I was wondering if anyone who has installed Ground Control adjustable springs could answer a few quick questions for me. I'd call GC, but was hoping to do installation tomorrow (Sunday) when I've got more time.

1. Front Kit: Will I reuse the "rubber housing" that sits inside the stock springs? The CG instruction sheet (which I think is lacking in clarity), does not show it going back in, but at the same time it is not mentioned or depicted at all. It doesn't seem like it would fit in the new spring with adjustment mechanism sitting inside. Below is a picture (from the tech section of Scion Life) of what I'm talking about:
http://www.scionlife.com/tech/suspension_springinstall/front13.jpg

2. Front Kit: The GC instructions say to remove the foam ring, but do not mention replacing the existing metal plate below it with the provided metal plate. It seems intuitive that this would be the case, but I don't want to inadvertently ditch a part that should be on there. The assemble I was planning on using was A) Existing top plastic housing ("Upper Mount"), B) repalcing "foam ring" with TWO washers (provided by GC), c) replacing existing "metal plate" with the silver steel plate provided. This would then sit on spring and adjustment mechanism. I'm sure that was totally unclear. Anyone? Below is a picture of stock set up.
http://www.scionlife.com/tech/suspension_springinstall/front11.jpg

3. Front and Rear Kit: Measuring drop: CG indicates that both the front and rear have max drop of 2.5". However, the height of both the front and rear adjusting piece (not sure of the technical term here and the GC instructions are so fuzzy I can't read the small lettering) are NOT 2.5". Do I just measure down from the top in inches? Since the full drop wont settle in for a few weeks, I want to make sure that I measure correctly as I won't be able to tell right away after lower the car if I measured right.

Any help on this would be much appreciated. If not I'll just call GC on Monday. I'll report back on how this installation fared for a rookie tuner.

I did not reuse the rubber dust gaurds, you could probably cut it shorter and make it fit, and it maybe be a good idea. I will probably try this when I put my konis back on.


the only metal piece you keep from the stock strut is the very top one. The GC comes with that silver plate that goes on top of the spring.

you will also probably need to cut the bumpstop foam thing shorter if you go for a big drop.


if you have the fronts adjusted all the way down, or even half an inch higher than that, you will bottom out and lot and rub.

the rears I set ALL the way down and they still aren't all that low.

the foam ring needs to be there and does not reduce or increase height....if u notice its there to protect those bearings....and the rubber spacers are a good thing unless u want metal to metal contact which then causes the springs to make noises.....also the shiny metal shaft coming out of the shock has a rubber piece over it as u may have noticed thats a travel stop....pull it off and cut a inch off it....and then put back on the way u slide if off over the shaft

my teins called for all the stock rubber spacers to be used...and the rubber bump stop to be cut 1inch.....not 1 problem...no noises with them like others have reported with other springs...

I dont have the foam ring or the rubber spacers and im not getting any noises either.


the foam ring needs to be there and does not reduce or increase height....if u notice its there to protect those bearings....and the rubber spacers are a good thing unless u want metal to metal contact which then causes the springs to make noises.....also the shiny metal shaft coming out of the shock has a rubber piece over it as u may have noticed thats a travel stop....pull it off and cut a inch off it....and then put back on the way u slide if off over the shaft

my teins called for all the stock rubber spacers to be used...and the rubber bump stop to be cut 1inch.....not 1 problem...no noises with them like others have reported with otheprings...

Thanks for the replies. Very helpful.

those instructions with the G.C. c/o are almost useless. print is so small and the illustrations are lame. so JACKMOTT you don't think it is a full 2.5 drop in rear? and with 2.25 drop front you have bottom out? M@(Opr8r) is running 5zigen springs i believe and thats the same drop as his wonder how his ride is?

Going through my notes from when I talked to GC on the phone a few weeks ago. They had said that the max drop all the way around was 2.75". This makes sense having measured the adjusting mechanism the springs came with. Scion Life "store" indicates a range of 0.5" to 2.5". I think this might be incorrect and what was confusion me (at least on this issue). So, to go all the way down in the rear would give a pretty big 2.75 drop. I'm only gonna go for 2" in the rear and 2.25" in the front. So, given that the hight of the front adjustment "thing" is 3 1/8", I was thinking that I would put the lip of the mounting disk about 7/8" from top. Jackmott, how long ago did you install springs? Perhaps the GC take a long time to settle in and that is why you haven't gotten the drop you expected?

Going through my notes from when I talked to GC on the phone a few weeks ago. They had said that the max drop all the way around was 2.75". This makes sense having measured the adjusting mechanism the springs came with. Scion Life "store" indicates a range of 0.5" to 2.5". I think this might be incorrect and what was confusion me (at least on this issue). So, to go all the way down in the rear would give a pretty big 2.75 drop. I'm only gonna go for 2" in the rear and 2.25" in the front. So, given that the hight of the front adjustment "thing" is 3 1/8", I was thinking that I would put the lip of the mounting disk about 7/8" from top. Jackmott, how long ago did you install springs? Perhaps the GC take a long time to settle in and that is why you haven't gotten the drop you expected?


couple days ago.

the fronts were instantly WAY low, like tire tucked under the fender low.

rears seemed to be about the same as the TRD springs.

Where does the big rubber ring that came with the kit go?


Doc

you are to put the o-rings on the front shocks that is what i gather from the picture

Where does the big rubber ring that came with the kit go?


Doc


you slide one of them down to the bottom of the shock, the 2nd one down to the top of the ground control hardware.

this holds the GC hardware steady on the shock

not the O rings, it looks like what appears to be a replacement for the rubber top part on the front struts...but I am not sure...


Doc

not the O rings, it looks like what appears to be a replacement for the rubber top part on the front struts...but I am not sure...


Doc

I don't recall seeing a part like this.

Doc, i'm looking at my ____ right now and i don't see what you're talking about. are they included in the hardware from G.C.? is it for the front or rear?

I didn't receive a part like that either. Only the O rings.

Another quick measurement question. Do you think that the reason GC said the kit can drop up to 2.75" all the way around is that is what the Eibach springs alone would drop the xB (assuming that the CG adjustment mechanism was not used). And the reason that Scion Life store (and others) list that the drop is from 0.5" to 2.5" is because that is what is possible using the GC equipment with the Eibach springs? Given the measurements of both (i.e. the lip of the adjustment disk the spring sits on is 0.5" etc. ) this makes some sense. If true then shouldn't I assume that to get any desired drop that I just subtract that amount from 2.75" and then make sure that what ever that amount is I adjust the mounting disk to be that height from the bottom of the coil? For example, to get a 2" drop in back, I would adjust the mechanism to have the bottom of the spring sit 0.75" above the control arm of the xB? Is this how others have made their adjustments?

Jackmott, or anyone else who has installed GC, when you removed the foam disk, did you take off only the black piece or did that include the orange disk inside as well (see picture above from my original post)?

Thanks.

http://members.cox.net/hotlavaxb/DSC00187.JPG

I dont know if maybe it is a replacement piece for the top of the rear springs...

http://members.cox.net/hotlavaxb/DSC00190.JPG


Doc

I dont know if maybe it is a replacement piece for the top of the rear springs...

http://members.cox.net/hotlavaxb/DSC00190.JPG


Doc

these are not the same coilovers i got from G.C. the numbers in white on your springs do not match any of mine maybe thats why you have that piece? my spring# are- Front: GC.150.64.66,Eibach # 112640 Rear: GC.200.64.44, Eibach # 78701

I have the exact same front numbers as you, but the rear is the same GC number but different Eibach number...my Eiback number is 112631...

I got Scion instruction sheets with them...


Doc

you probably have a dif. spring rate than i do. which may be the dif in you having that part? idunno you could call G.C. i suppose

So what parts of the stock suspension in the front did you take off and leave off the setup?


Doc

i haven't installed mine yet, will do this coming up weekend. i plan on reusign everything but the foam ring. from pics ive seen and G.C. instructions thats what it looks like i should do. haven't had a chance to examine the suspension in the front but it should be like installing springs almost.

Can you scan and email me your instruction sheets, I wanna see if I got the same ones?


Doc

for the front?

i sent it to that rs1 registry e-mail.

Yea I got it. It is the same one I have, wierd. I think they might be replacement rubber mounts for the top of the rears...


Doc

thats what i think too. but anywho i didn't get any. i just looks like a spring insulator to me

Just got finished installing the GC. Holly ____ am I glad I got that $50 electric impact wrench from Pep Boys. Cheap ___, made in China job, but it sure saved my lazy but. Anyways, I have the same front end result as Jackmott. WAY LOW. I tried to figure a 2.25" drop in the front, but got over 2.5" with out any settling in. Tires are about 1/16" under the fender. So, I'm guessing that this will be WAY, WAY too low in a week or two. Perhaps this mysterious black rubber thing has something to do with all of this. If it is about an inch thick then I'm thinkin that maybe some of the GC kits should have this, but don't. Just a guess. I'm-a-callin GC in the a.m. and figure this all out. The rear worked out well (I think). tried for a 2" drop and got a little over 1.25". So hopefully in a week or two it will settle the rest of the way.

For the beginner (like myself) I would recommend a can of WD-40 and a cheap impact wrench. It does wonders. The $ you save by doing it yourself will buy you a tool to use over and over for lots of xB work. The only other car work I have done myself is install a cold air intake and new axle back exhaust and I was able to do this in about 4 hours. So, this is defiantly, in my opinion, a time consuming, but rookie doable project.

.....also, I would definitely recommend printing out the instructions and pictures for "spring installation" from the Tech section of Scion Life. Couldn't have done it without.

way to go. have you driven it yet (probably a stupid question) b/c i would like to know the feel and the dif in stiffness. could you gow all the way down in the back with no problems you think? btw what size wheels+tires are you running?

.....also, I would definitely recommend printing out the instructions and pictures for "spring installation" from the Tech section of Scion Life. Couldn't have done it without.

can you post pics??? how do you like them so far???

Called Ground Control. They weren't necessarily all that helpful. Trial and error is how they said to deal with the hight issue. There is no measurement formula that they would give me to get a desired height excepts to say that each turn is 1/8". When I asked how far to measure up the disk to get a 2" drop he said just to start in the middle and keep adjusting. Oh well. I guess the good news is that they said that because of the "linear" Eibach springs that there is no settling in and what you see is what you get. So that should make screwing around with things a bit easier.

When I asked about the black rubber ring the guy said that "perhaps that was included in some kits and not others". He wasn't even sure exactly what I was talking about. He assured me that if I didn't get one then it is not needed. I guess I'll have to take his word on it.

Driving the car felt good on the flats, especially with the unintentional "racing stance" on the front end. It did rub and bottom out on bumps and forget about meeting hills. My driveway was a challenge. I'm gonna have to lift the front.

I'll post pictures when I finally get this thing right.

i haven't installed mine yet, will do this coming up weekend. i plan on reusign everything but the foam ring. from pics ive seen and G.C. instructions thats what it looks like i should do. haven't had a chance to examine the suspension in the front but it should be like installing springs almost.
the foam ring is there to keep dirt out of the bearings. I suggest you use it. I'm actuall installing a set of these tonight. I will see how they compare to the Blitz coil-overs.

i haven't installed mine yet, will do this coming up weekend. i plan on reusign everything but the foam ring. from pics ive seen and G.C. instructions thats what it looks like i should do. haven't had a chance to examine the suspension in the front but it should be like installing springs almost.
the foam ring is there to keep dirt out of the bearings. I suggest you use it. I'm actuall installing a set of these tonight. I will see how they compare to the Blitz coil-overs.

they include a couple washers that take the place of the foam ring

Does anyone have any additional information regarding this install?


Doc

Despite the fact that I kind of dig the 3" drop I got in the front I decided for the good of my front fender I would lift it up today. All good in the front, but my rear lift is almost 1.5" difference with the adjustment ring set to the exact same place. The area I'm working on is not completely level and I understand that the weight of the car is not exact on both sides, but this difference seems like a lot. Could one side of my rear suspension not have taken right away and will settle? All of the other three corners seem to have taken right away. I drove and braked hard to try and set it a little to no avail. Anyway, I thought that some of you all might have some insights here. BTW, with the new adjustments I have approximately a 2" in the front with no bottoming out problems. The driver side rear is about 6" from the ground and the other rear side is like almost 8". Help. :shock:

Despite the fact that I kind of dig the 3" drop I got in the front I decided for the good of my front fender I would lift it up today. All good in the front, but my rear lift is almost 1.5" difference with the adjustment ring set to the exact same place. The area I'm working on is not completely level and I understand that the weight of the car is not exact on both sides, but this difference seems like a lot. Could one side of my rear suspension not have taken right away and will settle? All of the other three corners seem to have taken right away. I drove and braked hard to try and set it a little to no avail. Anyway, I thought that some of you all might have some insights here. BTW, with the new adjustments I have approximately a 2" in the front with no bottoming out problems. The driver side rear is about 6" from the ground and the other rear side is like almost 8". Help. :shock:

was there a difference with the stock springs?

I went outside and jumped up and down on the passenger side rear fender with the door open. My neighbors must think I'm nuts. That on top of the fact that I've been talking to my coilovers for the past three days and driving a car on a 45 degree angle. Anyway, it helped a little and things settled almost an inch. But I'm still 0.75" off. Hopefully by tomorrow the shock/spring settles more and it will be only a minor adjustment. I'm still hoping some of you with more experience then I can opine on this.

The handling is lots better with these springs then with stock due to the lowering factor. However, I bet things would rock with a killer set of stiffer / shorter suspension. All said, nice for now (assuming I can get all this adjusting down).