[flash]

there really isn't anything wrong with the OEM struts, but they have lower limits to how much spring they can handle - they also aren't adjustable - the koni yellow sports have adjustable rebound (no adjustable compression) and can handle a bit more spring rate

the reason most people change is the ease of the conversion and the flexibility gained, as well as the economical advantages

frankly, i like the OEM struts - i have them on the white car and don't think i'll be changing that - they ride smoother, and on that car that's what i want

on the blue car, i started with the yellow sports, but didn't like the gas preload or inability to adjust compression, as i had much stiffer springs, and moved up to a koni dual adjustable hydraulic - the hydraulic feature gave me back some smoothness, but at more than twice the cost of the yellow sport

did that help?

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[Steve]

Yes thanks. I took the car out tonight an was very pleased with the results. I have not been in the car for 5 months because of my illness. Driving around the Rose Bowl with the top down was just an absolute pleasure. I will be getting the car aligned next week. Any pointers there?

Cheers and Thanks
Steve

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[flash]

pointers? do you man a shop to go to or what to do?

there is a thread here for alignment specs, with some options for improved handling, depending on your setup and desires

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[wiseman]

I just had to post on this thread. I ordered new Koni yellows from Paragon with the adjustable ride height option. Decided with the wife out of town yesterday would be a reat day to get that done. Never actualy doing a strut replacement before, I used the "search" option here and came across this thread discussing how to get them out without a spring compressor. What Flash is saying here works so slick.............its almost too easy. I'll summarize a few other "search's" that helped along the way.
Putting the car on Jacks: Jack the car from the rear jack point in front of the rear tire. It will lift the front of the car high
enough to get a jack stand set under the front jacking point. Let the car down VERY SLOWELY
and verify you have the jack stand where you want it. Do the same for the other side.
Disconnect the Sway Bar: After you have taken off the wheels, discinnect the sway bar where it connects to the lower
control arm and swing it out of the way. You may have to use a jack and lift the control arm
a bit to get the pressure off on the sway arm but it will come out of both sides without too much
trouble.
Take off the air deflector that directs the air to your rotor and the ground wire that connects to the strut alomg with the
plastic connectors which hold the harnesses and brake lines. The strut should now be free
of anything prohibiting you from pulling it out when the bolts are off.
Loosen the 2 nuts at the bottom of the strut and then place a jack under the control arm as Flash states in the thread
below, just enough to compress the spring but not enough to raise the car off of the jack
stand.
Take the top center nut off of the strut from above leaving the strut bearing in the car. Lower the jack slowely until
most of the spring has decompressed but the strut shaft is still in the bearing a little. This
makes it easier to take the bottom bolts out without the damn thing flopping around. Just before
you take out the last bolt at the bottom, release the jack and lower the control arm the rest of
the way. Be ready because the brake rotor and caliper unit will fall toward you when you push
out the last bottom bolt so have your left hand on that assembly to hold it up and take out the
strut and spring with your right hand.
Do the other side.
DONE. It was almost too easy...............Thanks again Flash!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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[jaap]

Just came across this DIY but before I get started want to verify one thing. If I only want to replace the spring (for lowering) can I use this method and leave the strut connected to the lower control arm while replacing the spring or do I still need to remove the strut. I think from the original post I can leave the strut connected but just want to verify before ending up needing three arms to hold everything in place <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/tongue.gif" class="smilie" alt="" />

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[flash]

you can leave the strut in the car - the stock springs may take a bit of persuasion to remove, but the shorter lowered ones will be a snap



the key is to compress the strut and remove the spring while it is extending back out

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[jaap]

Great, I will give it a try. I don't know if I will be able to compress a koni yellow strut. I assume I need an alignment anyway when lowering so if in the end I need to remove the strut it does not make to much of a difference.



Jaap

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[flash]

sure you will - adjust it to the softest setting - then apply gradual firm pressure - it will compress - it takes a few seconds for it to extend, meanwhile you pull it back and slip the spring off - no big deal



as for needing an alignment, it really depends on how much you lower it - for example, dropping it an inch will add about a half degree of negative camber - you might be able to live with that, depending on what you want - the real issue though is what it does to your toe - that will tear up tires and make big turn in changes with very little change

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[jaap]

Finally had some time to take on the job of replacing the stock springs with lower (CS) springs. Using the method described by Flash it was easy to remove the spring while leaving the strut connected to the lower control arm. In fact I did not even need to compress the shock because the control arm could be lowered enough to move the top of the strut outside the fender. Most difficult part was to get the sway bar back connected, only managed when I had car back on the ground.

The CS springs lowered the front by 2cm but because the spring rate is the same as stock did not negatively impact the ride, in fact made it better probably because old spring had been on the car for 19 years. Using the eccentrics I was able to lower the rear also 2 cm which gave it the look I was hoping for.



Jaap

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