GR approach to coilover sleeves

OK, so since life has changed and I'm NOT going to Blytheville and can go to Peru instead (local for me), I now have a little extra cash to spend. I have been wanting to get the nose of the Swift down outta the stratosphere and put some stiffer springs in to compliment the Koni's.

Now, there are a plethora of options for this car, I mean just dozens and dozens of off the shelf parts to choose from. So many it makes the civic guys green with envy [/sarcasm]. Sadly, no one at all lists a sleeve kit for it. Since I onl;y need the front pair, what are your suggestions for an economical set up? Will just about any eGay kit work? SHould I find a Macstrut specific kit? Should I burn the car to the ground and start over?

I paid $40 shipped for some crappy Civic-intended kit on eBay that included 4 springs, 4 adjusters, and some miscellaneous rubber rings, etc. Hard to beat that for experimenting with. Half of the kit ended up on the front of my Fiero (coincidentally, I actually ended up with Civic struts!!!).

Bryce

Is this what you're looking for? http://suzukird1.netfirms.com/62pro/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=136

Is the Fiero MacStrut or the civic style double a-arm?

I don't trust that particular company. Already been there, seen those. Almost all of Suzukird's stuff is reboxedfrom someone else and then marked up 100%. Would love to know where they got those from though.

Koni may even have something for you. It couldn't hurt to call Koni Motorsports.

As much as I'd like to...A.) I'm looking for a cost conscious price and 2.) I talked with the guy from Ky (I spaced his name AND lost his business card like a dolt) about this car a couple weeks ago. Not much out there at all. Shoot, the Koni sport inserts are almost all gone now!

When I bought sleeves for the Miata they were about $35 a corner. If that's out of your budget this might not be the sport for you.

You probably talked to Lee Grimes, BTW.

Yes! Geesh.... I can't remember names for crap. Everywhere I look for GC sleeves they're $400 a set. And, of course, I don't need 4.

Bobzilla wrote: Is the Fiero MacStrut or the civic style double a-arm?

It's a Fiero double a-arm front with a wishbone and damper from an Accord. I'm not really sure what that matters though, you want a spring sleeve...it's the same parts in either case. I could easily pull the spring sleeves off the front of my Fiero (on Civic struts) and put them on the rear Fiero (stock macpherson style) struts.

Bryce

That's what I was looking for.

I would just get any ebay sleeves and get a spacer machined to make it fit the konis. I would also look into the koni sleeves though because they are cheap and allow you to run 2.25" springs to save a little weight

I would go to Coleman Racing or similar place, you just need sleeves http://www.colemanracing.com/store/shopdisplayproducts.asp?Search=Yes&sppp=10

If you feel like spending a little bit more money the cosmo racing sleeves are a pretty nice copy of ground controls for under $150. I prefer the split collar adjuster nut to the ebay 2 locking rings method but both are better than the Ireland Engineering "Set screw into the aluminum threads" method

Nashco wrote: I paid $40 shipped for some crappy Civic-intended kit on eBay that included 4 springs, 4 adjusters, and some miscellaneous rubber rings, etc. Hard to beat that for experimenting with. Half of the kit ended up on the front of my Fiero (coincidentally, I actually ended up with Civic struts!!!). Bryce

Sorry for the thread jack. Nashco, do you know what the diameter of the Civic sleeves is. I have looked at them for the RX-7 and was wondering if they would fit.

Anyone have a link/access to the Koni's? It appears their website is fubared.

Toyman01 wrote:

Nashco wrote: I paid $40 shipped for some crappy Civic-intended kit on eBay that included 4 springs, 4 adjusters, and some miscellaneous rubber rings, etc. Hard to beat that for experimenting with. Half of the kit ended up on the front of my Fiero (coincidentally, I actually ended up with Civic struts!!!). Bryce

Sorry for the thread jack. Nashco, do you know what the diameter of the Civic sleeves is. I have looked at them for the RX-7 and was wondering if they would fit.

They tend to vary with the made in China super-cheap crap. If you're doing some custom shenanigans and are really worried about the $50 worth of springs and sleeves not being useful to you, it's best to find ebay ads that state the inner diameter...they are out there, or at least they were when I bought mine. The other option is to buy from more reputable sources, as mentioned above, where the inner diameter is clearly advertised and returns are available if necessary...it's a safer purchase, but it's also more expensive.

Bryce

SCCAforums.com usually has real cheap Eibach springs being traded around, should be able to get some spring rates real close to what you want/need.

The Koni part numbers are here: http://www.koniracing.com/sleeves.cfm If you google the part number, you can usually find a vendor or just call knoi USA for a price.