Suspension Previous owner installed cheap no name coilovers, included a box of a bunch of extra coilover hardware, should I be concerned?

revcor

Member
Jan 11, 2015
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6
18
Bay Area, CA
Bought a '90 hatchback a couple moths ago, and the previous owner had a set of Raceland Primo Adjustable Damping Coilovers ($800) and Raceland Camber/Caster Plates ($140) installed by a shop. He gave me a bunch of spare parts with the car, among which is a Raceland-labeled box with a bunch of leftover/unused parts from the coilover kit. I know Raceland coilovers are a cheapo budget set; I've heard people say they're trash on forums, but I've also seen a handful of reviews online with the general consensus being that they're decent for the price.

I'm wondering if I should be concerned with the amount of parts leftover, if they installed the kit improperly and forgot some parts during the install, or what. I've tried contacting the shop who installed the suspension, the owner said to send him a photo of the extra parts to see if something was missed, but I did and haven't been able to get ahold of him since. I tried contacting Raceland, but they might as well not even exist. The guy was beyond useless, and according to him, they have no documentation/literature/instructions for their products at all, beyond a super short and vague YouTube video. I've attached a photo of the extra parts, and the CC plates/upper strut mounting, and am hoping somebody can let me know if it looks like they forgot to install some bits, or reassure me that they're unnecessary/extra. The ride height adjustment wrenches are obviously not a concern, but the 2 black bushings, 3 rubber O-rings, and 2 bearings/cups are of particular concern. Any insight would be appreciated, and if there are more photos of certain things on the car that I can take to help the determination, please let me know.

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Bought a '90 hatchback a couple moths ago, and the previous owner had a set of Raceland Primo Adjustable Damping Coilovers ($800) and Raceland Camber/Caster Plates ($140) installed by a shop. He gave me a bunch of spare parts with the car, among which is a Raceland-labeled box with a bunch of leftover/unused parts from the coilover kit. I know Raceland coilovers are a cheapo budget set; I've heard people say they're trash on forums, but I've also seen a handful of reviews online with the general consensus being that they're decent for the price.

I'm wondering if I should be concerned with the amount of parts leftover, if they installed the kit improperly and forgot some parts during the install, or what. I've tried contacting the shop who installed the suspension, the owner said to send him a photo of the extra parts to see if something was missed, but I did and haven't been able to get ahold of him since. I tried contacting Raceland, but they might as well not even exist. The guy was beyond useless, and according to him, they have no documentation/literature/instructions for their products at all, beyond a super short and vague YouTube video. I've attached a photo of the extra parts, and the CC plates/upper strut mounting, and am hoping somebody can let me know if it looks like they forgot to install some bits, or reassure me that they're unnecessary/extra. The ride height adjustment wrenches are obviously not a concern, but the 2 black bushings, 3 rubber O-rings, and 2 bearings/cups are of particular concern. Any insight would be appreciated, and if there are more photos of certain things on the car that I can take to help the determination, please let me know.

I'm concerned for you. First, I haven't done a coil over install...BUT if you look at this PDF from the Maximum Motorsports web page you'll see what I see: the parts you have "leftover" appear to be the upper spring perches, thrust needle bearings and o-ring seals. The bushings look a lot like a set of upper strut bushings--how they fit into this may become apparent when the other pieces are properly installed. Bottom line, the install does not appear (to me) to be complete. I suspect some others with more experience will weigh in here, but in the meantime I'd not drive it. Hope this helps.

 
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