[T4EaterJonny]

First startup in MONTHS. You might remember the idiot that installed the oil pump drove in the seal with a chisel or something. He ended up gashing the inner lip of the seal so if you tried to drive in another it wouldn't be flush and seal all the way. Enginejoe linked me to a new oil pump and I purchased it immediately. Installed seal, threw the car back together finally, installed a brand new wideband sensor and drove the car for the first time in a long time. Didn't go WOT. Why I love this shitbox I'll never know.

 

[GMANUSMC]

Trying to install some DCR rear LCA's. Stupid stock lower bolt is stuuuuuuck in the knuckle. Torch, air hammer, and PB Blaster have not worked. Maybe my 20 ton press will 🤷‍♂️.

 

[T4EaterJonny]

Jeez, you in the rust belt? I don't remember having a difficult time installing my nacho arms except for drilling out the spindle and knuckles to take larger grade 8 bolts.

 

[gump1114]

Jeez, you in the rust belt? I don't remember having a difficult time installing my nacho arms except for drilling out the spindle and knuckles to take larger grade 8 bolts.

same. That all in all it was a pretty easy mod for me... I've even had to re-do it recently as the heim joint had worn out on my original setup and were noisy from the slop.

 

[T4EaterJonny]

Same here. Mine rattle when new and refreshed 8k ago (175k on car, 20k on rebuilt motor) but as they wear out they rattle BAD. This turd makes like 7 different noises as it is

 

[Kband]

Car started shakin at 60+ MPH. Found out it was the Lower Control Arms and replaced both sides...glad I did that because the Passenger side bushing crumbled and fell out as soon as I took the arm out sheesh.

Next project is to start saving and pay off my current debt and then buy new tires, get an alignment, strut tower bars and a DSP, then eventually off to paint in my yard booth. I should be completely done...for now..after all that haha.

 

[T4EaterJonny]

Car started shakin at 60+ MPH. Found out it was the Lower Control Arms and replaced both sides...glad I did that because the Passenger side bushing crumbled and fell out as soon as I took the arm out sheesh.

Next project is to start saving and pay off my current debt and then buy new tires, get an alignment, strut tower bars and a DSP, then eventually off to paint in my yard booth. I should be completely done...for now..after all that haha.

Post pics of the paint/prep! Mine looks like complete booty and is in dire need of paint. I like seeing freshly painted ones.

 

[Kband]

Post pics of the paint/prep! Mine looks like complete booty and is in dire need of paint. I like seeing freshly painted ones.

I most definitely will! The paint is going to stay the same, Code: PVK, but also the paint itself cost a L O T. I'm planning to just strip it completely and go Primer up, mostly because I like being knit picky and perfect with work.

Goals for it are:
Rocker Panel Welding
I also gotta cut some of the trunk out and weld a new piece in since there are two quarter sized rust holes
Paint Cracks and rust on both front and rear fenders
The front bumper is completely destroyed paint wise so its gonna take the most work

I am trying to repair most of everything else the original owner neglected and honestly its a lot of money, but I love this car and hobby and the car itself is 90% done at this point.

 

[Sota]

vertical bushing went poop?
mom's PT Cruiser did that at like 50k miles. full replacement control arms (new bushings. ball joints, sway bar end links) are retardedly cheap online. amazingly they're still good at 130k. I have another set sitting here waiting.

 

[Kband]

vertical bushing went poop?
mom's PT Cruiser did that at like 50k miles. full replacement control arms (new bushings. ball joints, sway bar end links) are retardedly cheap online. amazingly they're still good at 130k. I have another set sitting here waiting.

I wouldnt even consider them poop...more like diarrhea they were that bad. Feel right out of the hole as soon as I removed it haha. I also just did an entire front end suspension replacement apart from the knuckles and looking at going back to OEM Struts with MOPAR Stage 1 Springs...I'm not much of a fan for coilovers.

 

[Sota]

I want to go coilovers since I want to bump up to 245 wide tires, but I want something that'll work great on the street and the track, with I guess leaning 60/40 or 70/30 street/track.

and the control arms on mom's PT, the bushings were so bad the arm would move up and down around the bushing, and bang against the under body.

 

[Simon.Starkie]

Still liking my Mopar Stage 3 Coilovers which I installed in 2004.
They restored the ride from the "always bottoming out" Eibach's I had tried which ate my OEM struts.
No plans to change anything but my coilovers are supposed to be rebuildable if and when it is needed.
I don't think OEM struts would have lasted as long, especially on our horrible roads.
Also, still enjoying the recently replaced front and rear control arms with the Prothane bushings from Modern.

 

[Sota]

I'm still wanting the same, but they're some serious scratch. It's looking pretty bad for me driving the car at all next year.

 

[T4EaterJonny]

Yeah coilovers are troublesome. Good enough for some-lacking for others.
There's a laundry list of reasons why coilovers suck.
You lose suspension travel, you need camber plates, springs aren't usually stiff enough, and the valving is wrong. Wrong in the ways that it doesn't slow the rebound down enough, and it is linear curve. Spend more for something better? You can but that has drawbacks as well. Two way adjustable like clubsports are an option.

I will go out on a limb and say I have/had the best setup possible per dollar that are not two ways. My BC coilovers but were revalved by Feal in Rancho Cucamonga. Swift springs 340rear 390 front. High speed bumps mid corner weren't so bad anymore after the work I had done. Night and day. The car was scary sticky on the street and became too dangerous to push it any further to find where the limits are.
I never had the opportunity to take it to a track because I lost the motor.
24540/17 BfG Rivals
Alignment was 1/8th toe out in front, -2.6 camber, 1/16th toe out rear -1.8 camber rear.

If this car deserved it and I knew it would survive a trackday I would buy Clubsports with custom springrates similar to what I have now.

 

[gump1114]

Noticed a mild misfire at idle the other morning and i've randomly gotten a CEL for random cyl misfire. I changed out the plugs and fixed an obvious boost leak. I was having an issue with hanging revs between shifts. The car is running better now!

 

[Sota]

Yeah coilovers are troublesome. Good enough for some-lacking for others.
There's a laundry list of reasons why coilovers suck.
You lose suspension travel, you need camber plates, springs aren't usually stiff enough, and the valving is wrong. Wrong in the ways that it doesn't slow the rebound down enough, and it is linear curve. Spend more for something better? You can but that has drawbacks as well. Two way adjustable like clubsports are an option.

I will go out on a limb and say I have/had the best setup possible per dollar that are not two ways. My BC coilovers but were revalved by Feal in Rancho Cucamonga. Swift springs 340rear 390 front. High speed bumps mid corner weren't so bad anymore after the work I had done. Night and day. The car was scary sticky on the street and became too dangerous to push it any further to find where the limits are.
I never had the opportunity to take it to a track because I lost the motor.
24540/17 BfG Rivals
Alignment was 1/8th toe out in front, -2.6 camber, 1/16th toe out rear -1.8 camber rear.

If this car deserved it and I knew it would survive a trackday I would buy Clubsports with custom springrates similar to what I have now.

Can you expand any more on what you did to the coilovers? If there is any more to expand on? Especially can you talk price/investment in getting them working right? I've seen a couple non-neon peoples and "shows" who've had semi-custom coilovers made, so if the pricing is well less than ClubSports maybe I should look into that?

 

[T4EaterJonny]

Coilover Services / Parts | Feal Suspension, Inc. Race Proven Suspension Technology

Ontario Coilover Services / Parts | Ontario Automotive Repair Shops, Nec

fealsuspension.com

Basically what's happening is there isn't enough rebound to slow the bounce down. Also the springs that come with BCs are terrible. They aren't matched at all and are undersprung. I DOUBLED my spring rate and the car rode better.
Would I do it again? What I did would be a great choice if you found BC coilovers that were blown for less than 500 bucks. Then respring/revalve would put you at a lot less than Variant 3's but respectable performance.
I think I'd go for Variant 3's with custom rates, but I don't think they come with camber plates(??) You need at least -2 camber in the front in a mcphearson strut car. I've never had a camber bolt slip and I've had a wheel off the ground before, but I was probably lucky.
This has been my experience with them. Uturner had Clubsports.

SRT4 KW Clubsport Review

SRT4 KW Clubsport Review Hello SRTforums! About a month after installing the KW Clubsports, I decided to make a little review for those who would like to know what is so special about them or are considering purchasing a set. First off, I'm an autocrosser and a track racer. What ever you...

www.srtforums.com

Edit: It's hard to convince someone where they should spend their money. I've only ridden in my stock srt, my brothers on tien S techs on tokikos which were awful, and my buddys car on Hotchkis springs and stock struts. No my car does not ride as well as my 2004 Z06 Corvette. At low speeds its a little bouncy. It is surprisingly better at high speeds though. I'd be curious to know if you can throw BC camber plates on KW variant 3's. That would be sweet.
I'd love to take a car with Koni yellows around the block to see how that setup was. Everyone said that was great.

 

[JmalB]

With my Mopar Stage 3s I can't get enough camber up front on one side. When I added bolts they slipped. After a single autocross event the change in camber was visibly noticeable.

 

[Simon.Starkie]

11-19-2020 126,324 miles 126,700 miles (only 376 since 01-11-2020!!! - PANDEMIC!!!)

Set tire pressure to 32psi
Checked oil, coolant, power steering, windshield washer levels
Added Stabil to gas prior to getting washed and gassed.

Went for a nice twisty drive through the Montezuma Hills.
Gorgeous day.
Car was perfect.
But Chachi Bear threw up later - g-forces?

 

[T4EaterJonny]

I've never had a camber bolt slip and have autocrossed as well with sticky tires- never had a problem.
I have had a coilover camber plate slip though. I heard a clunk and drove it back and realigned the car. I want to buy my own string setup. That might be my next investment.
Vette was empty so I rolled the dice and drove the neon to work today! 38 miles. Nothing overheated, smoking, or on fire.. Let's cross our fingers though as I still have to drive home.

Edit: yay I made it home! Romped on it in 3rd a little getting onto the freeway and it spun the tires so I let off. As I got OFF the freeway I was hoping the tires would have gotten warm to help out but it spun to recline. The car sounds and feels good. Hard to get an air fuel ratio reading if the tires are spinning. I guess thats what 4th is for. Will try again another day.