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shorter AGX front struts for GP? any swaps?

CadVetteStang

CadVetteStang

New member
Looking for shorter front struts that will bolt up to to the 97-03 GP. Car will be lowered about 1.5". Needs to be a car that KYB makes the AXG for.
I talked with one of their tech reps on the phone and he didn't have the ability to look up a shorter strut with the same mounting styles.

If I am unable to find a shorter strut, can I get some feedback about how well the AGX works with 1.5"-2" drop, bottoming out, and spring rates that work well?
I'm swapping in a jk spring and will cut to length to obtain desired drop.
LCA to frame mounts will be modded to retain geometry.
Thanks,
Cody
 


Nothing wrong with cutting the TG end of a coil if done correctly with a saw. These springs have a current var. rate av. of 416 lbs. / inch. After cutting one coil they should be in the 530 lb. range.

The LSA IRS in my Edorado had stock springs rated at linear 279 lbs./ inch. For my swap, I used linear springs rated at 760 lbs./inch. After cutting they are rated 1000 lbs./inch. I have logged 35,000 trouble free miles on them.

Sure, its dumb for the uninformed to attempt something of that skill level, but it's something suspension builders and racers do. Kind of like this- a plumber should not perform heart surgery, because it's a doctor's thing.
But it's not dumb for doctors to do.

Now, I hope the light-weights have all weighed in... I'm ready for some tech from those who are in the know...... maybe, I should have screened the novices out first.
 
I was going to do coilovers, but my 18X8.5 winter wheels and 255/45 tires are very close to the strut and my 18X10 summer & racing wheels would rub the coils if it had coilovers. I'm going to keep the 275/40's under the fenders. Can't do that without the 7.2" backspacing.
 


I honestly don't think there is another strut that would just bolt into our stock location.

I think some sort of bracket would have to be made, then raised up from the sounds of it. With such wide wheels, the bottom of the strut would have to be up so darn high to not rub the tire.
 
I've already done the measuring and fitting. The GP strut is a direct fit on my Eldorado. I just have to have the sway bar tabs welded on ( another reason I can' t use coilovers. I have a lot more fender clearance than the WBodys have.
 
the only one I know of that might be shorter is the Grand Am struts from the Grand Am with a5 by 115 lug pattern. unfortunately I don't know if there anything more than a tiny bit shorter. And I'm not altogether sure you can get AGX's for em.

you coil over clearance issue you are mentioning is also what screwing us over on our 11 inch wide slicks. so I am laying back the struts with custom strut mounts.
 


Originally, I wanted a bolt-on sway bar link bracket attached to the bottom of the spring perch to avoid the need to have a shop weld one one on each time I change struts. However, worried about flex.... I was going to build knuckle bolt brackets anyway to secure the speed sensor in the Cadillac's factory location, which is just above the knuckle bolts .... Thinking about it, now, I guess I could fab a bracket that attached in both locations running the length of the strut body to attach both the sway bar link and the speed sensor wire.
That would be a one time fabrication and would only require the drilling of one or two holes in the perch - eliminating the need for a shop and the risk of overheating the strut..... AND I could have more than one hole for the end link for adjustability AND could set the ride height BEFORE drilling the primary end link hole so the bar could be set with level arms......
Wow! Thanks for that suggestion. I'll start designing a test bracket.

(I drive this car 25,000 miles per year, so the ability to change struts without having to have a welder would be awesome!)
 
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