The title says it all.
[ 01-31-2003, 07:21 PM: Message edited by: teamDFL ]
[ 01-31-2003, 07:21 PM: Message edited by: teamDFL ]
teamDFL
And a Schraubenfedern to you too.
![Image]()
Shouldn't this thread belong in Suspension?
[ 01-03-2003, 08:07 PM: Message edited by: Egz ]
Shouldn't this thread belong in Suspension?
[ 01-03-2003, 08:07 PM: Message edited by: Egz ]
Please don't say that. Someone might take you seriously and then I'd get all pissy because people would ask inane questions and tell them to use the search button and then they would be able to find anything as all pertinient information would be in this forum.
Plus, I think the arrogant a-hole is much more appreciative of this sort of thing than the average jetter!
Plus, I think the arrogant a-hole is much more appreciative of this sort of thing than the average jetter!
<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">http://www.google.com/language_tools?hl=en
Gasdruck Stoßdämpfer = Gas pressure shock absorber
<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">http://www.google.com/language_tools?hl=en
Gasdruck Stoßdämpfer = Gas pressure shock absorber</font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">I looked at it, and saw "Gas Damper", but thought he was going to edit in a picture or something...
Maybe a nice Dominatrix straddling a set????
<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">Think of the pilsner consumed at the ThyssenKrupp family reunion.......
OK, here is what I got:
P30-0102 - Bilstein HD strut insert for a G60 Corrado/A2 Golf GTi 2.0 16v.
B36-2028 - Bilstein HD rear shock for a BMW E30/E36-7/E36/5
The insert fits quite nicely into the gutted Focus housing, and although I cannot be sure due to the presence of the internal bumpstop, it looks like my efforts will be rewarded with about .75" of compression travel over stock. I will have to make a sleeve and thread it for the Bilstein collar nut, and then weld that sleeve to the stock upright. Furthermore, I will have to reduce the diameter of the inserts top stud down to that of the stock Focus unit (14mm to 12mm I think) so that they are compatable with the ecentric upper mounts I got from FocusPerformance.
The rear shocks are a no brainer. I will drill the Focus washers oversize so that they will accomodate the slightly larger diameter of the BMW unit. Slap in the P-51 Super Shock Shims, and I should be good to go. They will allow me to gain back over an inch of compression travel.
I am not sure if I will lose any rebound travel at either end in any situation other than on a lift or otherwise in the air. It has been my experience that the sway bar seems to limit travel long before the shock tops out. However, if this is not the case, then I will have lost rebound travel equal to my compression gain. No free lunch I guess.
I am tempted to see if I can work a little on the bottom of the front housing as the bottom is actually raised into the body a little. Perhaps I can drill this out and weld on a cap that will go down a little further, or at least a flush with the bottom of the vertical portions of the housing. This will take some investigation on the car as I do not want anything to interfere with the ability of the pinch bolt to do its job, nor do I want to go too far and interfere with the driveshaft.
For those of you who do not speak Bilstein (not to be confused with German, which I myself do not know beyond the ability to transcribe what is written on a damper box) there are some important details in the part numbers. I do not know all the codes, and I (or someone for whom Bilstein is a local call, you know who you are) will try and get the whole deal soon.
The letter denotes the type of unit. B is a shock and P is an insert. The next two numbers are the most important as they denote the internal diameter (and hence piston OD) in millimeters of the damper. The most common are: 30, 36 and 46. The numbers that follow are the actual unit number.
Unfortunately for us, the Focus strut, once fully gutted, is not of sufficent diameter to accomodate and insert using the superior 36mm piston. The 36 is the most common and offers the widest array of revalving options. The 46mm is a capable of handling most club rally duty (an there 56's too) and is truly a massive unit. The 30mm, as used in the P30-0102, has a limited number of revalving options due to its relatively small piston size. For track use, it is capable of doing anything you want. BMW E30 M3 Gruppe N cars ran with 30mm inserts, so they are capable. But for those looking for a rally conversion, the 30mm may not be up to repeated pounding. Of course, the B36-2028 that I will fit to the rear will work in just about any situation.
I am still in the middle of a massive garage reorganizational project, but I promise I will keep everyone updated and use my new digital camera.
P30-0102 - Bilstein HD strut insert for a G60 Corrado/A2 Golf GTi 2.0 16v.
B36-2028 - Bilstein HD rear shock for a BMW E30/E36-7/E36/5
The insert fits quite nicely into the gutted Focus housing, and although I cannot be sure due to the presence of the internal bumpstop, it looks like my efforts will be rewarded with about .75" of compression travel over stock. I will have to make a sleeve and thread it for the Bilstein collar nut, and then weld that sleeve to the stock upright. Furthermore, I will have to reduce the diameter of the inserts top stud down to that of the stock Focus unit (14mm to 12mm I think) so that they are compatable with the ecentric upper mounts I got from FocusPerformance.
The rear shocks are a no brainer. I will drill the Focus washers oversize so that they will accomodate the slightly larger diameter of the BMW unit. Slap in the P-51 Super Shock Shims, and I should be good to go. They will allow me to gain back over an inch of compression travel.
I am not sure if I will lose any rebound travel at either end in any situation other than on a lift or otherwise in the air. It has been my experience that the sway bar seems to limit travel long before the shock tops out. However, if this is not the case, then I will have lost rebound travel equal to my compression gain. No free lunch I guess.
I am tempted to see if I can work a little on the bottom of the front housing as the bottom is actually raised into the body a little. Perhaps I can drill this out and weld on a cap that will go down a little further, or at least a flush with the bottom of the vertical portions of the housing. This will take some investigation on the car as I do not want anything to interfere with the ability of the pinch bolt to do its job, nor do I want to go too far and interfere with the driveshaft.
For those of you who do not speak Bilstein (not to be confused with German, which I myself do not know beyond the ability to transcribe what is written on a damper box) there are some important details in the part numbers. I do not know all the codes, and I (or someone for whom Bilstein is a local call, you know who you are) will try and get the whole deal soon.
The letter denotes the type of unit. B is a shock and P is an insert. The next two numbers are the most important as they denote the internal diameter (and hence piston OD) in millimeters of the damper. The most common are: 30, 36 and 46. The numbers that follow are the actual unit number.
Unfortunately for us, the Focus strut, once fully gutted, is not of sufficent diameter to accomodate and insert using the superior 36mm piston. The 36 is the most common and offers the widest array of revalving options. The 46mm is a capable of handling most club rally duty (an there 56's too) and is truly a massive unit. The 30mm, as used in the P30-0102, has a limited number of revalving options due to its relatively small piston size. For track use, it is capable of doing anything you want. BMW E30 M3 Gruppe N cars ran with 30mm inserts, so they are capable. But for those looking for a rally conversion, the 30mm may not be up to repeated pounding. Of course, the B36-2028 that I will fit to the rear will work in just about any situation.
I am still in the middle of a massive garage reorganizational project, but I promise I will keep everyone updated and use my new digital camera.
The car is my all purpose do everything mobile that will see a fair amount of driver school action and a lot of street miles. 17,500 guaranteed commuter miles per year and probably 10-12 track days per year.
Lowering and raising mounting points is a good way to gain travel and sometimes correct geometry issues after extreme lowering. At this point, the car is still too new to cut up and weld back together. May be some day, but probably not. I've done that before and I son't think I'll ever go that deep again.
And don't be quiet. I am sure that you have some other good questions that need answering....
![Image]()
Lowering and raising mounting points is a good way to gain travel and sometimes correct geometry issues after extreme lowering. At this point, the car is still too new to cut up and weld back together. May be some day, but probably not. I've done that before and I son't think I'll ever go that deep again.
And don't be quiet. I am sure that you have some other good questions that need answering....
LOL. Actually I've been an econoracer all these years. Used off the shelf stuff. Like I told Michael, I've found the more adjusments I have, the more things I can screw up. Formula Ford and Vees had adjustable a-arms, shocks, etc. Kept having a problem with the Vee spinning in right handers, but pushing in left. Traced it to initial settings being off and not using cross chassis references. I would line up with string front to back, but trailing arm links were off from body. Limit my adjustments to toe, chamber and tire settings now. I still think alot of folks on list try to add too many things at once, rather than concentrating on figuring out what car is capable of, THEN fine tuning with adjustments or one add on at a time. (I'm just cheap I guess). ;^)
I have found that the 45mm metric fine die is not exactly the most common thing in the USA, and since that is what is needed to thread the top of the strut housing in order to take the Bilstein supplied strut clamp nut, I have been forced to improvise.
To that end, I have managed to procure a pair of A2 Golf uprights. I will simply chop off the top 2" or so (the part with the treads), hone out the ID to .003" under the Focus strut OD, press it on to the right depth, tack weld the bottom and paint it up pretty. I am thinking that a slight interderence fit will help with the strength of the unit and reduce the stress on the tack welds.
While I originally wanted to be able to publish specs on a sleeve that would be pre-made and then pressed onto the Focus unit, this is simply to hard to do. A2 Golf uprights are a dime a dozen (I am paying $25 for a pair that have already had the perches cut off) so, as long as the boring is not that hard this should be a more than acceptable alternative.
To that end, I have managed to procure a pair of A2 Golf uprights. I will simply chop off the top 2" or so (the part with the treads), hone out the ID to .003" under the Focus strut OD, press it on to the right depth, tack weld the bottom and paint it up pretty. I am thinking that a slight interderence fit will help with the strength of the unit and reduce the stress on the tack welds.
While I originally wanted to be able to publish specs on a sleeve that would be pre-made and then pressed onto the Focus unit, this is simply to hard to do. A2 Golf uprights are a dime a dozen (I am paying $25 for a pair that have already had the perches cut off) so, as long as the boring is not that hard this should be a more than acceptable alternative.
In a very welcome development, I discovered today that while the threaded portion of the BMW rear shock is slightly larger than the Focus unit, the actual shaft is the same diameter. This allowed me to remove the round circlip from the Focus shock, slide it down over the threaded portion of the Bilstein, and have it sit on the lip that is used as a stop for the BMW upper mount. This means that once the washers are drilled out, the Bilstein insert will sit almost identically to the Focus unit. Hopefully, the P51 super shocks shims will arrive and I'll be able to have this all button up before work on Monday.
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
