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      07-30-2013, 10:18 AM   #1
rmonte4
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H&R Springs Installation on a 3.0si

I have little knowledge working on cars and I attempted to do the install on my own after getting a few ridiculous quotes from a couple auto shops in my area.

I did the rear in 1 hour by myself, then tried to do the front and failed miserably. After about 3 hrs of hassle trying to put the front end on my jack stands and taking off the front-left strut, I realized that taking off the spring from the strut would be a very big pain in the ass with the tools I had. With my energy dwindling I decided to put the Front-Left back together. This took me an additional 3 hrs including long breaks to catch my breath. I followed BILL's DIY for coilovers, And I was naive enough to think Springs would be the same, but the very last step is to take the tophat off and install the new spring which is very difficult for a DIY. IMO this install requires power tools/air tools, 2 spring compressors, and 4 sets of hands. ~FAIL

Drove my car with just the rears replaced for 2 days, and took it to a mechanic who gave me the best estimate. $266 for the fronts only (4 hrs labor). It is at the shop now, I will update later.

I did have 2 other quotes for the front only, $320 and $575.

My body is still in pain ALL OVER....

~n00b
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      07-30-2013, 10:42 AM   #2
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Sorry to hear about all the trouble you had. I am pretty sure the shop will get it done right. It took my buddy and I less than 3 hours to swap out the springs. We used Bill's diy for as reference/guide. The rears were a breeze, got both done in no time. The fronts a little more challenging but we did not have air tool or anything special beside a pair of good old spring compressors.
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      07-30-2013, 11:01 AM   #3
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Originally Posted by Pheonix View Post
Sorry to hear about all the trouble you had. I am pretty sure the shop will get it done right. It took my buddy and I less than 3 hours to swap out the springs. We used Bill's diy for as reference/guide. The rears were a breeze, got both done in no time. The fronts a little more challenging but we did not have air tool or anything special beside a pair of good old spring compressors.
Yea, the rears were fun. My confidence level was super high, then came crashing down when i failed on the front-left.

yea i hope my car is perfect in a few hours when i pick it up, excited
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      07-30-2013, 11:15 AM   #4
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ARGH, he told me one of my front struts is bad. i told him just to continue on.

Looks like struts have to be changed soon? I didnt notice an issue with my suspension prior, maybe he's trying to upsell me on while the car is taken apart.
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      07-30-2013, 06:52 PM   #5
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quick bad pic. My car is really low. I bottomed out on 2 speed bumps on the way through my parking garage. What exactly am I bottoming out on?
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      07-30-2013, 07:26 PM   #6
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You are most likely scrapping the plastic under tray. Not a big deal. Just go a little slower and smoother over those areas.
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      07-31-2013, 01:11 PM   #7
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Yup. Getting those front springs off and the new ones on is quite a pain in the rear... I spent the majority of the time just on that. Takes two pairs of compressors. There's no way I can see to do it with just one pair. I tried for about 5 hours. The price you were quoted to do the fronts was VERY good in my opinion.



If you do dampers on the rear, you'll have a new set of things to consider. Getting around your soft top. It's do-able, but will take patience.
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      07-31-2013, 01:24 PM   #8
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wow... sorry to see the struggles you guys have gone through.
Makes me wish I was there to give you a helping hand.
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      07-31-2013, 10:28 PM   #9
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If you do dampers on the rear, you'll have a new set of things to consider. Getting around your soft top. It's do-able, but will take patience.
I think Im going to do coilovers when my shocks die, literally just to avoid dealing with the springs.
I heard about the dreaded rear, taking apart the trunk to get at the bolts. I think I will try it myself i'll just make sure i have extra help.
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      07-31-2013, 10:31 PM   #10
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wow... sorry to see the struggles you guys have gone through.
Makes me wish I was there to give you a helping hand.
you and I both.
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      08-01-2013, 09:43 AM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rmonte4 View Post
I think Im going to do coilovers when my shocks die, literally just to avoid dealing with the springs.
I heard about the dreaded rear, taking apart the trunk to get at the bolts. I think I will try it myself i'll just make sure i have extra help.
It's really not as bad as you'd think. It only took me about an hour to disassemble the carrier for the top. It's really more about patience than difficulty. If you're methodical and take your time, it's actually very easy. Re-assembling only took about half an hour. When you do, DEFINITELY get the Rogue RSMs so you never have to deal with the top carrier again.

Good to see you got this all sorted out for now though.
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      08-01-2013, 11:02 AM   #12
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Originally Posted by rmonte4 View Post
Attachment 894056

quick bad pic. My car is really low. I bottomed out on 2 speed bumps on the way through my parking garage. What exactly am I bottoming out on?
Yep, I tried H&R's on my 3.0si Coupe several years ago and knew almost before I left the house that it wasn't going to be a long marriage. In fact, the marriage lasted on ~25 miles until I got to my parking garage at work and realized I wasn't going to get in without scraping the front end. Had my wife stand outside and watch to warn me, and sure enough she almost immediately started waving her arms. Switch places with her and watched myself and sure enough, no way that car was going to get in that garage.

Went just driving around 7th Street/Camp Bowie areas (of Ft. Worth, since you're in Dallas you may know where I'm talking about) and it seemed like at least every other restaurant/bar/etc I would go was going to be the same problem.

So we just turned around and went home. H&R's came off about a week later and I sold 'em here for something like $50 and just wrote it off to one of those things.

Rusty
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      08-01-2013, 12:37 PM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ANUSTART View Post
It's really not as bad as you'd think. It only took me about an hour to disassemble the carrier for the top. It's really more about patience than difficulty. If you're methodical and take your time, it's actually very easy. Re-assembling only took about half an hour. When you do, DEFINITELY get the Rogue RSMs so you never have to deal with the top carrier again.

Good to see you got this all sorted out for now though.

Thanks for the Tip,
Car feels good, but im terrified of large speed bumps and potholes. Although the angling technique is working fairly well at my apartment parking garage.
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      08-01-2013, 12:40 PM   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ruscoupe View Post
Yep, I tried H&R's on my 3.0si Coupe several years ago and knew almost before I left the house that it wasn't going to be a long marriage. In fact, the marriage lasted on ~25 miles until I got to my parking garage at work and realized I wasn't going to get in without scraping the front end. Had my wife stand outside and watch to warn me, and sure enough she almost immediately started waving her arms. Switch places with her and watched myself and sure enough, no way that car was going to get in that garage.

Went just driving around 7th Street/Camp Bowie areas (of Ft. Worth, since you're in Dallas you may know where I'm talking about) and it seemed like at least every other restaurant/bar/etc I would go was going to be the same problem.

So we just turned around and went home. H&R's came off about a week later and I sold 'em here for something like $50 and just wrote it off to one of those things.

Rusty
Tell me about it... I think i will piss off my neighbors How slow and angled I need to go through the garage. our Si's were already pretty damn low to begin with, sometimes I wonder if it was even necessary to lower
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      08-01-2013, 12:41 PM   #15
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Went just driving around 7th Street/Camp Bowie...
Or as I (and many others) always called it, Camp Bumpy.
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      08-01-2013, 01:12 PM   #16
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ruscoupe View Post
Yep, I tried H&R's on my 3.0si Coupe several years ago and knew almost before I left the house that it wasn't going to be a long marriage. In fact, the marriage lasted on ~25 miles until I got to my parking garage at work and realized I wasn't going to get in without scraping the front end. Had my wife stand outside and watch to warn me, and sure enough she almost immediately started waving her arms. Switch places with her and watched myself and sure enough, no way that car was going to get in that garage.

Went just driving around 7th Street/Camp Bowie areas (of Ft. Worth, since you're in Dallas you may know where I'm talking about) and it seemed like at least every other restaurant/bar/etc I would go was going to be the same problem.

So we just turned around and went home. H&R's came off about a week later and I sold 'em here for something like $50 and just wrote it off to one of those things.

Rusty
Seriously? How much does the H&R's drop? I have Eibach and don't have too much troubles in the bay area. The keys are figuring the best angle to approach and smooth/stable speed (the suspensions will compress if too much accellaration or decellaration occurs)
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      08-02-2013, 11:06 AM   #17
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Seriously? How much does the H&R's drop? I have Eibach and don't have too much troubles in the bay area. The keys are figuring the best angle to approach and smooth/stable speed (the suspensions will compress if too much accellaration or decellaration occurs)
Im learning that through trial and error, I hear different sounding Dings/scrapes at different angles and at different obstacles. Car feels real nice on turns now however.
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      08-02-2013, 01:41 PM   #18
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The H&R springs for the non-M drop about 2", more than advertised.

Even if your dampers are perfectly fine now, you'll be needing new dampers in a few months and your car will handle like shit in the meantime. Really should've gotten the Koni's and install them at the same time instead of paying for the install and alignment twice.
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      08-03-2013, 07:37 PM   #19
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Did you see Bavarian Autosport's youtube video?

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      08-04-2013, 01:10 AM   #20
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Did you see Bavarian Autosport's youtube video?
Did not see that, wow nice video.
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