What did you do to your FX / QX70 today?
- Thread starter pmanliu
- Start date
Nice! I like the cork gaskets. Did you take it for a spin yet? Imo, the strut tower is the most immediately noticeable of all the braces.
Hard core!
I was wondering if leaving them on would help or hurt. You do have a good point though. I have full thread engagement now, but grabbing lower threads would be better now that you mention it.
Thank you! I have some rubber sheet somewhere and have to find it for the permanent gaskets. I don't trust the cork to wear well or weather well over time.
Only a low speed joy ride so far to check for creaking sounds - none at all. The high speed test is yet to come.
I don't mess around. I'd be heartbroken over a little scratchy scratchy.
Mine are 10kg front and rear, and I have the damping set at about 40% front and 60% rear. I've been considering going to 12kg in the rear lately but I'm not sure I'd go any higher in the front.
12 rear?
Springs were easy to get, I just went through Zebra. It's like a 3 week wait since that's how long it takes for BC to get them out. Now that I've had them on for a little while, I can truly say that it is so much better. The ride is very firm obviously, but wheareas before it was incredibly harsh now it is more compliant. It's busier than the stock spring rates since they're much stiffer and you feel every little bump. I can actually hit dips and bumps now without tensing up like before. And I rub less on the same ride height, that was a big reason I did this. I had considered raising the car some to stop the rubbing, but now I can stay at this height (maxed out low w/ one rear lockring taken out). On that note, the higher spring rates will raise your car an inch or so. So you can't slam it, the lowest you'll be able to go is about tire even with fender.
And handling feels better. In smooth turns, there is no difference, but if you're in a bumpy corner, the car is much more planted. Less roll than stock BC springs on normal damping, similar to my previous maxed out setup, but the difference is that when you hit a bump, the car doesn't get skittish. Before, if I hit a bump in a corner, the suspension couldn't move since the damping was slowing everything down so the whole car would bounce around. And transitions are much better now, I can feel what the car is doing.
The 12/14 setup I have now is as high as BC goes. So I went up 4kg/mm in front and 2kg/mm in rear. I also have a stereo setup in the spare tire well that weighs more than the spare so I took that into account. It's hanging behind the rear wheels. I likely see boost in the future so that is another 80+lbs in the front so I considered that as well. And my damping is now set to 14 clicks from soft, still playing with it, but I think I like this one.
And handling feels better. In smooth turns, there is no difference, but if you're in a bumpy corner, the car is much more planted. Less roll than stock BC springs on normal damping, similar to my previous maxed out setup, but the difference is that when you hit a bump, the car doesn't get skittish. Before, if I hit a bump in a corner, the suspension couldn't move since the damping was slowing everything down so the whole car would bounce around. And transitions are much better now, I can feel what the car is doing.
The 12/14 setup I have now is as high as BC goes. So I went up 4kg/mm in front and 2kg/mm in rear. I also have a stereo setup in the spare tire well that weighs more than the spare so I took that into account. It's hanging behind the rear wheels. I likely see boost in the future so that is another 80+lbs in the front so I considered that as well. And my damping is now set to 14 clicks from soft, still playing with it, but I think I like this one.
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8-12 clicks from hard front, can't remember last time I adjusted the rear, but probably the same case to help with bottom out.
---------- Post added at 11:43 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:40 AM ----------
Good to hear, I drove on some crappy mountain roads to go riding and could have used them then. Any issues with swapping them out? I'm guessing the rear is really easy. Maybe I'll go 10 in the front, and the rear at 12 then. I thought I remember people saying the rear was too soft stock also and would bounce around. Did you order custom spring rates with the coilovers at first?
I got the BC's used, so it was the stock rates. And back then I had no idea it would be too soft. Honestly I didn't know any better at first, but the more I drove on them the more I noticed the bouncing and blowing through travel. Then I started to lower it more and rubbed like crazy. Then I started cranking up my damping...it's a slippery slope. It makes a bigger difference on the rear because of the leverage in the design; spring sits really inboard. I still think the rears are a touch soft at 14kg/mm, the fronts are great at 12. You can get G or Z springs for coilovers, they go really high, 16kg/mm are pretty common.
Swapping the springs out was easy. I had the rears done in under 10 minutes per side. Just drop jack up the spring bucket, unbolt the spring and swap. They are the same length, so you don't really need to change preload. I dialed mine down some since the spring wasn't nearly compressing as much. The fronts are a little harder since you have to jack up both sides of the car to get the stabilizer end link off. But I still got the whole job done in a little over an hour. Used an impact wrench on the front since some of the bolts were tight. And an impact gets the tip nut off the shock quickly, no need to clamp it down. Of course make sure to unscrew the damping knob first to access the bolt.
Swapping the springs out was easy. I had the rears done in under 10 minutes per side. Just drop jack up the spring bucket, unbolt the spring and swap. They are the same length, so you don't really need to change preload. I dialed mine down some since the spring wasn't nearly compressing as much. The fronts are a little harder since you have to jack up both sides of the car to get the stabilizer end link off. But I still got the whole job done in a little over an hour. Used an impact wrench on the front since some of the bolts were tight. And an impact gets the tip nut off the shock quickly, no need to clamp it down. Of course make sure to unscrew the damping knob first to access the bolt.
N
NopWRX
Guest
Urgh, hate my life. Look what I got from eBay for $200. Rails and crossbar.
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Rails are silver and bars are black?
N
NopWRX
Guest
Yes, silver rails with black crossbars.
There are silver crossbars with Thule ski rack attachments for $176 shipped: http://www.ebay.com/itm/04-2004-Inf...Parts_Accessories&hash=item53fd8d0b54&vxp=mtr
