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Joined: Sep 2001
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CEG\'er
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I am debating what to do, my struts are getting fuzzy and I have been thinking about an upgrade. I know there are a very few people out there with the leda setup, but what is the opinion. Who has them? Still streetable? etc. Pros / Cons etc.
Thanks in advance
Geoff C. Turner
99 Black SVT -mine
99 Blue SE V6 ATX -mom's
96 Black SE MTX -sister's
All with 278mm front rotors
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Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 4,397
b0x @dm1n
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b0x @dm1n
Joined: Jul 2000
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I believe Pascal did! His ran just over $2K. Terry haines is working on a similar setup that will be mass produced, of sorts.
Ride quality I cannot comment on!
-Andy
Andy W.
The problem with America is stupidity.
I'm not saying there should be a capital punishment
for stupidity, but why don't we just take the safety
labels off of everything and let the problem solve itself?
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Joined: Aug 2001
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Hard-core CEG'er
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Hard-core CEG'er
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correct. u can check out the link on fordcontour.org in the forums under terry's thread. i've been waiting to get more info about the setup myself. supposedly the setup will run less than a leda one.
Hugo AIM:omegazodiac
95 gl & 99 contour svt #1750/2760
my profile pics stuff for sale
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Originally posted by hmouta:
supposedly the setup will run less than a leda one.
I assume you mean it won't be as capable on the track??  LOL, just kidding..
I'm the fool that had the Leda's.
You have to keep in mind they custom-build them to order every single time, so the results depend on what you tell them to do. The first set they sent me didn't respect the specs I had supplied them (misunderstanding from one of my schematics) so they willingly took them back and whipped up a correct set for me. 2" shortened fully threaded bodies, short-stroke dampers, droop limiters, etc.
Now, that being said, my own setup was for track duty. The dampers squeaked, the springs rattled, there was no clips for brake and ABS lines, no mounting tabs for the front sway bar, etc. I had to supply my own strut bearing and I used tie-wraps for the lines.
I did run it on the street too, but my choices in springs made it impossible to bring the damping down much lower than halfway, which meant the car was riding stiffer than maxed-out Konis all the time. Controlled, but stiff.
At the top of the adjustment range rebound damping becomes so stiff that the wheels stayed tucked in the fenders if I jacked up the car, just like the touring cars you see in BTCC. This also meant that a sharp cutoff on the road (expansion joints on some bridges) would have the car airborne for a fraction of a second, chirping the tires when it landed.. one of the reasons why full damping wasn't doable on the street.. aside from having the car's interior fall apart from the impacts..
Here they are, minutes before the install.
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Joined: Aug 2001
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pascal do u think terry's coilovers will be similar to yours in terms of the stiffness. i definitely dont want to risk going airborn. should i just settle and get koni's and gc's. i dont track/race the car. and i dont abuse my wheels/tires. i want great street handling and to be able to raise the car in winter and lower in nonwinter.
Hugo AIM:omegazodiac
95 gl & 99 contour svt #1750/2760
my profile pics stuff for sale
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Originally posted by hmouta:
pascal do u think terry's coilovers will be similar to yours in terms of the stiffness.
That's impossible for me to say without looking at the specs (of course!) but I would certainly hope not. If it's a "street" application it should work very well, while still be very competent at the track.
As an example I've got two buddies with Tein coilovers on their cars. The guy with the Type-HA on his Civic has a nice handling car for every day, and he does just fine at the track too. The other guy with the Type-RA on his WRX has an unbearable ride on the streets, the car is falling to pieces, but it really comes into its owns on dirt roads or racetracks. Both look exactly the same when you're holding them, but they perform 100% differently.
For the record, if someone wanted a mild, smooth riding setup, you could order just that from Leda. But you're still going to pay 2k$ for something that will not function any better than the GC/Koni combo at half the price.
Just make sure you spend your money where it serves your purpose. 
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Out of curiosity, Pascal, what spring rates were you running? Thanks.
Not quite a SVT Contour, but the next best thing....
2000 Oldsmobile Alero GLS
Borla exhaust, Baer brakes, Koni struts, and some other good stuff.
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If memory serves me well..
Front: 500 lb/in, 8" free length.
Rear: 275 lb/in, 10" free length.
There's a reason behind the rate, and yet another one behind the free length.
Hope this helps!
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what i'm trying to do is determine whether the cost of th's coilovers will be worth it. assuming they r high quality, they should still cost a decent chunk. some question the quality issues of the gc's and thats what i'm trying to avoid. really anything over 1k is going to be a stretch. i could probably go to 1200 but i have new wheels i want to put on likely for april. the arrival time of terry's setup is up in the air. while the gc's should handle well, alot say the ride can be harsh. i'll pay a little more if terry's setup will give a smoother less harsh ride w/ plenty of damping and height adjustability. or is this not a characteristic of coilovers in general, meaning i might as well get the gc's cuz i'd be holding out for something that wont be improved (ride quality), though product quality may be improved. although if some upgrade to terry's, they'll be selling their gc's used (i'd take them).
Hugo AIM:omegazodiac
95 gl & 99 contour svt #1750/2760
my profile pics stuff for sale
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Again, it's a tough call to judge without any techincal data. The pictures of TH's upcoming setup were definitely NOT for the CDW27 application.. So who knows!
Don't get the impression that a coilover suspension has to be rough and harsh, simply because most of them are. Some design parameters can't co-exist.. When track handling characteristics go up, street comfort goes down. The spring rates supplied with the GC kit, and the linear nature of those springs makes it impossible to have a smooth ride with them. It's not the end of the world, mind you, if you team them with the very best struts (Konis), but still... far from what people would call comfortable.
There's some general geometry considerations when it comes to the Contour that prevent doing things like the Honda boys can.. They can run a 4" drop, and still have enough suspension travel available for daily driving.. this means the mfg's can supply "street" coilover kits with much softer springs, closer to stock, and then the cars ride real smooth.
On the Contour, the rear is fine... it gets complicated up front. With a 3" drop (GC's at the bottom) and chopped bump stops there is about 1.25" of compression travel available before the car hits the bump stops. Even the 500lb/in spring that's supplied can't possibly catch the car in 1" or less after you hit a large wallowing bump. Even if it does, it overwhelms the Koni's ability to control it.. which gives you the "bounce back" that most people dread. There is no workaround this, aside from using dampers with dramatically shorter bodies, which don't exist, save for the Leda dampers I had designed.
Plus with the front sway bar attachment point, the threads can't go down low enough to use a long spring. There are issues with coil bind when too short a spring is used, which is also the case with the GC kit.
Damn, I'm rambling forever here.. what was the question again??
Aaah, yes.
- Coilover + comfy = almost impossible on Contour. Unless you change to soft springs. But then you need to raise the car. Which defeats the purpose. Sorry.
- Coilover + acceptable = GC on Konis. No less.
- Coilover + perfect = Custom design. Mucho $$. Unless TH's kit adresses all the issues. Gonna hafta relocate those front sway bar end-links though.
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