So yeah I was thinking of maybe buying them, now my question is, since they're one inch taller than stock, gives the struts supposedly more easy travel.

Would the extra inch be helpful if you run KYB's on a lowered car ? Because some people say the KYB's wear out quicker on lowered cars, I was wondering if these Spohn strut mounts would help with that a bit.


Also been trying to read through all the posts about front rebuild kits, so basically where ever you have heavy load go with poly or polygraphite, but otherwise go with MOOG heavy duty rubber ? (Like for the rear LCA's, i know not front kit talk there lol)

C6 wheels have arrived so now I'm trying to figure out what else I should be getting, still trying to do it all on a tight budget, still need to buy tires for the back, plus front adapters (2 inch) and rear spacers (1/4 inch or thicker)

 

I have been looking at getting those too because my strut bushings are shot. New factory style are like $200 and they could break again, so I will pay the extra $100 becasue I'm lazy and don't like doing stuff twice.
If your strut tower mounts are like mine the spohns will help a lot.
I don't know what your going to be doing (it sounds fun), but I like them because they look unbreakable. I have had bad luck with old rubber, like I am sure most people on here have. And I have more or less given up on rubber as a bushing materal, except for frame to body like on my truck.
Also I have heard that my bilsteins (maybe they were talking about KYB's, cant remember) ware out faster on lowered cars too.
After I buy a new set of 1 ton leaf springs for my truck I plan on getting those towers for my car. Once I install them with my rebuilt lower control arms the front suspention will be done, I think.

 

Have you thought of the J & M Strut mounts, they are cheaper and more adjustable. I really debated the difference, their was a great thread on the difference, the big difference for me was the 275.00 pluse 25.00 for retainers for spohn mount and 200.00 of J & M which included the retainers. I bought mine for TPI Parts

 

Yeah I read the thread about the ones from hotparts ..sounded like they could be adjusted more however they were not one inch taller.

 

I sent an e-mail to Brian at Hotpart.com asking about thier Koni Yellows and their Strut mounts. Here is what I wrote...

Hi,

I was wondering if I buy the KONI shocks/struts for my 1987 Camaro through you, will KONI still honor their lifetime guarantee they put on their products. It just seems that since you are about $100 cheaper than if I were to buy directly from Koni I must not be getting something.
I was also wondering about the HOTPART strut mounts. I notice the description doesn't claim they have extra adjust-ability or that they are taller to allow more travel in the strut which the Spohn mounts offer. You both (HOTPART and SPOHN) have teflon coated bearings so I was wondering how often they were will wear out so I know how often I can expect downtime.

Thanks,
Mike

Here is how he responded...

Mike,

Yes we are an authorized distributor of Koni so they will honor the warranty. The problem is we are out of stock on the rear shocks and so is Koni. Koni's dealer site shows they will be ariving on April 27th.

Our camber plates have more adjustment than any other plate on the market. We are the only ones that have both camber and caster adjustment. We mount the bearing about 1/2 inch higher then factory and there is no reason to go any higher because the strut cannot bottom on our plates even with trimmed bumpstops so going any higher will just loose you much needed droop travel. As for the bearings there is a huge difference between our Teflon lined bearing and Spohns. Spohn uses a QA1 bearing which is very cheap low quality chinese bearing. We used QA1 for about 2 years and when they switched to making everything in China we started having a 50% rejection rate when the bearings where brand new. We use a very high precision chrome-moly bearing which has almost twice the load rating of the QA1 bearings and the Teflon lining is direct from DuPont so we know it is true quality. We have never had a bearing fail or wear out since we switched away from QA1 which is why we offer a lifetime warranty on the bearings. Hope this answers your questions but if you have anymore let us know.

Thank You!
Brian Croutcher
J&M Products
brian@hotpart.com
805-239-1558
805-239-1339 Fax

Hope that helped some,
Mike

 

Ah ok ... so they're 1/2 inch taller where it matters ... yeah the warranty deal sounds real nice

 

theres a few resones, one there is no rubber peaces like the stock units and they also have more negative camber adjustments

 

My no.1 question was whether these strut mounts will make it easier for KYB struts on lowered vehicles, or not.

 

Yes! Because it will keep the pistion more in the center of the bore of the strut. Giving it more travel before it will bottom out.

 

ok ...so for a vehicle with a 1 or 1.5 inch drop ..maybe 2 inches ...should I go with spohn (1 inch extra travel) or hotpart (1/2 inch extra travel) however hotpart is slightly cheaper plus comes with the warranty. The extra adjustability comes second to me right now, unless it makes it easier for proper front end alignment when a vehicle is lowered.

 

I got the spohn parts and they are awesome. Im not sure I agree with the "much needed droop" part... Has anyone actually looked at how much suspension droop the front end of a thirdgen has??? If not, put it on a lift, or use a jack on the k-member. TONS of droop. If you ever max a strut out by drooping, you have bigger problems, because you are airborn.

The 1" higher mount allows the strut to operate in its intended range...as was stated above. Cant go much higher than 1", mainly because of the brake master cylinder on the drivers side. And probably hood clearance at some point limits you...

J.

 

Actually Spohns have an extra .250" or so onger slots burned into the plates. giving you more adjustability for caster/chamber over the stock ones.

 

I need to lower the vehicle since I already want a drop but i'm also going with a 255/40/18 up front soon

 

I trust Hotparts judgment in quality and design and love their lifetime warrenty and cheaper price. Therefor, I will be purchasing a set of their Strut mounts when I buy my KONI yellows from them.

 

Not bad, I have 275/40/17s up front on the vert with Spohn's coil over kit. Just rubs a bit on the factory sfc. When I get the chance , need to break out the cut off wheel and chop it off.

 

I have bought several pieces from Spohn including the strut mounts and torque arm.

They even made my torque arm a special length after I told them I would have to modify theirs.

I gave the the measurements over the phone and expected to do some modifying, BUT it fit perfectly.

All the parts were of the highest quality. I could not have fabricated them for the prices that they charge.

For the quality and price I would not chance it from another source.

 

I have no experience with the J & M (and it may be a fine piece). I did, however, just install the Spohn version. Very nice. I can't imagine that anyone would be displeased and/or disappointed. Frankly, I went with Spohn because, as SDIF mentions above, I too run many of his pieces and all are first rate.

JamesC

 

If youre very nice, and ask politely...steve may even make those strut hats at a custom height for you... But you didnt hear that from me

J.