Progressive rate coils and billet adjustable shocks for your 80? It may be possible. (1 Viewer)

[MCB Parts]

Hey guys I have been a long time cruiser head and I have also been selling muscle car brakes, suspension and restoration parts for 14 years.

I am into Pro-Touring cars (Big brakes, hige end coil over suspension, ect)

I also have owned quite a few 80 cruisers. I am currently working on a 96 LC very very clean start.

I have gathered up just about everything for my suspension, no corners cut.

I spent my time and finally found a set of F.O.R Gen II coils. I have heard a lot of good about them and i figured they are perfect for my use with a small spacer added for height.

I have a 60 acre ranch in central California that offers almost every possible offroad obstacle possible, I will be able to test any changes to my rigs easily as my shop is there too, with two lifts and two 96's! One is the "ranch" truck and one is my gem "project" that will be my test rig.

Then it hit me... I am a #2 ranked distributor for a major distributor of muscle/classic car shocks that are made by fox racing but desiged to be even better, by them! Both Coil Over and smooth body billet.

They will build me a "fox" mono tube billet, adjustable, non-adjustable or triple adjustable remote res. shock to my specs, dyno tuned, and the design has already been beat to heck on road race cars all over the world... We drive a little slower, and we have a lot more fluid volume and surface area for cooling!

They also use a spring manufacture in Indiana, they buid a VERY close tolerance springs (rates on each coil are super close, Industry standard is a joke guys) I asked them about building me a spring and explained the application, he laughed and said yes, since they have done baja trucks to Indy cars, it's not an issue, they are primarily an automotive spring manufacturing company. This will be a PROGRESSIVE rate coil!

My question is this, can I gauge interest in my product here before becoming a vendor? I understand this is a small market and I am not trying to kill the world here, I have alot of respect for Slee and other guys here, I have mostly all Slee on my rigs... This is just a project that sounds like fun and I have easy access to producing and testing the product before it's released and it will be backed by my corporation and the huge name manufactures of the products.

The system would be designed with highway ride quality #1 (I am very picky about ride quality/handling) and overall quality.... You should be able to beat the crap out of it! The current muscle car shock application carries a one MILLION mile warranty! It's the only one of its kind! Weigh carrying and offroad will not be an issue.

Thanks
Matt

 

[newtomelx]

Matt, I would be interested in seeing what you can come up with. My end goals sound similar to yours, ride quality is a big one.

 

[LFD2037]

I'd be interested in a 3" progressive coil that didn't sag ridiculously from having heavy bumpers. Fox & Icon already make specific shocks for our 80's.

 

[hntashdjian]

Interested

 

[RS6tofj80]

I'd sell George my shocks and springs to buy a realllllllllyyyyy smooth setup.....

maybe......

 

[GW Nugget]

I'm game...

 

[MTKID]

I'd love to see a "slinky" like coil available in the US!
I'm interested in the coils.

 

[aaaaaaaandrew]

Definitely interested as it seems the TJM progressive springs/TJM anything are basically no where to be found in stock in the US at the moment. It would be great to have an adjustable coil over option. Any estimates on cost?

 

[canman]

I'd be interested in a 3" progressive coil that didn't sag ridiculously from having heavy bumpers. Fox & Icon already make specific shocks for our 80's.

Same here.

 

[Mixelplix]

I'm also interested.

 

[iptman]

What's the price target? Same, more or less than the Slee shocks and springs?

 

[MCB Parts]

Guys, my target pricing on coils would be similar to other high quality offerings. However, these coils are NOT going to sag! The test rig they will be used is a 96 LC with a Slee rear bumper with tire and Shortbus front bumper carrying a warn 9500.

I am also going to run sliders, quite a bit of armor, ARB roof rack, ect...

The second test rig, a 96 LX, which will more accurately represent the lighter guys only has sliders and a shortbus bumper right now.

It rides on OME heavies with OME shocks and I bought that truck as a cream puff virgin, sold it to a buddy since I had a LC, and he did the mods and we wheeled together for about 3 years. He wasn't kind to this truck! So cosmetically it's a little hammered but will serve as the initial test base as it rides like crap IMO, especially over higher speed dirt runs on the ranch.

I do realize there are a few options out there for shocks right now but we plan to use the knowledge gained in the proprietary shaft seal design (why they get a Million mile warrany now) and some other exclusive features. I also believe those that are willing to spend the extra $ to get a single or triple adjustable setup will see a huge benefit.

Please keep posting if you are interested in this system, I will work on minimum spring/shock runs so we can get them on our rigs and in the hands of some of you guys out there to test as well! I need as much input as to what "issues" you have with your current or past setups, what limitations you may be faced with that you would like to see fixed and what different height coils you would like to see.

The more input I get now, the better the initial product will come out! If you have your truck weight, please post it along with a brief list of your mods.

I will also be posting some data shortly on the coils, to give you guys a better idea of the quality and close tolerances they are built to, I will be honest, I haven't even looked for data on other brand coils, it doesn't much matter, at the end of the day, the butt dyno, longevity and weight carrying are key here.

Are there any design changes/issues you guys currently have with the coils and shocks on the market? In other words what do you like/ not like about your current setup or past setups you have ran?

Thanks
Matt

 

[nukegoat]

Coilovers are probably a better option for me. Good luck though.

 

[djsixbillion]

Interested in seeing what you come up with. I'm on Slee 4" with Fox 2.0's now, but have been thinking about going lower, sacrificing some clearance for (maybe) better on-road ride and handling.

 

[M0untaineer]

Interested

 

[MCB Parts]

As far as coil overs go, especially as a bolt-in, doubtful... Or impossible perhaps!?

I mean I can make a bolt-in coil over now but packaging is one of the bigger issues, travel will suffer but you would be able to dial in the spring rate some..

Is anyone out there interested in a coil over that will bolt in place of the coils, knowing the up travel limits it will pose? It would be good for the DD guys that maybe do some expo but not hardcore offroad IMO...

Matt

 

[Lionsgarage]

I am interested, however I would add mine will be aluminum LS swapped with 6L80, bumpers front and rear plus expo type mods and I have no idea what the weight will be once ready. My experience with road racing and rally cars is, once the car is rolling with all the weight on it we weigh the corners and then choose the springs.
So does the vehicle weight vary so little between our rigs that only a few springs and shock are correct for each of us?

 

[Tapage]

I would like to see more options for us ..

It should be better if you do both .. I mean, designing coils to work along with your shocks for a given driving conditions and 80 weight .. I'm pretty sure one size can't fit us all ..

I'm loving my lift and stance right now ( OME 4" comps front and OME J in the rear ) but at 300 in/lb with OME shocks and Toyos MT ride it{s a bit harsh on front ..

But to be honest I won't be able to put 2K on shocks on my beloved 80 ..

 

[MCB Parts]

I will have a pretty good idea on pricing soon. Right after the new year we are starting in on the shocks. I will be looking at a high quality, Billet, Mono-Tube design, possibly single adjustable for the mostly street guys. This will be the most affordable and best riding shock we will offer. The second will have a remote canister for more high speed offroad cooling, "normal" offroad conditions IMO don't warrant a rem reservior.

As for the coils, we can make them for any weight capacity but it needs to make "sense" too. To make 20 different springs for one series of truck and stock them is quite expensive.

What I need is more input from you guys. What rates are you running now that are too weak, stiff, soft, ect...

Also, what lift heights do you want to see? I think keeping it at a 2.5, 3 and 3.5 for now may be the way to go. You can adjust up a little with trim packers to get 4"

Beyond that, 5" is possible of course but we are more into ride quality and road manners, most 5"+ lifted 7k# suv's with 37"+ tires can only be so polite. We will start at what I consider the perfect lift for the 80, right around 3" give or take 1/2"

Thanks for the input so far, please keep it coming!
Matt

 

[Mandito22]

I'll be interested in 4" lift springs , and shocks ... right now im on j's and want to get rid of em asap , specifically the rear ones