New Shocks, New Wheels

[Maurits Vos]

After a long debate with myself and finally being able to afford it, I've decided to get some new shocks.

So here are some pictures:


Car goes up on the stands. (That's Richard Clark's 90 Talon TSi on the stands on the right)


The new set...


... the old and out...


I love how the red stands out


This one wouldn't come out...


When it did... It left the bushing on. How nice..
Finally got the bushing and the ring off and all the shocks on the car.

Then I decided to splurge and get some "new" wheels as well. A buddy of mine had these for sale and I just couldn't say no.


O.Z. Racing F1 rims






Maybe it's just me, but the wheels sure do bring out the trim more than ever compared to this:



That's my modest Laser...

[Zach Holt]

Nice stuff!

  Ps if you got those rims n rubber off cragslist I almost got em but theres a huge chunk of rubber missing out of a inner side wall so for the off change you picked them on on craigslist for 500 bucks. might wana take a look

[Maurits Vos]

Nice stuff!

  Ps if you got those rims n rubber off cragslist I almost got em but theres a huge chunk of rubber missing out of a inner side wall so for the off change you picked them on on craigslist for 500 bucks. might wana take a look

Nope. I got them from my buddy Jas actually. And there were two different sets of tires on the rims when I got them. They were the same size, but different diameter so I had my tires mounted on them.

As for how much I got them for... No one will ever know 

[Zach Holt]

ahha looks good

[Fred Cheng]

Nice, Maurits!  How're the new shocks?  Rims look way better, btw, and they're pretty light too, no?

Fred

[Maurits Vos]

Thanks Fred!!

The shocks are great. The rear is a bit stiff at slow speeds, in parking lots, going over speed bumps. Other than that, they're awesome.
There isn't any rubber on the old rims right now and they're pretty light themselves. I think the OZ rims are just about the same weight, but they sure as shit look way nicer. I've had a girl tell me today she wanted to hump my car

They hardest part about the new wheels was getting centering hub rings. Nobody could find them, so I had to get the originals machined to fit the hub. The fellow did a good job. Didn't bend one single ring and they fit perfect around the hubs

PS: Zach.. $350 rims and rubber. I couldn't hold it in any longer!

[John Hartman]

lookin like a good beginning.  Now, wash it!! 

hey, you will really like the handling from those shocks if you get rid of that gross positive camber in the front end.  Put some SPC camber bolts in the struts(replaces one of the large strut bolts).  Put it as negative(top of the tire facing inwards) as you can make it.  FIddle around with it for a while and really get it to go in.  you will get around 1.5deg negative out of it.  This will be a HUGE change in turn in and overall grip.  Way better than stock.  Once you get it, go to a good alignment shop and have them set JUST THE TOE!!  Make sure they know this ahead of time, JUST THE TOE!!  They can even out the rear camber of you want and set the rear toe as well, but don't let them reset your front camber as stock os -0.5 at best.

[Maurits Vos]

lookin like a good beginning.  Now, wash it!! 

hey, you will really like the handling from those shocks if you get rid of that gross positive camber in the front end.  Put some SPC camber bolts in the struts(replaces one of the large strut bolts).  Put it as negative(top of the tire facing inwards) as you can make it.  FIddle around with it for a while and really get it to go in.  you will get around 1.5deg negative out of it.  This will be a HUGE change in turn in and overall grip.  Way better than stock.  Once you get it, go to a good alignment shop and have them set JUST THE TOE!!  Make sure they know this ahead of time, JUST THE TOE!!  They can even out the rear camber of you want and set the rear toe as well, but don't let them reset your front camber as stock os -0.5 at best.

Are these the bolts you're talking about?

http://cgi.ebay.ca/SPC-FRONT-CAMBER-KIT-90-94-EAGLE-TALON-AWD-89-96-SUMMIT_W0QQitemZ230271545873QQcmdZViewItem?_trksid=p3286.m20.l1116

[John Hartman]

those should do it, but they are availiable locally.

[Maurits Vos]

Yup... Lordco had them for $35. I picked up a set. I'm just not too sure about the setting it up and getting the right degree by setting it up myself. How hard is it to adjust myself?

[John Hartman]

oh simple.

Jack up one side, pull the wheel, pull out the upper strut bolt, crack loose the lower one so the hub can move, stuff the SPC camber bolt in, put a large flat screwdriver in the vents in your brake rotor, push on it so the top moves inwards, and with the other hand turn the bolt head until the wheel will be tilted inwards at the top as much as you can.  Hold the screwdriver in hard and tighten up the bolts.

Some tips, lube the bolt as it can rust and seize in there.  Lube the strut/hub joint so it slides freely and will come apart easier later.

Also, once you have the adjustment bolt in place and mostly finger tight, so it moves but is not sloppy, take some time to understand how it works so you can actually get the most out of it.  The first time I put a set in I thought I had it all the way negative but when I did the other side I realised I could get about another half a degree(fairly useful) out of it so I had to redo the other side.

MAKE SURE YOU GET YOUR TOE SET or you will wear your tires. Even if its been recently set, the camber change WILL change the toe settings.

I swear, this made a bigger handling differnce than my lowering springs and both strut braces.

[Maurits Vos]

The guy I talked about camber said that -1.5 is a lot of camber and could affect braking. He wasn't too sure about how it would affect braking on awd dsms. Do you have any problems or have you noticed a difference once it comes to stopping? And would -1.5 be too much?

Another thing I'm not too sure about is that I'm still with stock springs, not lowering springs..

Any insight helps.. Still new/skeptical about a lot of things when it comes to my car 

[Shane Sawatzki]

The guy I talked about camber said that -1.5 is a lot of camber and could affect braking. He wasn't too sure about how it would affect braking on awd dsms. Do you have any problems or have you noticed a difference once it comes to stopping? And would -1.5 be too much?

Another thing I'm not too sure about is that I'm still with stock springs, not lowering springs..

Any insight helps.. Still new/skeptical about a lot of things when it comes to my car 

I had over -3.0 ...and my braking was fine...I recently got it aligned at -1.7 and im not havving any problems.

[Maurits Vos]

Shane, help me with adjusting the camber and you can have those shocks hehe 

[John Hartman]

no it won't affect anything.  Very minimally it will affect hard launches.  If you are setting your car up for nothing but drag racing, then yes, no rear negative camber will be beneficial, but other than that go for it.

But again, its up to you.  Your car, and your choice.  You can decide for yourself.