I am interested in doing the qa1 coilover swap with mustang II 8" conical springs? I think this would be an awesome swap due to the adjustability and multitude of spring rates to choose from. This setup places all the spring load on the t-bar, which the stock 88 control arm isn't designed to handle. Most people weld in a bracket to the existing lower spring perch on the Lca to accommodate a shock with a spherical bearing end. I think I can do it with the t-bar end bolted into the stock location from underneath. I will weld in a 1/4" thick steel plate on top inside the lower spring perch and use grade 8 3/8" bolts.

Anybody ever do this swap successfully? Seems like a very viable option for autocrossers and road racers like me and many people on this forum.

West Coast Fieros sells a plate that bolts to the bottom of the lower a-arm to use a longer shock (I think they are C3 Vette shocks):
http://www.westcoastfiero.c...ero_koni_shocks.html


I think this thread was the first to attempt to use the tapered mustang springs:
https://www.fiero.nl/forum/A...120111-2-091747.html

I played around with the idea using the S10 tapered spring setup:
https://www.fiero.nl/forum/A...130314-2-120718.html

Steven Snyder is running a similar setup using the tapered springs:


[img]http://gallery.steventsnyder.com/cache/Fiero/Bilstein-Suspension/88-fiero-bilstein-suspension-control-arm-welded-bottom_595.jpg[/img

I would go the route Steven went. It is pretty simple to fab up. His thread on shocks/springs is here:
http://realfierotech.com/ph...opic.php?f=3&t=17671

[This message has been edited by fieroguru (edited 02-12-2014).]

I think the mustang II springs would work on the QA1's. I have the AMS tubular upper/lower control arms, and with the kit you get this "spacer ring" that goes up inside the cradle, this spacer ring has about one inch of steel around it to keep the 2.5" spring centered. Its needed because the 2.5" spring is too small to fit in the stock location. Thing is, if the kit came with the Mustang II spring, it would work without the "spacer". I almost ditched it when I had to buy new springs. The kit came with 10" ones, and they were wrong. Since i had to buy new springs, I almost did it. The lower CA has the T bar for the lower shock so the QA1 fits no worries.

Not much help, but I thought I'd share.

[This message has been edited by qwikgta (edited 02-09-2014).]

Couldn't an adjustable spring spacer do the same thing?

http://www.speedwaymotors.c...ng-Spacer,49203.html

Bob

quote Originally posted by RCR: Couldn't an adjustable spring spacer do the same thing? http://www.speedwaymotors.c...ng-Spacer,49203.html Bob

maybe, but the part that AMS sells fits up in the pocket and you silicon it in. Its "permanent", i'm not sure that speed ring does the same thing.

According to the one thread, the qa1 shock mounted in the stock t-bar configuration had about an inch of shock travel left at full compression. I think this would be great if I beefed up the spring perch area with 1/4"steel or aluminum. Any thoughts on this?

I had to cut the 700#/in springs way down to get the height I wanted and now they don't sit very well in the upper spring pocket. If you get the lighter springs it may work, or maybe with drop spindles/lowering balljoints.. Otherwise plan on ordering custom springs instead of using the QA1 stuff.

What I will probably do is use 2.5" Id 6" long springs at 600lb rate. Only thing is these will bind at 3" compression

quote Originally posted by mattman134: What I will probably do is use 2.5" Id 6" long springs at 600lb rate. Only thing is these will bind at 3" compression

How are you going to fit the top of the 2.5" ID springs?

I will make a plate at the top that the spring will be against, with a thicker ridge around the outside to keep the spring centered

quote Originally posted by mattman134: I will make a plate at the top that the spring will be against, with a thicker ridge around the outside to keep the spring centered

2.5" ID springs don't fit around the existing lip in the crossmember. You will lose about an inch of space. That's 2 inches of ride height due to the motion ratio.

When I looked into doing this I think it ended up being something like a 4 inch spring. Eventually I'm just going to order custom tapered springs that fit in the stock upper perch.

How does the car handle with this setup? Autocross?

I really wish I would have finished that setup. I had them in just long enough to drive around the block and check the ride height. I had no room to lower the car to the point I wanted to. 3/4" was the most I could get. Shorter springs from http://www.bluecoilspring.com/ would have taken care of that. Maybe I'll put this project back on my To-Do list.

So the way you had it attached with the t-bar in the stock location, would I still have full suspension travel? Can I get 3/4" lower with the stock t-bar setup and 8" mustang ii springs?

I cut a hole in the control arm and welded a bracket to extend the bottom of the shock out of the bottom. Even the all I got was 3/4". This defeated the entire point of having the adjustable height of coil overs. Shorter springs are the answer.