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).]
