how the hell do people get there ae85/6's so low?

[Dori_85]

im very interested in other people's suspension setups on there ae85/6's. mainly because ive just spent a shitload on suspension for my car and i have to get my koni's shortend quite alot(quite alot = 100mm) to keep the height that im satisfied with and have them captive. they are standard lengh koni adjustables so they have roughly 190mm of travel so if i take out 100mm is 90mm going to be enough shock travel?
just interested how much shorter the short stroke koni's are compared to standard lengh if anyone knows?

cheers

[rxtoy]

i know in aussie (and i assume here) that people cut some of the length out of the strut body so the shorter stroke shocks are also starting their movement from a lower position. there's a few custom setup's around where the bit that the spring sits on has been cut off and threaded tube's welded on to make custom adjustable shocks, i'm not sure what the best springs are to use but i've heard of da6 integra one's being used in the front of a ke30. you'd probably want to work out what spring rate you want to use and look for something similar.

www.toymods.org.au forums have some good technical information about this sort of stuff but do a search first, the regulars are pretty quick to flame the lazy people (and the newbies that don't know )

for the rear just find springs that suit the height you want, measure the distance eye to eye for the shock and go see your friendly local shock dealer to find something the right length. alternatively garagedori have a bit of a list of stuff that will fit and the lengths and stuff

http://garagedori.com/tech/shocks.php

good luck,
hope it helps
Matt

[gdsup]

i run 420mm eye- pin rear shocks which keep it very captive and use very short stroke fronts, which are just captive but prob need the strut body mod done as well

[Drifter4ag]

i run stock springs and choppy chop till nice height or on bumps

[THA SHZ]

Makita lowering kit or ags (angle-grinder suspension)

[AE85.6]

nah man ive been in your posistion ay this is the age old question as far as i am concerned,

king spring and almost all other spring brands only do the 30mm (ish) drop no one seems to do the super low option,

and i didnt really wanna do only a 30mm drop cause the fact that these are one car that is just quite high in stock form,

my mates trueno is really low but he bougth it that way compared to my levin with stock units (front shox leaking oil too) the rear was like alomost 70mm lower and front about 50mm,

i didnt wanna go that low but more than 30mm if possible so the top of the sidewall of the tire is inline with the guard,

i ended up buying a set of trd springs through Mr Revhead which were a good price and also good cause you can pick your own spring rates too, these are supposed to be 30-35mm drop which seemed to be the best i could find without compressing ones which is what my mates trueno has, also got some trd shortened shox to try keep everything captive and road legal and hopefully drag it a little lower, rears were about 70mm shorter than stock and the fronts were 96mm i think, still gettin the front sorted and installed at the mo but the rears are in and with my shitty 13s on the back (2 rear mags still gettin polished) the guard sits inline with the top of the sidewall so hopefully thew front will be equally as low and with my nice wheels on there should be no ugly big gap between tires and guards

[Dori_85]

on the front ive angle grinded the old spring platform off and welded a smaller platform on for my coil overs to sit on, it all works pretty well but im just wondering if i cut as much as 100-120mm out of the shock shaft is that a bit much? if the entire lengh of the shock shaft is only 180-190mm. and on the rear ive welded a new platform on the diff and were the bump stop was for a smaller custom spring to sit on. its at the height i want it im just wanting to know if cutting that much out of the shock is going to stuff up the travel?
and also ive seen other peoples cars that are lower than mine but how the $&#$% have they done it?

cheers

[gdsup]

sounds like you need to do the strut body mod, and use ae92 style shock, think there is a tech article on www.club4ag.com

[Voodoo]

well, im quite happy with my height, the rears a trd race springs, with koni ajustables as u know, but i had to get them short'n to hold trds captive, the front is king /koni ajustable coilover, can go abit lower than the rear, but its set around the same height, but none of this was a DIY joby, im no mech so i went for the pricy option of getting things done by workshops

[AE85.6]

ye me too man i didnt have all the tools needed to do the job myself and the place i was staying at the time was only a carport and in the pissing rain i couldnt be assed installing it myself, took all the parts to a freindly garage and only a couple hours and all done, looks good now with 15" celica wheels the front sits about one finger space above the guard and untill i can afford another to tires i cant tell you how the rear sits, but with fugly 13" wheels on the rear the poke a bit under the guard, im pleased with the look alot lower than before but not ridiculas, but have to get used to a low car again as i backed out the drive and farked my exhaust

sounds like i did similar thou i just shopped around for the parts and just got them installed, if you shop around and get a deal you can sometimes afford gettin it fitted for you,

i just installed a set of trd springs 6kg rears and 8kg fronts with pre shortened trd adjustable shox all round,

got them all thru Warrick at Toyota (AKA Mr Revhead) good guy did me a good deal was cheaper than other people quoted and was good cause he was interested in helping not just getting a sale

[pplmvr]

I don't know, I guess just get some Cusco suspension etc, high low kit etc

[spencer]

Bro why reply with that weak post when other people have already explained their setups. For me at the moment my setups abit rugged kings in the back with a half coil chopped off ke36 shocks (soft) and almost finished some hieght adjustable coilovers for the fronts. Threaded sleves from stocks shortened strut and ae92 shocks(munroes soft but ok for now)

[boxxy]

this is what ive been told are in mine (were in there when i brought it) jamex font springs and gab shocks, and the rear has been cut 2 6 coils (says so on the cert plate ) with "x brand" shocks

it handles pretty damn good for the tires its got, a tiny bit sketchy on mid cnr bumps but its livable, and the rear is damn solid, and likes to hang out with out using the right foot.

as to the height, the front is mint and the rear is good (a lil uneven side to side) its written as 300mm wheel center to gaurd all around on the cert plate.

the pic on my profile doesnt give it justice as to how low it is

my 2c any how

Tim

[AE85.6]

ye sounds like quite a few different options everyone has done to get good results and the best way is to ask what others have done to get ideas, cause i have seen a few 85s with just a set of king springs and normal shox and didnt lower it much at all and ruined the look of the car as it wasnt near the 30mm odd drop it was supposed to be

[AE85.6]

ye sounds like quite a few different options everyone has done to get good results and the best way is to ask what others have done to get ideas, cause i have seen a few 85s with just a set of king springs and normal shox and didnt lower it much at all and ruined the look of the car as it wasnt near the 30mm odd drop it was supposed to be

[spencer]

Plus the kings on the car I bought off you you ae85.6 went even captive which it pretty gay for bugger all drop. So make sure you sort some short shocks out when you get it lowered and an adjustable panhard rod for the back if you need it

[JT]

Plus the kings on the car I bought off you you ae85.6 went even captive which it pretty ghey for bugger all drop

This is my current problem. I have lowered springs with standard shocks and when it's jacked the springs aren't captive. The car isn't even low and I want to lower it 'more'. New springs are obviously a necessity but what am I to do about shocks?

AE85.6; how have you found the TRD springs? They obviously give a good drop if you had to shorten the TRD shock? Or are the TRD shocks standard length and travel?

gdsup; If I use the ae92 shock and space it, how low a spring can you use before the strut mod becomes necessary?

[jimi]

has anyone used hilux kyb's in the rear? saw the suggestion on the garage dori site. i have some cut jamex springs im replacing the stock ones with, and im pretty sure they wont be captive with stock shocks. Would i need an adjustable panhard rod?

[Mr Revhead]

Or are the TRD shocks standard length and travel?

the TRD race shocks come in several different lengths, when ae85.6 said 'preshortend' he meant they are made shorter than the stock items, they are not modified after TRD make them.
hope that clarifys things a bit!

[gdsup]

JT: i use a trd 8kg race spring, with ae92 shock and spacer, just captive, with suposed 50mm drop

jimi: i use 420mm shock sim to hilux, and keeps very captive with not much droop