What on earth is this?

"Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To" (murdersofa)
02/11/2015 at 09:33 • Filed to: None

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I was screwing around on Amazon trying to find some lowering springs and found these things... what on earth? Does the sleeve slip over the lower part of the strut so you can change the ride height or something? Wouldn't it need welded? People keep saying the ride is bouncy... I'm guessing that's because they're using it with stock shocks that can't match the higher spring rate? Has anybody ever used anything like this? These seem too cheap to be true. I might just try to find some lowering springs with a close-to-stock spring rate.

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DISCUSSION (9)

Aaron M - MasoFiST > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
02/11/2015 at 09:39

Yeah, those look like knock-off Ground Control spring sets. The sleeve goes over the strut so you can adjust the height of the spring perch relative to the strut. It's not all that different from a normal coilover.

Though yeah, the ones you found look cheap as hell. A real Ground Control set costs around 4-500 if you're getting the coilover sleeves.

Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To > Aaron M - MasoFiST
02/11/2015 at 09:42

I don't understand enough to know how one set can be higher quality than another (arent they all just milled aluminum perches with steel springs? How can you fuck that up?), but it sounds like knockoff parts = very bad idea.

AMGtech - now with more recalls! > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
02/11/2015 at 09:45

I'm not familiar with Honda suspension, but this whole setup should slide over the strut and the lower sleeve/spring perch will be threaded for ride height adjustment. No welding needed. Never weld on a strut.

To the people who say it's bouncy: No shit Sherlock! You bought the cheapest springs possible and are still running your original shocks/struts.

Anyways, you get what you pay for. If you do lowering springs, these or otherwise, do your shocks/struts also. If you have these adjusted all the way down for lowest ride height you will likely be running against the end of the shock's range of travel, effectively hitting its internal stop, which is the biggest reason for the bouncy. Shocks with a shorter length would be the way to go.

Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To > AMGtech - now with more recalls!
02/11/2015 at 09:49

I rode in a friend's 92 civic hatch that was cheaply lowered. Bouncy as hell but honestly I found the shitty ride endearing. It was an adventure. A loud, rattly, probably illegal adventure.

Aaron M - MasoFiST > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
02/11/2015 at 09:50

I'm actually astonished they could sell this for $40. In terms of knockoff parts, you're using Chinese no-name springs which may or may not even be automotive quality (a number of the reviews state the thing broke the first time they put them on the car), and metal parts that aren't galvanized or in any other way corrosion protected. Even other ricer parts (like the Blox Springs in the "other products" list on that page) use auto-grade material but cheap out on the engineering. All the reviews, even the positive ones, seem to mention the ride quality being very bouncy, which doesn't surprise me too much...Even if you buy a $600 set of coilovers (not Ground Controls, full coilovers like Racelands) the ride quality is likely crap.

Since you asked about welding, it'd probably be worth mentioning that real Ground Controls are sometimes weld-in, it depends on the design of the strut they're made to fit over. It's a kludge, but Ground Controls are a godsend to many enthusiasts (old Toyotas come to mind) who don't drive a car with enough aftermarket support to have good coilover options. Engineering the sleeve is a lot cheaper than engineering a full coilover.

AMGtech - now with more recalls! > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
02/11/2015 at 09:50

Endearing every once in a while sure, but trust me you don't want to live with it everyday. If you're going to do it do it right.

Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To > AMGtech - now with more recalls!
02/11/2015 at 09:52

This is true.

NotUnlessRoundIsFunny > Aaron M - MasoFiST
02/11/2015 at 09:53

Wow, I learned something new today. Thanks!

TheD0k_2many toys 2little time > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
02/11/2015 at 10:05

Typical Honda owner "performance" parts. No way those are going to be any good.

You have to pay to play my friend. Just the way it is