Bc racing coils, or alternative?

[Bullet Ride]

Originally Posted by SamE30e

GC sells them with the modification already done, you just pay a core charge. And I forgot about KW. I was looking at them a while back.

The powder coated housings are nice...

[Yamahammer]

what do you mean? don;t you have to send them your strut housings if you want them to modify it?

[E30 Kid]

i have D2's

[Bullet Ride]

Originally Posted by Yamahammer

what do you mean? don;t you have to send them your strut housings if you want them to modify it?

I don't know exactly how it works because I never asked them about that option. I'd assume that you either a) send them your housings they modify them and send them back or b) they already have housings that they'll modify and send you, but you have to pay a core charge (as Sam mentioned) and you send them your housings, the core charge will get refunded once they receive your housings.

[Yamahammer]

Originally Posted by E30 Kid

i have D2's

How are the d2's? I read that they don;t handle too well, they have equal spring rates at all corners. I mean it will end up being less in the rear because of where the springs are located. How are the d2's held into the housings?

Anyways i think will get the Ground Controls and just mod the housings myself, i saw a picture of the instructions on doing the modification, the main thing is you remove the oem strut, cut the oem perch off, cut an inch off the housing and then weld the new perch 2.5" down on the housing, then reassemble the housing with the new shorter koni strut in place. I don;t understand how the strut is held into the housing.

Is there a how to on this?

[Bullet Ride]

Originally Posted by Yamahammer

Anyways i think will get the Ground Controls and just mod the housings myself, i saw a picture of the instructions on doing the modification, the main thing is you remove the oem strut, cut the oem perch off, cut an inch off the housing and then weld the new perch 2.5" down on the housing, then reassemble the housing with the new shorter koni strut in place. I don;t understand how the strut is held into the housing.

Is there a how to on this?

If I had access to my email at work I'd be able to post the pdf of the actual instructions that GC will send you.

What I think you are missing is that the top of the housing has an internal thread and a cap which retains the shock absorber. The instructions tell you to remove the perch and section the housing where the original perch was welded. Then lop off a 1 inch section from the piece you just cut off. Then you put the shock into the housing so that you can line up the perch and the upper piece and tack them into place. Remove the shock and then weld all the way around. What's not clear in the ground control instructions is the spacer they send you in the kit. They send you a piece of steel pipe to put into each housing in order to space the shock correctly (because the konis are much shorter than the stock housings). What they don't tell you is that the spacer is sized so that you don't have to section your housings. You just cut the stock perch off (without cutting through the housing), grind the weld off, slide their perch on, weld it, drop the spacer in with the koni and you're good to go. However if you want to go lower then you need to section your housing, but that means that you need to also cut the spacer to the correct length as well... which they do not mention in the instructions. I guess that's why they say their stuff should be installed by a licensed professional .

If you want I can post the pdf when I get home.

[Mpellizze30]

ive been saving for a while now for the h&r kit is anyone running that it, it as good as ive been told?

[Mpellizze30]

, is it**

[Yamahammer]

I read up alot and the H&R's are said to be bouncy and not such a good ride, but they provide good drop and are cheaper and easier than coils,

I purchased the GC full kit with modified strut housings and everything. Lol hopefully it is worth the 2 g's

[Mpellizze30]

nono i mean the h&r coilovers there like 3gs suppose to be top of the line looked at the gc's to but i didnt like the fabrication nonsence and the h&r are straight bolt on and the koni shocks for gc and fk are made special in japan and are said to be lesser quality

[Yamahammer]

Originally Posted by Mpellizze30

nono i mean the h&r coilovers there like 3gs suppose to be top of the line looked at the gc's to but i didnt like the fabrication nonsence and the h&r are straight bolt on and the koni shocks for gc and fk are made special in japan and are said to be lesser quality

Well the GC's only involve modification if you cheap out and dont buy the full thing. Like the setup im getting from gc is fully bolt on.

[Ant_e30]

^ found this topic when researching coilovers myself so thought i'd comment in case someone else finds it.

there appears not to be any kit that are entirely aftermarket in one peice with the bottom spindle etc, they are all using a stock strut cut in some way. GC cut down the standard strut and thread it etc, same with GAZ i believe and KW. KSport / BC Racing are the type that you cut lower down and slip over a bit of your stock strut and get the spindle that way. Whether it is obvious to see that or not, they all basically base their coilovers off stock units. Once tidied up and powder coated or whatever you just can't tell what is what apart from KSport and BC because you see the weld.

Through Tunershop you can get the KW ready to bolt in, through RPM you can get the GAZ kit ready to bolt in, and through Ground Control you can get their own full kit ready to bolt in. KW doesnt mention Core Charge that i've seen through Tunershop, but GC and GAZ both charge a core charge to use struts they have which they cut down and modify into a coilover with a shorter shock inside. GC says you can send back for refund, i dont think GAZ mentioned that.

I am looking at the likes of BC Racing because they are body adjustable on the bottom mount. But then you are still limited in the rear due to the separate spring and shock setup on E30s unless you change to a proper coilover (GAZ offers this option and say all you need is metal top mounts and maybe a strut brace to stiffen things).

I really cannot ascertain clearly what the shock travel is compared between KW/GC Full Kit (cut down struts with short stroke shock) and Ksport / BC Racing. It is also difficult to get solid figures of how much each kit can lower your car. GAZ say -25 to -65 but then they recommend (generally speaking) you convert to full coilover rear which will obviously allow the extra drop up back that most E30s cannot acheive. I am just a bit skeptical that a simple metal upper mount and a strut brace will stop your car tearing itself up over time...

Anyway, as an aside, your other cheaper coil conversion kits are where you basically add a threaded sleeve over your stock shock and wind the springs down. this will lose your shock travel though unless you cut down and put in a shorter insert like G60 Corrado but then you may as well pay for a GC Full Kit to begin with and have them do all the good stuff to it at their factory and it will be all valved properly and painted nicely

Anyway OP Yamahammer - How is your GC Kit???! Pics?