[Dreamin]

Truely Genius! Very impressive Work. :worship: :worship:

Installed it today... very easy to install, no issues. Everything was cut perfectly and fit nice and tight. Hardest part was finding the right tools (half the bolts are metric and half SAE on this damn car?!). Removing the rear seat is very easy once you figure out you can ignore the 6 extra pieces of interior trim the service manual wants you to remove.

Anyway, couple Q's:

I used 2 small rubber spacers on the bottom... mine were ~1/16" each so I have 1/8" of spacer on the bottom... that's 0.125" which is less than the 0.2" Odysseus suggests in his writeup... Any issues with the 0.125"?
I used 3 hard spacers and 1 rubber spacer above... that seems to be perfect.

In the unmounted shock... the mount lowered 7/8" maybe closer to 0.9"... is that exactly what the car will lower by... or is there "give" in the mounted (loaded) shock and it will lower more or less than that??

In case people dont know, to install the WW's mod:
Do this to remove/replace shocks: http://www.cadillacfaq.com/faq/answers/fg2/index.html
But ignore steps 1,2,3,4,5,6 on page 4. Just do step 7 (unbolt the 4 bolts).
Do this to install WW's mod: http://www.cadillacfaq.com/faq/answers/lowercts/index.html
(Thanks Odysseus for this writeup... very helpful)


I know... I know... everyone's thinking... but where is a *&*^! decent lowering spring solution?? Dont worry... it's coming! Between WW's current spring solution, and RGD, GC, and H&R's upcoming solutions... lots of possibilities very soon...

 

[wildwhl]

Dreamin -

you should be good. If for some reason you hear a bit of a clunk - then that means you need more spacers (rubber preferably) above the shock mount to sort of tighten everything up and hold it in place.

How much coil did you cut?

WW - just changed plugs, installed the Volant (required some clearancing) and am firing up the laser cutter to make a custom top for the Volant while I swap tweets and mids up front

Today is a good V day

 

[odysseus]

I have found that the distance the mount is lowered is pretty close to how low the rear get's lowered. Mine went down about 0.9" to 1". This is the limiting factor on how much to lower the front, unless you like (some do) the raked look. The rubber washers are to keep some flex in the system to reduce 'clunk'. I still have some clunk when I hit small potholes or road imperfections, but its a small price to pay for increased handling performance. Instead of the front shock groove mod, I used WW spacers to shim the front up just a bit, since my CTS Eibachs dropped 1.2". This dropped the front about the same amount (~0.9") as the rear, but since my car already sat ass-high, it still has a slight rake (maybe half inch).

 

[wildwhl]

Ody -

You shouldn't have any clunk! I don't!

 

[Dreamin]

I have no clunk at all.

WW: Stock springs still... Car is going to Ground Control (See Ace's thread)... I told them i'd pull the rear seat (easier access to the rear shocks)... and install your kit so they didn't have to deal with that problem up front.

 

[SBONES]

dam...i want mine lowered so bad...not much though...maybe an inch...you guys must be good with a wrench...i have no one that can do this stuff...and if i go to the dealer....they will bitch at me for messing with stuff...so what do i do...

 

[Dooman]

This mod will definitely be the first weekend project for me in the Spring.. Now to find just the right car.. I am sure by Spring there'll be plenty of 04, 05's to choose from..

 

[wildwhl]

sbones -

It is a very simple procedure.

6 pack of Fat Tires on a Saturday and you'll be done....very, very simple front and rear.

If Urby can figure out how to use a torque wrench, you can do this!
WW

 

[odysseus]

Ody -

You shouldn't have any clunk! I don't!

It's not so much as a clunk, as it is a light 'bang' when I hit a potholes, etc. I'm thinking that since my car is over 350lbs (~10%) lighter than the V, with the same spring and shock rates, the suspension is simply 'stiff'. When I put the rubber washers under the top pillow mount, the 'clunk' went away. The FE4 setup is much more firm on my car the the stock FE3 'sport' suspension was.

Once I upgrade the stock sway bars, then it will really handle like it's on rails. This ain't your grandma's Cadillac anymore!