PandaMan Posted October 7, 2014 Report Share Posted October 7, 2014 Ok, time to begin this write up. This has been an on going project for me and I'm a few bolts away for completion. These were originally going to go on a Ford Taurus SHO (I've had several) using the same process. After much thought, i decided to use them for my starion instead, seeing as there isn't much selection as far as coilovers. Yes there are D2s, but my decision to build these centered around adjustability and access to a broader range of damper options. D2s, in my humble opinion, are good and well riding. But for the end result i was looking for, they didnt measure up. And yes, you have the option to run short strut tubes, partnered with some kind of sleeve/spring and damper insert. That is all fine and dandy, but the loss of preload and shaft stroke in exchange for ride height wasnt worth it to me.So i had to come up with something else...and then i thought...why is it that so many other makes and models share our suspension design, and have a mass amount of aftermarket suspension support, and all we have is D2s. i have seen ksports and xyzs before, but they are all made by the same collective company. so this was my idea. Our entire suspension is macpherson strut based, partnered with some kind of lower arm. thats it. so all i had to do was find a make/model that shared the same concept. and the first thing that came to mind... the Toyota Cressida... the cressida, alike most 80s toyotas, uses the same front suspension design we do. the spindle and strut are one piece. the rear however is different, depending on the year. our rear damper is a strut...not a shock. so it was simple BC Racing lower weld in mounts (meant for a cressida). 4 of them to be exact. 2 front, 2 rear.BC Racing front strut cartridges (meant for a 2001 Mazda protege, also a macpherson style strut suspension, all 4 corners) 4 of themStance USA brand springsBC Racing threaded spring perches and collars, for the cartridgesA1 Racing 2.5 inch conical upper spring perches and the work began. picture the same process for welding up D2s, but in the rear as well.front strut tubes were cut to the length i found perfect, and the BC lower mounts were welded to the spindles.they had to be milled out however, because they did not fit on the tubes snug, but were actually too large.then the rear strut tubes were cut and the same BC mounts used in the front were weld to the rear strut tubes. now i am almost done with these, and camber plates will be a must. but for the testing period, i will be using the stock strut mounts. http://scontent-a.cdninstagram.com/hphotos-xaf1/t51.2885-15/10598755_1467376520187555_970488061_n.jpg http://scontent-a.cdninstagram.com/hphotos-xfa1/t51.2885-15/10706939_1572164596345389_932771931_a.jpg http://scontent-a.cdninstagram.com/hphotos-xfp1/t51.2885-15/10369330_595996410508578_1813909231_a.jpgmind you, thats a 14x10 inch wheel almost touching fender...i still have an inch i could go down...but the rear lower arms hit the frame http://scontent-b.cdninstagram.com/hphotos-xpf1/t51.2885-15/10424506_283191428528382_90898109_a.jpg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markhansenconquest Posted October 7, 2014 Report Share Posted October 7, 2014 looking good........... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PandaMan Posted October 7, 2014 Author Report Share Posted October 7, 2014 Fronts 8k, rear 6k. I can go 2k up or down in spring rate for the current damper valving. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
importwarrior Posted October 7, 2014 Report Share Posted October 7, 2014 so you milled out the lower part to slip over the stock cut off strut?like D2's that slip over the lower front strut? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CarlosFley Posted October 7, 2014 Report Share Posted October 7, 2014 Nice man! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PandaMan Posted October 7, 2014 Author Report Share Posted October 7, 2014 so you milled out the lower part to slip over the stock cut off strut?like D2's that slip over the lower front strut? The lower mounts that slip over the strut in this case were meant for a mx83 cressida and meant to be welded to a spindle. The strut tubes of the starion were slighly bigger in diameter than that of the cressida. So the BC mounts had to be milled to slip over the starions remaining strut tube. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
importwarrior Posted October 7, 2014 Report Share Posted October 7, 2014 oh ok i understand, just worried that the wall thickness could crack.you should do button welds if possible. added safety. like in the pic below. http://i601.photobucket.com/albums/tt93/BC_99/D2%20pictures/20131002_181654_zpsb56004a2.jpg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
randy Posted October 8, 2014 Report Share Posted October 8, 2014 Very interesting mod looks good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
creakyjoints Posted October 8, 2014 Report Share Posted October 8, 2014 Any milling necessary for the rear or do they fit as is? Cost of parts? Good job regardless. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jszucs Posted October 8, 2014 Report Share Posted October 8, 2014 And why not just weld them up at this point? D2's offered to make custom one's if you didn't like the off the shelf options too didn't they? I'm lost at what we are gaining here? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PandaMan Posted October 9, 2014 Author Report Share Posted October 9, 2014 Well in my personal opinion, BC just offers a much better product than D2. I now have better access to damper rates, as well as replacement/upgrade parts. BC is just a better company to deal with. I was talking personally with Chelsea Denofa the whole time, making sure everything was right and how I wanted it. I'm only in this build 800-900 bucks, and that's including fabrication cost for welding up the tubes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tankbob Posted October 9, 2014 Report Share Posted October 9, 2014 (edited) Was not expecting the build to be that cheap, is this now our best coilover setup outside of full custom suspension(convette)? I just bought my d2s and couldnt be happier though Edited October 9, 2014 by tankbob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
randy Posted October 9, 2014 Report Share Posted October 9, 2014 Great that you was able to get what you wanted and achieved it,because every owner has a visionand direction they want to go with there car. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jszucs Posted October 9, 2014 Report Share Posted October 9, 2014 Well in my personal opinion, BC just offers a much better product than D2. I now have better access to damper rates, as well as replacement/upgrade parts. BC is just a better company to deal with. I was talking personally with Chelsea Denofa the whole time, making sure everything was right and how I wanted it. I'm only in this build 800-900 bucks, and that's including fabrication cost for welding up the tubes. OK I get that.... but what are we gaining here? This could be done with Tien's or any other quality manufacture in 100's of setup varieties. Are those custom adjustable for rebound rate on the coilovers / shocks? And if your getting out of this for 800-900 your not paying yourself nearly enough for fab / weld time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PandaMan Posted October 9, 2014 Author Report Share Posted October 9, 2014 OK I get that.... but what are we gaining here? This could be done with Tien's or any other quality manufacture in 100's of setup varieties. Are those custom adjustable for rebound rate on the coilovers / shocks? And if your getting out of this for 800-900 your not paying yourself nearly enough for fab / weld time. I didn't "pay" myself anything. I literally paid, with moneys, a professional who does high end fabrication. And yes, exactly! That's what you're gaining! You don't have to just stick with D2s. You can do whatever you want if only you could think outside the box! So I don't understand what the problem is...? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DooBoys 88 Posted October 10, 2014 Report Share Posted October 10, 2014 It's called one track mind. If he even fathomed what you just offered he wouldn't question it he would reasrech and find the Infos value. From an idea to fab to assembly and detailed photoed and narrated perfectly buddy way to go! I'm defeinatley bringing this up at my next meet thanx. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
creakyjoints Posted October 10, 2014 Report Share Posted October 10, 2014 Gaining? How about a off the shelf coilover option. People won't have to wait for D2 to "get around" to making more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jszucs Posted October 10, 2014 Report Share Posted October 10, 2014 Wow I was just asking what we were gaining here in case I missed something. I have a summit in like 25 min drive and they have lots of off the shelf options. It's not like it bolts right in, and it's about the same amount of work of any other units. Great write up and well documented. I was not mocking the effort, just trying to figure out the gain or what I missed VS just using full custom universals. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PandaMan Posted October 11, 2014 Author Report Share Posted October 11, 2014 Wow I was just asking what we were gaining here in case I missed something. I have a summit in like 25 min drive and they have lots of off the shelf options. It's not like it bolts right in, and it's about the same amount of work of any other units. Great write up and well documented. I was not mocking the effort, just trying to figure out the gain or what I missed VS just using full custom universals. It's all good man. I just don't know what you mean by "full custom universals." I mean Summit is a great company, and I've gotten stuff from them in the past, but I don't think they would have anything like What I've used here. Actually I can guarantee it, because I browsed up and down their catalog and website looking for things I could use when I started this project. Yes, they have sleeve kits and springs. But that's about all I could have used, and for what I wanted to build, it just wasn't gonna do the job. But I totally understand your question. I questioned myself the same way when I started in on these. Should I just buy D2s? But in the end I decided no. I mean with replacement cartridges at 90 bucks a piece, and the option to go with inverted strut shafts and external oil reservoirs, I just couldn't pass up the opportunity to eventually add to these, with even better parts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jszucs Posted October 15, 2014 Report Share Posted October 15, 2014 Just a quick brows of there catalog yealds the gambit of choices http://www.summitracing.com/parts/stq-18220832/overview/ from full adjust able height, rebound, spring rate in the ST line, to cheep non adjustable. There is a whole row in the store with a bunch of universal parts (mostly geared towards modernizing old drag cars but they have got more into the imports too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Posted October 17, 2014 Report Share Posted October 17, 2014 D2's are around a thousand plus fabrication and they're getting hard to come by. You could have a set of BC coils at your door in 2 days for 700 bucks. To me, this is a pretty big deal. Way to think outside the box PandaMan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
importwarrior Posted October 17, 2014 Report Share Posted October 17, 2014 is the threaded part of the BC same diameter and thread pitch as the D2's? in other words will this fit in to a D2 threaded sleeve?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PandaMan Posted October 20, 2014 Author Report Share Posted October 20, 2014 is the threaded part of the BC same diameter and thread pitch as the D2's? This is what I love to hear! Somebody actually using their noggin instead of groanin and moanin. I have wondered the same thing. In rumors of the internets,I have heard of D2s, ksports, and megan racing being similar. And I have seen, with proof,BCracing coilovers fitting in ksport camber plates(Mazda protege eye witness). So yes, in theory, it could happen. Just have to test. I have extra BCracing strut cartridges if anyone in Washington state is willing to test them in their D2 lower mounts. in other words will this fit in to a D2 threaded sleeve?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
noob87tsi Posted April 2, 2015 Report Share Posted April 2, 2015 Howd this turn out?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PandaMan Posted April 4, 2015 Author Report Share Posted April 4, 2015 (edited) https://www.facebook...00190032&type=1 can someone please tell me how to embed images in this effin forum omg im about to freak out. it wont let me ****** <do this https://www.google.c...428206863876387 just find the pics in there and disregard all my shirtless glory and shredded pectorals Edited April 4, 2015 by PandaMan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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