jasonetc Posted January 30, 2006 Share Posted January 30, 2006 Just installed a set of GP Motos last week. I was very impressed with the quality and look of the setups. Although installation is pretty straight forward, no install instructions is pretty inexcusable. I set them at the softest setting to begin with and lowered the car about 3/4". It will lower further but I liked the look at this setting. I think it looks great. For those of you who worry that it will not lower enough can ease your mind, because I had to actually raise them back up initially because I could barely get a finger in above the tire. Driving impression? Awesome, corners excellent and brake and throttle feel are much improved as well. Very close to stock feel while cruising on good roads. Bumps? Over rough roads, poor repavement jobs, or bumps and dips, the setup is very noticable. I hit a dip while not paying attention yesterday and came out of my seat. This setup is overall pretty reasonable, but I am 32 years old with a wife and 6 month old, neither of which appreciate my new setup. I also carry customers in my car pretty often, so unfortunately I will remove them this week and sell them to anyone interested. I think I will just try some sway bars or a simple spring upgrade. Take Care Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
STIJibz Posted January 30, 2006 Share Posted January 30, 2006 sorry to hear they didnt work out for ur particular situation, but at least u got to have fun with for a lil bit Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jsalicru Posted January 30, 2006 Share Posted January 30, 2006 did you lower the car using the top perch only? Also, what springs do you have? The standard 6k? "some say, his arms are made of coiled adamantium fibers. And that he tops his cereal with nuts and bolts. All we know is, he's called the Jose." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jarrod Posted January 30, 2006 Share Posted January 30, 2006 pm me with what you'd like to get for those..i may be interested Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jasonetc Posted January 30, 2006 Author Share Posted January 30, 2006 I went with the standard 6k set up. I adjusted them by lowering and raising the large nut at the base of the spring. I guess that is called a spring perch? Couldn't tell you since they didn't come with one shred of instructions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IanKen Posted January 30, 2006 Share Posted January 30, 2006 I just went through this as well with my k-sports. FWIW the spring perc, while it can be used to adjust ride height is not really meant for that from the reading I've done so far. At least with the k-sports they say to adjust the perch hand-tight and lock it down then adjust the flange at the bottom of the unit up or down to adjust ride height. I got the distinct impression from the faq on the k-sport site that only minimal changes should be made to the spring perch. Anyway, I'm still a newb /wrt to this stuff so I may be totally wrong. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jasonetc Posted January 30, 2006 Author Share Posted January 30, 2006 on the front gps, the bottom bracket that attaches the spring to the front suspension setup can be raised and lowered because it too is threaded. Then there are three flanges above that before the spring. I guess one to hold the lower bracket down, one to hold the spring in place and the third to lock the upper flange to the spring. INSTRUCTIONS!! AAAGGGHHHH Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SWortham Posted January 30, 2006 Share Posted January 30, 2006 Do these have an independent adjustment for preload? And if so, how did you set the preload? That can have a big effect on ride quality. If the preload is too high, the coilovers can be bouncy no matter how you set the dampers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jsalicru Posted January 30, 2006 Share Posted January 30, 2006 I went with the standard 6k set up. I adjusted them by lowering and raising the large nut at the base of the spring. I guess that is called a spring perch? Couldn't tell you since they didn't come with one shred of instructions. Before you call it quits.. I suggest you re-adjust the perches to how they were when you received the dampers. You want to make sure you make most if not all your ride height adjustments with the bottom perch. This perch adjusts the height of the entire shock setup. By adjusting the top perch and lowering the spring you have also setup the shock to sit in an area where it is already compressed some and therefore it is stiffer than it would be if you were to let it sit a little higher up in its stroke. Do not make up your mind to toss these until you properly set them up. "some say, his arms are made of coiled adamantium fibers. And that he tops his cereal with nuts and bolts. All we know is, he's called the Jose." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jsalicru Posted January 30, 2006 Share Posted January 30, 2006 Do these have an independent adjustment for preload? And if so, how did you set the preload? That can have a big effect on ride quality. Exactly. This is why I posted what is up one post above this. "some say, his arms are made of coiled adamantium fibers. And that he tops his cereal with nuts and bolts. All we know is, he's called the Jose." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jsalicru Posted January 30, 2006 Share Posted January 30, 2006 Here's how it goes... TOP HAT Z Z Z <--- Spring Z Z == <-- Pre-load adjustment perch == <-- Locking perch for pre-load - - - - - == <-Height adjustment perch To adjust height, unlock the height adjustment perch and twist the whole shock until desired amount of lowering/heightening has been reached. Use the adjustment perch to lock that height in place. "some say, his arms are made of coiled adamantium fibers. And that he tops his cereal with nuts and bolts. All we know is, he's called the Jose." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BOXRPWR Posted January 30, 2006 Share Posted January 30, 2006 It really is inexcusible that GPMoto sells these coilovers without even a bad attempt at installation instructions. That is way too lazy and unprofessional. Don't get me wrong. I love my GPM c/os. Fortunately, I had J (above) doing my install job! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jsalicru Posted January 30, 2006 Share Posted January 30, 2006 It really is inexcusible that GPMoto sells these coilovers without even a bad attempt at installation instructions. That is way too lazy and unprofessional. Don't get me wrong. I love my GPM c/os. Fortunately, I had J (above) doing my install job! I agree with you. I called them to see if I can get specs so that I can set mine up upon arrival.. no answer. I sent them an email... again, no answer. EDIT: I called today and received an answer and spoke to someone. I will explain in a new post below. "some say, his arms are made of coiled adamantium fibers. And that he tops his cereal with nuts and bolts. All we know is, he's called the Jose." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sgt Posted January 30, 2006 Share Posted January 30, 2006 I dont think I have ever seen a set of coil overs that came with instructions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jasonetc Posted January 30, 2006 Author Share Posted January 30, 2006 Here's how it goes... TOP HAT Z Z Z <--- Spring Z Z == <-- Pre-load adjustment perch == <-- Locking perch for pre-load - - - - - == <-Height adjustment perch To adjust height, unlock the height adjustment perch and twist the whole shock until desired amount of lowering/heightening has been reached. Use the adjustment perch to lock that height in place. Wow, that's about the best instructions I have gotten so far. Out of the box, the front set up raised my car about 1/2" I lowered the front by lowering the locking perch for preload and the preload adjustment perch. That is all I did. I am assuming when you say to twist the whole shock, you mean while the top is mounted to the car? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jsalicru Posted January 30, 2006 Share Posted January 30, 2006 I dont think I have ever seen a set of coil overs that came with instructions. Tein has a very thorough set of instructions including assembly and setup Torque specs and everything. "some say, his arms are made of coiled adamantium fibers. And that he tops his cereal with nuts and bolts. All we know is, he's called the Jose." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BOXRPWR Posted January 30, 2006 Share Posted January 30, 2006 I am assuming when you say to twist the whole shock, you mean while the top is mounted to the car? Yes, basically. You are rotating the lower mounting bracket and changing its position on the big, golden threaded center body. As you lower the car's height by raising this mounting bracket up the body, you will find the big, golden threaded body begins to stick out beneath the bracket. Be cautious. Because you can only go so far before you run into a clearance problem with the front drive-shafts. Got some pics here somewhere.....hey, J can you find em or do you still have em posted on your homepage? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jsalicru Posted January 30, 2006 Share Posted January 30, 2006 Ok, I spoke to someone at GP Moto today. Here's what they recommended. Basically, as little pre-load as possible. Install suspension on the car. Now, with the shock installed but the car jacked up, loosen the top perches and lower them until the spring has play. Now bring the perches up until the spring barely has no play. Twist 1/4-1/2 turn after that. That will give you the pre-load. Set height to the desired setting after that. "some say, his arms are made of coiled adamantium fibers. And that he tops his cereal with nuts and bolts. All we know is, he's called the Jose." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BOXRPWR Posted January 30, 2006 Share Posted January 30, 2006 Wow! That's way too complicated to actually put into words! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jsalicru Posted January 30, 2006 Share Posted January 30, 2006 the pic doesn't show the clearance issue.. http://homepage.mac.com/jsalicru/.Pictures/Photo%20Album%20Pictures/2005-08-27%2020.15.10%20-0700/Image-8A2A3536176F11DA.jpg "some say, his arms are made of coiled adamantium fibers. And that he tops his cereal with nuts and bolts. All we know is, he's called the Jose." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BOXRPWR Posted January 30, 2006 Share Posted January 30, 2006 loosen the lower locking ring, spin it up the body. spin the black mounting bracket up the body to lower the ride height. http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a373/BOXRPWR/PICT0002.jpg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BOXRPWR Posted January 30, 2006 Share Posted January 30, 2006 P.S. when we first installed the front c/o's basically in this configuration, the ride height was TALLER than a Outback. When we were finished setting the proper ride height, the golden threaded body stuck out several turns below the mounting bracket. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SWortham Posted January 30, 2006 Share Posted January 30, 2006 EDIT -- nevermind, BOXRPWR explained it right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BOXRPWR Posted January 30, 2006 Share Posted January 30, 2006 THAT'S RIGHT! Basically grab hold of your golden thingy and rotate it until it rises up (or falls down) to your liking! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jsalicru Posted January 30, 2006 Share Posted January 30, 2006 Of note to the noobs... Its not gonna rotate all that easily, So get some gloves or something and whip out your muscles. "some say, his arms are made of coiled adamantium fibers. And that he tops his cereal with nuts and bolts. All we know is, he's called the Jose." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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