P/H/AA-Body Eibachs on a Daytona

[MiniMopar]

I've got the Eibach 2804 kit (Shadow/Spirit/Lancer) that I was planning to put on the Daytona. It's an '86 Turbo Z, but it has a '92 K-frame. Since the 2801 kit hasn't been made in years, folks using the 2804 kit have found that the extra progressive coil causes them bind up in the G/J body, raising the ride height. The trick seems to be to cut one coil off of the progressive side of the front coils to unbind them and even things out.

I've trolled through all the threads I can find. Can anyone confirm this?

[MiniMopar]

:bump2:

[DodgeZ]

85 turbo z, 91 k-frame, and 2804. I cut them, it is great now. It was jacked up in the front before the cut. I left the rears alone. I'll look for some pictures... are you running the cast a-arms?

[MiniMopar]

Yes, cast arms. Did you cut 1 coil off the bottom?

[MiniMopar]

BTW...I like the color scheme of your TurboZ.

[DodgeZ]

Yes, cast arms. Did you cut 1 coil off the bottom?
yes. I don't like the cast arms. I can't run any bigger tires with them. 205/60/15's are about the biggest that will fit. I am going to go back to stamped 89 arms when I get time and cash. It sucks because those a-arms have new bushings and ball joints... along with the new swaybar bushings.

[GLHNSLHT2]

that thing looks slammed in the front. Cut one of the progressive coils off, or 1/2 a one. The ones I've seen that raised the front were the old kmember which with Poly bushings will actually hold the car up. Going to a later k with stamped arms and poly bushings dropped the front end of my ShelbyZ by 1/2-3/4". It allows more weight on the springs. So your best bet is trial and error. Don't touch the rears :) Glad I grabbed one of the last set's of 2801's though. I'd sure like to have another. Next step is to get spherical bearings into the control arms. The poly bushings suck.

[MiniMopar]

yes. I don't like the cast arms. I can't run any bigger tires with them. 205/60/15's are about the biggest that will fit. I am going to go back to stamped 89 arms when I get time and cash. It sucks because those a-arms have new bushings and ball joints... along with the new swaybar bushings.

By "big" do you mean higher profile or do you mean you can't run the 6.5x15" rims? Where do they hit?

[MiniMopar]

that thing looks slammed in the front. Cut one of the progressive coils off, or 1/2 a one. The ones I've seen that raised the front were the old kmember which with Poly bushings will actually hold the car up. Going to a later k with stamped arms and poly bushings dropped the front end of my ShelbyZ by 1/2-3/4". It allows more weight on the springs. So your best bet is trial and error. Don't touch the rears :) Glad I grabbed one of the last set's of 2801's though. I'd sure like to have another. Next step is to get spherical bearings into the control arms. The poly bushings suck.

Yeah, I'm thinking I'll cut 1/2 coil since I have the cast arms. I've been going back and forth, but you can't put spring back on so I'll play it a little safer.

[DodgeZ]

By "big" do you mean higher profile or do you mean you can't run the 6.5x15" rims? Where do they hit?

The car needs bigger wheels to fill in the wheel wells. I have a set of 205/50/17 and they won't fit. The problem is everything is moved forward so it hits the fender/GFX when you turn the wheel. What size tires do the 89 Shelby Daytonas come with?

[mcsvt]

What size tires do the 89 Shelby Daytonas come with?

205/55-16 I believe.

[DodgeZ]

205/55-16 I believe.
It is so close I can run the 205/60/15 but not the 205/50/17

205/60/15 is 24.7 in
205/55/16 is 24.9 in
205/50/17 is 25.1 in

I left my car at my buddy's house after going to the track last Friday. I had to trailer one of his rides to my shop. I should have it back this weekend. I'll get some good pictures of it to show you how close it is and how the car sits.

[MiniMopar]

OK, I understand you now. Yes, I noticed the change in the position of the wheel as well. I pulled it back some because this car has a tweaked front end and I had to hog-out the holes in the K-frame to get it straight anyway. It pulled things back about 1/2".

[MiniMopar]

Not to hijaak my own thread, but does anyone know if the MP Road Race springs are still available?

[Jack's Dodge]

Not to hijaak my own thread, but does anyone know if the MP Road Race springs are still available?
Send JDAWG a PM. He works in parts and is "the man" with finding out availability.

[Turbodave]

Russ, JT had Karl's Daytona sitting on a trailer at my place a while back, the progressive eibachs's that were on it had the bottom three coils collapsed with the weight of the car on them and it looked like a stock ride height.

I've got a set of Eibach's that hade been majorly trimmed your welcome to try out if you feel so motivated. They came off a junk 89 Daytona ES we found in the yard so without any wheels on it (so I have no idea what kind of ride height they will result in).

[MiniMopar]

Thanks Dave. I've actually got a set that have been at the bottom of a pile of crap in the garage. I'm putting them in the Daytona while it is apart, but I wanted to save the trouble of having to cut them later and just get it over with. Swapping springs is a pain in the butt.

[fleckster]

I have 225/50-16 (24.86" diameter) on 16"x6" Ninja wheels on my '92 Spirit R/T with the stock cast lower control arms and they don't have a problem. Am I understanding it is because of the ground effects? I wouldn't that that the control arms would be much of a factor in that. I know dimensionally the are slightly different (1/2"?) but I didn't think that they actually changed the location of the hub and where the wheel would be in the wheelwell. I may have learned something if that is true. Granted, I don't have my Eibachs on the front yet but I don't anticipate any problems with clearance on the Spirit.

[DodgeZ]

those a-arms are made for your car not an 85 turbo z. The springs don't have anything to do with it. It won't clear with stock springs. :(

[fleckster]

Then it ought to be interesting when I eventually get around to swapping the entire k-member and suspension (minus the springs, struts, and shocks) from my '93 IROC R/T roasted parts car on to my '87 Shelby Lancer. It may not be a huge issue though as I'm running short 225/50-15s on the original 15"x6.5" CSS wheels.

[BIGBRUDDA]

Hey Russ: :clap2: I'm contemplating doing the same K-frame swap to my 86C/S.I have a frame ,but no a-arms.:confused:
My question is, would you use the cast ones again ?
Did they make a "big" difference?
I want to run 215/60s on 6.5 crabs.I've heard all the back-n-forth about cast vs stamped. It seems you Sir have the definitive results.:D

[MiniMopar]

Heh...well I wouldn't say definitive. The cast arms work OK on mine mainly because the K-frame is shifted-back slightly to try to straighten-out the front end (unibody is bent). Even so, the wheels are still shifted forward in the wells, but not enough that my 255/50/15 on 6.5" crabs or my 205/60/15 blizzaks on 6" crabs have any trouble clearing the front facia. If my car were "normal", then there may be issues and I'd probably go for the stamped arms to save the trouble.

The big plus with the newer arms is more the dual hinge design vs the stub-strut than what they are made of. There was no poly bushing available for the stamped 89 arms until Johnny came along and hooked us up.

[MiniMopar]

OK, so I thought I'd dust off this old thread and comment: I've had the P-body Eibachs in my 86 Daytona for a couple of weeks now. It has a 92 K-frame (cast arms), 89 Shelby Z knuckles, and Konis (with a couple of K on them). I cut 1/2 of a loop off the bottom of the two front springs. In my opinion, the car sits perfect and handles awesome.

[1985ShlbyChrger]

I've got the P-Body Eibachs on my reliant wagon and the front is definitely nose high. I wasn't sure if I wanted to cut 1/2 a coil or not when I first put it together but now I know it needs cut. It is ridiculous, it looks like the back is loaded with all kinds of crap. I wish I would have seen this thread before I put it together, because I would have definitely cut half a coil. thanks for the info, it will be coming back apart for some altitude adjustment in the front.

Nate

[Reaper1]

You may want to look in to getting the propper set-up on your K-frame/a-arm/hub assembly. That will cure the problem of the wheel sitting too far forward in the wheel well.

You can use the '91-up hubs on the '89/'90 A-arms with no issue.
You can use '91-up hubs on '91-up arms with no issue.
Putting the old '85-'90 hubs on the '91-up A-rms causes your issue. You need the propper hubs, or go back to stamped '89/'90 A-arms(there ARE poly bushings for them now!).

[DodgeZ]

You can use '91-up hubs on '91-up arms with no issue.


That's what I have and my wheels are too far forward.

[JDAWG]

Instead of wasting money on drop coils and then cutting them why not get some springs from the boneyard? Cutting a stock coil will raise the spring rate anyways.

[DodgeZ]

Cutting a stock coil will raise the spring rate anyways.


How does it do that?

[JDAWG]

A spring designed for 200lb/in and a certain length is a certain wire diameter. When you "shorten" the spring by some amount and NOT changing the wire gage diameter the rate goes up becasue the rate is a function of the diameter of the wire times its length (if uncoiled).

I copied that, but anyways, chop a wrap out and yes it gets stiffer. I just dont see the point in spending $200 on springs and cutting them anyways, ya know?

[MiniMopar]

True, but we are actually not changing the ratio by that much...in fact it might drop it a bit The reason is if you do not cut it, the progressive coils in the front are completely bound-up leaving only the stiffer coils. By taking out 1/2-1 coil you unspring it slightly, making it match the rear coils much more closely (the gaps between the bottom two coils are similar between the front and rear now). It also makes the car's stance correct.

I really like the ride of these springs. It is a little odd feeling when you suddenly turn the car hard, as it leans a bit rather easily but then stops. Stiffening up the Konis helps that, though. The ride is more pleasant than the CSX.

[Reaper1]

Hmm...from what I read about the car I was under the impression that you were still running the old hubs. I appologize. Well, then the only other explination is the one you have...tweaked unibody. That sucks.

[DodgeZ]

I heard that also which is why I got the whole set. My stock wheels do work but just barely clear. I was wanting to run a bigger tire on some 17's and it said no way. The car has never been smashed in the front. Maybe I didn't something wrong when I installed. I'd like to see some other pictures of a cast a-arm install.

[Reaper1]

Oh, see. Again, I was under the impression it got tweaked in the front. Maybe I should pay attention :banghead:? Anyways, in this case I'm really at a loss. the only thing i can think of right now is that possibly the strut bearings weren't installed propperly. They are supposed to be a certain way on each side....I don't know if that'll effect the way the wheel sits in the wheel well, but it worth a shot. I know it CAN cause the stut mounting bolts to not be centered in the middle of the hole in the strut tower. This indicates to me a change in possibly caster and camber??(not really sure on that, never actually checked it...)