GR-2s Installed

Yep boys and girls, after a long hard day of working, I finally got my new shocks in. LOL I know this is a simple project for most of you but for me, it was a pretty big deal seeing that I haven't really done anything like it before. So yeah, I'm pretty stinkin' proud! :)

The thing that took us forever was that we could not figure out how to take the rear shock assembly. I guess we were just being too careful at first because when we got frustrated enough, we just started messing with the control arm and it eventually gave us enough room to take it out easily. Had to call Musashi a couple times for help on that too...thanks bro. :p

The next problem came when we were trying to loosen the stupid lock nut. The bottom kept spinning and we spent a whole bunch of time on it. At any rate, we ended up taking the assembly to a shop and had them use their air tool to remove it, stayed there and transferred everything over to the new strut, then had them tighten it back up again.

So overall it was a productive day but there are 2 things that bugs me about this new setup:

1-I switched the shocks and put in new strut mounts as well but the rear passenger side still clunks whenever I go over potholes. What gives?

2-The front of my car was raised half an inch!!! I know it doesnt seem to be that big of a deal but it sucks because of the way it looks now. I'm thinking that the new strut mounts caused the raise because I could tell that it was slighty higher than the older one....anyone else noticed this? I know that if it was an aftermarket strut mount than it could make a difference but these were actual OEM ones that I ordered. That sucks....anyone know why? At any rate, I'm planning to put the old strut mounts back in because I'm not happy with the way it looks....do you guys think there will be any bad side effects to using the old strut mounts??

Well, my alignment is kinda jacked now so I'm gonna have to get my alignment done. It's okay though because I'm gonna order my tires anyways so I'll just get the whole thing done at once. But first I have to fix up this strut mount deal...let me know what you guys think...


-Oh yeah, I have some pictures that we took for fun but my sister's camera decided to crap out the last minute so I couldn't get them uploaded from the camera. Maybe later....

nice job man. yea, be sure to post those pics for us when you get them.

as for the raising the front o the car...dont know what to tell ya. thats kinda strange.
did u do just front? if so....i cant imagine haveing the front of the car higher than the back is safe...at high speeds anyways...

Good job. First time doing shocks is a PITA. I would keep the new mounts because riding on old ones is asking for trouble. My guess is your old shocks were sagging a little so that explains the ride height issue. Time for springs!

Thanks guys! :biggrin:

BlinkRA182, I bought OEM strut mounts which is why it's strange that it's lifted a bit. http://www.stealth316.com/2-gc-springs.htm talks about StrutMate strut mounts and how it's about 3/4 inch higher than stock strut mounts but these are OEM...I'm seriously at a lost. LOL Did Mitsubish decide to change the height or were the old ones just super worn???

alphalanos, when you say trouble what do you mean? Oh, and I have Eibach springs already so I'm pretty much set there. The only other thing that I want to do with my suspension is get some cross-drilled rotors, better brakes, paint my calipers, and some rims. Hehe :) It just sucks to be broke! :P

is get some cross-drilled rotors, better brakes, paint my calipers, It just sucks to be broke! :P

:1:Amen, brother...

hopefully one of the pros will chime in with an answer for you on the ride hight issue.

not sure why you changed the strut mount? when i did my shocks, i just kept the old strut mounts. if you're having ride height issues, just go back to the old strut mounts. i assume there's nothing visibly wrong with the old ones?

as for ride height, give it about a week's worth of driving. then check the ride height. i know its recommended to drive the car for 1 week, after installing springs, before getting it aligned. this is because the springs will compress over time after installed. [ no i don't think they compress forever, but just during the 'break-in period', if you wanna call it that.]

as for the clunk in the rear, you might check to see if you installed it correctly? i know the rubber bump stops atop the springs have a sort of spiral on them. this spiral around the edge of the rubber must be oriented a certain way for the bump stop to sit flush with the mount.

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as for your installation problems.

to remove the rear strut assembly, remove the lower bolt holding strut, then push down on the control arm and you should be able to maneuver assembly out.

to remove the top nut, you need to somehow hold the threaded bolt (on top end of shock piston) in place while spinning the nut. the top of the threaded bolt is a rectangular design. i simply grabbed this end with some vice grip pliers, held it in place, then i could break the nut free and remove it.

but i'm sure the air tools helped. there's always more than one way to skin a cat.

---> QUESTION. did those spring compressors i told you about do the trick? [i got some for myself off ebay, i'm just waiting for my intrax springs to arrive]

Linebckr49, yes, the spring compressors worked. I actually didn't need to use them on the rear with the stock shocks because they were already loose enough. I had to use them on the front though and they worked very well.

As far as the clunk goes, it was there with my old shocks and is still there now. Only on my rear passenger side though...I don't know why.... Stealthee and others made a comment once that the clunking could be due to bad strut mounts which is why I changed them. And of course since I was changing one, I went ahead and changed the other three as well. Not too sure about the bump stops that you were referring to but I did both sides (rear driver and passenger side) exactly the same so maybe it's something else!?!

Good to know about driving the car for a week before getting the alignment done and the whole height deal. This will give me some time to get my tires in too. But umm....I was wondering since my alignment is pretty bad now, wouldn't it super tear into my tires? I don't mind because I'm planning to get them changed anyways but my tires actually blew in the freeway before because the threading was just crappy due to my bad alignment so I don't want to repeat that again. Thing is, these tires are pretty bad already so you know...

Oh, and about the top of the threaded bolt, I actually tried clamping that with vice grips but it just bent the area that I clamped. I tried that with my first assembly and just didn't bother doing that to the other ones. Interesting how you were able to get yours out.....

Overall how do you like the new shocks? My Stealth needs now shock's as we speak. Just wondering how satisfied you are with them. Thanks

Overall how do you like the new shocks? My Stealth needs now shock's as we speak. Just wondering how satisfied you are with them. Thanks

They feel really good. Maybe it's cause my old shocks were super shot but these feel good...they absorb a lot better. I can't really compare them to the ECS stock OEMs because by the time I got my car, the stock setup was pretty much gone. I went with the GR-2s mainly because of the price--it was half as much as the ECS ones. Not only that but I never used the ECS feature anyways so this was a good change. In the future though I plan on putting the stock ECS shocks back in but for the meantime, these will be good.

By the way, if you're looking at getting GR-2s, I got mine from summitracing.com...Summit Racing was the cheapest that I found them.

They feel really good. Maybe it's cause my old shocks were super shot but these feel good...they absorb a lot better. I can't really compare them to the ECS stock OEMs because by the time I got my car, the stock setup was pretty much gone. I went with the GR-2s mainly because of the price--it was half as much as the ECS ones. Not only that but I never used the ECS feature anyways so this was a good change. In the future though I plan on putting the stock ECS shocks back in but for the meantime, these will be good.

By the way, if you're looking at getting GR-2s, I got mine from summitracing.com...Summit Racing was the cheapest that I found them.
Agreed on Summitt. Thats where I got mine when I replaced my fronts. As for the car sitting higher it is kind of odd but it may just need to settle a little. And I will reitterate what I always say, if you are changing the struts change the strut mounts. You will kick yourself in the ass if you have to tear everything apart again at a later time to replace them. The strut mounts affect ride quality almost as much as teh springs themselves do.

Agreed on Summitt. Thats where I got mine when I replaced my fronts. As for the car sitting higher it is kind of odd but it may just need to settle a little. And I will reitterate what I always say, if you are changing the struts change the strut mounts. You will kick yourself in the ass if you have to tear everything apart again at a later time to replace them. The strut mounts affect ride quality almost as much as teh springs themselves do.

Wassup Stealthee! You got lucky yesterday that I couldn't have internet access since my computer was out in the kitchen huh....otherwise you know I'd be IMing you like crazy for help...although judging by your OT posts, you were bored as heck!!! LOL :p

Here's a question for you though...you say that the strut mounts affect ride quality but the back ones only had the metal area, no rubber stuff underneath it so I had to use the old rubber stuff. So uh...not too sure how the metal area affects the ride but then again, you know a lot more than I do so :p

Yeah, I'll just let the car sit for awhile and see if the height goes back down. The thing is though is that the new OEM strut mounts look exactly like the StrutMates that Lucius mentioned. So if his never went back down then I don't think these will either but I'll just wait and see.

I'm sore as hell from yesterday... LOL

is there such a thing as aftermarket ECS shocks? something with a little lower ride hight?

is there such a thing as aftermarket ECS shocks? something with a little lower ride hight?
Nope just stock. And IMO ECS just aint worth it. Just another add on.

i can certainly see why alot of people feel that way, especially if you live in an area with nice roads lol. I feel that way about the dual mode exhaust...why not have it sound good all the time????

But, living in an area where roads are crappy, i personally use the ECS almost on a daily basis. I would love to lower my 3k, as i feel it sits way to high for a "sports car", but its definitely not worth losing the dual mode suspension capabilities...IMO. Maybe when i move to texas in a few years i will give it some more thought.

sorry to get off topic, but tx for the info.

i can certainly see why alot of people feel that way, especially if you live in an area with nice roads lol. I feel that way about the dual mode exhaust...why not have it sound good all the time????

But, living in an area where roads are crappy, i personally use the ECS almost on a daily basis. I would love to lower my 3k, as i feel it sits way to high for a "sports car", but its definitely not worth losing the dual mode suspension capabilities...IMO. Maybe when i move to texas in a few years i will give it some more thought.

sorry to get off topic, but tx for the info.

I'm certain you could lower your car and still have ECS. That was my setup before my current one. I have pretty crappy roads here as well but when I put the ECS in Sport mode, it's even worse I think. It could have been just because my shocks were shot but seriously, it was hideous. LOL

Maybe when i move to texas in a few years i will give it some more thought

*puts on cowboy hat and boots*

Texas? oh? why are you interested in the Lone Star state?

Well guys, I just ordered my tires from www.discounttires.com: Yokohama AVID V4S - $388.00 total. I probably would have gone with tirerack because it was $7.00 cheaper but they didn't have any in stock next to me so I didn't want to pay 2 times as much for shipping. I'm excited! :biggrin:

good tire choice. those are the exact kind i have on my car right now. highest tread rating (500 AA) for the best price, good high speed rating (V), and good price too.

*puts on cowboy hat and boots*

Texas? oh? why are you interested in the Lone Star state?

nice weather, gulf coast, plenty of open space to drive as fast as....er..the speed limit...:rolleyes::shakehead:
that and i can drive my car for more than 5 months a year lol

just more my type of atmosphere i guess.

also, im gonna be training to be an air traffic controller at Silver State ATC in New Braunfels. After im all done there i may end up moving to the Tampa Bay area. Family is there and the fishing is amazing. Kind of expensice cost of living though.


but, yea, definetely good choice on those tires. Well worth the cash. You should be happy with 'em.

Well guys, I put the old strut mounts back in and it dropped my car about a quarter of an inch. LOL The ride is slightly more bumpy but believe it or not, it looks a hell of a lot better. I guess the other quarter inch raise was due to my new shocks then. So yeah, I'm happy. :) Just gotta get the tires in and then get an alignment and I should be good to go.

hopefully that 1/4" will increase over the next week or so as the springs settle.

i got my intrax springs delivered today. (F'in FedEx, took em 2 weeks, i hate FedEx). i was reading the installation instructions to see which way the springs are installed (one side the coils are closer together than the other side). and i discovered a tid bit of info i haven't found while searching here adn other places. its says for the 3/S (base, sl, turbo) models, we need to trim the front bump-stops .75". not necessary to trim the rear bump-stops at all, just the front .75".

so Slade, the reason your front may be riding higher is that you didn't trim the bump-stops for your intrax springs?

anyone else with coilovers/springs that have had (or heard about) to trim the bump-stops?

Yes, FedEx most definitely suck!

As far as the trimming goes, I didn't change my springs this time so it should in theory be the same as last time, right? Because the last set-up already had the springs on there. Also, I have Eibach springs....not sure how much of a difference between the two...

So Linebckr49, I take it you're just gonna redo your rear as well since you'll be installing both the springs and front shocks during this project!?!

ya, when i got my GR-2s, i only could install the rears b/c my spring compressor was too big. now that i have the right tools, and the intrax, i'll redo the rears, and can replace the entire front setups.

So I called Midas to see how much they charged to change out a tire and holy crap, they charge $30/tire!!! Dang....forget that... LOL Firestone it is: $70.00 for an alignment job and $15/tire! That's decent, right? How much do you guys usually get charged???

For me its $30 for a 4 wheel alignment and if I bring my own tires then $8 per tire to swap them out. Thats new valve seals, spin balanced and all. :D

WTF?? Why is it so expsensive over here!?! Sheesh....

:grinyes: :grinyes: :grinyes:

sLADE---> when you installed your Intrax Springs, did you have to trim the bump stops? this is what my install instructions said. "trim front bump stops .75" . but here's the problem, i accidentily trimmed the REAR bump stops (which i was supposed to just leave alone), adn there were NO bump stops on the front. wtf?!

What the hell??? You should have bump stops both up front and in the back. The bump stops for the front were inside the dust covers and were a pain to get out. The only way I was able to pull it out was to cut up the dust cover but since I bought new ones anyways, it wasn't a big deal.

As far as trimming the fronts go no, mine weren't trimmed. The reason is because the guy who I bought the car from had a shop do it so I don't even know if they read the instructions or not. I didn't have the instructions on me so I just left it alone. So uh....does that mean that the back will be a lot lower now???

for me, since i effed up and trimmed the back, yes, my rear should be lower. but if you call up Intrax, or check their website, then they will tell you (as my installation instructions read) that for the 3000GT/Stealth it is required that you trim the front bump stops .75". and for the rear bumps stops says trimming is "N/A"...so that's why i thought perhaps there aren't bump stops on the rear? or aren't supposed to be?

but i'll have to check with mitsu, and see if they will sell me some bump stops individually w/o having to purchase an entire strut unit (doubtful).

i just briefly looked over the Intrax website, and they have a FAQ that addresses questions like springs settling, alignments, camber adjustments, etc etc. good stuff.

Hmm...interesting.... Well, I have Eibach springs on mine and I'm not sure if they require the same installation method but I couldn't find anything online about the trimming of bump stops....

Linebckr49, you mentioned before that you tried doing your front shocks but the compressors wouldn't fit....how were you able to get your alignment back into spec? Because I marked everything on mine but my car pulls to the right still. Maybe my shocks did kind of change it!?!

Anyways, I've had my tires for about a week now but still have not gotten the tires installed/aligned because they're too big to fit in my car and no one's available to take me. DOH!

some local 3S guys told me that the trimming of the bump stops is also required for Eibach lowering springs.

question--> in what direction should the springs be installed? <i laugh at myself b/c i've already installed them one way> you know how the coils on the aftermarket springs are closer on one end, then get further apart at the other end...well which end goes where? i saw some writing on my Intrax springs (denoting spring rate and stuff), and so i installed the springs with the writing where it can be read: this orientation had the closer coils at the bottom, and coils further apart near the top.

i know this is a n00bish question, but i never saw in the instructions which way to install them, nor did i see any other mention of this. i guess its just obvious to some ppl.

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as for the alignment... i never got the car aligned after i just did the rear. i probably should have, but i thought i would do the front shortly thereafter...didn't happen. and that may have contributed to how worn my tires are, but i just thought it was b/c i was driving like a maniac on the twisties and always throwing the rear end out around town and having fun taking 90 degree turns at 30 mph.

some local 3S guys told me that the trimming of the bump stops is also required for Eibach lowering springs.

question--> in what direction should the springs be installed? <i laugh at myself b/c i've already installed them one way> you know how the coils on the aftermarket springs are closer on one end, then get further apart at the other end...well which end goes where? i saw some writing on my Intrax springs (denoting spring rate and stuff), and so i installed the springs with the writing where it can be read: this orientation had the closer coils at the bottom, and coils further apart near the top.

i know this is a n00bish question, but i never saw in the instructions which way to install them, nor did i see any other mention of this. i guess its just obvious to some ppl.

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as for the alignment... i never got the car aligned after i just did the rear. i probably should have, but i thought i would do the front shortly thereafter...didn't happen. and that may have contributed to how worn my tires are, but i just thought it was b/c i was driving like a maniac on the twisties and always throwing the rear end out around town and having fun taking 90 degree turns at 30 mph.



1-Crap, didn't know they had to be trimmed.... That sucks! LOL But since I don't have have an air compressor yet, maybe I'll just trim it the next time I change something out down there. Good to know though....wish I still had the instructions to be sure. ;o/

2-For me, the springs were installed with the coils closer together at the top. I installed them this way because when I took it apart it was installed in that manner. Also, Eibach's FAQ (http://eibach.com/cgi-bin/htmlos.exe/07206.3.1759777825200005916) says that you need to install it in such a way so that you could read the printing so with the springs closer together on top was the way I could read the springs. However, yours might be different...actually, I think yours is: http://www.suthnr.com/garage/mods/springs/stealth-install-intrax-springs-26.jpg
So yeah, you're good to go!