72 replies to this topic

[mandarinvx]

I've had a few PM's with questions, so here goes...


You will need:

Wheel Brace
Jack (see later)
Support
Socket Set Wrench with 17mm Socket
15mm and 17mm spanners
12" Rule
Hammer
3mm Allen Key
Notepad and pen


This guide will show changing from standard Gaz to the Gaz Gold Pro kit, although the principle is the same for all types

Firstly loosen the wheel bolts on the side you will be working on first by about 1/4 turn; then set the rebound on the new shocks to save forgetting about it later - for the Gaz I use 12 rear, 9 front from soft - that is turn the knob fully anti-clockwise, then turn x clicks in a clockwise direction

Then, jack up the car from the side, remembering to support with something stable beneath the chassis rail (making sure nothing sticks out toward the fibreglass sill area)
If you are changing from standard suspension to a lowering kit, bear in mind you may need to start off with a low profile jack, else there is a chance you will not be able to lower a standard jack enough to remove it! If this does happen you will need to put something (like 1" scaffold board) underneather the rear wheels to allow the jack to be removed



Starting with the front, remove the wheel. At the front the top of the shock is mounted to a bracket that is bolted to the chassis, with a supporting arm for the ABS on the drivers side:



The lower connection is made on the top of the lower wishbone:



Now loosen off the bolt at the top with a 17mm socket and 17mm spanner - do not remove the bolt at this stage:



And then do the same for the lower bolt - access is awkward, place the spanner on the rear nut, and the socket of the front facing bolt:



So you're left with this:





Now take the weight of the hub by the bottom of the brake disc, I guess this could be done in a couple of ways, I just use my knee



And remove the top bolt - the assembly will drop slightly (supporting the hub is more important on the rear shock where the wishbone could can 'bang' on the subframe as it drops)

Now you're free to remove the shock



Remove the lower bolt and lift the shock out. Note - for standard Bilstein removal check the condition of the seat collars - if there are any cracks take great care when removing or seek proffesional advice, as the spring has the potential to come free

Assemble the new shock, and take a measurement from the top adjusting collar to a point at the top of the shock body, such as the adjusting knob and write it down for reference

[mandarinvx]

Re-assembly is essentially a reverse of the above

In the case of the Gax Gold kit I had to 'bend' the lower part of the shock mounting bracket in order for the wider body to fit - this won't be a problem on the standard kit. Nitron are wider still, and provide a complete replacement top bracket for the front driver side.





At this stage it may be best to put the wheel back on finger tight and lower the car down to see what position it sits, you may need to readjust. Each time you make an adjustment make sure you write down the figure, as this will be used to set the height on the opposite side.

The rear is similar to the front;

For the top mount you will need to use a 17mm socket and 15mm spanner:



And 17mm / 17mm for the bottom mount, this time access is from the underside of the lower wishbone:



Again, make sure you support the assembly to prevent it dropping, and then lower it in a controlled way




Worth giving everything a good clean whilst in there too



The Gaz removed are getting on, but cleaned up surprisingly well

[MrSimba]

Beein toying with the idea of firmer adjustable shocks for a while so I'm going order some of the 'Gaz Golds' this week. Do you need to re-do the geo after fitting? and for the Turbo 425 / 475 spring rates with the uprated 2" bump stops seem the way to go unless anyone has more info for me! Cheers for the guide Adam

Edited by MrSimba, 22 March 2009 - 12:19 PM.

[mandarinvx]

If you're keeping the same sort of ride height as existing there shouldn't be a problem with the geo - even when lowering it will only affect it marginally (tho that depends how extreme you go I guess!)

[Whippet]

Excellent work... Have you found much difference with upgrading to the gold set? I know Mart at TGA has put these on his Chimera project and the handling was amazing on the lift to the station.

[chris_uk]

how much were the gaz golds?

[mandarinvx]

They're around £200 more than the standard set I'm still letting them bed in at the moment, and playing around with the settings, so I'll get back to you on ride quality I need to speak to them about providing some slightly narrower spacers for the bottom mounting on the rear, as I ended up shaving around 1.5mm off to get a nice fit into the wishbone mounting point

[mandarinvx]

Well I've just been for a 100 odd mile blast, and the ride is well, amazing Admittedly the spring rate has increased from 325/375 to 425/475; but I upped the springs on the last car which made little difference to the ride, just meant it had less tendancy to dive under heavy braking So no doubt a lot of it is due to the new dampers Just need to get a geo done now - I thought it had been done by N1k, but there are 3-off 1mm spacer shims plus the ABS bracket so I guess not, unless it's a neutral set-up

Edited by mandarinvx, 22 March 2009 - 03:51 PM.

[Stefan_A]

Nice summary there mandarinvx, however I'd like to stress that geo should be done after lowering the car since it would change the camber. Road handling and tire wear are depending on proper geo.

[robin]

where did you buy yours from? is ride quality from standard suspension much harder or about same?

[mandarinvx]

I had my geo checked after I went from Bilsteins to Gaz and the settings had barely changed (to the point they didn't charge me anything!) The ride quality is bit harsher on the stiffer springs, but not by much - it depends how good the condition of the roads in your area is

[robin]

roads are rubbish so might give the idear a miss! stay with stock items for now untill they relay all the roads )

[severnless]

Top guide manderin just a couple of questions are the gold's supplied with rose joints instead of rubber bushes? (do they have the option of covers?) if so do you find there's more (how to put it??) feel? more transmitted road noise? etc also on the photo of the back it looks like your wishbone is bent?! please tell me I'm wrong!! ( there's also a mark on the sub-frame above said wishbone?) the bump stop on the gold's, are they bigger than on the standard shock (Gaz)? cheers

[mandarinvx]

I didn't notice any greater 'feel' as such, just a general improvement I checked the wishbone - it's still straight, but there was a small mark in the dirt coating (the marks in the pic are where I rubbed it with emery to see if it had actually caused a dink in the metal) I think they will be fitting these larger bump stops to all shocks from this point on, after seeing the pics of trouble others have had

[mandarinvx]

the bump stop on the gold's, are they bigger than on the standard shock (Gaz)?

Just re-read that bit - yep the rear bumb stops are quite a bit bigger - there are some pics of the shocks themselves in my project thread

[MrSimba]

The M10 bolts used to mount the shock (M10 x 70mm & M10 x 55mm) look well coroded especially at the back on mine so I'll replace them when fitting the shocks, are they a 'special' tensile strength like the hub carrier bolts 10.9 ect?

[mandarinvx]

They may well be, then again I can't see anything stamped on the heads of the ones in shot above

[mandarinvx]

It doesn't say so in the EPC either, I can't imagine 55mm is a standard off the shelf length tho (and it's pretty tight too, so may not get away with a 60mm) I'd go for standard 8.8s if you can't find any other info, don't use stainless either way

[MrSimba]

It doesn't say so in the EPC either, I can't imagine 55mm is a standard off the shelf length tho (and it's pretty tight too, so may not get away with a 60mm)

I'd go for standard 8.8s if you can't find any other info, don't use stainless either way

Thanks Adam

I recon I'll be cutting at least one of them off so I want a replacement set before I start!

[mandarinvx]

Are you sure it's not just road grime that's making them look shot - all of mine were in very good condition, and that's with nearly 60k on the clock