T3 upper hat system - am I missing something?

[HighLife]

I purchased the T3 coilover kit a while ago, I just went to assemble my coilovers after shortening the struts but I dont quite get the upper hat system? The hat sits hard up against the strut top plate and not the strut top bearing like I would assume it should be?

Am I missing something out of my kit like an extra spacer or something? The inserts are HTS102's.

Here is the assembled kit.



The spring hat loose on the strut shaft.



The pieces I have.

[HighLife]

Hmmm probably should have searched a little more before posting - just found this thread which seams to explain it: http://www.toymods.net/forums/showth...oilover+spacer

[oldcorollas]

how else is the load taken off the spherical bearing....
why do most other aftermarket spherical bearings flog out.. etc etc.

the angle it sits on may or may not be an issue depending on installation but... compared to replacing spherical bearings every so often, and having the full weight of the car going thru there...

[Julz01]

while this thread is up Ive got a similar question about my coilovers, I have assembled them and found that my top hat sits just above the point of the shock shaft where it cuts in, Is this ok or is it supposed to move freely like highlife's setup

[oldcorollas]

if it sits above, then it will be clamped to the spherical bearing,..
that will mean that the shock shaft cannot rotate, and also cannot pivot...
probabyl not good?

[Julz01]

Thanks oldcorollas, I guess I should make sure I drill it out to sit how highlife ones are, Im using cusco camber tops not t3 ones, but from memory they also had a spherical bearing in them, will have to dig them out to double check

[af300e]

Does the tophat take the tension of the nut when you tighten it? Can't be right if it is. The strut shaft step should tension against the spherical bearing (well, mine do) with the spring hat free.

OC, agree 100% on the load bearing point, the flat taking the weight seems much smarter than having the spherical bushing taking it.

[oldcorollas]

Thanks oldcorollas, I guess I should make sure I drill it out to sit how highlife ones are, Im using cusco camber tops not t3 ones, but from memory they also had a spherical bearing in them, will have to dig them out to double check

if you drill it, remember to take into account the installed angle between the shock shaft and the top plate/hat.. maybe do a pre-install to check.
it will affect the required size of hole to allow the angle

[HighLife]

how else is the load taken off the spherical bearing....
why do most other aftermarket spherical bearings flog out.. etc etc.

the angle it sits on may or may not be an issue depending on installation but... compared to replacing spherical bearings every so often, and having the full weight of the car going thru there...

Yeah I get it now after reading that other thread, I'd just assumed the spherical bearing was meant to take the load as it can move to accomodate different camber/castor angles of the strut. I realise now how its supposed to work.

[Viper]

I have made spacers which allow this system to work as intended.

These were designed without allow for any camber movement.
Ie, the spring, top hat and camber top are always parallel.

I didn't like this too much, so I made up some spacers which allow for a decent range of movement.

Check out my ma61 build thread for pics and such.

Ill post the CADs when i get home as it would seem that more ppl may use them.


I am still at odds at given the surface area and forces going through the spacers... not too sure how they will cope.

Not the best camber tops ever made

[oldcorollas]

eh? now all the load is taken by the spherical bearing, instead of the thrust bearing (that is in the upper hat)

if the hole in the upper hat is large enough to allow, maybe 5-10deg movement, then the hat will always stay flat relative to the upper thingy, and the weight of the car will go thru the top hat, to the thrust bearing, and then into the top plate..

what you have done, is change the design to what all the other aftermarket tops have... ie, massive loading on a bearing not realllly designed for axial loads...

[Viper]

True, the 'load' has been shifted from the larger contract point to the spherical bearing...

And yeah... i guess looking at it from a loads point of view, the original system, is better.
The hole in the top hat is def. enough for that range of movement.
I suppose the spring will mostly just flex to take the slack in movement...

Hmm...

[oldcorollas]

yeah, i dunno about the spring.. i guess it depends ont he mounting angle between the top and the strut..
maybe some cars the angle is too large perhaps.
maybe spring can bend enough.... never tried tho

[HighLife]

Ok, coilovers are all assembled - whats the trick to getting the shaft nut done up tight, the shaft keeps wanting to turn.

[Viper]

Theres 2 slots cut at the top of the shaft. Just under ur black line in the pic above

Get an open spanner ~19mm hold it while u do up the nut.
Easy