KYB AGX adjustable strut install on TD!!!!

[Vigo]

uhhh... cool picture, but i cringe at a cut up CSX bumper cover that doesnt serve the purpose any better than a dime-a-dozen ES one. Im sure you've heard it all before and probably dont post much pics for that reason so im not bitching.. glad you posted

Looks like fun, and the height is promising.

[glhs399]

Bumper was from another csx that i got that used to be a track car. I dont cut up and destroy rare items. This was the CSX thathad the truck parked on top of it. It was about a week away from getting scrapped till I found out about the ChumpCar event.

[rich tideswell]

so the red csx was spared after all?

[Vigo]

Bumper was from another csx that i got that used to be a track car. I dont cut up and destroy rare items.

Good to hear Glad its getting some kind of use and not crushed into a cube.

[iTurbo]

Any chance we can get a pic of one of these KYB AGX struts chucked up in the lathe? That way I could print it out and bring it to a machine shop and see if it's something they could do?

I really need new struts for my CSX and I would really like something better than KYB GR2 or Monroe Sensatracs. Used to have AGX struts/Intrax springs on the Regal GS and they were nice.

[janus]

+1 on what Jeremy said. anyone?

[monkeyhead]

Just put on some STI front struts, springs, and top hats on the CSX and its sitting pretty nice. I put in some chopped rear springs to even out the ride height. Now to find a better shock for the rear. I'll post up some pictures, next week.

no modifications to the top hats?

[janus]

anyone ever tried the bilstein ranger shock? otherwise i'll probably be the guinea pig.. but it will take a while for me to have it shipped, installed and thoroughly tested

[135sohc]

I asked the guy on youtube what year/application for those shocks to order and havnt heard back yet.

[Vigo]

How about AGX on the rear?

Original post: http://www.turbo-mopar.com/forums/sh...&postcount=283

Today i actually attempted an oddball mod ive been planning on for a while. I took some 2nd generation DSM rear struts, KYB AGX externally adjustables, and modified them to fit in the rear of the Aries. If i plan to go back to GRM itd be nice to make even more room in the budget by replacing the most expensive parts with cheaper ones, and the Konis are a lot of that money.

Ive had these AGX's sitting around for years. I happened to see a pic in one of Rbryant's threads where he had drilled a vertical hole through the upper shock mount and converted to a similar shock, and after seeing that i looked up the specs on the AGXs i had and noticed the lengths and travel were very similar to stock shocks.


Dem is some AGXs.

Theres a stock shock next to it. Similar length but obviously different on the top AND bottom.

Hole in the AGX bottom is way too big for the stock bolt.

There's the stock shock bolt put through one of those spacer thingies from the long alternator bolt. You know, that thingie.

You can see where this is going. It doesnt fit, YET.

First step, cut it in two pieces! Kablam!

Then turn down the outside diameter in the D.i.y. LATHE. Yes that means chuck it up in a drill and spin it against a grinding wheel. Seriously.


SUCCESS!

Ooh look an ACCESSIBLE adjustment.

Step 1: drill hole. Step 2: SUCCESS!

Ta-da!!

So that's ONE way to get externally adjustable rear shocks.

[Reaper1]

Very nice!

[Force Fed Mopar]

Good work man

[moparman76_69]

How about AGX on the rear?

Damn, I saw that same pic and was planning on getting a mirage rear out of the j-yard and seeing if I could make it fit on the 'baron. You beat me to it.

Guess I'll have to figure out how to get rear coilovers now

[TheCanadian007]

Those rear adjustable shocks look similar to those used in the L-body cars. Any idea if they'd be compatible?

[rbryant]

Those rear adjustable shocks look similar to those used in the L-body cars. Any idea if they'd be compatible?

The bushings are still required on the bottoms.

After the bushings are made they should work but they might not have full travel.

2G eclipse struts are a little longer than the lbody but the lbody requires 3" portion of the shaft for connecting to the top. The lbody mounting appears to require more of the shaft to extend past the spring hat than the eclipse does.... This means that an extra inch or two of the shaft won't be usable. The spring perch is also taller which steals another portion of the travel... So it might require both a shorter spring and some of the travel to be wasted on the top connection both of which limit your travel length.

The 1G rabbit shocks are the closest thing to lbody shocks. I have a lot of measurements based on the specs gathered from napaonline.

Charger Rear:

Attributes:
Body Length: 11.750''
Compressed Length (to mount): 12.250''
Extended length (to mount): 19.500''
Travel Length: 7.250''

MK1 VW Rear:


Attributes:
Body Length: 12.500''
Compressed Length (to mount): 13.250''
Extended length (to mount): 21.500''
Travel Length: 8.250''

1G eclipse:

Strut Body Length : 12.06"
Strut Compressed Length (to mount): 12.48"
Strut Extended Length (to mount): 19.5"
Strut Travel Length : 7.02"

'93-2000 Mitsu Mirage (or overseas FWD lancer?)

Body Length:13.125"
Compressed Length (to mount):13.875"
Extended length (to mount):21.250"
Travel Length:7.375"



2G Eclipse

Body Length : 14.25"
Compressed Length (to mount): 14.5"
Extended Length (to mount): 21.25"
Travel Length : 6.75"


I am working on getting something from BC that will work. Unfortunately they don't make a MK1 rabbit shock... I already got pictures of the 1G eclipse shocks because the specs are so similar the problem is that the top connection (as previously mentioned above) is much longer on the lbody.


I am actually waiting on the Mk3 golf measurements (they are longer in stock form but in coilover form they might be about right). Coilovers always go stock and lower so it makes it tricky... I am hoping that the bottom mount of the BC is a bit shorter than the stock shock and that the body will thread down into it far enough to sufficiently lower a charger/omni. 4" seems like it will be too much though... I can always check out the BC 2G eclipse and FWD mitsu lancer shocks to see if they work but it takes time to get pictures from them. The last resort is to just chop saw off some of the MK3 VW bottom mount to shorten them (probably cheaper than bushings anyway if it will work)!

MK3 VW rear:

Body Length : 16.125"
Compressed Length : 16.5"
Extended Length : 25"
Shock Travel Length : 7.75"

If the MK3 VW rears won't work then the 2G eclipse might actually be the best option...


-Rich

[TheCanadian007]

From the looks of it, the Mirage struts appear to almost identical (similar amounts of travel and overall length). Do they offer KYB AGX adjustable struts for the Mirage or would they offer them for the Rabbit?

[rbryant]

From the looks of it, the Mirage struts appear to almost identical (similar amounts of travel and overall length). Do they offer KYB AGX adjustable struts for the Mirage or would they offer them for the Rabbit?

They have konis and others for the rabbit. I would go with that first because it has the same bottom mount and wouldn't need a bushing...

I haven't verified the top connection on the mirage to see if it steals travel from the shock but I believe some people have done it.

-Rich

[TheCanadian007]

My blood isn't rich enough for Koni shocks, but I was curious if there is anything better than the KYB GR-2 L-body struts short of Konis?

[rbryant]

My blood isn't rich enough for Koni shocks, but I was curious if there is anything better than the KYB GR-2 L-body struts short of Konis?

I am sure there are bilsteins or tokicos out there that can be made to work.

GR2s really aren't very impressive. I have them on my wifes infiniti G20 and they just feel like stock. I am not sure they are really any better than (or even as good as) a senatrac or some other quality stock replacement.

-Rich

[The Pope]

GR2s really aren't very impressive. I have them on my wifes infiniti G20 and they just feel like stock. I am not sure they are really any better than (or even as good as) a senatrac or some other quality stock replacement.

-Rich

I can't believe what I'm hearing, clearly you have never even ran a GR2 on an L body and a Sensatrac. If you take a wasted set of GR2s, then drill holes in them and leak out all the fluid, then bolt them back on the L body. You would have a brand new Sensatrac. Those POS struts last about 6 months before they are so sloppy you have to take them off. Handling under braking, launching and turning is destroyed by those things. Sure, my Koni's are really nice, a lot stiffer than a GR2. But a GR2 is about as stiff as stock and they have a livable ride quality for daily driving. Even on low the Koni's beat you pretty hard unless on smooth payment.

Granted the GR2 isn't all that, it is a real good shock on an L body. Not a great race shock though but those racing should just step up. What would be great is a gas adjust strut and shock combo that they don't sell. But hey, a GR2 will give 70% of the handling you want from a shock. And they are compared with a shock that gives you (and this is giving them credit) 5% of the handling they should. As an example of the type of person that owns a Sensatrac car. I did a full turbo swap, larger late turbo auto trans, 4 wheel disks SLH 3 with 5 lug and SC front suspension and steering into a 82 Rampage. Customer got a set of wore GR2s with the deal, they were about 50%. The Page handled well and had a good ride but it just Jarred the 80 year old man too much. So he paid me to install the softest, weakest, sloppiest shock I knew of, the Sensatrac. Instantly the nose dropped almost an inch with the lack of support and you can hit a 4" pot hole without feeling it. Along with this it is flat scary to drive fast (in a bad way).

Maybe on some POS import they valve them different and they don't handle and support the suspension. Could be the case. On OUR CARS this statement is miles away. This again isn't talking up the GR2s as a really great performance shock, but comparing them to the Sensatrac is just total slander

On a Muscle car they are nice though, full sloppy weight transfer with just BARELY enough valving to keep them from doing the non stop bounce of a drilled shock. I like them better than my Competion Engineering adjustible 90-10s, as even they don't come up that fast. You'll swear the front tires are off the ground!