Flex-A-Form Rear Spring install and disappointment (7 pics)

[Guest TurboSedan]

...so they can get the plans together ahead of time because they don't do many of these jobs on a daily basis.

 

thanks. maybe we can work out a group buy on this lowering spring?

[Lee]

My Regal rear is finally dropping it's rear below the level of the front. If I had lowering springs in the front I'd have it made. I know I'd rather see the rear high than the front.

 

Like the rest say..."Nice car Shawn."

[GnatGoSplat]

My Regal rear is finally dropping it's rear below the level of the front. If I had lowering springs in the front I'd have it made. I know I'd rather see the rear high than the front.

 

Like the rest say..."Nice car Shawn."

 

Thanks Lee!

 

I agree, I'd rather have the rear high than the front, although overall I'd prefer the rear to be a bit closer match to the front. Even if it were too low, I probably could raise it up a bit maybe using some cut down Moog spring helpers or something like that. Mine being too high... not too much I can do about it.

 

airbe5car - your tire overall diameter should be the same as mine. Do you have any side view pics where the top of the tire is clearly visible so I can see how much gap there is? Also, do you still have the aux springs and KYB struts?

 

I've been wondering on mine if aux springs, non-gas charged struts, or going back to the stock rear sway bar would bring the rear of my car down.

[bartonmd]

Airbe5car,

 

I saw your site and although I am not a fan of the 'rice' movement, I respect your right to do whatever you want to your car. 2 things though...

 

1. You had an intercooler as a mod... but do you have a turbo?

 

2. It says you want to put Hawk pads on it... I'd stay away from those pads, especially on the rear. When we did SCCA Rally Racing the last couple of years, almost all the DSM guys were running hawk pads on the rear and literally every one of them that I knew were running Hawk pads on the rear granaded at least one rear rotor.. and I mean literally, the rotors came APART while they were driving (racing). I think a better choice for pads, safety wise, while still getting the performance you want would be EBC Green Stuff pads or something like that.

 

Mike

[bartonmd]

Also, Gnat, the anti-roll bar shouldn't do anything to the ride height of your car should it? These aren't mounted a third place anywhere to give it any vertical power are they?

 

Mike

[GnatGoSplat]

Also, Gnat, the anti-roll bar shouldn't do anything to the ride height of your car should it? These aren't mounted a third place anywhere to give it any vertical power are they?

 

Mike

 

Not that I'm aware of, but the bar isn't exactly OEM shape and it pushes back the inner links at a slight angle. I just wonder if there's any tension there giving a little vertical push. I'm sure there's probably no vertical tension, but nothing would surprise me.

[bartonmd]

gotcha...

[airbe5car]

bartonmd, I won't bullshit you. I don't know a whole lot about turbos. I don't have an intercooler, just thought I would need one if I got some engine mods going. Don't think that would happen anytime because I don't need my car to be fast though. Obviously I would research the need for one before I would buy anything for the hell of it.

[bartonmd]

air,

 

It's cool... an intercooler is specifically for boosted applications. You know how you can freeze stuff with a can of keyboard cleaner, or how a C02 cartrage gets really fuckin' cold when you empty it really fast? That's because air gets colder as it un-compresses. A turbo works opposite that... it compresses the gas, which heats it... without an intercooler, the air going into the motor will often be more than 200 deg F. All an intercooler does it transfer the heat out of that air and make it 'room temperature' again to keep your engine from detonating and to make more power... especially when you get to higher boost pressures, because the higher the boost pressure, the hotter the air. Without a turbo, an intercooler will actually hurt your power, as it's just more restriction added to the intake track, and the air you're pulling in is already very close to room temp.

 

Mike

[R Dubya]

Ok so now it's late January and I am wondering what the status is on the FAF leaf spring..

 

Shawn has it dropped anymore? Did you talk with the people that made it? Are they expecting to create a spring with more drop? I am going to lower my TGP this spring and want to go a good route, but if coil overs are going to cause problems, then I don't want them. Anyone have any input here?

[slick]

Yeah Shawn, any updates? I have really been considering this as part of my summertime suspension project.

[GnatGoSplat]

It hasn't dropped anymore. I would really like 2" more drop up front, 3" more drop in the rear, but right now it'd at least be even with 1.25" more drop in the rear. I haven't tried adding aux springs, I'm not sure how much difference that would make.

 

George Smolen (FAF owner) won't reply to my email anymore. I would recommend trying to get a spring from that Toronto place that made one for airbe5car. The price would probably be close to the same.

 

Other than the car not being designed to support spring forces on the rear towers, there are other reasons I don't really want coilovers.

[R Dubya]

I see that shops number, I may give them a call. They said $400 installed right? I would like to look into it at least. Probably cost more than that to get it to me, but I'm not driving to Toronto. I'm gonna go take another look at that Cutlass..

 

Shawn you have a whole knuckle assembly from a 96? Was there any serious modification to make that work? Those are what the ST springs are intended for, is the only difference in that setup when compared to my 89TGP the brakes?

[GnatGoSplat]

Shawn you have a whole knuckle assembly from a 96? Was there any serious modification to make that work? Those are what the ST springs are intended for, is the only difference in that setup when compared to my 89TGP the brakes?

 

No serious modifications, 96 front knuckles will bolt right into a 90+. The holes need to be slightly enlarged on an 88-89. The only difference is the bracket that the caliper support bracket bolts onto is spaced out 3/8" more so the bigger rotor will fit.

[R Dubya]

So I could just take the whole strut knuckle, the steering and everything will bolt up to the Monte ball joint? I assume if there is ABS I would have to use the sensor for the PMIII. What are the benefits of using this knuckle besides better brakes? Calipers must be changed also?

[GnatGoSplat]

Yep, everything is the same, even the calipers. Only difference is the knuckle itself and the rotors.

[Guest TurboSedan]

What are the benefits of using this knuckle besides better brakes? Calipers must be changed also?

 

the only benefit will be a larger rotor. the same calipers are used. the late '95+ front strut/knuckle assemblies will bolt right into the earlier W-bodies...the only difference is the bracket that is welded to the strut body where the caliper bolts to...it is spaced further out to accomodate the larger 11.25" rotor.

 

i have a set of '96 Cutlass strut/knuckle assemblies in my garage waiting to go on my Cutlass. i still need new ball joints, rotors and tie rod ends and transfer my lowering springs over to them before i install them though.

[R Dubya]

Wow. I never knew this. I suppose I will keep an eye out for one of these cars locally. So 96 and newer Monte/Lumina/Cutlass/GP are the correct ones?

[R Dubya]

Guys I just called Birchmount, and they have the springs. They custom make them to achieve whatever drop you are looking to have. I think this is most likely a cheaper and safer way to go about dropping the rear as opposed to coilovers. Just a preliminary discussion with the guy on the phone led to talk of shipping and possibly a group buy, which they said they are able to work with. I am calling him back in about an hour to see what he says for shipping to NY and go from there. If anyone is interested, or knows someone that might be interested that hasn't read this thread get them in here.. I will see if I can work something out for us.

[R Dubya]

Well I talked with him, he doesn't have an exact quote on the price yet, but uninstalled it will be slightly over $200 Canadian + shipping, which would be 40-50#'s. He will not be completely accurate with the drop, but everyone can choose a different height, and he said if we give him a figure he will get us really close. He remembers doing the blue Cutlass and I told him I wanted to drop mine that far.. can anyone find out exactly how far that Cutty dropped?

 

He is willing to do a group buy if anyone is interested. I personally am going to get one instead of coilovers. Might be harder to install, but better in the long run I believe.

[R Dubya]

Yeah it is, he's the guy that dropped that Cutty. Looks good and the springs come with new bushings. If you want to thats fine, but I trust him. He's definetely a Canadian though.. uses eh a lot. Davis what is the conversion of Canadian dollars to US today? He's looking for $200 Canadian. Good price I think.

[R Dubya]

Well there is 2.. he will offer the spring as close as he can get it to whatever height is desired.. he is making one just to have in stock, but I would like to get in touch with the guy that owns the Cutty. I'm going to try his AIM.

[stockgp]

are we talking 162 per pair or per spring?

[stockgp]

$162 per leaf

 

its a leaf spring so you only need one per car..... :?

i'm confused. suspension is definitely not my expertise. do you happen to have a pic to show me exactly what it will replace to achieve the drop?

[stockgp]

i don't have any pics but thee were some on page one of this thread where shawn showed the diffrence between leaf springs

 

yeah on the first page, i checked. they don't work, though :?