saturn coilover info needed

  whats up guys?has anyone out there done the coilover deal to lower your 99 saturn sl-1? I bought the coilovers,camber kit,etc....but after looking at it?how safe is it to cut your bump stop in half? has anyone encountered problems from these?please send your replies soon! I really dont know if I want to do this?:errr:   How truly rough is the ride? I drive 35 miles one way to work every day!!!!

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nate1

You do not want to cut the bump stops. Doing so, will in time cause the other side to tear in, and warp the vehicles frame.

The wheel to suspension travel will be compromised, and you WILL feel it.

Other than that, your aszz will be like steel after 400 miles of ground pounding.

But at least you will look cool right?

EVIL Teken . . .

i can't agree more.  i've done a lot of front end rebuilds - the majority of them are from neglect, but, the next biggest catagory is from improperly lowered cars.   anything that alters the front end geometry signifigantly will create stresses that the origional parts were not designed to handle.   if you're going to insist on lowering and you can't get drop spindles, make sure you get coils that are thicker (much) diameter spring (the metal itself) and fewer turns.  this will make for a much stiffer spring, but it will at least give you a chance of keeping your front end from extending beyond it's origional motion limits.  the harder ride isn't just going to be harder on you though - while you're down there, now would be the time to replace the control arm bushings with some polyurethane ones that can withstand the pounding, and add to handling.  stock ones will get beaten to a pulp in no time once you do your mod, and once they get even slightly sloppy, it will only take a matter of weeks to eat up whatever other bushings remain,  then go your tie rod ends, etc.   amazing what 50 or 60 dollars can save you down the road.

thanks for the info guys...I plan on doing the mod this weekend and will probably replace the bushings as well! I also purchased a camber kit to reduce the tire wear with proper alignment.....

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nate1

make sure you go get that alignment immediately upon finishing the mod.  because i owed a freind of mine a favor, i rebuilt the front end in his 64 nova no charge (well, he bought parts, but i did what would have cost him 2x the cost of parts at a shop).  anyhow, i told him to drive straight to the alignment shop and get it done right away, he agreed, and i went on my way.  two weeks later i came over to his house to find him rebuilding the front end in his car - again.  he had put off going to the alignment shop and drove his car around town for about a week - ate up his tires, his - well, everything basically.  granted those old novas are notorious for the weak front ends they have, but - basically the same applies to all cars: the more out of alignment your front end is, the more stress it puts on ALL the parts, which causes highly accellerated wear.  can't stress enough how important it is unless you have money to burn.