Strut inserts - Old vs New

[AE82 FXGT]

I need to get some front shock insert shortened on the front of my car in order to keep my lowering springs captive. Now, should I just use my old inserts; get them shortened and re gassed... OR should I buy whole new KYB inserts and get them shortened. I am on a budget, but I was just wondering how much difference there is between a new insert and a re-gassed one.

[TRDWGN]

Contact revhead for brand new genuine toyota struts/inserts, usually if the spring won't hold captive in a standard strut then it is probably too low (or at least does not have sufficent travel) for safe road driving anyway....

[wde_bdy]

Research shorter stroke inserts to fit your car, then you get new but don't need to pay to shorten and thereby stuff any warranty you have.

Callum

[ChaosAD]

On the TRD site there is a list of the different stroke length, cartridge size etc for all the shock cartridge/inserts trd sell.

Problem is, the english part of the site is down so youll have to use a translator like babelfish to translate it from japanese to english.

[Mr Revhead]

yup and here it is:

http://trdparts.jp/list_shock-cartridge.html


maybe something there will suit.

[ChaosAD]

Then there is the list of shocks that trd sell. Youll need to check the partnumbers on the cartridge list against the part numbers on that.

[AE82 FXGT]

I'm not going to have to sell a kidney to buy one these am I?

[ChaosAD]

Use the list to find what you want then buy genuine toyota ones. The price has come down quite a bit, but youll need to check with mr revhead.

[AE82 FXGT]

Is TRDWGN right??
will the springs not be suitable/safe for road travel if I get these anyway??

[ChaosAD]

Are king springs suitable for the road? the king lowering springs for ae82's arent captive in the rear with munroe struts but with the same struts your dobi's are.

Personally I'd perfer springs that arent captive without short shocks because the springs have to be made taller but softer to be captive (compared with non captive)

[TRDWGN]

Is TRDWGN right??
will the springs not be suitable/safe for road travel if I get these anyway??

I am making some very rash assumptions here, assuming you are looking at putting some Brand 'X' lowered springs alongside some standard fitment aftermarket struts. I used to own a AE82 GT with Superlow Kings in it, even these superlows would hold captive in my KYB's so if yours don't then they could be even lower than the King's or a significantly harder spring rate hence they are shorter and not captive, if this is the case then the springs will need a performance shock valved rather firm to provide any real control over the spring which are big bucks $250~400 per corner and possibly beyond a normal budget.

On the King's my car had realistically only 30~45mm of suspension travel which is not enough given the shock/spring rates, it rode like a pig, bottomed out and destroyed the front shocks within about 5,000km..

Short of spending $2k+ to maintain a decent ride/handling/lowered compromise you only want to lower your car around 35mm as well as replace all shocks and unless you can afford to spend big then the genuine toyota ones via revhead will offer the best performance for money no questions asked

[ChaosAD]

You must have had short stroke struts or maybe only the superlow kings are captive because ive found that kings 'lowering' (not as low as superlow) springs are not captive in the rear.
The dobis are taller than the kings lowering springs when sitting on the workshop floor.
As far as I know the dobis are supposed to be very simmilar to kings

[MetalupYoAss]

Ive had un-captive lowering springs in my ae82 for ages, and ive passed testing station WOF's with them.. if you are lowering the car you need to have stiffer springs as the car will be more succeptable to bottoming out. its not really a big issue if the springs arent captive anyway, the only way theyre going to come lose is if you get air.. and if your driving the car that hard then then shocks will be the last thing on your mind. Shortening the shocks is a good idea however, because when you lower the car it puts the bound/rebound settings out.

[AE82 FXGT]

i've got the spring in, there held in place with wires so that they don't jump out. The struts used to bottom out but my mechanic put 'bump stops' in them so now they don't. The ride is good... but I won't proably (sp?) won't pass my next WOF. Will shortened KYB inserts with these be good enough??

[TRDWGN]

I believe the standard gas KYB's are slightly shorter than some other brands as i definitely had superlows that were just and i mean just captive in the rear, fronts were no problem.

Driving with uncaptive springs rates right up there with having porn on your police computer!! If a spring does come unseated it can easily rip open the sidewall of a tire causing instant deflation (have seen it happen), you work it out, you are driving hard enough to get air and you then rip open the tire, gonna be a rough landing! Wiring the spring in used to be legal, it works really well however you shouldn't get a wof with tied in springs under current legislation unfortunately...

Performance handling is not about ride height it is about effectively controlling bound and rebound, shortening travel just upsets the cart unless done throughly and properly....

And you would be surprised how often you do get air when driving, albeit my current set-up is relatively hard, the amount of times under moderately hard braking my ABS kicks in is very surprising, reason is the wheel is unloaded so the ABS comp thinks it is locking up so starts pulsing

[Mr Revhead]

a few years ago there was a big crash here that killed 3-4 kids.
caused by uncaptive springs
popped out on a fast r/h. he was going to fast, but not to fast to take the corner. untill he hit a bump which popped out a spring..... then it was all over rover.

its illegal for a reason

[AE82 FXGT]

I think you guys mis-understood me, I don't want uncaptive springs. I'm just wondering if there is a solution to my problem outlined at the start. I want my car to be fully safe and road legal.
Would new springs that are captive in the standard strut be easier then?? (seeing as thats what I was after but then I found that the front wasn't captive!)

[TRDWGN]

I think you guys mis-understood me, I don't want uncaptive springs. I'm just wondering if there is a solution to my problem outlined at the start. I want my car to be fully safe and road legal.
Would new springs that are captive in the standard strut be easier then?? (seeing as thats what I was after but then I found that the front wasn't captive!)

Okay going back to the beginning unless you have expensive aftermarket type you cannot re-gass them so your only option is new inserts, Kyb's are the cheapest usually however get a price for genuine from revhead as these will be better than KYB and possibly the same or cheaper in price...

If the spring remains uncaptive with the new struts then yes look around for some new front springs, you are quite lucky as virtually any spring from a AE82,92,101,111 will fit, and there is bound to be some cheap ones pop up on trademe from time to time