HSD Coilover kits

[groupAralliart]

one other reason is to adjust the position of the sprint seat and its large std diameter. It can cause clearance issues with wider rims.

[jk]

Tomson I've been looking into the mr2 strut mod as well.

1 - the strut is generally shortened above the original spring perch so no change in tyre clearance

2 - If your keeping the stock spring perches then yes you will loose some spring travel, that isn't a problem though really and swapping to shortened shocks means you won't run out of shock travel which is of more concern with starions having lowered coils and stock shocks

3 - the shortened struts should keep the shortened coils captive

4 - coils made to your ride height will be the biggest challenge, lots of measuring and educated guessing goes on here I think

5 - if they sag below legal then new coils will be needed to restore ride height (I think new coils sag about half an inch over 6 to 12 months)

Most successful mr2 shock conversions I have seen lose the stock perches and fit coil over threaded sleeves. I was originally planning to use stock perches to try and look unmodified as far as the transport department was concerned, but no adjustability and the intense effort required to get the result I was after makes it all look too much. I think I would now rather spend extra on Redzones proposed kits (relatively simple and adjustable).

Another reason for coilovers is the smaller diameter springs allow more adjustment for camber when using adjustable strut tops. Probably only effects those going to the track though.

[redzone]

tomsun if you have minimal clearance on the front between your tyre and shock tube now, and you want to run height adjustment, then you will have to either narrow your front rims (easy, get it sliced down the middle of the rim, half inch section taken out, welded back together again) or run spacers on the front.

height adjustment ALWAYS ends up with LESS tyre room not more, as the spring and seat sits lower on the shock tube. usually about 12-15mm or so is how much the little springs sit out from the tube.

[OLD FART]

tomsun if you have minimal clearance on the front between your tyre and shock tube now, and you want to run height adjustment, then you will have to either narrow your front rims (easy, get it sliced down the middle of the rim, half inch section taken out, welded back together again) or run spacers on the front.

height adjustment ALWAYS ends up with LESS tyre room not more, as the spring and seat sits lower on the shock tube. usually about 12-15mm or so is how much the little springs sit out from the tube.

Thats right .With 225/45/17 tyres on 7's I have a poofteenth space between the lock nuts and tyre so you will need less backspace(smaller positive offset ) if you want wider rims/tyres

[jk]

Rad, whats the exact offset of those 7's?

[OLD FART]

Rad, whats the exact offset of those 7's?

Don't know the O/S BUT THE BACKSPACE IS 122MM

[TOMSUN]

17x7 with a offset of +20 = a backspace of 121mm (close enough) :D

http://www.rimsntires.com/rt_specs.jsp

[jk]

You need the same backspace, just less offset to acheive it with wider rims. I manually calculated +20 offset for Rads 7's as well.

Using Tomsun's calculator (Thanks Tomsun) and a manual calc to cross check, Tomsun's back space is about 129mm with 17x8 +15, this may be a little too much backspace it seems from Rad's experience given the fact you both run the same dimensioned tyres (give or take minor brand and model differences).

When I spoke to Bender regarding his tyre clearance he also said it was quite close to the coil overs. We own the same brand and size wheels, 16x8 +10, and he runs 225/50 on the front. I measured my backspace to be 125mm. I was also planning to use 225/50 all round, but have also kept the idea of 205/55 up my sleave if clearance is an issue (I also love the look of some stretch, but hate the idea of narrower than stock). Both of the 16" tyre sizes I have mentioned have a smaller overall diameter/standing height than a 225/45/17 which will also give a little extra clearance.

Tomsun you could drop down to 215/45 on the front, it should save you 5mm in width clearance and about 9mm in overall tyre height, but that still may not be enough???

Rad do you get any "polishing" of the strut/threads/locknuts or marks on the tyres from sidewall distortion while cornering??? You seem to pedal it fast enough once in a while to find out, lucky :D

[OLD FART]

Rad do you get any "polishing" of the strut/threads/locknuts or marks on the tyres from sidewall distortion while cornering??? You seem to pedal it fast enough once in a while to find out, lucky :D[/quote]
Logic tells me that all of the cornering loads and distortion takes place at the bottom of the tyre not at the top where the lock nuts are.No signs of contact on the tyre

[TOMSUN]

You need the same backspace, just less offset to acheive it with wider rims. I manually calculated +20 offset for Rads 7's as well.

Using Tomsun's calculator (Thanks Tomsun) and a manual calc to cross check, Tomsun's back space is about 129mm with 17x8 +15, this may be a little too much backspace it seems from Rad's experience given the fact you both run the same dimensioned tyres (give or take minor brand and model differences).

Hmmm.. this is interesting.

Just look at the tyre and offset alone. Both 225/45/17. Rad with a +20, me with a +15. This means my tyre will have 5mm extra clearance on the inside and will stick out 5mm further.

Even though my backspace is bigger (25mm wider rim. So 1/2 of that, 12.5mm - 5mm = 7.5mm rim is closer to the strut). Also the rim will sit out 18mm further out.

But...
The 225/45/17 on my 17x8 rim is not stretched and the tyre still sits wider than the rim so rim to strut should not an issue, tyre to strut is. ?

Does that make sense?

[jk]

Thanks Rad, I am aware that the cornering load is at the bottom but wasn't sure if there was any opposing deflection at the top of the tyre at extreme side load, especially since your clearance is so tight.

Tomsun I follow your logic regarding offset, and no doubt the 5mm difference is occurring at the tread, but as you mentioned the extra width of the sidewall because of the wider rim was more the point of concern I had.

Tyre clearance to lock nut would also be effected by the size/shape of each lock nut as well as how low the ride height is set at, I don't think the strut is totally parallel to the wheel so the lower the lock nut goes the tighter the clearance will get (I think?)

[redzone]

they're far from parallel, the larger the rim diameter the more clearance you'll have :)