Question for Owners of Ground Control Coilovers

[millaj01]

Hi Guys,

Well I took the plunge and bought the Ground Control coilovers to pair up with my ZX-2 struts. So I started the work of replacement this weekend and figured I'd try a rear corner to start. I guess I was a bit surprised at how the pieces fit. The sleeve of the coilver simply resting on top of the bottom 'shaft' of the strut itself? Here's a picture to show you what I mean. Please let me know if this looks correct. At first I was like, 'hmmmm....did I receive the right kit from GC?'



In any case, once I had the strut assembly back together I started with the coilover collar threaded about halfway up the coilover 'sleeve'. When I had everything together and lowered the car I ended up with a 4.5" gap betweep top of my tire and the bottom of the fender. Does this sound right? From your guys' experiences, how far will I be able to lower/heighten from there? I had the H&R springs in before, which left me with a 1.75" gap previously, so obviously I have some adjusting to do if I want to get anywhere close to where I was.

Also, what have you found is the best method of adjusting the coilover once it's in place? Channel locks? What's the best tool?

Any of your experiences and advice is much appreciated.

[onlytrueromeo]

you need to remove the metal cap on the struts that the coil over is resting on right now. Put it in a vise and use a hammer and screwdriver to pop it off from the bottom, working around in even increments, hammering a little at a time until it pops off. The coilover will then slide over the base of the strut and sit down towards the bottom like a normal spring...however the coilover sleeve will be a little "loose" so it can bang around and make noise. I did not use the rubber orings they provided, instead wrapped the metal base of the strut that the sleeve goes over in a few layers of duct tape until the sleeve slide over it snugly. I only have 500 miles on them, but so far so good.

[solo_ryder]

That is not correct, the sleeve is supposed to go all the way down to the perch. If there is a cap on the top of the strut body, u need to remove that with a hammer and a chisel or something along those lines.. Then the sleeve slides down to the perch where it rests..

A tip:

When you are putting the sleeve down the strut body, put some duct tape in between so the fit is much tighter and this will eliminate any clunking. Worked for me just fine!

[solo_ryder]

LOL @ same post, you beat me to it

[onlytrueromeo]

hehe I beat you to it!

revise: you beat me the second time!

[onlytrueromeo]

As for adjusting it once its in place: do not adjust it unless you have the wheel off the ground, or most of the pressure off that side of the car. You should be able to turn it by hand in that position, then use the hex key to lock it in place. I would not recommend going too low if you dont have a camber kit installed yet, and you should plan on getting an alignment soon after.

[millaj01]

you need to remove the metal cap on the struts that the coil over is resting on right now. Put it in a vise and use a hammer and screwdriver to pop it off from the bottom, working around in even increments, hammering a little at a time until it pops off. The coilover will then slide over the base of the strut and sit down towards the bottom like a normal spring...however the coilover sleeve will be a little "loose" so it can bang around and make noise. I did not use the rubber orings they provided, instead wrapped the metal base of the strut that the sleeve goes over in a few layers of duct tape until the sleeve slide over it snugly. I only have 500 miles on them, but so far so good.

Well crap, that's what I had assumed from the spartan little diagram GC supplied, but I was like WTF is the deal with this square peg/round hole. I didn't figure modifying the strut itself (taking it apart) was part of the picture....and it wasn't exactly outlined anywhere with the kit itself.

Rookie mistake...I should have just posted way earlier. Problem was, I just wanted to get my car off the jackstand I had it sitting on overnight so I put the strut back in even though I wasn't sure about it. #@!*&?! it all.

Oh well, live and learn. I'm just not too bright sometimes. Thanks fellas.

[onlytrueromeo]

Hey man, I tried the same thing. I fussed with it for awhile, then posted on here. I actually figured out what I needed to do before people responded because I got impatient (luckily I didn't screw it up!) Live and learn, its the best way to do it.

[millaj01]

Ok, now I'm really confused. I took off the cap just fine, but now when I assemble things, it appears I'm 'short' by a good 4-5" for the spring to reach the top of the strut. Am I supposed to compress the strut that amount to get the pieces to fit? In all, the assembly appears like it's going to be 4-5" shorter overall than with the H& R spring that I had. Here's a picture for you (showing the comparison).



I just don't want to put this whole thing together again and find out I did something else wrong.

[onlytrueromeo]

No that should be right...the struts are "pre-compressed" with the coilovers which puts extra stress on them...the ZX2 struts are stronger and more suited for it than the stock mx3 ones. You might want to look into getting new mounts...it looks rusty and worn out! If you get them on rockauto they're pretty cheap. It will definitely improve your ride quality.

[millaj01]

I didn't have the full picture until that was explained to me. Yay. I now have one corner installed with the coilover. I should have done more research so I had a full understanding before I tackled this, but now that I have it down I should be able to rip through the other three corners pretty quick.

You're right about the mounts....they're the originals! I'll have to look into replacing them when I'm looking for more work to do on the ol' MX.

In any case, many thanks - this forum is the best.

[millaj01]

Well, I thought I was all good for the rest of this install and ran into another snag. I have both rear corners done and started on the fronts today. First obstacle was the strut bearing. I had bought the new steel bearings for the ZX2 conversion originally and they didn't fit the new aluminum 'hat' supplied with the Ground Controls. Thankfully, I had kept the old plastic bearings around and those fit perfect. Whew, I was relieved by that until I ran into obstacle #2.

The ZX2 front strut shaft will not 'seat' or fit through the new aluminum top 'hat' supplied by Ground Control. It appears like it's meant to allow clearance through, but it's just too wide to fit through the machined hole. What this interferes with is providing enough length of the threaded top part of the strut to pass through the top mount to be able to thread the top strut nut onto it. As it stands only the very top part of the strut shaft passes through, just before threads on the shaft are visible.

What's the deal with this, or am I simply missing another basic concept about how this is supposed to work?

[onlytrueromeo]

Bring the front top hats to a machine shop, i believe they are 20mm and need to be 22mm, but use the search here to double check.

[millaj01]

Thanks again for the information. I did take the hats to a machine shop and I'm all hooked up now. If you're using the ZX2 struts like I have, they are 22mm in diameter. So, you have to use the larger, steel upper strut bearings and not the stock plastic ones. (I had them already from my previous ZX2 install of course)

With that in mind, the middle of the GC hat has to be bored out just more than 22mm. I had mine done at 22.5mm and that worked perfect. In addition, the top part of the hat that's recessed to hold the plastic bearing has to be bored out as well to be able to fit the larger steel bearing. With that done, fits like a glove and I can now finish off the job.

[onlytrueromeo]

Glad you got it all done!