[B][B][B]Dear G2IC.I’ve been lurking here for close to 2 months now trying to discern which direction with which to take my build and there is a ton of information. I however have a VERY simple and most likely idiotic question for you.
I was looking at the Megan racing coil over set as I have had a lot of luck with Megan in my 240build and on my old DSM. I personally like the way my DA9 handles but I want to give it a more aggressive stance. I have decided on ditching the Megan Racing set in lieu of the Ground Control/Koni yellow setup that I see a lot of people running. When I look up the ground controls it says that they are made to fit a specific shock style which makes perfect sense to me but in the 2 weeks of suspension research I’ve done both here and google…my search button is beginning to become worn and discolored at this point lol I can’t see the lower boot in which you would put the spring in a non coil-over set up.
I want to make sure that these two parts are what I need. I just don’t see how the adjuster for the coil over can sit over the lower spring boot for the koni. Do I have to grind it down or modify it? Or does it sit on top of the boot? I know this sounds stupid but when you drop $800 dollars into something like this, you want to make sure you are getting the right stuff. I’ve never gotten an un-assembled coil over kit before and I don’t have the money for a complete kit now anyways. Sorry for the first post being a question answered over 7000 times but hey, gotta start some where.
The term “boot” which you are using is very confusing, I’ve never heard that term used before.
GC makes two different styles of coilover.
FOR KONI
Threaded collar which is included is just barely larger than the diameter of Koni shock bodies. The collar slips over the shock body and can’t really rattle around. The inside of the bottom of the collar has a groove/notch cut into it. This slips over the circlip that comes with your Konis.
Koni’s have a couple (exact number depends on application) grooves machined into the shock body. A circlip fits into these grooves. You can move the circlip from groove to groove depending on where you want to set your spring perch (what the bottom of the spring rests in). Konis DO NOT come with the spring perch pre-installed. You must install the circlip and then slide the perch over the shock body. The perch will then rest on top of that circlip.
If using GC’s on Koni shocks you will discard the metal perch that comes w/ the Koni’s. It is not needed. You will then install the GC threaded collars over the shock body. The Threaded collar will rest on the circlip. The spring will then rest on the perch which is threaded onto the collar.
NON-KONI
The second version of GC coilovers comes with a larger diameter threaded collar and is designed to slip over non-koni shocks. This collar then rests on the perch which is welded onto that shock body (same place the OEM spring sits).
You can still use non-Koni GC coilovers on Koni shocks, but you must use the lower spring perch which comes with the Konis.
This is what a Honda (B Series Era cars) Koni/GC setup looks like. Forget about those pics you posted, they are not similar to what you will need for your car. EDIT Upon further inspection of this pic, it looks like these are Non-Koni GC coilovers which are adapted to fit Koni shocks (w/o using the silver spring perch). Maybe this is how GC is selling them now, I’m not 100% sure. But I know mine are not like this. My collars are smaller.
This is what mine look like: photo by C o l i n, on Flickr
It looks like GC makes a small adapter to make that first pic possible. Here’s a shot I found online to represent what I’m talking about. This black piece slips into the bottom of the threaded collar and allows the whole assembly to rest on the circlip so that you do not need to use the silver spring perch that comes w/ the Konis. (Hopefully this edit didn’t just confuse you more)
In this pic you can see non-Koni GC coilovers installed on Koni shocks but using the spring perch that comes with the Konis. (the sliver thing that the threaded collar sits on)
In this pic you can see the lines going around the shock body (near the middle/bottom). Those lines (2 on the front 3 on the rear) are the grooves I mentioned which the circlip pops into.
Long story short, you’re over thinking things. Decide what shocks you’re getting, then order the GC kit that is designed for those shocks. You’ll get the right parts that way and you’ll figure out how they fit together once you have everything in front of you. It’s very basic.
Thank you Colin I’m sorry about the “Boot” term I believe I was referring to the perch “the plate the bottom of the spring sits on with normal drop springs”. I’ve never purchased a coil over setup in pieces like this and I wasn’t sure what to expect. The pics I posted were generalized pics of each component. So the perch isn’t welded onto the 90-93 integra koni’s as the picture would lead to believe then. Thank you for the pics btw. That was what I had in mind when I thought “coilover”
This is correct. The perches are separate parts which slide over the shock body and can be used or not depending on whether they are needed or not. The bottom pic I posted is what the shocks look like without the perches. The pic directly above shows shocks which have the perches installed (the silver pieces under the threaded collar).
