QA1 Front shocks with NO A-arm modification!

Yes, while I had time to put the front shocks in the car a while back and report here, I had not gotten to the rears. (It's a long story, but basically, I put the 308 on the lift and parked the Mondial under it so I could do some work on the Mondial interior. Then we got a huge snowstorm and my plow guy completely plowed a pile of snow in front of the Ferrari side of the garage. So the Mondial was stuck under the 308 for half the winter, and I couldn't move it to work on the 308 rear suspension!)

I put the rear QA1 shocks in the other day, and noticed one thing. The 5855 QA1 shocks are about 17" from mounting eye to mounting eye. The Konis are 18" from eye to eye. So when you put the QA1s on the car, the suspension does not droop as much because the QA1 does not extend as far as the Koni. Is it a problem? I don't think so, but it looks weird if you are used to how far the wheels droop when you lift the car. The next size up in QA1 is almost 2 inches longer than the 5855, so that would be too long.

I'll post a pic shortly. The Qa1s look cool!

Birdman

 

Here's the shock installed.
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

OD of the spring is about 90mm or a tad over 3.5"

Birdman

 

QA1. I sure hope they don't suck. Otherwise I'll have to pull the shocks out again!

Birdman

 

Well, I finally bled the brakes, put the wheels on and dropped the car on the ground. I had set the shocks with a wild-ass guess (WAG) based on how much pre-load I thought was necessary on the springs, and honestly for a first whack at it, I didn't do too badly. Of course, there will be some sag as the springs break in, but when I first put her on the ground, the right rear was about perfect, the left rear was about 1/2" higher, and the fronts were about 3/4" too low. By the way the 10" front springs are going to be just fine. No need to consider the 9".

I lifted the car back up and discovered that I can adjust the front shocks with the wheels on and the car jacked about 6 feet up. (I love my lift). The rears can only be adjusted with the wheels removed. So I tweaked the fronts up two turns of the adjuster (720 degrees) and put the car back down. The front raised 1/2", so I am getting about 1/4" lift per 360 degrees of the adjuster. This is helpful to know for those of you doing it.

I haven't diddled with the back yet, I had to go to bed last night, I was exhausted. I'll get it where it wants to be, then drive it for a few weeks and see how it does.

I'm measuring to the floor off the frame closest to the A arms, which I assume is the best way to do it. Don't measure off the bodywork....you would be surprised how far off it can be. On my car, the top of the left front wheel well is 1/4" higher off the ground than the front right wheel well when the two frame points are equal heights. Handmade car! Can't really see it with the eye except that the space around the tire on the left looks a little bigger than the right, so if you are setting the suspension height to look right when you eyeball it, you need to average between them.

I have not done my measurements with a 170 pound chunk of something in the driver's seat, which is probably what I should be doing.

Pizzaman, when you get ready to install and set your shocks, I will have the approximate settings to get you in the ballpark on the first whack. You can count the lands/grooves of the adjuster threads from the bottom of each shock and pre-set the shocks pretty close to mine. Should be a good starting point, then fine tune from there.

I have set my rebound/damping at 6/12 (halfway between the softest and hardest settings) and MAN it has a lot more damping than the stock Konis. I used to be able to bounce the car by pushing on the bumpers a lot easier. Not so easy now! Those Konis were SOFT. (They may have just been worn out. As some of you know, I had the rear Konis "rebuilt" a couple years ago by a supposedly reputable Koni place, but I think they scammed me). I may be dropping them to a softer setting (4/12?) once I drive the car. (I don't track it, I don't need rock hard suspension).

That't the update from here. More to come.

Birdman

P.S. The car looks MEAN!

 

What rate did you get?

On the rears, I would say the adjusters are 1/2-2/3 of the way to the top and they are set a tad high (I'm expecting some settling of the springs)

At the front, they are about 1/3 up (because there was more preload on the springs to begin with....I had to use a spring compressor to get them on) and they are "mean" looking...which is to say they could stand to go a little higher once the springs settle. (i.e. they look good now.)

Once I have a chance to get out there and look, I can count the grooves on the threads for an initial start.

Get the one Chris has, it's sweet, small, not to expensive. Even my big 2 poster was pretty cheap used. Lifts are SO worth it. Best tool I own.

Birdman

 

No, that is some hoodlum trying to steal your wheels!

 

On the front, they face out. On the rear they face in. Once you get to the point of mounting the shocks, it will be obvious which way to mount them to keep from shearing the adjuster knob off.

Birdman

 

You think she doesn't know? I'm sure she finds it amusing!

"Verell, why are there pictures of Paris Hilton in your shock absorber thread?"

"Oh, that's just Birdman, he's weird like that."

On the other hand, I blame it on Pizzaman.



Birdman

 

Cool, I'll be interested to see how those spring rates work out. Can I ask a dumb question....is that blue tape all over the front of the car? I have seen it used to prevent chips on the paint, but why on the louvers above the headlights and the radiator?

Birdman

 

OK, so here are a couple shots of the car, still in the garage, to show where I have the height set for now. It's not actually as low as it was with the old sagging suspension, but I'm allowing a little extra for break-in of the springs. The first shot shows it from eye level. (FYI, The car is on blocks so I can get the lift arms under it.) Everything is done now....the car is ready for a test drive, and it is supposed to rain for the next 2 days. D'oh!

The second pic is from standing height, to show what it looks like when you "see" it normally. From normal standing height, it looks lower. Yes, I know the hood is open...the trickle charger is trickling.

Birdman
Image Unavailable, Please Login
Image Unavailable, Please Login