with them, doesn't matter now anyway

can you send me a picture if you still have them

[andy10v]

Those top mounts look awesome, do they clamp the body solid? Nice with the poly for a little cushioning.

Is there a cost for the top mounts yet?

[Error404]

The perch has a slot cut out which is used to engage the threaded tube which is formed to fit into this cut out.

That will stop it rotating, but not stop axial movement, i.e. moving up and down the strut tube. It needs locking in place or the aluminium sleeve will be destroyed in no time. The strut cap can't be used for mass production as the tolerance between the correctly torqued strut cap and the sleeve will be slightly different for every single damper

[steverrquattro]

That will stop it rotating, but not stop axial movement, i.e. moving up and down the strut tube. It needs locking in place or the aluminium sleeve will be destroyed in no time. The strut cap can't be used for mass production as the tolerance between the correctly torqued strut cap and the sleeve will be slightly different for every single damper

Tried calling Bambridge but he's not answering at the moment.

From my limited knowledge, the hight of the threaded tube is such that the strut cap when fully tightened will but right up against the tube, hence it will stop any upward movement. This is why I need a tightening tool beofre I put them on the car.

[steverrquattro]

Is there any movement of the top mount relative to the top cap? Looks very close!

Yes there is a gap. The small spacer is fitted on top of the cap as can be seen in the pic. below.

[Greg_S]

Looks very good so far, been thinking about something along these lines on mine longer term

[Error404]

Tried calling Bambridge but he's not answering at the moment.

From my limited knowledge, the hight of the threaded tube is such that the strut cap when fully tightened will but right up against the tube, hence it will stop any upward movement. This is why I need a tightening tool beofre I put them on the car.

If you think about it you need to get the length of the sleeve or position of the lower perch accurate to within a few thou or you will either have a loose sleeve or a loose strut cap.
The way I would do it is to fit the insert in the strut, fit the sleeve over the strut and tighten the cap down to say 40nm. Then tack the lower sleeve perch in place. withdraw the insert & full weld the perch in place. Then when you refit the insert and torque down the cap properly, the sleeve will then be compressed by 1/2 a mm or so by the final tightening torque of the cap.

[bambridge]

If you think about it you need to get the length of the sleeve or position of the lower perch accurate to within a few thou or you will either have a loose sleeve or a loose strut cap.
The way I would do it is to fit the insert in the strut, fit the sleeve over the strut and tighten the cap down to say 40nm. Then tack the lower sleeve perch in place. withdraw the insert & full weld the perch in place. Then when you refit the insert and torque down the cap properly, the sleeve will then be compressed by 1/2 a mm or so by the final tightening torque of the cap.

Correct Alex,

Thats how we did Steves, as you said we removed the Bilstein before fully welding the perch.
We also put a big chamfer on the top of the treaded tube, so it just fits inside the cap, and stops any sideways movements.
The tube is about o.1mm bigger than the strut, so there isn,t much movement anyway

Cheers

Kev

[bambridge]

Firstly, the kits looks great well done guys
How are the threaded sleeves fixed to the strut tube to prevent axial movement of the sleeve?
The topmounts look slightly taller than OE ones, obviously not a problem if you are running coilovers but means that they will raise the ride height Vs OE topmounts. What bearings are used in these?

We have made the difference between the top of the mount (poly) and bottom of the bearing within 1mm of a OE topmount, it does look taller but didn,t want to make it to thin at the bottom.
We have used racespec sherical bearings from Auto Bearings Components @ £17-00 each.
Until Steve gets these tested then we will not know how they compare to bearings used by other manufacturers??

Kev

[Error404]

Cool, the bearing is more recessed than it looks
The quality of the bearings will make a big difference, the Compbrake ones were pretty crappy. As Rusty will tell you the right ones for the job are not cheap! But you get what you pay for

Often people will quote you the radial load ratings for bearings, but the axial load ratings are often much less, around 20% in some cases!

[bambridge]

Andy was looking at using a 42mm bearing if i remember right, something that could be used with a little modding.

Can anyone recommend a top quality bearing if these dont do the job???

[skid]

Cool, the bearing is more recessed than it looks
The quality of the bearings will make a big difference, the Compbrake ones were pretty crappy. As Rusty will tell you the right ones for the job are not cheap! But you get what you pay for

Often people will quote you the radial load ratings for bearings, but the axial load ratings are often much less, around 20% in some cases!

Did you not manage to fit the ones you made Error?

[Rusty]

I got mine from this place. They cost a fair old whack and have sat in a drawer ever since, as the cost of the rest of the parts has always been a little high, due to a very small production run. They can offer different grades of bearing but the motorsport ones that were recommended for the weight of the S2 were about £35 each and that was a few years ago.

[Tez1981]

i thought i'd add these pics as i did the conversion about a month ago now ,
i've not been able to drive the car as yet but i'm very pleased with the results and like has been mentioned if you think its too hard or soft you can just replace the springs nice an cheap

[jade]

[QUOTE=Error404;562408]not sure yet, I'll probably try 250s or 275s something like that, want it still civilised on the road [/QUOTE

Just digging around for info

What were your final spring rates, and are you happy with them ?

Thanks