AAAOA

Alright so I've finally just about saved up enough money to replace the cut up springs and beat up shocks on my FB but before I toss another couple buckets of money into this pit I want to make sure I've done my research correctly.

I've already got a set of Racing Beat springs laying around so my questions really only revolve around the shocks.

From what I understand a set of rear shocks from a fox body mustang should just bolt right into the back and a set of rear shocks from an 85 or 86 AW11 Mr2 should fit up front with a little case-by-case filing of some welds. The one thing I haven't quite figured out yet is if I need camber plates or not, and if I do what options am I looking at? I saw that Techno Toy Tuning has some but they are listed as coilover specific. Only other one I saw was from Ground Control.

So I've got the springs, Fox Body rear shocks, 85-86 AW11 rear shocks, and possibly camber plates on my list. Am I missing anything? If you've done this before, are there any little quirks I should be aware of going in?

Thanks in advance

j9fd3s

iTrader: (3)

you don't need camber plates. the stock or RB springs are large enough in diameter that if you did camber plates, the spring would hit the shock tower before it moved much. camber plates are used with smaller diameter springs, and that gives adjustment room.

AAAOA

Alright so all of the parts are here and I've started to assemble them but I've run into a slight problem, I have no idea how to get the little cap over the front strut off. Looks like this:

sa7

iTrader: (13)

AAAOA

Alright that got it off with a bit of persuasion from a mallet but I've run into some clearance issues with the new insterts that were sorta expected and need some filing. They're just a little too tall and the top of the instert is too wide for the gland nut to slide over. It's easier to replace an insert than it would be to find a strut, but I obviously don't want to make any cuts that might cause the instert to fail. I've taken a few pictures, how can I go about making these fit?

AAAOA

Alright I kinda went and messed it all up 'cause I didn't realize there was a new gland nut that fit in the packaging for the strut and kinda sorta ground on the top of the strut 'til it gave out.

Not exactly my best moment lol. Gonna have to order a new strut but I think this should work once I figure out the concave vs. convex bottom

Might just leave that along cause it seems fairly stable as is and I've already messed it up once

Taino30

I think you cut/grind off front the bottom of the strut nipple looking part, to where it is the same length as the other one. I am fixing to do the same on my GSL-SE. But I am leaning towards getting the original strut cartridges from Atkins. Really interested to see how yours feel. Read those MR2 ones are VERY stiff. Keep us posted.

AAAOA

Alright so little update, got the Mr2 cartridges in as well as the mustang shocks in the back but neither were quite as bolt in as originally said. Not anything crazy though.

Up front requires some grinding, all be it very minor. Maybe 2mm at most, I just guesstimated and slowly ground it down 'til the top of the instert was just barely sticking out. One of the adjuster dials kinda sorta snapped off so their stuck on full soft 'til the replacement comes in. I have to say though, even at full soft it isn't bad at all for daily driving. A good bit of lean under sudden direction changes but far from too stiff. Once I get the new one I should be able to dial it in better.

The Mustang shocks out back just required sanding the metal tube through the bushing just about down to the bushing to allow it to pop in. I've got them at 3/4 turn and'll probably drop it down to just a half turn here soon cause the potholes around here seem to unsettle the rear a bit, better than before though.

All in all, it's not a bolt in but you don't need much more than a belt sander or some sandpaper and patience to make it work.

As for the racing beat springs I put in, the rear height looks good but honestly I think the fronts are too low. Better than my previous no gap at all, but I've only got about a finger and half worth of room and was hoping for a tad more clearance. Works for right now though and I'm happy with the ride quality. Once I get some real money my way maybe I'll change it.

throw in some more pictures once I get the replacement shock in.

Taino30

Sounds great! I will be very grateful if you could post the parts numbers and brands of your socks. Thanks in advanced.

AAAOA

Both the AW11 and FoxBody shocks are Koni Yellows.

Part number for the AW11 shocks is 8641 1072Sport
Part number for the Mustang shocks is 8041 1026Sport

Hopefully that helps

Taino30

I can't thank you enough, sir. I hope i don't put you out with a couple more questions, as I can't financially afford to get this wrong.

1) Top shock mount fitment: did you use original or camber plates?
2) If original strut mounts, did the top stud fit or was it lose enough to need a "spacer"?
3) if camber plates, what brand did you go with?

I really prefer to use original strut mounts. My car is pretty mint and original, but prefer to improve some in the suspension department without altering the looks, if at all possible of course. TIA!

AAAOA

I'm using racing beat springs and from what I heard it's not worth the extra few hundred to get camber plates as adjustment is pretty limited with stock width springs. As of right now there are none on my car.

I'm still pretty new to working on cars so forgive me for my lack of detail lol, but I made no changes to the strut tubes or mounts. All I did was file the bottom of the insert down until it just barely stuck out the top of the strut tube and cranked down the gland nut that holds it in. Everything else slid right on.

Only other thing I had to do was dremel out the washer that holds on the dust cover. Honestly you could probably run out to home depot or lowes and find one that fits, I was on a bit of a time crunch and didn't have the time to go sorting through bins on washers.

I should be able to get some pictures up here in the next week or so.

Taino30

Awesome, thanks.

AAAOA

So finally got some pictures of the front strut inserts. Truth be told, filing/sanding is minimal and honestly might be unnessesary as the the gland nut does reach the threads in the strut. I just want as much thread contact as possible.

As for the stiffness, I turned the front up to 1/4 turn and honestly found it to just about be as stiff as I'd ever want it around here and dialed it back to full soft. Put the rears on full soft too to see what's that like.

I put a good few hundred miles on the previous insterts that I couldn't adjust past full soft and found them to be pretty good comfort wise. Granted, this is coming from a 19 year old who was previously riding around on blown shocks so I may not be the best judge of comfort lol. I wouldn't be surprised at all if these were significantly stiffer than stock, but speed bumps are easy and potholes are no longer the spine-jarring adventure of a few weeks ago. I'd say it's done it's job.

For right now I guess that's it suspension-wise although I do personally find the racing beats to be too low and would like to find a stock height replacement.

I'll get some pictures of the mustang shocks here in a day or two to show what was done there.

Taino30

Thanks for the info and photos. I just got a bunch of stuff for mine . Because of budgeting, I went with the kyb for mr2 and mustang. Still deciding if getting springs or not. If I do, I am leaning towards the b&g. I'll make a thread and post photos later on.

AAAOA

Alright that took a bit longer than anticipated but I've got some comparison pictures. It's fairly simple, on the orange shock you see the tube going through the bushing at the bottom of the shock. With that tube at the length it is, it will not slide into place. All you need to do is grind it down 'til about as close to the bushing as possible and it'll pop right in.

Just remember you can always take off more, can't really put anything back.

Eydes2Rotor

iTrader: (3)

Alternatively, you can just spread the shock mount bracket a little bit with a pry bar, line the shock hole up, slide the bolt through, and release the pry bar. A little less invasive than full-blown sanding.

AAAOA

Year and a bit update:

All has held up well and I continue to be pleased with this suspension upgrade. In fact I recently attended my first two autocross events over the past few weeks so I have a better idea of how it handles at the limit.

Keep in mind these are with 205/50r15 500 treadwear hankook ventus v2 concept 2 all seasons @~30psi. Front and rear shocks remain at full soft.

The car performs in a neutral way and performs as you would expect a red car to. Huck it in too fast you get understeer and get on the gas too early you get oversteer. The car does lean but holds well and does so in a controllable way. The old folks and instructors who rode with me also described the car to appear neutral and easy to control. Because my tires are hard I have not come near the point of binding up the rear watts link, may go down to ~300 treadwear once these wear out. As it stands with me being a very inexperienced autocrosser I finished lower-mid field and within spitting distance of some rather quick cars. Hung right there with the miatas and frs/brz/86s as well as a 90s MR2 and a pretty decked out Mazda2. As I get better I fully expect this to be a solid mid pack car even with the current tires.

The car also remains comfortable on the street. I have gone from the stock 14in wheels to 15in enkei 92s but there was no noticeable difference in ride quality. Speed bumps are a 5mph> affair but that is more due to the height of the vehicle than the stiffness. For some reason the new springs and shocks didn't really get my car out of the nose down booty up stance it had when the suspension was blown and a year+ of driving hasn't changed that, this could however just be my weird car. The car handles mildly bumpy roads well and has hit plenty a pothole without launching me into orbit, but it certainly doesn't appreciate them. One large bump on the highway took me out of the seat and into the roof, although that is only about an inch of travel lol. All in all, perfectly livable on the street and it better be as this is my daily.

I'll have to update again once I get some stickier tires and further push the limits of the suspension. As it stands, given I am entirely unfamiliar with what the coilovers from T3 and Ground Control feel like, I absolutely recommend this mod as a cost effective alternative to coilovers and more guaranteed than new old stock parts.

Next up on the list is redoing all the 35 year old rubber bushings in the suspension which should tighten it up a bit. Should this cause any significant change in how to suspension performs I will further update this thread.

Hope people have found this useful, feel free to ask any questions.