Suspension upgrading time

[Jking72]

Well its that time for me, after 2 years of owning the CB I'm ready to take the plunge. I've researched the "big brands" somewhat and I came up with a few set-ups...now I don't want to slam her to the ground at all, just a very mild drop like 1" and 1.5" MAX as she is my DD.


now not living in the USA provides budget constraints with shipping(no free shipping for me), so Its going to be tight as $750 is the absolute max I can spend...


that being said For Shock/Strut & Spring Combos Koni's Str.T will be the Shock/Strut of choice

I've come up with 3 set-ups that fall within my budget and get me my preferred drop, I've included my prices (from my note pad) and thats shipped to my door.

Koni Str.t + Tanabe GF210=======$632.23 1.2" drop
Koni Str.t + Eibach Pro-kit=====$645.93 1.2" drop
Koni Str.t + Tein H Tech========$643.83 1.5" drop


Now there is the coilover/coilover Sleeve option that I looked into because I wanted to see what $750 bucks will get me

Function & Form Type 1's $735.28 Shipped

Koni STR.T + Ground Control Sleeve $735.58

I figured I could use these on one of the highest settings


Now I know people around here preach Koni Yellows but they are $650 shipped to my door,I would have to use stock springs and I wouldn't be able to afford springs til January due to Children's/wife's Birthday's,Anniversary and Xmas.


Input? Thoughts on combo selections? anyone "Active" use any of these Spring/Strut combos?

sorry for the long read.

[10thAnnivCB7]

$735 for FF type 1s ? That sounds like a bit high.

[DanCan]

$735 for FF type 1s ? That sounds like a bit high.

$599 on ebay, but he has to ship to Canada, which is going to kill him.
I live in Canada too, but have a U.S. address I ship too, saves me on shipping and extra duty fees, I just pay tax at the border, really a great service. Stuff is so much cheaper in the states.

Hes looking for a softer ride too, I have Yellows and Tein S-techs, outstanding setup, perfect for the DD.

The Oranges and H-Techs you mentioned should work well. The Hs are a mild drop and the Oranges should be able to handle it.

On koni`s website, shocks are on sale, both Orange and Yellows.

[Jking72]

$599 on ebay, but he has to ship to Canada, which is going to kill him.
I live in Canada too, but have a U.S. address I ship too, saves me on shipping and extra duty fees, I just pay tax at the border, really a great service. Stuff is so much cheaper in the states.

Hes looking for a softer ride too, I have Yellows and Tein S-techs, outstanding setup, perfect for the DD.

The Oranges and H-Techs you mentioned should work well. The Hs are a mild drop and the Oranges should be able to handle it.

On koni`s website, shocks are on sale, both Orange and Yellows.

the drop isn't the main reason for upgrading, just want quality parts on there now instead of 20+ year old stuff.

Forgot to check koni's site, just doing that now!

EDIT: WOW only $15 to ship the Oranges, not bad at all... neuspeed.com wanted over $100 to ship the Oranges,

$735 for FF type 1s ? That sounds like a bit high.

Well there 599 everywhere I looked, combine that with the exchange rate and shipping.

[Cb_JoeyG]

Replace balljoints, tie rods, bushings, and anything else thats worn before shelling out for the "big Boy" setups like these. Start small when it comes to modifying your car.. When means maintenance before mods

[Jking72]

Ya I'm aware there is other things to do like alignment, camber kits along with the items you mentioned Joey like tie rods, bushings etc...

I've done the upper control arms/ball joints, I plan on either ordering a master poly bushings kit or figuring oem rubber bushings.

I want to get the major items bought while the money is freed up and then I'm gonna go ape on my suspension.

[cb7 calling]

I would get poly bushings, not because they are better or worse but because the oem bushins still use a metal sleeve in the lower control arm and shock fork bushing. Which can be cut out but probly only put back in with a fully equipped machine shop. Tight does not.nearly describe the fit. You can do poly bushings in a driveway.

[toycar]

I would get poly bushings, not because they are better or worse but because the oem bushins still use a metal sleeve in the lower control arm and shock fork bushing. Which can be cut out but probly only put back in with a fully equipped machine shop. Tight does not.nearly describe the fit. You can do poly bushings in a driveway.

No way dude, 12" or larger c-clamp will pwn a control arm bushing.




OP



I used a mixture of them. For places that NEED to bend, I used OEM.

For places that don't, I didn't.

Example;



OEM for upper control arm bushings. Why? They move constantly, and are at a point that the general function is used 100x more than say a radius rod. Using OEM bushings here totally dampens the vibration absorbed from the road.


Sway bar end links and bushings = poly. Why?


Its something you want as stiff as possible and has NOTHING to do with general luxury feeling of general dd driving.

Stiffer = better for what the part is used for.


Do you want MORE vibration/bumps to transfer to your chassis? I just wanted stiffer steering. Suspension, I prefer something comfy.

Maybe you want something that rides like a horse drawn carriage, who knows. I personally didn't, so I don't go all crazy with the poly bushings.

Engine mounts make a difference, but then your entire car vibrates differently because of it. If you want that and are cool with that, great. Me, nah, I'm good. I'd rather have an OEM feel and settle with .01% less power to the ground.


If you are building an all out racecar, sure, go full on poly- it makes a difference. If you plan on looking nice and going a little faster than stock, prolly stick with OEM stuff for parts that actually transfer vibration to the chassis. Poly is great for making things stiffer, but it transfer vibration in a way that is less than desireable if you are going to drive the car all the time.

Another example of using both; I use poly torque mount and rear mount, but oem on d side and tranny mounts. Helps stiffen things up, but avoids some of the vibration into the car.


My thoughts.

[604CB7]

Nice to see another BC CB7. As for your suspension setup, I would go with Tokico blue shocks and Tanabe GF210s. I ran a set of those and honestly it was a good bang for your buck setup. Though if you wanted a full coilover setup, brands like Function & Form and Blackworks Racing are available under your given budget. Both are decent for a budget build and you can use them for daily use. Call either Image In Motion (ask for Jeevs) or Garage5 (ask for Rich) and they can help you with placing an order.

Here are their site links below. Best of luck with your choice.

http://www.imageinmotion.com/
http://www.garagefive.net/

[wildBill83]

No way dude, 12" or larger c-clamp will pwn a control arm bushing as long as you have the bushing press adapters.

Fixed.

I would agree with the others though, spend the money to make you suspension healthy then spend the money to upgrade springs and struts it then get an alignment right away and you should be good to drive on it for years to come worry free.

[sonikaccord]

You can do bushings with some sockets and a hammer, ask me how I know

[cb7 calling]

Maybe it was just my lca bushing and lower shock fork bushing then? I mean I can hammer/tap out press fits with the best. I've done two sets of wheel bearings this year alone, ball joints and h.o.r. break jobs alike. No prob. But telling me a c clamp will push my lca bushing out is laughable to me. I have stacks of c clamps. It took me over 4 hours on the driver side alone. Now I know just cut it up. I can't imagine getting a new sleeve in without deforming it. It's too thin and tiiight. Maybe it was just mine 333,000 miles lowered for over half. I don't know. I consider it one of the hardest maintenance jobs I've done. I felt lucky I bought the poly set mostly due to availability as putting them in was a breeze. That being said I left upper controll arm bushings oem rubber because I had already done those this year, and agree they should not be poly.
To toycar:what do you recommend for the lca and lower shock fork bushing for a dd?

[Jking72]

I was scoping out rockauto and found a few things I'll be needing

All parts picked are Moog

2x Front Lower Ball Joints #K9643
1x Front Left outer Tie rod #ES3153
1x front Right Outer tie rod # ES3154
2x front inner tie rod # EV283
2x Front LCA to frame bushings # K9760
Totalling ===============$202 shipped

@toycar:Of the items in the poly master kit;

Front control arm bushings, front strutrod bushings, front shock bushings, front coil spring isolators, front end links, ball joint and tie rod end boots.

which poly bushings would you use?

Ive already done the front endlinks in poly because they were pretty much gone worse than the rest.

[cb7 calling]

Imo lower shock fork, lca and radius rod bushings should be poly if you are lowered. As well as the tie rod ends you have already done.** Edit **I mean sway bar endlinks.
If possible I would also include wheel bearings from timken or ntn and brake rotors. I also did my intermediate shaft bearing but that one is easy enough to go back and do later.
The lca to frame bushings also come in the master kit. The only thing not in the master kit is the sway bar clamp bushings to the frame.

[wildBill83]

Outer tie rod ends can only use a poly boot, it is not an actual poly bushing and I don't feel like they made any difference on my vehicle. IMHO