I am considering the Global West kit with allows me to use my Pro-kit springs to lower or lift my front end. I would like to lower it aprox. 1/4". How much camber and caster can i get with this?

I am after more aggressive handling, will this make a considerable difference?

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1993 red M6 Z28; custom control arms; bushings; strut bar; Eibach Pro-kit;17x9.5" OZ Monte Carlo & Bridgestone RE71 275 tires; Mac exhaust; K&N cold air; airfoil; TB bypass; 3.73 gears; KVR pads & rotors; -1 camber alignment

 

I don't believe Global West's kit allows use of stock OD springs.

http://www.globalwest.net/camaro93.htm#Front ride height adjusting kit

You have to use 2.5" ID coilover springs.

Anyway, if you keep the same spring rate and just lower the front end by .25", it won't allow you to get enough negative camber to make a significant difference. You might get another .2 deg. I would guess.

If you want to keep the same spring rate and want more negative camber go with their upper a-arms. They're even having a sale on them this month.

http://www.globalwest.net/monthly%20...age.htm#CTA-32



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Mike Taylor
'94 Formula
Holley cold air, Borla downpipe, Walker UltraFlo catback, BMR STB, BMR PHR, Ground Control coilovers, Bilsteins, 16x9.5 Rikens, Hoosier 275/45/16 A3S03, G2 Torque Arm, Torsen T2R

 

Sounds excellent! I haven't thought of these.

Will the extra camber / caster i get from these cause abnormal tire wear for street use?

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1993 red M6 Z28; custom control arms; bushings; strut bar; Eibach Pro-kit;17x9.5" OZ Monte Carlo & Bridgestone RE71 275 tires; Mac exhaust; K&N cold air; airfoil; TB bypass; 3.73 gears; KVR pads & rotors; -1 camber alignment

 

I wouldn't run more than -1.5 camber on the front for a daily driver. The GW a-arms allow you to get well over -2.5 with your springs I believe.

The extra positive caster will give you some better negative camber gain when turning and will increase your stability.

 

Yep, you have to use race springs, not standard diameter. You can buy them from Ground Control for less (the springs).

 

Danger-Danger!! The idea of GW front adj height adjustment kit is great, but their execution on this particular part is lousy to date. You will need race diameter springs and since most are much stiffer (don't expand as much), your suspension will fall "out-of-index" with the critical factory upper shock tower perch everytime you put the car on a lift (or worse yet if you plan to crest hills hard). My GW springs had a 2" gap and fell loose at full droop. This will require that you or your mechanic "re-index" the GW collar to the spring perch or the car will be very dangerous to drive (side-load shock and break shaft). GW never mentioned this little design flaw, when I ordered the kit. I paid nearly $400 for the GW front kit with springs, paid another $700 for front Koni Double Adjustable Shocks and paid another $82 for a secondary "light-spring index fix-kit" to resolve this problem (which does not work) and I still cannot use these parts. After 4 months of stalling and no action, I am going to dispute the charges for both items with my credit card companies. Too bad ..., GW used to be a good company. Now they will NEVER call you back and Doug never seems to be available.

 

Danger-Danger!! The idea of GW front adj height adjustment kit is great, but their execution on this particular part is lousy to date. You will need race diameter springs and since most are much stiffer (don't expand as much), your suspension will fall "out-of-index" with the critical factory upper shock tower perch everytime you put the car on a lift (or worse yet if you plan to crest hills hard). My GW springs had a 2" gap and fell loose at full droop. This will require that you or your mechanic "re-index" the GW collar to the spring perch or the car will be very dangerous to drive (side-load shock and break shaft). GW never mentioned this little design flaw, when I ordered the kit. I paid nearly $400 for the GW front kit with springs, paid another $700 for front Koni Double Adjustable Shocks and paid another $82 for a secondary "light-spring index fix-kit" to resolve this problem (which does not work) and I still cannot use these parts. After 4 months of stalling and no action, I am going to dispute the charges for both items with my credit card companies. Too bad ..., GW used to be a good company. Now they will NEVER call you back and Doug never seems to be available.

 

Danger-Danger!! The idea of GW front adj height adjustment kit is great, but their execution on this particular part is lousy to date. You will need race diameter springs and since most are much stiffer (don't expand as much), your suspension will fall "out-of-index" with the critical factory upper shock tower perch everytime you put the car on a lift (or worse yet if you plan to crest hills hard). My GW springs had a 2" gap and fell loose at full droop. This will require that you or your mechanic "re-index" the GW collar to the spring perch or the car will be very dangerous to drive (side-load shock and break shaft). GW never mentioned this little design flaw, when I ordered the kit. I paid nearly $400 for the GW front kit with springs, paid another $700 for front Koni Double Adjustable Shocks and paid another $82 for a secondary "light-spring index fix-kit" to resolve this problem (which does not work) and I still cannot use these parts. After 4 months of stalling and no action, I am going to dispute the charges for both items with my credit card companies. Too bad ..., GW used to be a good company. Now they will NEVER call you back and Doug never seems to be available.

 

We heard you the first time.

I've debated Coil-overs for the SHO, but have Konis with springs that I will call "Indexed" as I still run GS. Putting Coil-Overs gets me into EP. Without a Quaiffe and slicks, I don't have a prayer in that class.

Being fully adjustible with Springs AND struts is very nice!

Tank II

 

Hmm, I don't have that problem with my Ground Control front coilovers.

 

Um...

It sounds like your problem is that you need taller springs. Off the top of my head, I believe I have 8" springs on the front. At full drop, sway bar disconnected, it does not detach from the top collar (GC coilovers, though).

What size springs did you install?

Dan

 

Sorry for the delay in answering you. I was out-of-town on vacation last week. I am also sorry for the multiple posts (there was a delay logging my first post that day).

GW runs single-rate springs of about 600lbs/in rate (full race stiffness). If a spring which is that stiff, were tall enough to keep the index collar in position, my car would look like a FIA World Rally Car. A 600lb spring compresses very little when loaded. My current Bilstein/Eibach set-up uses variable rate springs in the 300lb to 350lb rate range. Those springs have to be compressed to install them on the factory perches, as they remain very tight at full suspension droop.

For the GW set-up, I attempted to adjust the adjustment nut up to the point where the spring remained slightly compressed and my car rode 1.5" higher than 27" stock ride-height (28.5" floor to fender lip). My current alignment setup with Bilsteins and Eibach pro springs was dialed-in at 26.0" floor to fender lip. GW never advised of this design flaw and has done little to fix the problem to date, except charge me another $82 for a fix-kit, which does not work. I will be disputing the credit card charges this week.

I just wanted to let you guys know before you fell into the same mess.

 

I have been told that the Ground Control Setup results in an uneven load being placed on the shock shaft as the flat spring upper collar does not rest evenly agains the factory rubber spring perch (interface to shock tower mount). Of course GW told me this, ... is it not true?

Photos of the LG Motorsports setup indicates that they provide a modified factory spring perch which does not use the rubber isolator indexed-mount. As that design has welded on mounts to bolt-on horizonally pinned shocks, they would not suffer from shock shaft side loading. Also photos show the spring is not loose in their design. This design could be a rough-ride though.

Thanks for the interest.

 

I have been running 1.5 neg camber (forget the exact castor number) for 2 years and my front tires have been wearing perfectly flat. The car sticks like glue on Kuhmo Victoracer 700's.

 

In regards to the upper perch mount - I've heard the same thing, but it didn't look bad to me...I don't remember exactly how it worked. Besides, the upper mount is rubber and the perch is aluminum. So the rubber deforms slightly - least of one's concerns, I'd think.

In regards to spring length, it still sounds like the problem to me. Perchance I don't understand the GW coilover kit, but if the spring were two inches longer you'd make up that 1.5" difference, right? Springs can be compressed but not lengthened, so it's just a matter of screwing it up to the 26" ride height you want which would compress the spring more. Sure, you have more potential energy stored in the spring and more pressure on the shock tower, but then at least you'd have a functioning system.

Or am I completely off base here? If so, point me to a pic of the GW system so I can understand.

[EDIT] Pin head thinking, I lost my day job today, so I'm a little zoned. Sorry. OK, different perspective. I have 500lb/in linear rate 2.5" ID springs. At the setting I have them at (tire just tucked under wheelwell, so I think lower than 26") they have been compressed more than the length they extend to in full droop, so that at full droop they still are solid on the top. But when you tighten them up to a point where the spring touches the collar at full droop (or better, presses), the car rides too high.

600lb vs. 500lb is not much - I have significantly more than one inch of the spring still compressed at full droop, so that shouldn't be the issue.

I still can't visualize why this would happen to you. I'll try to peruse GW's site and see if I can get a clearer picture.

[This message has been edited by lincmarkv (edited August 12, 2002).]