so i tackled the suspension today. did the rear first because i needed to do the rear sway bar as well...

going along welll.... put the konis on using oem parts ... drilled out top hat and washer.....

Im positive I put back all the parts exactly the same as oem plus the koni hardware.

everything went well.... went to drop the car

and then the rear is HIGH.... i want to says its stock height...

I dont know where I could of screwed up... its really high

havent tackled the front.... cause i was tired hah

the only think I can think of that I may of screwed up was how i bolt up the upper portion the 2 13mm bolts... the top hat is slanted... but i figured there was only one way to mount it.. slanted so that the lower bolt can be mounted......

is it even possible to mount it wrong?

im seeing the stars from the heat... but let me remember i put the hardware together....

starting from the bottom:lower rubber isolator, plastic washer bottom of shaft, bumpstop, washer that goes on the snap ring, then the upper rubber isolator/dustboot, then the drilled out tophat, then upper mount with foam, the little foam that goes on top of upper mount, drilled out washer, then lock washer, then koni nut... all torqued down...

i cant measure but i fit 4 finger in the rear gap... i know swifts only lower 1/2 inch in the rear... but i figure it at least noticeable

ive seen people's pic of swifts and they are def lower....

please help... i didnt want to test drive.... thinking i royally screwed up lol

 

Tell us what size wheels and tires you have mounted. Then measure the vertical distance from ground to fender lip (through the center of the wheel hub). Keep in mind that you need to drive the car some before the suspension will settle to ride height.

 

16 x 7.5, 205/50 16

driver side 25 3/4"
passenger 25 1/2" (driveway probably not level)

how does it sound... i feel like i installed it right... i have installed many many suspension... i was just dumfounded haha

ill drive the car some once i get the fronts on

 

The Swifts don't really settle like other springs. Have you driven on them yet? Sometimes the back end looks really high with the parking brakes set.

 

I think im going to have to dirve on them i want to put them fronts on first... then ill take a drive hopefully everything stays on lol

 

Just drive around the block and park on a level spot with car in neutral and parking brake off and see if it looks better in the rear.

 

You can even try to roll it forward and back by hand if you're really nervous. Just like 6' forward and back. Usually if you jack up a car then set it back down the friction between the tire and ground prevents the suspension from resting back in its normal position.

 

Every time I lower the car after jacking it up, the suspension always sits higher until I drive it. Sometimes, all it takes is backing it down the driveway and back into the garage.

This isn't the best pic, but this is the order I reassembled the strut/spring with the nm springs. Hope it helps.

 

ok perfect. thats exactly how i did that.

ill have to drive it around the block. and see

I didnt put the rear camber arms in yet...but it almost look like I dont need them with these springs

ill update you guys in a couple days... wont be able to work on the mini till tuesday

thanks guys.... any more advice is welcome!

 

It might be too late, but before disassembly of the stock strut/spring, I took a yard stick and drew a straight line from the mounting plate, the top hat, springs, bottom rubber isolator, and the bottom spring perch to the part of the strut that holds the ABS and brake line. I made sure it lined up when I reassembled. You can kind of see the silver markings I made on the assembled pic if you zoom in. The top silver mark is next to the yellow dot that was probably put there at the factory. Good luck!

 

thx!

 

I am making myself more worried as I see more pics of people and their swifts.... I cant touch the mini till tomorrow but still can't fathom what went or could of went wrong

 

You could have them bolted in wrong. When the strut mount is bolted in place the shock should point towards the back of the car and pretty much line up with the bolt hole in teh trailing arm. If you have to press hard on the shock to get it to line up with the trailing arm bolt hole then you probably have them bolted in incorrectly. Take them out and rotate them along the long axis 180 degrees.

 

well, I think that maybe the case

but does anyone have a pix of how its suppose to go... because i was confused at first so i mounted it where it would line up to the lower bolt hole correctly (it didnt seem difficult to line up, I just had to undo the endlink to lower everything so it would line up to the bolt

because i noticed the top mount is slanted at an angle

 

I think the rear can only be bolted up one way though ?

 

Is it possible because you don't have the fronts installed yet that the rears are overpowering the front OEM setup? So the rear is higher because it can push down the front?

 

Hmmm I'm gonna have to put
The fronts ASAP I'll keep everyone updated

 

If you haven't moved the car since dropping it back down, this is almost certainly the case. The suspension droops when unloaded and camber goes positive and when lowered back down tends to stay that way due to tire friction until the car rolls.

 

Sounds like you did it right

Sent from my DROID RAZR HD using NAMotoring

 

*embarassed*

rolled the car back... and the car dropped half an inch LOL

got the fronts on.... ran the konis all between firm and soft

ride is smooth..... not too sure about the rear bar yet... little loud and clunky (I think its the bar)

drop is not too much ... but it handles and feels great....

not the greatest in the looks department as far drop goes... but they function great!


new measurements

rear - 25 1/4" , little under 25"
fronts- 24 1/2" on both

also using camber/caster plates from noltec....

 

has anyone run into similar situation...

I tried putting the rear camber arms on but on the driver side.... the brake Hardline is in the way of the bolt... so I didn't want to remove it..nor did I feel like tackling on removing the hardline then having to bleed the brakes same day haha

just wondering

 

I did not run into this issue when I put my HSPORT rear camber links. I followed the nm engineering instructions for install.

http://www.nm-eng.com/media/attachme...328855_ins.pdf

 

looks like i found a solution ....

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ean-guide.html

i guessmy next question from eye balling it doesnt look like i have too much camber... the swift only lowers .5"

is it necessary for me to use rear camber arms

 

The drop is the same as the JCW spings, therefore you don't need to replace the rear control arms (but you will need an alignment) unless you need to adjust rear camber a beyond stock JCW alignment specs.

 

Sounds good! Thanks!!