nova saloon low and slow

[samburgess]

hello to everybody, this is my nova 4 door saloon that i bought about a month ago. i wasn`t intending on keeping it but you know how these things get under your skin, so i started modifying it.

started by sorting out some of the rusty bits









i then fitted the suspension kit that i got for £20



so it sits like this, fitted with 13"x8" weller wheels



problem is i want it this low ( picture done on paint )

[samburgess]

i then started playing with some coilover front struts, started out by see how low it would sit ont the bump stops ( o yea and i will say I'm trying not to spend any money on it so I'm doing everything as cheaply as possible).





which is low enough but obviously need some suspension travel so i started looking at ways of getting more travel.

i then had a play with some of my other wheels

15" borbet c`s which look good



then my show wheels for the mk3 astra, 17" tsw big deeps
which look even better


but I'm not using them

back to the coilovers
started by looking at modifying the bottom mounts

something like this the black holes are the standard holes, the red holes are the new ones


turns out i cant get it much lower but never mind

[samburgess]

today i had the idea of redoing the top mount, by getting rid of the big rubber top mount

new top plate



as you can see much smaller then the standard, should give me about 30mm more travel on the shock

[samburgess]

well afder spending last week sorting the astra out for its mot, iv been able to do a bit more to the nova today.

being skint and not being able to find the right size spring mount lock rings for my coilover, i made my own
started with this big lump of 66 nylon




this is the coilover all built up with mk3 astra top mount



i had to make the hole in the strut top mount bigger to fit the astra strut top


this is how its sitting at the minute


it looks like its got around 3 and a half inch`s of travel which i think is plenty


i couldn`t be arsed to do the other side but i did sort out the hole in the backbox, i fitted the powerflow silencer that used to be on the astra.
it sounds great, i did do a video but the sound quality is curse word on my camera, so theres not much point putting it on here.

[ChrisT]

Seriously?

[AtomicRooster]

You're using plastic to hold your springs in?

Baggsy never getting a lift in that car.

[Dez]

this has got to be a joke. surely no one is stupid enough to believe thats adequate?

some coilovers do have plastic collars (weitec for example) but they're that funny fibrous hard black plastic, not soft white nylon, and they're full rings that are threaded properly, not split with a pinch bolt and shaped with a chainsaw.

looks like they're FK coilovers- you do know they sell replacement rings for them?

[col]

you de realising the whole weight of your car (and more over a big bump) is resting on the friction between the threads and the nylon right? and nylon is a pretty low friction plastic.

[samburgess]

i understand all off your concerne`s and to be honest i don't know if its going to work, but thats what i do, i like to try my ideas out and if they don't work then i`ll try something else. and yes they do sell these fk lock rings on the fk website but they are $33 each which is about £21, so for a set of 4 you looking at over £80, which is far to expensive. and as for nylon not being strong, this 66 grade nylon which is very strong stuff, it took me bloody age`s to drill the hole out of the middle. as i have already said if it works then i`ll be more surprised then the lot of you, i`ll let you know when i take it out for a drive.

[goldenwonder]

Whereabouts do you live? I want to make sure I'm no where near when you take it out on the road.
I'm all for improvisation, but I'm sorry-that looks just plain dangerous. (IMO only of course)

[Rob]

your joking right? also is there an actual bearing in that strut top or is it metal to metal? as for paying £80 for the correct parts, when its something that may stop you from killing yourself or an innocent roaduser on a suspension or brake component the cost is irrelevant. if you cant afford something save for it, don't bodge it. apart from that it actually looks ok. its good to see a 4dr being looked after. oh and tell luke sloth says hi. lol

[Dez]

Sept 29, 2011 5:41:26 GMT samburgess said:

I understand all off your concerne`s and to be honest I don't know if its going to work, but thats what I do, I like to try my ideas out and if they don't work then i`ll try something else. and yes they do sell these fk lock rings on the fk website but they are $33 each which is about £21, so for a set of 4 you looking at over £80, which is far to expensive. and as for nylon not being strong, this 66 grade nylon which is very strong stuff, it took me bloody age`s to drill the hole out of the middle. as I have already said if it works then i`ll be more surprised then the lot of you, i`ll let you know when I take it out for a drive.

its not about 'strength', its about the properties of the material being totally wrong for the task in hand. if they were even remotely right, the coilover manufacturers would use plastic for the collars, are its miles cheaper than the alloy they're made from usually and would stop them seizing and breaking. I'm suprised youve even got em to hold the cars weight, given nylon really shouldnt be threaded like that, and your pinch bolt isnt long enough.
they need to be steel or alloy.

personally i think if you cant afford something, you cant have it- so if you cant afford some collars, you cant have the coilovers on your car. even just buying two with the spring seats on and locking them off some other way would be preferrable and only cost half as much.
or get a local engineering place to make you a couple as a lunchtime job. would only take half an hour to knock up two threaded collars on the lathe in ally or steel. the thread size for an FK is M54x1.5 if that helps.
just don't use those nylon ones on the road.....

[RA40tony]

Nylon is used for bushes, cos its got nice self-polishing properties... it'll take no time at all for the "threads" in the nylon to wear away... not worth risking it

Do as Dez says and get some machine shop to make some for you out of steel or alloy.

[zircon]

It isn't fair to test your theories out on public roads. Imagine everything seems fine and you are driving past a bus stop when suddenly your suspension falls to pieces instanty causing you to plough into 20 people innocently waiting for a bus.

If that still doesn't scare you, imagine if your wife / children etc were in the queue!!!

Don't do it man......

[MrSpeedy]

Sept 29, 2011 5:41:26 GMT samburgess said:

I understand all off your concerne`s and to be honest I don't know if its going to work, but thats what I do, I like to try my ideas out and if they don't work then i`ll try something else. and yes they do sell these fk lock rings on the fk website but they are $33 each which is about £21, so for a set of 4 you looking at over £80, which is far to expensive. and as for nylon not being strong, this 66 grade nylon which is very strong stuff, it took me bloody age`s to drill the hole out of the middle. as I have already said if it works then i`ll be more surprised then the lot of you, i`ll let you know when I take it out for a drive.

Firstly, you clearly don't understand everyones concerns, otherwise you wouldn't persist. You clearly don't understand/know what you're doing and it is extrememly irrisponsible of you you 'test your theory' on public roads. I truely hope nothing gives whilst you're driving and causes you to lose control, injuring anyone.

Please, do it properly, with proper parts, or leave it the fcuk alone !!

[wiggle]

Sept 28, 2011 21:33:00 GMT ChrisT said:

UNBELIEVABLE !!

[woodenspatulas]

just pray to the automotive gods before you drive that about.

Or do it off road and SLOWLY

do you enjoy hospital food?

[fatbaldbloke]

Sept 29, 2011 6:01:48 GMT goldenwonder said:

Whereabouts do you live? I want to make sure I'm no where near when you take it out on the road.

+1

[andyf]

Mate, fair play for trying things out, but just think about what you are doing for a moment. That is nylon and no way will it stand the stresses you are about to put on it. I`m amazed it hasn`t collapsed already.

Best bet is put it back as standard until you can afford to buy proper bits to do the job. You will look less of a dick driving around on normal suspension than you will on a lowered car whose suspension has collapsed at the side of the road / in a ditch / through a shopfront.

[caprijake]