Hey everyone. I'm kinda new here. I'm just curious if anyone tried out the rear coilover conversion that Autofab Race Cars came out with. I saw the product in the March issue of GM High-Tech Performance. Any feedback is greatly appreciated.

i saw that in the mag too, i want to know more about that. i have eibach sportlines and a chrysler 8 3/4 rear end and the springs didnt drop the rear pf the car enough.so i think coil overs would be sweet cause i could lower it as much as i wanted.

wow i guess no one tried this setup yet. hopefully someone does soon.

Get the new Car Craft issue. They gained a full tenth from just the setup on a LS1 car.

Thanks Marc. I'll go check out the mag today.

I am very familiar with Autofab from my days working at the track, and all I can say is that Chic builds some superb stuff. if they built it, it will rock.

That's all I needed to hear I guess i know where some of my tax return money is going now

If you just want adjustability you could just get ground control's adjustable ride height setup.

I was under the impression that our cars were pretty week in the area of the upper shock mount. So wouldn't adding the weight of the car to some sheet metal make things worse? Also, what do they do about the tiny bushing on the upper shock mount? I know the rear of our cars isn't that heavy, but I wouldn't want to run coil overs in the original location.

Hmmmm...that's a good point. That's why i love getting everyone's opinion

Ground control Fr. set-up mounts in the stock spring location.So it doesnt stress the strut towers like a coil over set-up.Ive got their rear set-up in back,but not the front(yet).I like it & the springs(170in lbs i believe)feel better than the bell techs that were in there B4.Cant wait to try thier Fr.set-up.

Wow, never thought about the front coilover setups also about the weight being redirected to the strut towers. This is all good info so thanks everyone. Being that my car is only driven on weekends & occasionally will see time at the track, do any of you think that the front or rear coilover setups would really put that much stress on my car to cause some damage over time? I'm just trying to be different & really wanna try out both front & rear coilover setups off the struts & off the shocks ....Let the opinions begin

im interested in the setup 841LE is running in the rear. (???)

Try ebay.Thats where i got mine,$70.

do you have any pics of your setup ^^^ ?

No problem running coilovers in the rear. But in the front there is a question about strength. The front strut towers were not designed to handle the weight of the car. Compare them to 4th gen F-body strut towers and you'll see what I mean. But its one of those questions you cant really answer with numbers. You either like the idea or you dont. Its kind of like running a tubular K-member. Some people question the strength, some people dont. They do sell front coilover kits for our cars that do work, it all depends on how you feel about doing it. Since I drive my cars hard, I opt for the stock style spring / dampener setup. I just trust it more than something the car was not designed to do. If the front strut towers were re-inforced (like some members here have done), then I might go with the coilovers for the cool factor. Until that happens, I'm sticking with my current setup, adjustable spring pertches (aka weight jacks) and custom length/rate springs. This gives me full control over the ride height, but not the spring rate. I'm going to have the front of my 91Z apart soon so I can install drop spindles. I'll try to get some pics of the weight jack setup. Just have to wait for the C5 front brake spindle mods to get done to the drop spindles first.

Hey CrazyHawaiian, thanks for all the info. By the way, Where you getting your drop spindles from? Or did you have custom made ones?

I'm buying them from Revlimit. He found the set on Ebay almost a year ago. He decided they were not good for racing use because they move the front roll center higher making the car understeer more. So he's sell'n em and I'm gonna put em on my street car. They are the Belltech spindles that have been discontinued. Best bet is to keep searching ebay, though I haven't seen a set since Revlimit found his. I've emailed Belltech and some distributors, and they said they'll make another run if they get 100 orders (which will never happen). Sucks. You can check out my weight jack setup if you want. Its a pretty good setup. I've been daily driving on it for over 6 months now and its solid.

Thanks CrazyHawaiian. I did a search & found the original thread that talked about the drop spindles.

Here you go.Left side 1st

did the kit come with springs? how complete was it?
looks like you have to weld the coilover onto your rear perch. (???)

thanks!

Heres the right side

It was complete & a simple drop in.The G.C. spring perch(easier to see on the pass side pic) slips into the hole of the factory perch.The adjustable sleeve(red 1) sits on top on the G.C perch.The spring goes around the sleeve & on top of the adjuster nut(gold).It also came with a spanner wrench to turn the nut & adjust the height.You also reuse the factory spring isolators on top of the spring.

no welding ^^^ ?

looks like a champ. im guessing the springs included in the kit is a lil bit shorter than factory? i gotta look into this!

NO welding.Yes ,the springs are shorter,but right now mine are in the middle of the sleeve & the car sits 1in lower than stock.

looks cool, but it isn't a true "coil-over" setup, it is just an adjustable spring. A true coil-over also incorporates the shock into the same assembly.

^^^ you are correct. while a nice idea for varying spring height for different applications, i would like to have a true coilover set up. never seen anything like that, i was just increasing my knowledge. looks like a sweet way to lower or raise your car a bit in an inexpensive fashion.

I just purchased the autofab setup for my 4th gen , which has the same basic rear suspension as the third gen. The springs are way too soft for street use.

^^^ where do you get them, how much are they? cant find any info.

how much is too soft? ill buy um off ya!

Here's the link to the website. Not much info on the site so just go to the contact page. You're gonna have to call & ask about the rear coilover setup. Hope this helps

Autofab Site

Hmmm...I dont really trust the coil over setups on our cars. Mostly due to the fact that where they're mounting all the weight isnt designed to handle it. I dont fully trust having my rear of hte car held up by a single bolt connection to the rear end. Also one thing I was thinking of is the fact that your not having the weight of the rear end ON the rear end anymore. But on the front lower section of it. Right now I'm kinda tired so I can't really go into it but I think this might affect the way the car handles. I'll post back later when I'm awake O_o

I agree Revlimit. I do believe though for drag racing purposes it would benefit. For you it definitely wouldn't help!(drifting). It's amazing how far this thread has gone on this topic. I just started it to get a little info & got a whole lot instead. I love it! I think if i was going to go with a rear coilover setup & maaaaaybe get into drifting, I would modify a bracket to be welded in where the original shocks mount for the top mounting of the new coilover setup & also run a cross brace in between the two bracket mounts for more support. Just food for thought

while this autofab coilover kit may not be good for auto-x or heavy street use, its perfect for drag racing. for those that say that the car is weak there, how much do the shocks really hold? the lower control arms and torque arm do more than enough to hold the rear in place. if you look at any true coilover design, they are placed in front of the rear end, witrh a coil spring on the outside. this kit isnt any different. IMO of course....

I just can't recomend this idea at all. A friend of mine had trouble with the upper shock mount on his car and that was with the stock type suspension. But lets assume the floor board is strong enough for a minute, that small upper shock bushing isn't the best thing to support the weight of the car.

Hey everyone. Go pick up the new Spring 2004 issue of Camaro Performers. It has a small "How to" article on bolting in the Autofab rear coilovers. It gives a detailed pic of all the components & how it installs in the car.