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Hey everyone I just got on some of Founders solid strut tower mounts. The parts were clean well packaged and nicely painted. The install was just as easy as it should have been and now my front end is much more solid. It was a big change from the rubber mounted cheap ones. My passenger side mount was blown apart before the change to founders.. so big thumbs up from me...
Hey everyone I just got on some of Founders solid strut tower mounts. The parts were clean well packaged and nicely painted. The install was just as easy as it should have been and now my front end is much more solid. It was a big change from the rubber mounted cheap ones. My passenger side mount was blown apart before the change to founders.. so big thumbs up from me...
Hey everyone I just got on some of Founders solid strut tower mounts. The parts were clean well packaged and nicely painted. The install was just as easy as it should have been and now my front end is much more solid. It was a big change from the rubber mounted cheap ones. My passenger side mount was blown apart before the change to founders.. so big thumbs up from me...
I just purchased a set of these myself but havent gotten around to installing them. So do you need to get an alignment after installation and how exactly can you tell how you are changing the adjustment on them without taking to a shop with a laser alignment machine?
At what mileage is it recommended to replace the stock ones?
Im not sure the recommended mileage but I'd imagine with the age on any of these cars that it wouldnt hurt to at least change them with another stock version. I just got mine from founders on today. My stock ones dont look horrible though, much better than i would have imagined. My only complaint with new ones is how banged up they got when the shop did my alignment today....
yea Im a litte disappointed about it but Im going to try and match the color with some touch up paint. And I drove it straight from my driveway to the shop and it felt a little better, but after I had them set the alignment to the "street specs" it feels much better than with stock mounts.
Mine didnt come with decals either, but i preferred them that way. Although the finish was similar to what shows in the first pic. Honestly at first i was a little upset they looked all disfigured but eh not buying the part for the finish really.
Mine didnt come with decals either, but i preferred them that way. Although the finish was similar to what shows in the first pic. Honestly at first i was a little upset they looked all disfigured but eh not buying the part for the finish really.
think its hit and miss with the decals...if they just need to get the parts shipped...lol don't think they would have held up in the chrome platting ... image url
Last edited by articwhiteZ; Jun 26, 2018 at 07:54 PM.
IIRC shocks/struts were recommended every 50,000 on the older cars. Replacing them helped handling as well as helped the front brakes last a little (and a do mean little) longer.
Since these are set up better for working with cars with lower suspension, will they be ok with a stock height car? Possibly doing all the steering components and new shocks/struts but won't have the $ for my weight jack set up this year, but don't want to buy stock replacement parts just so I can use them for a season before I finally lower the car.
This is the next part for me. I completely rebuilt the front suspension, except for strut mounts and with the front up on jack stands I can wiggle and move the tires around quite a bit. It looks like the play is at the top of the strut. My car is stock height as well.
The Founders Performance caster camber plates will fit the stock replacement strut and as for whether they'll work if the car isn't lowered, I would say they will. The only thing that may come into play is the amount of caster or camber you try to put into it with the type of strut you have. If you have a strut that's large up top the adjustability may be limited by the opening in the tower. A performance strut without the dust cover will offer more adjustability unless you trim the tower plate to give it more room to adjust. But the Founders Performance caster camber plates are a stock replacement part.
My only complaint with new ones is how banged up they got when the shop did my alignment today....
I would advise you bring it up with the shop owner or manager. I'd be pissed if someone boogered up any of my parts on a simple alignment. If they couldn't move them by hand with the suspension loaded then a rubber or wooden mallet or dead blow hammer both work and are non-marring. If they don't take your complaint seriously leave a poor review on Google warning other customers.
Since these are set up better for working with cars with lower suspension, will they be ok with a stock height car? Possibly doing all the steering components and new shocks/struts but won't have the $ for my weight jack set up this year, but don't want to buy stock replacement parts just so I can use them for a season before I finally lower the car.
July 4, memorial Day, labor day, black Friday and Christmas UMI runs 10% off with free shipping. Save up and plan on buying one of those dates. UMI now sells some great weight jacks.
I put a set on mine probably 5 years ago. They're a big improvement over the stock rubber ones. They work great on either stock height and even better on lowered cars because they have more adjustability.
Since these are set up better for working with cars with lower suspension, will they be ok with a stock height car? Possibly doing all the steering components and new shocks/struts but won't have the $ for my weight jack set up this year, but don't want to buy stock replacement parts just so I can use them for a season before I finally lower the car.
They seem to be doing great with mine so far and I'm still at stock hieght.
I would advise you bring it up with the shop owner or manager. I'd be pissed if someone boogered up any of my parts on a simple alignment. If they couldn't move them by hand with the suspension loaded then a rubber or wooden mallet or dead blow hammer both work and are non-marring. If they don't take your complaint seriously leave a poor review on Google warning other customers.
I should have done that, but I ended up just letting it go. But I could adjust and move them just fine I dont see a reason for banging a brand new part up.
The problem probably isn't the shop but founders powder coat. I bought a TDS steering brace. Nice piece. Looks great powder coated black. But utterly cheap and crappy powdercoat durability. Went to install it and just tapped it against the frame and it chipped. I went to see the powdercoat shop I have been using for years and he took one look and knew what was wrong. Bad prep and not enough cure time among other things. Powdercoat done right you can hit literally with a hammer and it won't come off. Powdercoat done right from a reputable shop isn't cheap either so take that into consideration in the price point of these parts. Those two towers powdercoated right by a professional would easily run over a hundred dollars for prep. But they would last for years. Just an FYI
When you have a walk in sand blast cabinet that requires a full air supplied suit to operate along with a oven that can bake over 100 of these parts at a time it really doesn't take long to process these part. All of our parts get sand blasted before coating. The small coating shops use smaller blast cabinets and smaller ovens so yes they would charge more. They usually have a minimum charge as well usually $75 - $100.
My only complaint with new ones is how banged up they got when the shop did my alignment today....
when I take mine in to have the Alignment done...im holding there hands..and buying pizza...im sure they will under stand.. I ask first..just me.. and...rev limiter set to 3000prm..
When you have a walk in sand blast cabinet that requires a full air supplied suit to operate along with a oven that can bake over 100 of these parts at a time it really doesn't take long to process these part. All of our parts get sand blasted before coating. The small coating shops use smaller blast cabinets and smaller ovens so yes they would charge more. They usually have a minimum charge as well usually $75 - $100.
Powdercoat done right does not chip. Esp just moving the tower and tightening down bolts. Whoever is doing the powdercoat is cutting corners, end of story.It should be sandblasted yes. Goes without saying. But cheap powdercoat doesn't get a zinc coating underneath. Shop I use does. Most people don't know this is part of the process. Also that the gloss colors are not as durable as the flats. It's supposed to be durable powdercoat ,yes, but there are varying levels. Shop I use has multiple ovens and been in business over 30 years. He knows his stuff. Most parts you buy today powdercoated assembly line type are cheap powdercoat. Seen it many times. Bad prep#1. No zinc coating #2. Cure time not long enough#3. For a supposed powdercoated part to chip from handling or tightening bolts?Sorry powdercoat done right doesnt do this. The parts I have powdercoated you can torque a bolt on and off and the coat is to still there no problem. That's the truth. And no bs is going to change facts.
I should have done that, but I ended up just letting it go. But I could adjust and move them just fine I dont see a reason for banging a brand new part up.
Hey everyone I just got on some of Founders solid strut tower mounts. The parts were clean well packaged and nicely painted. The install was just as easy as it should have been and now my front end is much more solid. It was a big change from the rubber mounted cheap ones. My passenger side mount was blown apart before the change to founders.. so big thumbs up from me...
What's up with that can connected to the overflow?
Here is a before and after on the TFS steering brace. First pic is the phosphate coating before the powder. Second is just the initial metal after they dip it to remove the old powdercoat. It looks like you have right down to bare metal there. Phosphate helps it grap more and give you that extra layer of it does get chipped. I know your doing the red look but it's why a lot of guys do suspension and basically everything the flat or low low gloss black. You can just touch it up with the roll bar and chassis black. Probably a 2018 Honda red touch up would fix that. That just angers me though. I would expect damage around the bolt heads, not there. There is nothing there but maybe a carelessly swung tool and such
No I wish mine was show car quality though lol. I think I will try to touch it up. Ive been meaning to do that but have had my hands tied trying to take care of my leaky gas tank woes. But I agree that was definitely careless.
ok I probably should start a fresh thread for this question but I figure I would ask in this one where you guys have installed the same part. So after I installed these mounts I had the alignment shop align it differently than the stock alignment since that seems what most everyone does anyways. So the specs I gave them were the "street alignment"
Caster: L +4 R+4.5
Camber:L -.5 R-.5
Toe Total: 3/32
I do not drive this thing much and it handles much better than it did before but Ive noticed the past few weeks that the outer part of the front tires seem to be wearing down much faster than they did previously. No wires or anything showing but definetly outer edge is worn down more than inner and its entirely possible that they have been this way for some time and Ive somehow missed it. But anyways I wanted to see if anyone else who has had the different alignment has had a similar issue with tire wear. I think I may take it in next week to double check the alignment or have the tires rotated and keep a close eye on the other pair.
Any input is appreciated, thanks
ok I probably should start a fresh thread for this question but I figure I would ask in this one where you guys have installed the same part. So after I installed these mounts I had the alignment shop align it differently than the stock alignment since that seems what most everyone does anyways. So the specs I gave them were the "street alignment"
Caster: L +4 R+4.5
Camber:L -.5 R-.5
Toe Total: 3/32
I do not drive this thing much and it handles much better than it did before but Ive noticed the past few weeks that the outer part of the front tires seem to be wearing down much faster than they did previously. No wires or anything showing but definetly outer edge is worn down more than inner and its entirely possible that they have been this way for some time and Ive somehow missed it. But anyways I wanted to see if anyone else who has had the different alignment has had a similar issue with tire wear. I think I may take it in next week to double check the alignment or have the tires rotated and keep a close eye on the other pair.
Any input is appreciated, thanks
Just got around to inspecting things this weekend. Both the main strut nuts were a bit loose.... Hoping I can get away with just tightening and torquing back down, and not needing another alignment...
No I wish mine was show car quality though lol. I think I will try to touch it up. Ive been meaning to do that but have had my hands tied trying to take care of my leaky gas tank woes. But I agree that was definitely careless.
Rustoleum Sunrise Red. It is almost a perfect match. I had to touch up my Panhard bar I got from founders. Just get a small artist brush so you can just dab a small amount on the bad spot. Try not to overpaint on what is not scratched. Also I would maybe look into a new shop for your alignments.
Rustoleum Sunrise Red. It is almost a perfect match. I had to touch up my Panhard bar I got from founders. Just get a small artist brush so you can just dab a small amount on the bad spot. Try not to overpaint on what is not scratched. Also I would maybe look into a new shop for your alignments.
Ive used this color in the past. I think it would match well and probably have a spare can of it lying around. And yes considering the tires are already wearing I will likely try to find a shop open tomorow to double check the alignment. I gotta figure out what ate those tires up so fast.
ill be picking up a 2nd set of the founders..to get the car aligned.. then installing the chrome units to avoid this stuff..so ill have a set for sale soon...
Last edited by articwhiteZ; Feb 1, 2019 at 11:46 AM.
Installing these should only affect your Caster/Camber settings to a major degree. So the car should still drive plenty straight enough to go to a shop for an alignment. Changing caster/camber affects toe, but should be minimal enough for the trip to an alignment shop. Verify if the shop you are going to have it aligned at will do a custom alignment. Many of the major shops will ONLY do factory spec alignments and nothing to your own specifications.
There are specs here on the boards for a much better alignment that reduces understeer as well as reducing tram lining.
I also have a set I want to install, but am waiting to accumulate some other parts so I only have to do the alignment once.
Last edited by Thirdgen89GTA; Jan 4, 2019 at 09:30 AM.
I once worked with an engineering group that was trying to powder coat a part. In that case the trouble with adhesion was caused by sharp corners. The powder coat worked great on the smooth surfaces but would lose adhesion and flake off of sharp corners. Ended up using a different coating in that situation.
About that same time I had a powder coated steel bumper on my Jeep and noticed the flaking began at corners too. But it was a Jeep.... dents, bends, and spray can touch ups are just more style points.
Put these on my car during suspension rebuild a few months ago. Had a the recommended performance street alignment done at a performance shop and the alignment guy said they worked great and made it easier to dial in. Plus they look great, give my struts more travel, and have a solid bushing. Great value, especially for the reasonable price founders sells them at.
Alos used founders rear control arms (on car adjustable), relocation brackets (bolt in), and adjustable panhard bar.
Thumbs up on all their products!!
Last edited by Sdmodified; Aug 21, 2019 at 02:12 PM.
i took my car to the local perf/fab shop to get my alignment as they have the best equipment in the erea. when i brought my Camaro in they charged me extra for having aftermarket equipment that they said made it more difficult for them. I spoke with the owner and was not impressed that a shop that specializes in custom and aftermarket would charge more. They are the most expensive shop in town to even use for alignment but the results are always great
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