DSE Coilover with flipped shock?
 

I'm about to prep a subframe to install a coilover kit.

I prefer the DSE kit over the ATS Chicane kit. I've read about the lack of adjustability for the DSE kit. As far as I can tell the only difference between the two is the orientation of the spring adjuster. I mean a upper shock mount is an upper shock mount right? DSE's Koni shocks place the adjuster at the top, and ATS's Bilstein or Penske shocks are at the bottom.

My question is, why can't you flip the Konis so that the adjusters are at the bottom or use Bilstein or Penske coilovers with the DSE kit?

It will
 

not clear the hole that you need to to cut in the subframe or the upper mount.

You should not really need to do much adjusting. I would put 1/2 to 1 inch preload on the shock and install. May need to adjust if the springs settle or to get your ride height correct.

Just curious why you prefer the DSE kit over the ATS Chicane?

Don

Make sure you get the DSE set up right because if you are not at the height you want you will have to remove them to readjust them, they may make nice products but the thoughts on this for adjustments was not there. We have a car that a guy cannot make up his mind on height and every time he wants to change it we have to take the front of the car apart and he asked why so much to adj the coils. I tell him to thank DSE for that because of poor design.

Payton and Chris are correct. The coil over is pointless when it has to be removed for adjustment. We had to do something similar to what Chris is talking about and we got it down to about 45 minutes for a height change on the DSE setup. Also the welded spacer and floater is shock eyelet specific, so when we sell one for a Penske and the client ends up gong Bilstien, the floaters and spacers need to be changed out.

Tyler

Crap... I bought a set of ATS brackets from Iron works via a thread here. How do I know which eyelet I have for which shock?

Two reasons. First the geometry benefit, second is aesthetics.

I like that the Chicane pieces are made of hefty 1/4" plate... but in my humblest of opinions, it looks kinda dumb welded to the stock 1/8" frame and upper mount. Stupid I know, but it bothers me. It just looks overbuilt for it's intended purpose.

I may fabricate a hybrid of the two by making my own upper mount like the DSE pieces and weld the ATS stuff to it.

You get more of a geometry benefit by doing the Guldstrand mod than the DSE coil over kit (plus it's free!). The pick up points on the DSE coil over kit are half way between the factory ones and a G mod. If you want all out upgrade, keep the upper control arm where it is and add a tall spindle; it has a much better negative camber curve than any other mod you can do to a factory frame.

The reason we built that cage the way it is is so that the vehicle can be supported fully by the beefier LCA and the reinforced upper shock mount; in doing so we were able to gain enough clearance to bolt the shock into the frame so that in can be adjusted while installed, something the DSE version is not able to do. We follow function first, form second in our engineering approach.

XLexusTech- Does it have a spacer welded into the bracket? I recall giving Rodger a set of mounts that has no floaters or spacers since he was planning on using a custom shock.

Tyler

I believe so. I can send pics if need be. Custom shock make me nervous..

Thanks for any assistance

No doubt you will be getting some of my hard earned money for your phenomenal spindles!

If I do make DSE-esc brackets, I was thinking of maintaining the stock front hole location and lower the rear hole to add a little more anti-dive and use ATS tall spindles.

I've never thought about it, but how do the tall spindles effect roll center height compared to the g-mod?

As far as functionality over form, I've put some thought into fitting weight jacks to the sub-frame. The link below is the best picture I could come up with.

http://books.google.com/books?id=b_U...HEIGHT&f=false

A stock type shock could be used and I don't think it gets any easier to adjust corner weights then that. Course you get zero bling points going this route. Don't give me any flack because in the picture it's on a hotrod, the idea is sound regardless.