do OEM struts and no name coil overs work with ground controls extended top hats? I have read there site and they say ONLY for the KONI/GC set-up. But i see others using them without koni's on. Would this work?

 

ground controls can work with KYB, Tokico and others. you just have to order the springs to what you want. I belive its the same for there upper mounts. someoone will correct me if me wrong.

 

hey nice avatar lol looks like mine haha.

Well I figure that it would work cause if you can use koni's on oem strut mounts, why not use oem struts on the ground control top hats? anyone else have info?

 

so anybody else have an idea?

 

It Should work if anything just make your own extended top hats out of the stock ones its really easy and you save about 100 bucks.

 

let me know if it works

how can you make your own?

 

any copy cat GC sleeve over type springs for the extended top hats will work.

it doesnt do any good if you use it with full coilovers since the shock body wont fit inside the top hat.

theyre made to use with stock or replacement type shocks.

 

my family..we have homemade extended top hats on stock struts w/ coilovers, tokico blue/white w/ coilovers, kyb's w/ coilvers, and i have them on my tein basics..they will fit.

 

Rather then making another post... What might I expect if I were to use the stock spring and strut with the extended top hat? Or do I need an equal drop spring to complement the length of the shock that's extended up into the top hat?

I'm in one of the two states that require "reconstruction" inspection. Meaning that I cannot get a yearly safety check without first having my vehicle inspected first by an authorized individual to determine if certain parts of my vehicle that have been modified are still "legal". So I have tokico illuminas and no one has thought to check the last three years I've owned my car, but now they have noticed. I currently have about and inch drop and like it because its lower then stock but not enough to have to worry to much. Also my shocks were slammed when I bought this thing and have always rode terribly.

So... I wanted to swap them out for a stock smooth ride but still have a slightly lowered stance. Hence the top hats. Thoughts.

Sorry I ranted.

 

im geting tokico blues soon cause i blew my stock ones can i see a pic of your homemade top hats is it the same as just using a spacer for the bolt to be higher? iv been trying to understand how to make them but am still confused on exactly how i need to make it or what i need to do

 

extended top hats dont work with regular springs. just coilover/sleeveover types.

 

 

Hmm I didn't think that one completely thru. What about cutting an inch off the stock spring? Unfortunately a coilover isn't an option as it would fail the visual check.

 

after reading your post, i dont even understand why you think top hats are going to help at all for you.

why dont you just get normal spring kit like prokits on your illuminas? theyre a great combo.

 

im buying mine first, then making my own later. thanks for the help guys! really helped a lot

 

im with tyson on this one. i didnt realize you wanted extended top hats for stock springs (for n3h3bkau not apekd) go with a lowering spring kit if your "cutting an inch off the stock spring" you wouldnt even need the extended hat

 

Let me sort of highlight my problems.
*Illuminas are shot (previous owner slammed the struts and wore them out)
*Suspension must appear stock (to pass inspection)
*I'd still want some sort of drop while still giving the stock strut the longest life possible

So from looking at what extended tophats do I came to this conclusion...

If you extend the perch 1" the shock starts off 1" higher effectively dropping the vehicles height 1". Makes sense. Now a stock spring would have to be compressed that extra inch because only the strut makes it thru tophat. Alright good there. So if I were to take a link off the spring (or whatever makes up the inch difference) the spring would get compressed the same amount as it would have been if I was not using an extended tophat and the car would ride like stock but it would sit 1" lower and would pass my inspection.

Yes/No/I'm an Idiot?

That's kind of what I was thinking in terms of using a lowering spring as it would compress the amount the drop spring is designed for. (1" 2" what it maybe) But without the extended tophat wouldn't I be lowering the life of the strut to begin with?

 

no. only increases the preload of the stock spring. if anything, this would raise the ride height... if you were to ever achieve compressing the stock spring past its normal preload, and not to a 1:1 ratio, or even the motion ratio, but at a ratio dependent on the spring rate and the weight of the vehicle.... in short, no.

im not answering the last question.

just get a regular spring kit. paint it black.


illuminas would be fine with a 1" drop. i used pro kits with illuminas on my crx. looks and works fine.

 

so all it is is basicly welding a spacer right?
or anything else special that im missing?
how high should the top hats be extended?
is it the same for the front and back?

 

there was the DIY thread on making the hats. the dude said something about extending the amount that you are lowering..or close. mine are extended 1.5 in the front and rear are 2. cut the hat in half get the same diameter/thickness pipe and weld it on to desired length..as show in my picture..