Ok, I tested the springs today at a race shop:

9050 oe30: 9" tall, ~250lb

8110 oe30: 8" tall, ~500lb

I have spoken with the apexi-usa people, and they claim the springs come stock 9k front and 5k rear... From that data, I suspect the previous owner of these coilovers swapped the springs front to rear.....

I'll be at the expo this weekend, and it'll have been a while since I last got my *** on track. I'm thinking of using the 500f/ 250r combo and then ordering some 12k springs for the rear after that..... Or should I take a chance and put them on with 250f/ 500r and see what kind of oversteering it'll do?


[Modified by Black R, 10:58 PM 4/7/2003]

 

they come with 11k front and 5k rear...Someone at apexi didn't exactly know there own product. I remember seeing you post about these coilovers before. I have the same ones, I ordered some stiffer ones for the rear and run the 11k up front like normal. 11k is suppose to equal=6??lbs not 500lbs but maybe they were broken in. 5k= somewhere in the high 2??.

Here's how the apexi part numbers brake down:
9050 oe30: 9" tall, ***5k comes stock in the rear***
8110 oe30: 8" tall, ***11k comes stock in the front***
Frist number stands for how tall springs, second two number stand for stiffness in k/mm crap. So if you want 12k for the rear in 8inch then the part number will be 8120 oe30. I ordered them from Apexi last month and they airmailed them from japan and charged me like 15bucks for shipping to my house!!!! I have some extra 9050 now just incase I need them for something.

I just ordered dfifferent rears, and specified 8inch since the 9inch compress's to 8in length anyhow. Trust me run the way it is now and the car still handles good. 11k-front,5k-rear.

 

Correct, they came 11K front 5K rear

Mattj

 

Whoa, thanks for the help!

Last time, I never got this much info about the springs - or somehow I missed it.....

So I need either someone's left over 8110 or 8120 for the rear...

Also, how do I properly adjust the height and dampening? Could you please explain the procedure? I only have 1 spanner wrench too... so I hope someone else has them at the expo!

 

Spanner wrench???? ===Flathead screw driver with a nice little tap from M.C> hammer!!
I know how you feel about adjusting them, it took me a couple of days to figure it out. Depends what you wnat to sue them for but I but the back (5k) under some preload by compressing them a decent amount and the fronts are almost non compressed just chillen and adjusted both front and rear with the bottom piece of the coilover so I could keep full travel all around the car. Basically the car can be lowered quite a bit with just adjusting the mounting piece on the bottom. If you set the damper setting too soft I would rub a bit under hard cornering(no damn sway bars yet). I'll check back tommorrow with more info.

 

i also have a set of apexi n1's. can you just order stiffer springs for them? or will i have to get another set of their n1's? and do you guys know if they come in 14k front, 10k in the rear? thanks!!!

 

SOUNDEFFECTS, how do you adjust the dampening? I mean, is full ccw full stiff? Or vice versa?

And the height adjustment... just turn that little thing at the bottom of the coilover and that adjusts the height? How did you set up the preload? It seems that when I try to turn that little adjuster at the bottom, it rotates the whole shock body... I may be doing something wrong.....

 

The bottom shock piece should be adjusted like this: Take a flat head screwdriver amd hit the red collar counter clockwise so it spins up from the bottom shock piece, now it should allow complete adjustment by twisting just that piece up or down. If these are already in your car then you don't have to worry about having them move around when u hit it the collar loose.

The easiest way to adjust preload is remove the uppermount from the whole assembly with the nut on top, sometimes you will need to put an allen key in the middle of the nut and use a open end wrench to break it loose. (Not a big deal) Once you have the mount off I can just about bet that like mine, since there wasn't any more pressure on the upper red collars that they become free moving. If not just break them loose so you can adjust them.

At this point I took the time to tear everything apart and clean the whole coilover by hand, just be careful you notice how all the spacers line up or you'll forget and get mad at yourself. So after your ready to put them back together take the spring and place it on the perches, you can see how much they NEED or DON'T NEED to be compressed in order for the upper mount to go back on. The how you move the upper spring perches up the more they have to be compressed and the more preload you'll have. Then you can just adjust the total height of the coilover from the bottom piece by twisting it left or right.

I adjusted them by taking full measurements from top of the coilover to the bottom a couple of times until I figured out where I wanted them to sit.

 

250/500 is a bad setup no matter where the hell you put them. I'd personally rather run stock than that.

Order some 8" Eibach standard springs asap and put them on there. You could use the 500's that you have and order some 400 or 450's for the front or something.

BTW. to convert kg/mm to lbs, just do kg/mm x 56 = x lbs.

8kg x 56 = 448lbs

 

SOUNDEFFECTS, one last thing:

How do I adjust the dampening/ rebound? How many clicks, and is it cw or ccw for stiffer/ softer, etc.....?

Thanks!

 

Compression & Rebound dampening are adjusted simultaneously. If you want seperate adjustment, get TEIN RS'

Unlike Tein's setup, just go full counter-clockwise for full soft, and start turning clockwise to raise dampening. It'll click more than 12 times, but from the 12th click on, the stiffness won't change.

 

.....so I won't damage anything by going full ccw or full cw like some other coilovers?

Thanks!

full ccw = full soft

12 clicks from full soft = full stiff?

Got it!

 

You have to tighten the one while turning the other one the other way...its really easy...just think about what you are tightening and loosening. By the way...I would'nt use a hammer on those...It dents them pretty bad...

I'll bring my wrench if you need it.

 

You got it, clockwise-stiff, counter clockwise=softer.
I used a hammer and a flathead just to bust the collars loose with a ligth tap, then the collars spin freely enough by hand to adjust them. Trying to make me sound crazy huh?

 

Ha...wasnt trying to make you sound crazy...

Glad to hear you got it all working...I must have put mine on tight as hell the last time because I just readjusted mine this past weekend and couldnt get them to break loose with the wrenches... Needless to say...the hammer with a flat head screw driver did the trick....

 

Ok, this is really the last question:

What is the highest you can go safely with these coilovers? I mean, is there a minimum of how much thread must be in the lower perch for safety concerns?

I'd like almost stock height - no more than 1" lower than stock... and it seems I am tucking really bad.

This I don't want, because that hytech header didn't come cheap and I don't wanna dent her up!

What height are you guys running at all 4 corners? From ground to top of fenderwell or from ground to lowest part of the jacking points will give me a good idea. Thanks!

 

Ken ill tell you what. If you want some better coilovers i have some Skunk2's and stock shocks. there pretty nice. and you can just give me your POS Coilovers.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Black R &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Ok, this is really the last question:

What is the highest you can go safely with these coilovers? I mean, is there a minimum of how much thread must be in the lower perch for safety concerns?

I'd like almost stock height - no more than 1" lower than stock... and it seems I am tucking really bad.
</TD></TR></TABLE>

I share the same dilemma as you regarding the amount of thread on the lower sleeve. I belive I only have 2 or 3 turns of thread engagement.

The N1 coilovers were fine (height-wise) with the older RED pillow mounts; as it allowed the ride height to stay the same as stock. But with the new SILVER mounts, the whole coilover geometry is essentialy 1" lower.

Of course you can always adjust pre-load on the springs itself to accomodate a higher ride-height (as opposed to adjusting the lower sleeve), but your *** and chassis won't like that too much.

 

I've got my rears in the sleeve to the little hole where you can see through the lower perch at the threads. Just to that dot. I figure it's like the max you can raise it without problems..... I'm gonna call apex-i usa today to see what they think...

Damn, I never used the red perches... figured the silver ones were better...

I just don't wanna bottom out on the hytech header! DAMN SPEEDBUMPS HERE IN GA!

 

sorry for the revisit of this post. i was wondering what the difference in spring length does to handling. does the 9 inch spring make a big difference between a 8 inch spring? this is assuming that they are the same spring rate as well. and where can i order these springs? i checked apexi.com and they dont have anywhere to order from.

 

I have some extra 5k 9inch apexi springs int he garage you guys are welcomed to get them off me at a good price?

 

why do they offer different length springs? im still not understanding this. im looking for some 14k front springs and 10k rear springs. does anyone know where to purchase them?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by SOUNDEFFECTS &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I have some extra 5k 9inch apexi springs int he garage you guys are welcomed to get them off me at a good price?</TD></TR></TABLE>


I might be interested in them for my beater.....

Ryu, they can be purchased by many places online, including http://www.apexi-usa.com and nopi.....

 

What the hell.

There are 3 rings you can spin.
-The top most, is to adjust the height.
-The middle one, which is the locking ring for the height adjustment.
-The bottom one, which adjusts shock travel.

You cannot adjust the height by spinning the very bottom one.

As for changing the dampening, there has NEVER been a definitive answer on how to adjust teh freaking dampening. There have been so many posts in the past that said 1 full turn from FULL CCW is 1/13 level stiffness, and FULL CW is 13/13 stiffness.

Then theres the other theory, which was that FULL CW is 13/13, and 13 clicks from FULL CW is 1/13 stiffness. This is the one i believed to be true for the past year.

Then you just introduced to me the new theory, which was 1 click from FULL CCW is 1/13, and 13 clicks from FULL CCW is 13/13 stiffness.


Can anyone give a definitive answer for this? from apexi perhaps? The last rep i called at apexi couldnt even answer my question..... god dammit...

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by dunce11r &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
You cannot adjust the height by spinning the very bottom one.
</TD></TR></TABLE>

False; yes you can. You'll either lengthening or shortening the overall damper body, which would raise or lower your ride height, respectively.

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by dunce11r &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
As for changing the dampening, there has NEVER been a definitive answer on how to adjust teh freaking dampening.</TD></TR></TABLE>

FULL counter clockwise is SOFTEST
13 clicks clockwise is STIFFEST
anymore clicks thereafter no longer matters.