Pics please!
Bilstein shocks, King SL HD springs, K-Mac strut bushings
8
Today was the big install day started about 8:30 this morning and finished cleaning up the garage around 4:30 - so not too bad.
I did do the build up of the front struts prior to starting the job today so that saved a good bit of time, and to do that I had to buy a second set of used FE2 struts for donors from a member here and a new top plate from Greg at Pace to allow me to build the struts and not have to take apart the stock FE3 today (it also let me keep the FE3 stuff.. In case..)
King P# for front spring: KHFL-150SLHD
King P# for rear spring: KHRL-152SLHD
Stut build up was pretty straight forward, welding the collar on the strut bodies was about the hardest bit. And even that wasn't too bad, cut as high as you can on the strut body and slide the Bilstein insert threaded to within about a 1/8" of being fully seated on the threaded collar to allow you to fully tighten the insert with good thread engagement, it also allows for better placement and alignment of the parts. I then spot welded the collar in place, took out the insert and fully welded the collar in place. The bodies then went to the powder coater to get cleaned and coated.
The K-Mac upper adjustable bearings are pretty nice pieces but there were some manufacturing issues that were irritating after paying that much, a half-hour with a file and then having to remove and clean the bearings due to the filings and the issues were solved (the slot for the 1/2 drive to rotate the bearing was too small to take a 1/2" drive), I also found the metal bearing built into the unit had 42 balls in one and 35 in the other (now they have 38 and 39) K-Mac appoligized but said there should be no issues with my solutions.
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When the the strut bodies came back from the coater and the upper spring perch arrived from Greg at Pace Performance, I put the struts together. No issues there, I did leave out the upper rubber spring isolator in the hope this would get my front and rear heights closer. I am pretty happy with how the struts turned out.
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So today the front struts went on quick and the most time was spent disassembling and reassembling the rear strut bodies. The Bilstein rear shocks have three height choices for the lower spring perch. I chose the upper most one and this time did add the top spring isolator hoping for a little more height.
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After this was done I mounted up my new TSW Nuerinbergring 18x9.5 rims sporting a set of Toyo R888 275/40-18 tires. Due to the width and offset (+40) I set the front camber to as close as I dared to the strut body.. This was most of the reason I went with the K-Mac upper bearing - hoping to get some of this lost camber back but allowing me to run a square tire and rim set up.
After it was all done and I drove a few miles to settle everything in my ride height from the center of the wheel to the fender is 280mm front and 275mm rear. So pretty close. We will see how it goes after a few more miles.
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Tomorrow will involve a stop at an alignment place to get the car dialed in and to see what settings are possible. Also a little quality time with a rear fender roller might also be in the future. We shall see.
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I did do the build up of the front struts prior to starting the job today so that saved a good bit of time, and to do that I had to buy a second set of used FE2 struts for donors from a member here and a new top plate from Greg at Pace to allow me to build the struts and not have to take apart the stock FE3 today (it also let me keep the FE3 stuff.. In case..)
King P# for front spring: KHFL-150SLHD
King P# for rear spring: KHRL-152SLHD
Stut build up was pretty straight forward, welding the collar on the strut bodies was about the hardest bit. And even that wasn't too bad, cut as high as you can on the strut body and slide the Bilstein insert threaded to within about a 1/8" of being fully seated on the threaded collar to allow you to fully tighten the insert with good thread engagement, it also allows for better placement and alignment of the parts. I then spot welded the collar in place, took out the insert and fully welded the collar in place. The bodies then went to the powder coater to get cleaned and coated.
The K-Mac upper adjustable bearings are pretty nice pieces but there were some manufacturing issues that were irritating after paying that much, a half-hour with a file and then having to remove and clean the bearings due to the filings and the issues were solved (the slot for the 1/2 drive to rotate the bearing was too small to take a 1/2" drive), I also found the metal bearing built into the unit had 42 balls in one and 35 in the other (now they have 38 and 39) K-Mac appoligized but said there should be no issues with my solutions.
When the the strut bodies came back from the coater and the upper spring perch arrived from Greg at Pace Performance, I put the struts together. No issues there, I did leave out the upper rubber spring isolator in the hope this would get my front and rear heights closer. I am pretty happy with how the struts turned out.
So today the front struts went on quick and the most time was spent disassembling and reassembling the rear strut bodies. The Bilstein rear shocks have three height choices for the lower spring perch. I chose the upper most one and this time did add the top spring isolator hoping for a little more height.
After this was done I mounted up my new TSW Nuerinbergring 18x9.5 rims sporting a set of Toyo R888 275/40-18 tires. Due to the width and offset (+40) I set the front camber to as close as I dared to the strut body.. This was most of the reason I went with the K-Mac upper bearing - hoping to get some of this lost camber back but allowing me to run a square tire and rim set up.
After it was all done and I drove a few miles to settle everything in my ride height from the center of the wheel to the fender is 280mm front and 275mm rear. So pretty close. We will see how it goes after a few more miles.
Tomorrow will involve a stop at an alignment place to get the car dialed in and to see what settings are possible. Also a little quality time with a rear fender roller might also be in the future. We shall see.
1 - 20 of 38 Posts
I have been running the Bilsteins since late last year so I do have a bunch of miles on them. I can give you guys a full report in another thread if anyone is interested.
JonRobbinSS nice writeup and setup is looking good!
Just as a comparison for others I will get you my front/rear heights (Eibach, Bilsteins at middle perch on rear, oem front mounts) later, I believe I measured from bottom wheel lip to fender however. Your pics make me think I am probably 1" lower in the rear and 1/2" higher up front.
As you probably already know, the more camber you can tolerate up front the better - I am at -1.9/-2.0 (pass/driver front, stock tire size) and it was a very noticeable increase in grip from previous setting of -1.4. That leaves me with ~1/4" to the strut on both sides with my setup.
Enjoy and let us know how you like it!
EDIT: I finally got around to taking ride height measurements for comparison - and hopefully Jon will provide an update on how he likes his setup and any adjustments he has since made.
My setup, which consists of new OEM strut bushings (install was 3-5k miles ago), Bilsteins with rear perch on middle height and Eibachs, has the following ride heights: DriverF 25 1/8", PassF 25 2/8, DriverR 24 2/8, PassR 24 6/8.
Measurements are +/- 1/8" as they were quick, 3/4 tank of fuel, empty trunk, stock 19" GXP rims, -2.0f/-1.5r camber in case you are comparing. Less rake than stock, driver rear lower than pass rear, handling and balance is excellent but I might want to raise the rear to allow for more travel.
JonRobbinSS nice writeup and setup is looking good!
Just as a comparison for others I will get you my front/rear heights (Eibach, Bilsteins at middle perch on rear, oem front mounts) later, I believe I measured from bottom wheel lip to fender however. Your pics make me think I am probably 1" lower in the rear and 1/2" higher up front.
As you probably already know, the more camber you can tolerate up front the better - I am at -1.9/-2.0 (pass/driver front, stock tire size) and it was a very noticeable increase in grip from previous setting of -1.4. That leaves me with ~1/4" to the strut on both sides with my setup.
Enjoy and let us know how you like it!
EDIT: I finally got around to taking ride height measurements for comparison - and hopefully Jon will provide an update on how he likes his setup and any adjustments he has since made.
My setup, which consists of new OEM strut bushings (install was 3-5k miles ago), Bilsteins with rear perch on middle height and Eibachs, has the following ride heights: DriverF 25 1/8", PassF 25 2/8, DriverR 24 2/8, PassR 24 6/8.
Measurements are +/- 1/8" as they were quick, 3/4 tank of fuel, empty trunk, stock 19" GXP rims, -2.0f/-1.5r camber in case you are comparing. Less rake than stock, driver rear lower than pass rear, handling and balance is excellent but I might want to raise the rear to allow for more travel.
These measurements were bothering me considering we should have about the same overall tire diameter. Any chance you measured from ground to fender instead of wheel lip to fender? If so my quick rough measurements are much closer (27 5/8 driver front, 26 3/4 driver rear, 27 3/4 passenger front, 27 1/4 passenger rear).
I should have taken the proper wheel/tire-independent measurement (finding wheel center and measuring to fender) in the first place
3
Broken Rear Shock
One of my Bilstein shocks broke last week. The entire bottom bracket broke off on either side of the welds to the shock body. Crap...
After calls and emails to Australia, Germany and a few trips to the local Bilstein Poway facility the consensus was there is no warranty on the shock and a replacement from Australia would cost me $400+...
I did find another offering available in the US, they have a new fitment for the Camaro that looks like it will work for us (in the rear). And for a little more than $100 each, even available from Tirerack.. I picked up a pair today and plan on making the install this weekend, but they look good. They are a little stiffer in compression and a little less in rebound, so might be good on my King HD springs.. Hopefully.
Attached a quick photo of the broken shock with the new one beside it
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One of my Bilstein shocks broke last week. The entire bottom bracket broke off on either side of the welds to the shock body. Crap...
After calls and emails to Australia, Germany and a few trips to the local Bilstein Poway facility the consensus was there is no warranty on the shock and a replacement from Australia would cost me $400+...
I did find another offering available in the US, they have a new fitment for the Camaro that looks like it will work for us (in the rear). And for a little more than $100 each, even available from Tirerack.. I picked up a pair today and plan on making the install this weekend, but they look good. They are a little stiffer in compression and a little less in rebound, so might be good on my King HD springs.. Hopefully.
Attached a quick photo of the broken shock with the new one beside it
1 - 20 of 38 Posts
