I just acquired a 2005 Crossfire Convertible 3.2 N/A. It's a fun car to drive but I am concerned that the struts are not performing as well as they could. I have worked in the vehicle service industry for some time and we preach that every 50k, struts will lose effectiveness and cost 10ft of braking distance. That being said, none of my struts are leaking and the car handles quite well. I would like to determine what would be the best course of action to freshen up the handling on this car.

If I do struts, which ones are going to require the least aftermarket adjustable parts to make them work. It looks like koni, kyb, bilstein all offer options.

Then, springs, ebiach and few others I found.

Will in need camber/caster adjustments if I do these? I assume I should also do the strut mounts.

I've seen threads on the steering stabilizer as well.

I am looking for decent performance, I don't need to go much lower, I wont' be tracking the car but sometimes I drive it like Im on the track.

Recommendations are appreciated.

Chris S.

 

No struts on the Crossfire, just springs and shocks on all 4 corners.
The KYB's seem to be the weapon of choice.
Replacing the shocks will not require alignment, but with 128K on it, it wouldn't be a bad idea to have it checked.
( Check the front lower ball joints too )
The steering stabilizer shock is cheap, an easy DIY and most replace it every 30-40K.

If you are gonna lower the car, then there are lots of considerations - search the threads here on lowering.

 

thanks for the lesson. I call shocks, struts. I will call them shocks from now on.

KYB- Part #s? I've seen mention of Mercades part #s, but something about the wheels being a different size on the Mercades counter part. Ebiach Pro Springs, and check the ball joints up front. Steering stabilizer is first on the list.

I just did the Eurocharged Tune and plant to do the sprint booster next so I want to make sure I have a car that can handle the extra push.

I think the car handles well now, but bumps will push the car around a bit.

Chris S.

 

 

This is what I found! I will be picking up a set right around the 10th of Nov. I will be looking for some springs to go with them.

Check these out! (carefull, they will not tell you that these are on back order, will send you a confirmation, but won't call you to say that they are not in stock). I have had a confirmation for almost two weeks, rushing home after work and hurrying other vendors to get springs to me so that the work can all be done at the same time, but I still don't have shocks, tracking, or a call to say sorry we mislead you by not marking these items on back order. We have taken you off the market and kept you from looking for someplace that acutally does have them and that's ok by us).

Bilstein - KYB - Rancho - Monroe - Edelbrock Automotive Truck Shocks and Struts - Shockwarehouse.com

These and some eibach lowering springs should make my roadster a winner! Anyone buy some srpings and decide to go coil overs? Im looking for NIB or super low milage springs as well.

 

The coilovers for our cars aren't like other applications you've seen and are also difficult to adjust so most deem them not worth the added cost

 

 

Have not heard of these before. Do they have stats on how much the drop is etc?

Just keep in mind that going lower comes with some baggage that may lead you to other expenses that will far outweigh a higher cost of stock height springs. Some people have no issues others have a lot. The biggest being adjustable camber front and back. There is no play with the stock parts so if your camber is out of spec from the drop you have limited options. If you are lucky, you can get by with the MB front camber bolts for minimal cost. If those are not enough the k-mac$ are basically your only option up front with custom/diy camber bars in the back or k-macs again.

 

Everyone says that Eibach height and kyb's is all you need. 1.3 inch drop. I went that route to avoid having to use camber kits front and back. I found these ST springs NIB and they are the same drop height as the Eibach Pro Kit.

Here is a link with ST specs.

Client Validation

Keep in mind, Im not trying to use these to be different. They are available, and priced right. If they aren't a good option because someone knows and tried them, Im the kind of guy who is going to listen. So 1.2 drop shouldn't be an issue on a limited roadster with Stock wheels, ie. no need for $100s of dollars in camber kits, adjustments and countless fruitless alignments is not what I'm signing up for....... Is it?

 

Looks like these are for the Merc with the smaller wheels. I'm going a different direction. ST does make a spring specifically for the Crossfire, I think I found the proven Eibach springs for a decent price.

 

That is the thing, it varies from car to car. I try not to discourage anyone because plenty of people have lowered even further than eibachs and stayed in alignment spec but that was not the case for me. I went Koni and eibach and the camber bolts were not enough to get me in spec. I ended up needing k-macs in the front. I did not plan on the k-macs so they did not get done for about a year and in that time I ate through a set of new tires. (Daily driver)

In hind sight would I have still done it? Hell yes, the car looks so much better lowered I could never go back. I would have been better prepared for worst case though which is needing front k-macs, that is the highest cost especially if you can't install yourself.

I advise installing at least the camber bolts while you are doing the rest of the work. Once it has settled after a couple weeks get a free alignment check and go from there.

 

Thanks! Sounds like a plan. Im grabbing up a set of pro-kit eibach with the KYBs. I will have camber bolts ready for the front at least. I'm a Product Specialist for Audi and have access to lifts, techs, parts delivered, etc. I'm sorry you had to burn through tires to learn the lesson that you just taught me. I don't mind throwing money at a project as long as I have a desired result. Thankyou crossfireforum.org for helping make crossfire customization fun!

 

Anyone try the shocks from Monroe? It looks like the KYB shocks are on backorder nation wide. I rushed to get the springs in time for the shocks and it turns out that the shocks were never shipped. I am kinda pissed at the shock warehouse for not posting that the KYB's are not in stock.

How about Belltech Dual Tube street shocks. I read somewhere that if you have mono tubes, you shouldn't go with dual tube set ups. Anyone have experience with the Belltech shocks? I am ready to get the ball rolling.

 

Just wait for the Ground Control kit. It will be light years ahead of anything out there currently.

 

Im curious. I called shock warehouse to see what the deal was on the backorder. They pushed me back another month. It appears that since this post that 12 orders have been placed for the KYB's. If you have read this post and ordered KYB's since, please PM me as I would like to try to do a group buy from the shock warehouse. They have bilstein shock for about twice as much. Perhaps we can do a group buy on the bilstein's and catch a deal and do our suspensions now!

I'm tired of waiting, looking at my springs in the box.

Im thiking 10 orders and we should be able to ask for about $50 off 4.

Please post or PM if you have placed an order for the KYB's in the last 30 days.

 

I hope to jump on board with this too.

 

OK, what is this ground control kit?

I am getting ready to get serious with this car. As it comes together, I really am enjoying the way the car performs. I am hoping to drop just about an inch before I spring for new tires. I want to get it dialed in before I start buring through tires.

Last thing I want is to have the car handling worse.

I am curious about something else. These folks that are going with the KYBs.... It's safe to assume some went with shocks that go to the MERC and some waited for those that go on the Crossfire. If they are being generalized as KYB shocks, it may explain why some have no issues with alignment afterward and some do.

When is the ground control kit available?

 

The shocks should not cause any drastic change in camber unless something is way off. The drop from the springs is where the camber issue come from. When talking SLK vs Crossfire the various kits seem to be the exact same parts now a days. Early on the eibach kit for the SLK provided a little more drop than the crossfire ones but now they are the same part number. It's always recommended to do the homework on stats and such but generally anything for the R170 is interchangeable with the xfire unless you are talking cosmetic stuff.

 

anyone try these?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/SPECIALTY-PRODUCTS-28840-Alignment-Camber-Kit-/331033866364?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&fits=Year%3A2005%7CMake%3AChrysler%7CModel%3ACrossfire&hash=item4d1327f07c&vxp=mtr#ht_1264wt_930#ht_1264wt_930
I hate the idea of paying more for my camber kit than I do my shocks.

I don't want any poping or noises. What happens if I leave the stock limited shocks and use the pro kit springs? If its going to ride the same and eat tires the same as upgrading the shocks, then i may leave the stockers in place until the ground control kit is available. I could just do the springs for now.

I'm itching to drop the car NOW!

 

so these should work???

http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-Febi-Camber-Alignment-Kit-SLK-Class-CLK-C-MB-Mercedes-Benz-209-Chassis-/130978669363?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item1e7eefe333#ht_2250wt_922