The wrenching is nigh

"Aremmes" (aremmes) 03/15/2019 at 19:30 • Filed to: wrenching, Suspensionolopnik, weekend wrenching

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Winter has finally d eparted the atmosphere above Southeastern Pennsylvania, at least for the duration of this weekend. This can only mean one thing: time to bring out the tools!

My Miata, about which I’ll write more later maybe someday, presently has bad shock absorbers, particularly the rear ones. With the pothole-to-asphalt-surface ratio reaching all-time highs after this past winter, even by Pennsylvania standards, a day doesn’t pass without the car hitting the bump stops for even trivial obstacles like fallen leaves, cross winds, and misdirected verbal abuse. I made an aborted attempt at replacing just the shocks and springs at the tail end of last fall, but found that the car would need additional work, so I postponed it until the next available opportunity lest I tempt the gods of the brown Loctite and end up with an undrivable car. This is my daily driver, after all.

The wrenching manifest contains the following: Koni STR-T shocks, Sport Package springs (the car has standard suspension now), KYB shock boots and bump stops, Mevotech bushings, lower ball joints, and sway bar end links, and dust boots for the upper ball joints. With luck I’ll get it all wrapped up on Sunday in time for St Patrick’s Day celebrations.

Anyone else doing any wrenching this weekend?

Future Heap Owner > Aremmes 03/15/2019 at 19:36

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Maintenance, not really wrenching. Got a fog light to replace and wheels to rotate.

lone_liberal > Aremmes 03/15/2019 at 19:40

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If I can shake this cold I think it might be time to venture out to the garage for some misadventures since we’re looking at temps just under 50F . Like you I need to replace some coil springs and shocks. Unlike you my car is 48 years old so there will be rust and corrosion. And swearing. So much swearing. 

CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever > Aremmes 03/15/2019 at 19:42

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Cleaning, no wrenching planned

Schaef_Camaero Z/28 > Aremmes 03/15/2019 at 19:46

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Mod wrenching is always so much better than maintenance wrenching.

With that said.. I’m really not looking forward to installing a new set of headers on the Camaro. I might start that this weekend.. might not..

Bman76 (hates WS6 hoods, is on his phone and has 4 burners now) > Aremmes 03/15/2019 at 20:07

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Replacing the battery in the Miata so that it can start on its own for the first time since December.

Aremmes > lone_liberal 03/15/2019 at 20:14

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It'll be 46ºF and sunny here tomorrow. Not optimal, but perfectly doable, and after about an hour the workout warms one up enough to ditch the sweater.

Fuckkinja > Aremmes 03/15/2019 at 20:22

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Those parts will make it worth wrenching. Should handle much better.

The trans guy is awol with my 6l80 for the ss. Working on a 79 cr250 Honda in the meantime. 

Cash Rewards > Aremmes 03/15/2019 at 20:53

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Perfect. Take detailed step by step instructions with photos so I can do mine next year. Also, we'll need updates on the koni str. Any particular reason you chose this combo, and not Tien coil overs or something similar?

Aremmes > Cash Rewards 03/15/2019 at 22:17

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Will do!

I picked these Konis as a less expensive alternative to Bilstein Sport shocks, which I had in my previous Miata paired with Twin S-Tech springs and can no longer find available . My experience with that setup was mixed: decent on highways, and very nimble on twisties when pushed hard, but lost a lot of traction when driven moderately on regular roads due to extra negative camber caused by the lowered ride height. Alignments couldn’t fix that, and I wasn’t about to spend money on adjustable control arms. I didn’t want to go with full coilovers partly due to cost, partly due to not having a justification given my driving, and partly due to already having the Sport Package springs in my basement.