Changing springs

Bulkybear

Bulkybear

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Was changing my springs out today and when I got to the 2nd one on the front I noticed that there were 2 holes in the strut for the peg on the bottom isolator to sit on and that the back one was grooved for the squarish part of the isolator and the front one had a hole that matched the squarish part. Does it matter which hole you use?

They are linear rate stock springs and I measured an identical wheel gap on both sides despite them being installed in 2 different seats for the bottom isolator.
 
I say, is there any reason you wouldn't want to use it the way the holes are indicating? (for the sake of everyone reading this).
 
So far everything looks and feels fine. I'm just paranoid that it does make some sort of difference. Debating on tearing the drivers side down and turning the spring 180 degrees lol
 
Any reason why you are changing your springs? Are they original or aftermarket... I'm a little lost here
 
Did you accidently put it on wrong, I'm not understanding why you didn't put the square peg in the square hole the 1st time. Mind you I have no clue about it in the 1st place. Just curious.
 
That's what I question is. The lower isolator that goes on around the coil and seats in the bottom of the strut has a nipple sticking out and is flanked to the outside of the spring by a [ shape. So in essence it looks like this [ ● and the bottom of the strut where is seats has a cutout that fits the square part and a hole for the nipple on the outside of the strut.

What I didn't notice until I was on the second strut was that the backside also had a hole for the nipple as well as a indentation that fit the square piece. On the passenger side the spring seated more straight on the backside. Where as on my first spring it seated straight on the front side and I didn't notice a spot for the isolator on the back side. So my question after I noticed this was does it matter which spot I seated the isolator in? I measured the ride height and both sides came out the same and nothing feels off when driving. So I'm wondering if I should take the drivers side back apart and rotate it 180 degrees so the nipple seats in the back hole (to match the passenger side) or leave it because either way is fine.
 
Ok, so it was an accident on the 1st one, now I understand. I'd say change it, but if it's a lot of trouble, you could leave it until you notice something wrong(as long as you think being 180 out isn't going to f up the hole or peg for the future).
Hopefully someone that knows, will see this thread and let you(us) know the technicals of it.
At some point I'm going to upgrade my springs and shocks as my stock ones wear out, but not to change the ride ht.
 
I hope so too. Since both sides seemed to seat fine I'm not worried about damage. I just didn't know if being mounted in a different seat would affect preload and spring rate any. It doesn't seem like it would since these aren't progressive rate springs but in case someone knows what I'm talking about its something I was curious about. Just no sense in tearing apart the strut again if I don't have to
 
Eh. Getting tired of the harsh ride and tire wear. Realized I liked the car better when it was stock and not so loud lol. Idk why. Can't get as interested in mods as I used to be
 
Im old.(30+ for Hondas) & I feel that way all the time! hahahah.

Try the HFP setup and a good alignment. I know the new HFP kits are a larger drop than they used to be but I really think the HFP setup on my wifes car is very comfortable without feeling too soft or wallowy like the stock setup.

What setup were you running?


For alignment I run -1.2F and -0.8R to minimize tire wear. With silly tires and higher pressures it does well at the Dragon(track style beating) and around town without bad wear.


EDIT: We had a Buick Regal rental car in Vegas last week. Man, it was nice. Hence confirmation of my "old man" status. I liked a Buick.
 
Sounds like we are in the same boat age wise. I recently had a challenger rt rental with a 5.7 in it with an 8 speed transmission. I liked how it wasn't harsh but still handled well and how it had a good engine note but wasn't loud. Now my exhaust has a silencer I can throw in and out in like 5 minutes that quiets it down to stock or below levels.

I was on eibach sportlines. I didn't like the from the get go. They looked good, and rode good on paper smooth roads. But the slightest of bumps was jarring. To both me and the car. And every time I was backing out or I turned the wheel all the way they would pop all the time.

Another thing was as I've been researching suspension I've been learning. 1, stiffer isn't alway better. It may feel like it handles better but that doesn't mean it does. 2. Softer springs tend to maintain better tire contact with the road due to their ability to compress more. Which I felt, with the sportlines any bumps in the corner would upset the balance so much as instead of the tires oscillating to road conditions it was just hopping due to the stiff springs. And 3, suspension need travel to work. In an ideal world suspension travel and ride height would be separate, but they aren't. You want the maximum amount of suspension travel with the roll center right at the ground (not slammed or stanced which puts the roll center below the ground. So you have to find the best middle ground.

Engineers at Honda built this car to function properly in its role. Some things that a lot of engineering goes into (suspension) should either be left stock. Or gut the car and make it a race car. But you can't have both. Theres no such thing as a race car for the streets, as much as marketing would have you believe there is.

Thats the mind set I've developed over the years. So yeah, the hfp kit may be my best option.
 
Nix said:
We had a Buick Regal rental car in Vegas last week
Click to expand...
4KDtvDm.jpg
 
My guess is that it does not matter which end the hole and peg end up on as long as its seated properly one way or the other. A lot of things are done to speed up production and this might be one of them especially if the isolator can sit in either orientation easily.

For example: The set screws on the front rotors are done to keep the rotor on the hub until the wheel is installed over it during assembly. If you ever get new front rotors you can leave those screws out as they are a huge pain in the ***.
 
I wouldn't go through the trouble to take everything apart just to turn the rubber isolator.

Now if you were having issues with noises and the ride heights were different, then I would install everything correctly.
 
Cool. Thanks for the advise guys. Nix, that's what it looked like to me, like it could be done either way so that it could just be dropped in. I was thinking since it's a linear rate spring it probably doesn't matter where it seats as long as its secured properly because whatever orientation the bottom gets put in at will be countered by the same 180 degrees out on the top....
 
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