Converting cup pack coilovers to 54mm, can it be done?

[Ricardos]

I know that cup pack suspension is 60mm with 172/182 RS being 54mm.

My question is, could the hub hole on say a 54mm coilover strut be modified to fit the 60mm hub? Top holes have been elongated on some to give you adjustable camber.

Does say both bottom holes line up and the top be 6mm difference? Or is there track width,driveshaft length differences/issues stopping it from being done? Are cup packed coilovers physically different to 'normal' RS items?

Cheers

 

[Clio_in_Motion_2008]

it can be done, but its not a case of guessing and elongating the 54mm hole. there are a few photo's about of the very first KTR coilover kit where they were machined to 60mm and there is a noticeable difference in location. has to be spot on or it will mess up your geometry.

 

[Dan519]

When Spax re-designed for cup packed fitment, I supplied original shocks for patterns and they made brackets from scratch as the angles and hole distances were too different to adapt on what they already had.

 

[Chip-mk1]

Elongating the hole for camber is a bad idea too, it does work, but its a bit of a nasty way to do it, its relatively easy for the bolt to slip if you apply a heavy load mid bend.

Ive got a video somewhere of exactly that happening to me in fact as the coilovers that were on my corsa when I first got it were done like that and it slipped on me going round camp corner at castle combe, was bloody close to being a big accident, on a clio luckily you dont get as significant amount of steer induced by camber change as on my corsa (due to differing location of steering arms, they are higher on the corsa) but it would still be enough to cause an accident if you are really on the limit.

This was me on the lockstops trying and failing to catch it, lol

 

[Ricardos]

I've not looked at coilovers close up for a while now to see how they set up their negative camber. From what i remember the bolt in the top is a certain shape to allow the top of the hub to be pulled in or out for positive/negative camber, i don't know if they just rely on a different shape top bolt or make the top hole slightly different too.

I've had K Tec and FK coilovers in the past with negative camber built in and from (again) what i remember is once you've rolled it into place you just tighten the nut up to the right torque. So, you're relying on the quality of the camber bolt to stay tight enough throughout the duration of the time it'd been driven be it on road and/or track.

I'm just curious as to how the bottom of the damper (54mm) would sit once it's held in by the top mount and see where if any of them line up. Maybe brackets with holes in the 60mm cup fitment could be made then fitted to say FK front coilovers

 

[Chip-mk1]

I've not looked at coilovers close up for a while now to see how they set up their negative camber. From what i remember the bolt in the top is a certain shape to allow the top of the hub to be pulled in or out for positive/negative camber, i don't know if they just rely on a different shape top bolt or make the top hole slightly different too.

A decent setup like ledas will have a large hole of about 20-25mm with a rotating insert and then a full size bolt through it, and you rotate the insert to position the bolt to allow camber adjustment.

Cheaper stuff will use a camber bolt which is basically a smaller bolt than standard but has a lobe built onto it to allow you to locate it in the standard hole that it would otherwise be loose in.

Really nasty stuff just has a slot and you simply hold the strut in the position you want when you tighten it.

 

[Ricardos]

All this is theory and thought i'd bring it up for discussion to see if anyone has attempted trying something out (dam cup pack hubs )

So, brackets made up with 60mm spacing, welded on a set of coilovers could be a possibility if the talent and welding skills were at my disposal?

 

[Chip-mk1]

Yes but remember the internals of a shock don't like high temperatures.