Paul30

OK guys, just a bit of an update. When I installed the coilovers last week, I noticed the front passenger tyre was chopped out big time on the inside and down to canvas. Rears weren't that great either. So bit the bullet and hooked myself up with a set of Nitto Invos in time for the family road trip to the central west of NSW - Parkes, Dubbo, Mudgee. We left first thing Saturday morning and, to this point, the good lady wife hadn't been in the car with the coilovers, so I was expecting a barrage of derogatory comments about how rough, bumpy, bad the ride is, as we left Sydney for the mountains. But nothing. It took almost an hour until we got to the first of the twisty bits on the Bells Line of Rd before the first comment was made – “I don’t notice any difference – it feels more comfortable than it did before”. A nice little win there... As the tyres were only a couple of hundred kms old, I took it fairly easy on this part of the trip, really just enjoying the feedback through the chassis, response, communication and overall experience. A couple of “hot laps” at Bathurst and the obligatory photo shoot added a bit of fun. With the boot full of luggage, the ride height for me is right where I want it. Pity I didn't measure it, but I'd say about 5mm lower in the rear or around 355mm HTG. The further west we went, – Orange to Parkes; Parkes to Dubbo – the rougher the roads got in some places and, although the damper settings are still on full soft (yeah, yeah) the grip and poise was just sensational and the F6E never once felt as though it lost any composure. The real treat was saved for the trip home yesterday on the back road from Mudgee to Rylstone via Lue and then on through the Bylong valley to the Golden Highway near Singleton - 160kms of pure tarmac nirvana. Big smiles, grins and a few goosebumps. Probably my only regret was not firming up the dampers a few notches all round, but will save that for another time. To say the Shockworks coilovers have transformed my car would be an understatement. A great investment. Cheers Paul

Pics aren't the greatest, but you can get an idea of how to adjust looking at where the lower shock mount is. Through the wheel at around 4-5 o'clock

Yeah, pretty much. And some soap. To wash your hands with after...

Adjusters are at the bottom on the shockworks and can be adjusted through the wheel. No need for a right angled neck.... Over to you k31th...

Yeah, ta mate. I just circled on your photo where the adjusters are

Hi Arronm, There's a small wheel adjuster between the lower mount and shock body - difficult to see, pretty easy to adjust Cheers Paul

Thanks guys, Stock bushes at the moment. One of the Front upper inners is shot on the drivers' side so will replace soon. Rab - mate, you'll not be disappointed Cheers Paul

Got my Coilovers delivered on Friday and installed them yesterday Full write up here Cheers Paul

Following on from the Coilovers thread, just though I'd share some of the experiences I had with installing the Shockworks Coilovers and my first impressions compared to standard. First up though, a big thanks Brett O'Brien, the owner of Shockworks, for sharing his knowledge and time - especially for taking a few my calls on a Sunday. Well beyond the call of duty - and happy to do so too. I've thrown up a few pics of the install and my day on the tools yesterday (been a while) - from the iPhone, so they're not the greatest. Front Strut Installation I followed the Replacing Springs and Shocks thread in the Sticky section, so won't go into too much detail here, just a few pics and some tips that might be useful. First step was to pop the bonnet and get access to the 3 x 17mm strut bolts. For the drivers side, 2 x 12mm bolts hold the radiator header tank in place and this easily rotates out of the way. Passenger side, I just took off the intake section just after the airbox. Next step was to loosen the top 3 strut bolts, the wheels and jack up the front end under the cross member, not forgetting the axle stands. With the wheels off undo the front A arm bolt then the lower strut bolt using an 18mm socket. Loosening the swaybar links had me beat for a few minutes until I realised both an 18 mm and 8mm spanner were needed. Push down on the lower arm and with a couple of twists and turns, the strut slides out pretty easily. Install is a reversal and just as easy. Front end done in 2 hours Rear Shock and Spring Installation I found the back a little fiddlier to do than the front. Jack up the back end in the middle, wheels off and axle stands in place so they don't inhibit movement of the IRS cradle. A 15mm bolt holds the top of the shock, 18mm for the bottom bolt and some brute force and ignorance to get the shock out. As the springs didn't fall out, I took the safe path and used spring compressors to get them out. With enough down force on the rear hub you should be able to pop them out. Now, I was a bit baffled by the adjustable rear spring seat - which is actually sits on top of the spring - as confirmed by a call to Brett. Keep in place the lower spring boot and remove the upper boot. There's a small metal tab (only a few mm) that protrudes from the chassis rail where the spring sits this and needs to be hammered flat. You can see from the pics how the adjustable spring cap sits. With the spring in place it's time for the shock to go in. Line up and tighten the bottom bolt first. It might look as though it's not in properly (see pic) but it will be. Wheels on, job done and, like the front, took me 2 hours. First impressions I had an initial case of buyers' remorse as the comfortable, floaty, wafty feel was instantly gone. Replaced by firmness, feedback, urgency and a sense of purpose. All of a sudden there's an instant connection with the car. It feels so much more nimble, agile and responsive. Punching hard through some high speed corners took away any remorse that I had only minutes earlier. This is how a performance car should handle. Ride is firmer, but not uncomfortable. The best word I'd use to describe it is connected. Ride height has dropped 10mm at the front from 365mm to 355mm and 20mm at the rear from 380mm to 360mm. I'll give the springs some more time to settle and if not, may drop down to 350mm all round. CheersPaul

+4 for Shockworks. Paid and posted today Hopefully get mine tomorrow for the weekend

Spent about 40 minutes talking to Brett from Shockworks this arvo. What a great bloke. He'd just got off the plane from China with very little sleep but was more than happy to talk shop and share his (wealth of) knowledge and experience. Anyway, I'm sold. Ordering a set off him tomorrow and install them next week. Got a feeling I'm not going to be disappointed. Ride height of around 345mm - 350mm HTG is where it's at for best performance and pretty much where I want it without being stupidly low. Rab - from what I understand, there's no need to do anything else (ie bigger swaybars)

So, is there a consensus on shockworks vs XYZ? There's a few happy people running XYZ I'm leaning toward the shockworks, but are they worth the extra $$$ ? What are the main differences? Cheers Paul

Nope, not just you Snap (well, almost)

Proud new owner of an '09 F6E - Build # 0015. Colour - Lightning Strike 10,500 kms. 2nd owner. Previously owned by ex-president of Ford Australia