Ridetech Streetgrip suspension install or parts fail? what did I do wrong?

[Tuske427]

Hey everyone,

So I bought a Ridetech Streetgrip suspension kit for my '69 GTO and installed it just over the weekend and already the cars sitting like it has a flat tire/ leaning to the left all inside of 24 hours of installing it.

Specifics- # 11245110 StreetGrip system w/ "Big Block" springs (my car has a pontiac V8 so this should be stout enough to use)
upgraded to their tubular upper StrongArm A-arms.


- A-arms have the #1 bushing installed (it came with the kit and has a centered hole for minimal caster)/ arms are set in the street position
- Car has not been professionally aligned yet aside from me giving it a driveway alignment (setting toe in and using ⅛" shim on the upper rear A-arm bolts to give a bit of caster)
- OEM LCA has new rubber bushings as the ones in the kit do not fit my car. (turns out the kit comes with round bushings and my LCA has a pill shaped bushing)
- I made sure the front springs were clocked to their correct position during installation.
- I weigh about 215#.

The car had a slight lean to the left before this kit install but now it looks like I have a flat tire. It appears the coil spring collapsed or something. Did I do something wrong with the install? It should be sitting level left to right, no?

As it sits it's really unusable like this, and is quite frustrating after spending all this money and time to install it and it makes me want to rip it out and toss in the trash can. So, before I do that any thoughts or suggestions? Maybe I missed something really obvious?

All I want is a firmer / better suspension on the car that would make the car drive better. As it was stock it drove like a bowl of jello... It's just a street car/ driver. I still have my Firebird for more aggressive driving.

I can provide more pics tomorrow if needed.

Thanks!

[srode1]

was the suspension loaded and leveled when you tightened the control arms?

[Tuske427]

Originally Posted by srode1

was the suspension loaded and leveled when you tightened the control arms?

Yes, it was. I had the front wheels on blocks so I could get under the car, but it was sitting on the wheels (not jackstands)

[Tuske427]

just spoke with the folks at Ridetech, they suspect I may have installed the driver spring upside down. this is possible, and will have to inspect tonight after work. stay tuned

[Tuske427]

yep, my dumb @$$ installed the spring upside down. very subtle progressive rate and I missed it.

pro tip- the closer coils go to the bottom.

So I fixed this just now, but the car still leans to the left. at least now it's an equal lean of 1" on the driver side. so the journey continues....

[dhutton]

Did you clock the coil springs correctly so they seat properly? That could easily throw it off one inch. I’m guessing the one on the high side is not.

[Tuske427]

Originally Posted by dhutton

Did you clock the coil springs correctly so they seat properly? That could easily throw it off one inch. I’m guessing the one on the high side is not.

I'll double check this weekend, but I believe I did. At least in the front in the LCA there's a spot for the spring coil to sit in and I took the time to make sure this was in there. I don't recall anything like this in the rear. However, the folks at Ridetech want me to record all the part #'s to make sure I have the same parts on side to side.

one thing I also noticed was the right and left shocks, for example, have a different amount of clicks in the shock from min-max.

[dhutton]

Originally Posted by Tuske427

I'll double check this weekend, but I believe I did. At least in the front in the LCA there's a spot for the spring coil to sit in and I took the time to make sure this was in there. I don't recall anything like this in the rear. However, the folks at Ridetech want me to record all the part #'s to make sure I have the same parts on side to side.

one thing I also noticed was the right and left shocks, for example, have a different amount of clicks in the shock from min-max.

It is the top of the spring that needs to be indexed properly. It will affect the ride height if it is not indexed correctly. The bottom doesn’t matter.

Don

[Tuske427]

Originally Posted by dhutton

It is the top of the spring that needs to be indexed properly. It will affect the ride height if it is not indexed correctly. The bottom doesn’t matter.

Don

understood, and will recheck that later, but I think I found the real problem- my frame is bent and causing this left lean. While on jackstands in my driveway I was able to see this more clearly and confirm by measuring various points to the ground, and nothing is even close to symmetrical. So my next step is a frame alignment shop to see if they can fix this, or if I'm shopping for a new frame

[camcojb]

That would do it. Bummer, but at least you know.