dubbuzz

Hey, so I need to raise my rear end up about 2 or 3 inches so I can fit my new wheels into the wheel well. anybody have any suggestions for springs? The height is stock right now and the lip sits right above the edge of the tire so it definitely needs to go up. I just dont know where to start looking for what springs I should use...

Guest

This has been covered a dozen times in the last few months, but one more time: Your "original" springs are either very sagged, cut, torched, or not original but aftermarket lowering springs.
Get some Moog CC635 or some Moog 5665.

//<86TA>\\

iTrader: (14)

what tires? you sure the stock springs are not just shot?

the moog iroc replacement springs generally raise the car a inch or so, and the 4th gen rear rubber spring isolators add another 1/2. After that, you would have to spec a custom spring or use a adjustable perch like weight jacks or coilovers.

dubbuzz

The stock springs are probably saggy, I'm thinking maybe trying the moog 5665 or just stock replacements with the 4th gen rubber booster. I'm not sure the tire sizes off hand because I'm buying them from a friend and they are at his place yet. We did try them last night however but the fender lip sits right above the edge of the tire so it has to go up a little bit...

camaronewbie

Can use coil spring spacers - available in many sizes from 1/2 inch to 3+ inches, check Summit or Jegs.

dubbuzz

So I went ahead and ordered some OEM IROC replacement springs that are variable instead of constant and also ordered some spacers for them. They should arrive either tues or weds at autozone. Got the front wheels put on today and they look really funky without the matching rear tires. I'll update when I get the rears put on...

Also, thanks guys for helping out with this.

dubbuzz

Got the CC635 variable rate springs and two one inch spacers.


Also got some new lug nuts to replace those old broken berlinetta gold ones...



And, here's the final result:


The springs and spacers raised the car about and 1 1/4". I still have to curl the fenders a bit since one is a little rusty and bends down towards the tire. But bouncing it and driving it they seem to clear the tires.

Thanks guys for your advice on the springs, i would say in this case i was very happy with the CC635 since the car rides stiffer over bumps, now on to do my front struts so the front doesn't sway so much.

dubbuzz

OK, so after driving it a while, the tires are still bumping into the quarter panels when I drive over bumps that make the car float and sink such as bridges and railroad tracks etc. Anybody have any ideas on how I can stiffen the suspension some more. As of right now I'm thinking skyjackers might be my only option but they make the ride really rough so I want to try other options first...

Ron U.S.M.C.

Just out of curiosity what is the back spacing on the rear wheels and what size tire ?

//<86TA>\\

iTrader: (14)

those look like taller than stock tires too.

you need better shocks if you are bouncing around that much.

89RS_82Z

iTrader: (2)

look like he has 10" wide wheels and atleast 255/60's so he is taller than stock tires

when i had that setup i used spring clamps .....worked great even when i used to stick my 12" wide "burn out specials" on it

http://www.google.com/imgres?q=coil+...w=1024&bih=524

dubbuzz

Hey, I'm not sure about the back spacing but they are positive offset wheels and the tires are 275/60 r15. Yeah we think shocks are the only way to raise it a little more so I'm thinking skyjackers even though the ride will be really rough, I'd rather be uncomfortable than keep buying new rubber. How much did those coil spring clamps help you out? I have a one inch coil booster in the top of the spring where the coil is tighter but it only seems to give me a little bit more clearance since the bouncy part in the spring is the wider spaced pigtail on the bottom. I also curled in the inside of the quarters by simply hitting the metal with a hammer upward and then back into the wheel well, it seems to have lessened the damage to the tires but they still rub just on the top of the sidewall where the tread fades away, but at least the cutting edge of the lip on the inside of the wheel well is gone... Gonna price some skyjackers when I pick up my front shocks tomorrow...

dubbuzz

Also here's a few quick pics of how it sits right now but the rear tires still hit the wheel wells...



(Also just put the glass pack and new tip on yesterday!)

sofakingdom

iTrader: (1)

Shocks won't really help all that much.

Getting tires of a sensible size and mounting them on wheels with the correct offset to fit the car, is what you need. Those wheels simply stick out too far. They're wrong for the car.

dubbuzz

Haha yeah I know they are a little over the top but it's what I found for a really good price so I'll find a way to make them work. I am planning on the skyjackers for the rear shocks, It never hurts to have adjustable ones anyways I suppose, maybe the car will look better lowered with the original berlinetta rims on it and the coil spacers removed too... we'll see how it turns out with the skyjackers and these tires then I'll go from there...

89RS_82Z

iTrader: (2)

yea now looking at it im not sure ........ shocks may get it, but its going to start to hurt your ride quality, i have always loved the stance you got, but its had to get that right so it does not rub..... just my opinion but alot of people loved my stance of 255/60/15 on 8in wide wheels, and 205/65/15 on 7in wide up front

either way i hope you get it to work out for ya, keep us posted

xpndbl3

iTrader: (5)

Sell those rims and buy the proper backspacing rims, you're spending money left and right to try to "fix" the issue that a new set of rims would do immediately. Cutting into the sidewall of your tire isn't exactly safe either.

sofakingdom

iTrader: (1)

And that will alter the physical dimensions of your car ..... how??? Ask your fenders if they care how much/little the wheels cost, and beg them if they'll adjust themselves accordingly.

Either they fit, or they don't. How much (or little) they cost doesn't enter into the picture. Gotta start with what fits, and then AFTER that criterion is satisfied, worry about cost; not the other way round. If it doesn't fit, then, ........... it doesn't fit; "cost" won't change that.

Sell em an dbuy something that FITS.

dubbuzz

Sell them? , no. I'll find a way to make them fiit, where there's a will, there's a way.

sofakingdom

iTrader: (1)

If only inanimate metal parts would respond to their owner's "will" and resize themselves... hasn't ever happened for me, but who knows? You could be the first human in recorded history that could reshape metal by sheer will.

I wouldn't bet the farm on it though. More likely, it'll work the same for you as it works for everybody else; you can "will" all you want, but those wheels will still never FIT your car.

You can't use shocks to raise these cars; not for long anyway. The top of the shock only mounts to a hole in the sheet-metal of the floor pan. There's no structure there. The shock will literally PUNCH the floor pan out. They're already bad enough about doing that just from absorbing shocks; putting weight on them will DRASTICALLY speed up the failure.

Sell those ridiculous looking wrong wheels, and get some THAT FIT the car properly. FAR better solution all the way around. Probably even cost less than trying to do some hack job on something else to hack them onto the car. And, won't send your suspension geometry into the ozone, the way what you're attempting to do will. Shouldn't be too hard to find a "greater fool" somewhere that needs to learn the same lesson, the hard way; instead of the way you're learning it, IF you decide to allow some common sense in and actually learn it at all that is, which is, being told what the solution is by people who have some BTDT.

BlackenedBird

iTrader: (5)

Variable rate springs were not the best choice for your application/intended results.

Most likely too soft rate on the top, allowing a soft, cushy ride, but also allowing the body to come down & contact the tires.

Your best bet would have been to find wheels/tires that fit ride. Now your spending the same money you could have used for something that fit right the first time, for band aides to make your "cheap solution" work.

And if you get these to work for now, what about later, after these solution-wheels & tires wear out? Gonna replace them with "correct" ones? Then the rear of your car will be severely jacked up & several inches above the tires.

IMHO, I would cut your losses now & get correct wheels/tires instead of throwing even more $ at band-aides to make them work.

But if you MUST, go find you some used Jeep CJ/YJ/XJ springs. They'll be WAY too tall for your needs to just pop right in, but they'll also be cheap solutions that you can trim to the height perfect for your needs. I have an old set of XJ springs & a spare rear 3rd gen axle. They have the same pigtailed end & fit the axle perfect and the same open end that fits the body perfectly too.

T/Atime

hey there pal, you must research your projects and have a clear vision of your goals.
What perpose does this car serve? Looks, function, practicality? how long are you keeping this car. I dont need to know the answers but you have to ask your self all of this if your going to be dumping a small fortune in to this car.

At this point your car will not corner very well, raise it up even more and add more hight to those tires and she'll never corner the way it did from the factory. every action will cause an equal or opposite reaction

i dont buy a single part with out consulting or searching what others have experienced. ive spent $7000 the past 2years and every single part works great just as promised.

If jacking up the rear is what your after thats fine, but it sure sounds like jimmyrigging something to make it kinda work.

dubbuzz

Hey, so to these past few guys, after reading your comments, your right, but for now I'm just gonna go ahead and install the air shocks to see what those do since they will arrive tomorrow. If they don't raise the car enough or make it ride way too rough, I will start looking around for similar rims that are probably 8 inches wide so they will fit in the well better. This is really my first real project car as my last camaro was a rusty hunk of junk with a 2.8 that wasn't worth putting anything into, I admit I should have researched this more before I got the tires but they fell into my hands quickly and then I started really learning about suspension, before this I knew nothing about how cars ride, offset, and all that jazz... If I really need to I can always lower the shocks since they will be air shocks and I can take out the spring spacers so the car will be back to stock height for the berlinetta rims...

sofakingdom

iTrader: (1)

Problem is not so much the width, it's the offset...

I have a set of Vette 18" rears on my car, with whatever the stock size tire for that car is; 345/45-18 or something, I forget. That's about 1½" wider than yours, maybe more. Fits like a glove. They're on 2" spacers; they miss the sheet metal that covers the LCA mount (pretty much, the absolute inner limit, on these cars) by about ½", and fit in the fenders like they were born there.

Get the offset right, and you can have quite a bit of width.

dubbuzz

Air shocks are installed and it rides great and the tires don't get near the quarter panels now. I will post a longer update and new pics tomorrow after I take the pics...

sofakingdom

iTrader: (1)

Glad you've got a temporary work-around that at least lets you drive the car while you look for wheels that fit...

But be sure and let us know when they punch the floor pan out.

dubbuzz

So we installed the HiJackers yesterday and they are working great. They have a min 25 and a max 200 psi and we have it set at about 60 right now. They are not stiff at all but raise the car enough so the tires don't hit the wheel well. The tires bounce around a bit due to the longer coiling of the pigtail end of the variable rate springs so that helps with the ride not being so stiff as I thought it would be. The kit came with all new bushings and the exact same nuts and washers as the car had stock so we replaced all the bushings too even though the ones on the car seemed really good yet. I will take pictures sometime when the sun comes out as it is gloomy and gray today.

InfernalVortex

iTrader: (4)

The rear strut towers are not designed to carry the weight of the car. I dont know exactly how they work, but I hope that's not how.

sofakingdom

iTrader: (1)

Right: there's no "towers" as such where the shocks bolt up, just a shape stamped into the floor pan with a hole in it. It's NOTHING like the front of the car, where the corresponding structure is fairly substantial. Even just the stress of absorbing shocks over the years makes the shock bushing punch the floor pan out (yes, it already happened to my car). That thin sheet metal won't hold up the weight of the car for long. Long enough maybe to find wheels THAT FIT and get those ... other things .... off of there.

Or, maybe not. They could fail tomorrow. Who knows.

Good luck. You'll be needing it.

dubbuzz

Here's how she sits now, maybe a little high but I can always let some of the air pressure out of the shocks. The tires still have not hit the wheel well since installing the HiJackers.

T/Atime

how's the ride?
whats next on the list of projects?

Ron U.S.M.C.

You can run the Hi-Jackers with the wheel well lip set at about a 4in. above the tire,there's no need to run them that high.Unless that's what your looking for.From the looks of this photo. and I may be mistaken but running that high not only takes the load off the springs but dose so at a dangerous level .You want to at least have some lode on the springs.Lifting the car from the suspension acts the same as dropping it to remove the springs.I may be wrong but that would "seem" to be correct.

dubbuzz

Yeah I noticed that today too, I will probably lower it back down to around 60 or maybe even 50 psi so the springs get tighter and support more of the load. My next project will be to install the front struts and new brake pads... then paint my z28 hood and put that on...