GT had a perfect stance until..........

[krewzer]

Had a nice level car until I installed new KYB Gas Adjust shocks on the front. Now the front is raised 2" higher than the rear. Rear has new shocks from OGTS, but probably has original rear springs. Will rear springs sag so much to drop the car. I have 15" wheels but tires are sized to match original tire diameter. Will fresher springs bring the rear back to level, or are the Gas Adjust shocks so rigid that they will change the geometry of the stance?

[BQS4]

You could try a set of Manta/Ascona/Wagon rear springs and see if it brings the rear back up to level. About a 1/2 of work and you'll see the results.

[krewzer]

Is that going to throw my handling out of whack? I've built a performance engine, so I don't want to lose control with a taller car.

[baz]

is it the front thats up more now or the back ?

if the front then look there
dont bring the back up unless you have to , that way lies madness and a topsy turvy ride


what application are the new shocks ? gt specific ? or general ?
do they match for length with the original ones for extended and contracted lengths

[jordan]

When I installed the rear high pressure kyb shock on my gt a few years ago the back did raise up about 3/4" more than it was. You may just be back to approximately the stock ride hight now if you had nothing to compare with before and the previous shocks were just dead.

[Lindsay]

Originally Posted by krewzer Had a nice level car until I installed new KYB Gas Adjust shocks on the front. Now the front is raised 2" higher than the rear. Rear has new shocks from OGTS, but probably has original rear springs. Will rear springs sag so much to drop the car. I have 15" wheels but tires are sized to match original tire diameter. Will fresher springs bring the rear back to level, or are the Gas Adjust shocks so rigid that they will change the geometry of the stance?

Over a decade ago, installed KYB Gas Adjust, front and back, on 73 GT with old, worn suspension. One of front shocks would seat properly on top threaded mount. I may of cross-treaded mount. Had difficult adventure removing shock due to KYB pre-load. Think ... I had to reattach shipping sling that compressed shock. Replaced that damaged shock, but did not like ride. I felt every bump in city streets.

I would double check application data to ensure correct shock. If you can remove front shock, compare shock heights. 2" increase in ride height appears to be too much?

[RallyBob]

High pressure gas shocks tend to be load-bearing, that is, they will add spring rate to the suspension. The nature of the beast unfortunately, but they will settle a bit with time.

[gr_diver]

I will confirm the higher ride of the KYB Gas-A-djust shocks. My car used to be too high at the rear, and two low at the front, because god knows what springs my dad had fitted about 15 years ago. It also had Gas-A-djust shocks at the time. Two years ago, trying to make it leveled, I had new identical KYB shocks fitted on all four corners, together with 4 new stock-rated springs made by kilen (if I remember the brand correctly, swedish product). Then the front end would sit significantly higher than the rear, although both shocks and springs came in model specific kits. So we had to change the front springs with another pair (identical unloaded length, 1mm thinner), that leveled the car again to normal height...

[Dan-MI]

Does anyone have the correct height for a stock front and rear setup? A measurement from the ground to the top of the wheel well would be good. My GT looks to be a bit high in the front or low in the rear. Not sure which. It's not way out, but I'd like to know which end is up.

[namba209]

Dan, I just measured Willit? front and rear were right at 24.5 inches from the ground to the top of the opening at the center of the wheels. I've got a pic in my "member's Gallery" titled Willit? amost done, so you can check out what the stance is. BTW, I've got 205 X 60 X 13 tires on it and both front and rear were rebuilt with poly bushings, new standard shocks and the original springs installed.