sorry... man that sucks .someone else mentioned the same in this thread much earlier..he ended up cutting a few coils out
Yeah that does suck. After what the first person went through with the 12" coils I wouldn't recommend using them. Be interesting to hear what you had to say though. Cut some coils out and you should be back in business.
12 inch coils Lets start off by repeating that using 12 inch coils is not a good idea at all. I ordered the 225 lb 12 inch coils after hearing Badgerland talk about using them. I thought it would be nice to get rid of the blocks, and use just springs for lift. What I didn't realize was the only thing 12 inch coils did was pre load the strut to the point it had no suspension. Might as well just weld the struts solid. Drove the truck 300 yards at most and that was enough, more than enough. the struts barely have any give and just constantly bang when going over bumps from topping out. I'm going to cut coils out and hope that it works out since the coils aren't progressive wound springs. I cannot stress enough that even with major weight on the frontend, 12 inch coils IS NOT the way to fix weak suspension, using heavier capacity 10 inch coils is. even though I'm still ticked at how shitty it turned out, I took a bunch of pics and measurements Ill share with everyone. FIRST OFF I WANT TO REPEAT AGAIN, DO NOT USE 12 INCH COILS FOR ANY REASON. Now with that outta the way, here goes. I took some initial measurements on my truck which is a 96 Mitsubishi minicab with a spacer style lift kit and 23inch supergrips (for now). The truck measured 26 inches from the ground to the top of the front fender opening. The oem coil spring only measured 6 inches length. I went out back to the mini truck graveyard and grabbed up a set of Mitsubishi struts to install the afco coils on to save some downtime. The coils on the struts measured 9 inches with the struts off of the truck, the afco coils were obviously 12 inches, and the oem springs after taking them off of the strut were close to 10 inches. I chose to cut the flat part off the afco coils so the fit in the spring seats better. I did this easily with an air cutoff wheel. With both top and bottom trimmed the spring only lost about 1/4 inch length.The Oem springs easily came off of the struts by using an impact gun on the strut shaft nut. the oem springs had very little preload and all of the upper spring seats and related parts were easily caught by hand. Once apart I painted up the struts with a little paint. I stuck the afco coil on the strut and put the coil spring compressor on the spring. I pushed the strut dust boot down the shaft so it was out of the way. I compressed the spring with the impact gun until the top spring seats could be installed and the shaft nut threaded on by hand. I released the spring compressor and tightened the shaft nut with the impact gun. Swapping the springs was a very easy task. I did the same for the other strut. After that I jacked up the truck and removed the oem struts and lift blocks, and reinstalled the strut and afco spring assemblies without the lift blocks. I lowered the truck and took measurements again of ground to fender which was 26 in still and the coil spring measured 9 inches even with the weight of the truck on it. I tried pushing down on the truck and the suspension didn't budge. I got in my truck and my extra 200 lbs didn't compress the suspension any. after a quick spin it was pretty obvious that 12 in springs weren't the way to go. I attached some pictures for everyone to see, and also a link to photobucket so you can see all the pics if your interested in looking.Ill cut some off the springs this week and fill everyone in on the status after I take the truck hunting on saturday.
http://s164.photobucket.com/albums/u40/ncogar/afco spring install/ link to the whole album that i forgot........... enjoy
Another coil swap done! Ok so these are the new 250lb-10" front coils I picked up at Jegs auto in the US. I had to cut just a little off the coil so it would seat properly in the bottom cup. The van sits way higher now in the front and should be about level with the rear visually when sitting in the van. I have not driven it yet but will tomorow morning I will update on how it is, and if I get any bottoming out anymore. One thing for sure these bastards are stiff, I'm very glad I didn't go any more than 250 lbs. Don't forget we only drive this van on the streets, never off road like some of you guys do. Anyway It took me about 2 hours to do it, the worst part was hacksawing through the two springs :frustration: I am giving away these stock springs to anyone that needs them. I doubt anyone needs them really, but I thought I would offer them anyway, just in case, you just pay the post. Steve
Since so many people have replaced front springs, it would be nice to see the data in one spot. Mine are 225# 10 inch in a 97 Suzuki. I like the articulation and the spring rate is just right without an overly harsh ride. 250# would have been to stiff for my application. Longer than 10 inch would have been a big mistake.
Yeah, I'm sorry that I even brought that up. It was just an option that my chasis guy gave me. I didn't think it was a good idea to start with. The stroke is too short on the strut for that application. I also think the older trucks must have lighter springs, as they are smaller, so <=225# rate seems to be the way to go with those.
12's eh? You just had a possible suggestion for people to try 12's Greg, no problem there, all you can do is guess to see what works. We all have different needs for springs and different trucks and vans with different driving conditions. It's all just testing till we find out what works. Like for example, my van would need more spring in the front than the same model mini truck. (it's heavier), and more weight is transfered to the front under braking etc. And then there is off roading, you offroad guys will need more there too. So if we post our results while testing different options someone can choose a decent fit fot them. It's no a big deal to change springs in mine at all, not sure about some though. Some people are not comfortable working on their own trucks, so this works well for them, they can just sit back op:op:op: and see what works. Steve
Perfect ! 10"-250lb springs are perfect on a 91 mitsubishi Bravo van, FYI Under hard braking the front stays higher now, under cornering it has much less body roll, and it sits nice and level on the road now. Just all round a better handling van..........Hmmm...... maybe teflon bushings and thicker swaybars next..........Kidding . Steve
Hah, don't kid on the swaybars Steve, I've considered having Andy at Specialty bend up new front and rear sway bars for the van, I don't mind the springs, yet, a little more would be nice, however, for stability on the highway and curvy bits I prefer BIG sway bars on a softer spring setup. Could've used them today on the trip to Seattle.
Cut one ring off of my 12 inch springs and its much better. Still tops out occasionally on rough trails but id rather it top out then bottom out constantly. I plan on installing a winch and bumper and im guseeing it will be perfect. Had a friend jump in the truck and compliment how much nicer it rides, and he had no idea I had swapped springs so it was an improvement for sure. Just ordered a 225 10 inch set for a Daihatsu thats getting a snowplow,winch, and bumper. We will see how that turns out.
I was going to mention that I built my bumper out of exhaust tubing, this may sound light to lots of you, but when you start trying to fasten it to the truck, you will find that there is no point in going heavier, as there is nothing seriuosly heavy to fasten too. My thought is that if you have a piece of 4"channel iron, you will wreck your fasten points beyond repair before the bumper stops the truck. Bumpers are easy to build, so if one gets folded up stopping you, so what. the trucks only weigh about 1400 pounds so build a bumper for that weight.
Didnt mean to steer you the wrong way, it was just what worked best for our application. Every truck is a little different and its going to take testing to really prove what the best options are. Really, an 11" coil would be the best option in some cases!
I was wanting some 10" 250 lb springs. I am in the process of making a bumper with a 5000 lb winch (I guess that part was overkill). Anyhow, I have it mounted now and the front (1999 Mitsu) is about 2" or so from bottoming out. I was going to order these http://www.jegs.com/i/QA1/122/10-250/10002/-1 but I am confused because it doesn't list an inside diameter. I know some of you ordered these; do you know what the inside diameter is?
Yea, well those are the same springs I just installed. Call Jeggs, and ask for Jim, He knows the inside diameter and has the charts of the springs there. I just forget what it was for an ID. But thinking about it, I can tell you the spring wire is .500 thousands of an inch (or 1/2") so get the OD and take off one full inch, there you go that's the ID. Steve
Used 285# springs I did a lot of reading on this forum on this subject before purchasing springs. I found a set of used 10" 285# springs on Ebay. Purchased two for 23 bucks and $10 shipping from a racing supply guy that has lots of used springs. They were in good condition and ended up being a great deal. Install went smooth. The difference is amazing over the stock springs. I am very happy with the ride now and happy with the 285's. I was worried they would be too stiff, but they work great. I am installing a 5000# winch (overkill ) and a bumper soon so i hope they are enough.
I saw the 285 pound springs on Ebay. That was a good price. Some have said adding springs with a 2 inch lift (which I have) is not advisable. I have new monroe shocks. Add that to the springs and it is atempting thought. I purchased a used 5 foot plow blade and have finally made room in the garage to work on a bumper and attachment.
Failed install 10" 250 lb from Jegs I ordered the yellow AFCO 10" 250 lb 2 5/8 " inside dia. I got them installed today and now my struts are maxed out. When I jump up and down on (my newly installed) front bumper I can just barely get the truck to move. There is no more up travel when I jack it up. I guess I will take them back off and drop back and punt? I didn't measure them before I put them on, but the box says 10". It almost acts like they might be longer than that though. By the way, the stock springs measure 9" Suggestions??
Spring Rate So I took the old springs, I applied 200lbs to them and they compressed 2." So is it fair to say that the springs I had were 100 lb springs?
Depends on how precise you were but yes thats correct. You need alittle bit of preload before compression though. If you have an old bathroom scale, a hydraulic press, and a tape measure you will be really close.
I don't quite understand your problem, are you worried about topping out, my Daihatsu hardly moves when you jump on it, but rides like a dream, I have 225# springs if I remember correctly, and a 2 inch lift, I could remeove the lift I think, with out having to worry about tires rubbing.
You can also use this spring rate calculator. It got me close to the actual rate. http://www.pontiacracing.net/js_coil_spring_rate.htm
Actually, what I did was I took our bathroom scales outside, set the spring on it, and then stood on the spring applying 200 lbs according to the scale. I then had my wife measure how much it compressed. I guess I didn't explain it fully; but the 10" 250 lb springs are completely topping it out, so I was trying to decide on what weight of spring I was going to try next based on the old one's. So if I have determined that the old one's are 9" 100 lb and they are about 1-2" from bottoming out (after I installed the winch and bumper), and the new one's I tried were 10" 250 lb and they completely top it out then where should I go next? I thought about cutting 1" off of the new one's, but I don't think that would help much. I am thinking about getting 9" 200lb???
I think that coilover springs only come in even inch height dimensions. Why not try taking out an inch or so, re installing the cut springs and see how it works. Effectively, it will give a higher spring rate, but, shorter overall height. If it's still too much try cutting another inch off so that you have an 8" 275-300lb spring .... Nothing to lose as you've already got the springs and they aren't working so good for you now ....
Success I sent the 10" 2 5/8" 250 lb springs back, they were topping the suspension out completely. So I ordered 9" 2 1/2" 220 lb springs. In hindsight I probably could have just cut the 250 lb springs down, but I was afraid to. And I also saved over $50 using the 2 1/2". I installed them without cutting them and they raised the front end 2 1/2", but the struts were not topped out. I then took them back off and cut the flat part out plus 1/2" additional on one end. This made the springs 8 1/2" (my stock one's were 9") This worked well for me on my 1999 Mitsubushi with a heavy bumper and 5000 lb winch on the front. Some things that I learned: The springs come flat on the top and the bottom, the Japanese springs are not flat. So I had to cut the flat part of each spring out to get the springs to sit properly. (I know this has been mentioned) I finally just bought a set of spring compressors on Ebay. I just used my impact wrench to tighten and loosen it. I got tired of paying someone else to do this for me. I used extreme caution with these, I didn't allow the compressed springs to face toward me while the springs were compressed (in case something broke it would not fly off and hit me). Whenever I could, I kept the nut and a plate on the top of the strut in case something broke. Leave one of the bolts in the bottom until you get the top of the struts loose (so the strut doesn't fall down and tear the boot of the CV joint). If you have a lift installed, it is much easier if the bolts on top are welded instead of loose. (Mine were loose, and it was a two man operation to get the strut top bolted back together) Make sure you support the axle with something after loosening the strut (or it will fall down only to be supported by the brake line, this might be model specific)
Hey I have a 1996 Honda Mini Acty. Its an Ha4. We have a 2 inch lift on it. It bottoms out bad. Everytime we hit a bump or pothole it sounds like the wheels slam into the bottom of the truck. I don't want to gain any lift out of these springs. I simply want to keep my same ride height with the exception of it being a firmer ride while needing more weight to push the front end down. Thanks, Brent
I could have taken out the two inch lift when I put my new springs in, as I gained nearly two inches with the new springs. I don't know Honda, but you may have to put your lift back in if it doesn't lift your machine enough with just new springs. Do get the springs, I thought the wheels were going to break off, the way mine bottomed out.
