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| New front shock option for 88. Adjustable! (Page 1/1) |
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ricreatr
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SEP 06, 10:23 AM
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While i was working on the grand prix struts, i have completed a shock swap. These are rancho rs9000 series shocks. They are the shortest ones they make. Originally for a d1000 foreign scrap pickup truck i think. And yes, they have 9 positions that seems to just be rebound.
RS999188
Made in use shocks!!!
(Sidenote) i also installed the fieroguru recommended springs moog 7634. $140. Getting harder to find. Raises spring rate from ~200 to 360. I cut them off right where they start to narrow into a beehive shape. This dropped the front a bit.
How it sits after springs/shocks. Remember i have skinny little sticky tires making it look funny.
First off, this is not a really great switch. The knob is difficult to get to. You have to jack up the front end and really bust some finger tips to make changes. Better than pulling a shock, but.
I am trying to make a tool to help. Second, these shocks are way wider. No way to install them the easy way. (At least for me, i am willing to chop new parts, but the original stuff is going to be unmodified.) to install, i had to pop the entire lower control arm out and reassemble in one piece. Amazing how much fun it is to work on a car that has not been driven in the winter! It all just came apart no problem!
However!! They function great! I hit an autocross course with the fronts in, and seemed to have taken 1/2 second off a 35 second course! I love em!
The shocks had this nut looking thing on them that made them 3/8 longer than the kyb shocks when compressed. This may not have been an issue at all, but i decided to take them off to get the extra travel. NOPE! Not a nut. It is part of the shaft. Like swaged into that shape? No problem, i chucked the small end of the shaft into a latche and turned the nut part off. It worked. ?
The bottom crossbolts were a mess. No way to get them in without cutting the control arm. They have to be pressed in while the shock was in the control arm. I pressed the hardware out of all four shocks and first tried using the original cross shaft with new bushing de-shouldered and drilled out. Then i tried just pressing the original cross shaft and bushing into new shock. I liked option b best. Both have worked great so far. I would like to make my own cross shaft with e-clip slots to hold it all together. Maybe soon.
The whole thing going in as a unit. Was not a big deal at all
Remember to load the suspension when you tighten those control arm bushing bolts!
At the track! Thanks dark horizon for track info!
 [This message has been edited by ricreatr (edited 09-06-2023).]
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fliphone
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SEP 06, 03:21 PM
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Nice Find! It's pretty cool seeing all the creative ways to spruce up the suspension on these cars  ------------------
Black 88 GT, a 19 year old here about 20 years to late
-LQ1 Swap in progress-
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mcguiver3
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SEP 06, 06:31 PM
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I fabricated a coil over setup for my 88 using a QA1 adjustable coil over shock. will have to search my records for the unit number.
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fieroguru
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SEP 06, 07:39 PM
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Those shocks are 9" compressed length and Stock 88 fronts are about 8" They KYBs are also about 9" compressed length, and they can bottom out too soon.
When trying some new non-stock shocks, it is best to pull the springs, install the shocks and jack the suspension up to the bump stops, measure the distance between the lower a-arm and the stop, then remove the bump stop and do it again bottoming out the shock. This way you know where the shock will bottom out and if you need to space the shock from the bottom of the lower a-arm.
Here is what the spacer between the shock and a-arm looks like:
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ricreatr
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SEP 07, 12:07 AM
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Aahhhh yes, i followed all the instructions in your lowering info. Very valuable info!!!
Shock installed. No spring.
Full crazy droop. (I installed droop stops on my other 88)
Full compression
Then a very little bump stop trimming
And final compression. As close as i want to go with 50 series tires as standard tires will likely be going back on.
No bottoming on the shock. Which should be 8.5” long compressed with that xtra hex turned off of the shaft.
Unfortunately, the extra width of this shock makes very little room for adding spacers.
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KissMySSFiero
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SEP 07, 07:47 AM
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