What did you do to your X1/9 today ?

Integrale said:
Test fit speedlines 20mm adapter the outside is flush with top of wheel wel
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Be sure to check the fender clearance with the front wheels turned in both directions - especially toward the front lower corner. The addition of spacers creates a wider "arc" for the wheel/tire when it turns, which pushes it toward the fender.


Integrale said:
modified Mazda 626 struts cheap imitations of ksport struts
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I believe this is the first time I've ever heard of using Mazda 626 struts on the X1.9. Please tell us all about it.
Did these struts require the change in top mount type, or was that something you did for other reasons?
 
It currently just brushes the corner, but the car is still on jacks, I think with weight on the wheels it should be fine, if not a little massaging won’t hurt. I switched the strut mounts because they should be readily available for some time and they have bearings. The big tapered rubber mounting surface should distribute the load better to prevent stress cracks in the strut tower. The struts themselves I just chose because they were inexpensive and looked somewhat close to x1/9 struts since they are built like ksport struts I just had to cut off the mounting tabs and fabricate new ones to fit the x. This is what I started with.
https://www.amazon.com/Yonaka-Compa...gateway&sprefix=Mazda+626+coil,aps,228&sr=8-4
 
55BB571B-C285-48DF-B7A4-10B10510C961.jpeg This is how I modified the strut tower to accept the 500 mounts. I widened the hole radius 12 mm. Then I made the doubling plate out of big bearing retainers from the local farm supply store. Welded a smaller bearing retainer to the top of the bigger one to hold the mounting washer. Attached that to the underside of the strut tower with four plug welds.
 
Integrale said:
It currently just brushes the corner, but the car is still on jacks
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Nice work on the struts and top mounts. ;) How does the length of these struts compare to the stock ones?
If possible please consider doing a full thread with all of the details for both of these. Having it in this general thread it will get lost, and I think it's worth sharing. :)

You may find the tire rubs MORE when the car is on the ground with the weight compressing the suspension. But as you say, some trimming/massaging should take care of that. The lower front corner is always the problem spot. :(
 
Integrale said:
Test fit speedlines 20mm adapter the outside is flush with top of wheel well. About a finger width inside clearance to modified Mazda 626 struts cheap imitations of ksport struts. Strut mount is converted to Fiat 500 style.
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Care to expand on what you did in an actual thread? The 626 struts and the 500 mounts are both things I haven’t seen before.
 
NEG said:
Looks like my car also has the factory fit rust option in the rear trunk!
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You may find it is even worse under here....
IMG-2759.jpg


Assuming that is the bulkhead to the engine bay. All of mine were rusted more along the bottom edge of that vertical panel than the flat trunk floor.
 
Integrale said:
Test fit speedlines 20mm adapter the outside is flush with top of wheel well. About a finger width inside clearance to modified Mazda 626 struts cheap imitations of ksport struts. Strut mount is converted to Fiat 500 style.
Click to expand...

I have a Ford Probe GT as well with D2 Coils and I've been thinking about moving them to my X instead. D2 Coils for X is almost 100% more expensive than D2 Coils for Probe/MX6/626. Rebuilding the towers seems doable but what about the lower part? Does it bolt on or is more mods necessary?
The springs are most likely different at least when thinking about car weight: Probe 1300kg and X 900kg so ev. lack of performance and/or a very stiff ride is worrying me. Please let me know about your experiences when ready. Rebuilding my D2 Coils would save me 1800$.
 
Integrale said:
existing mounts were cut off and fabricated
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Are those coil-overs a type that can be disassembled easily? Such as unscrew a top nut and slide out a insert? That would leave the outer housing empty so welding new tabs onto it would not damage the internals.
 
Dr.Jeff said:
Are those coil-overs a type that can be disassembled easily? Such as unscrew a top nut and slide out a insert? That would leave the outer housing empty so welding new tabs onto it would not damage the internals.
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The internals can not be removed from D2 Coilovers, only the spring and the top plate. Welding new bottom mounts would be risky.
 
Dr.Jeff said:
Are those coil-overs a type that can be disassembled easily? Such as unscrew a top nut and slide out a insert? That would leave the outer housing empty so welding new tabs onto it would not damage the internals.
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The bottom mount is separate from the strut body it just screws on the threaded strut body so you can adjust ride height independent of spring preload.
 
Integrale said:
The bottom mount is separate from the strut body it just screws on the threaded strut body so you can adjust ride height independent of spring preload.
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You are right. I remembered it wrong, D2 coils works the same way.
I've been in contact with the Swedish D2 representative and they confirm the springs are different and customized for each car model and mode (street/sport/race). The very high price on the X coils is due to the low volume. D2 coils are more or less manufactered to order. The D2 reseller here is soon running an annual campaign, and is gathering lots of orders that will reduce the price with 30%. D2 will then manufacture and ship to Sweden by boat which will take some time but worth waiting for.
 
Integrale said:
The bottom mount is separate from the strut body it just screws on the threaded strut body
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Bjorn Nilson said:
D2 will then manufacture and ship to Sweden
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That type of coil-over, with a lower mount that has an adjustable height by threading onto the body, is much preferred in my opinion. It allows you to set the ride height independently from the spring load (typical coil-overs only allow spring adjustment, which affects rate and height together). It also makes it easy to change the mounting tabs because you can cut and weld as needed without fear of damaging the inner dampener.

How do these Mazda/Ford units compare in length to the standard X1/9 struts?

The spring rates can easily be changed obviously, by replacing the springs. I find most aftermarket units come with MUCH too stiff of springs for street use, but that may be personal preference. The dampening rate will also (or SHOULD also) be different depending on the application (car's total weight, bias, suspension geometry, etc). If these are rebuildable then that can be changed to suit your needs. Or they may be reasonably close enough for normal street driving (not as critical as having the ultimate handling for a track car). I guess it depends on your intended use of the car, the availability of units, and your budget.

Bjorn, if they make another run of them specifically for the X1/9, what sort of pricing are they talking about? It would be nice to have a higher quality option compared to the few currently available, especially if they are more reasonably priced.
 
Dr.Jeff said:
That type of coil-over, with a lower mount that has an adjustable height by threading onto the body, is much preferred in my opinion. It allows you to set the ride height independently from the spring load (typical coil-overs only allow spring adjustment, which affects rate and height together). It also makes it easy to change the mounting tabs because you can cut and weld as needed without fear of damaging the inner dampener.

How do these Mazda/Ford units compare in length to the standard X1/9 struts?

The spring rates can easily be changed obviously, by replacing the springs. I find most aftermarket units come with MUCH too stiff of springs for street use, but that may be personal preference. The dampening rate will also (or SHOULD also) be different depending on the application (car's total weight, bias, suspension geometry, etc). If these are rebuildable then that can be changed to suit your needs. Or they may be reasonably close enough for normal street driving (not as critical as having the ultimate handling for a track car). I guess it depends on your intended use of the car, the availability of units, and your budget.

Bjorn, if they make another run of them specifically for the X1/9, what sort of pricing are they talking about? It would be nice to have a higher quality option compared to the few currently available, especially if they are more reasonably priced.
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I will measure the length of the D2 Probe struts next week. I have not much experience in coilovers. For my Ford I just bought them to lower the car and I thought D2 seemed to be ok at a reasonable price (850 USD/set). But now when have had them for two years I realize how good they perform and the flexibility they offer. Especially in setting ride height and camber. This is something I understand KONI is not fully offering. Also, KONI is not available for the X here in EU and buying KONI from Midwest would probably cost me like 3000 USD with shipping, VAT, customs fees... I can almost buy special made Öhrlings coils for that money.
Rebuilding current Probe coils, buying new spring etc. is not worth the effort. Instead, I will order proper X coils on the upcoming D2 campaign, then the kit will cost me 12-1300 USD. However, that is a Swedish campaign.
As far as I know, the coils for X are more or less manufactured on order due to low volumes. I expect they need to prepare CNC machines to make the top mount plate etc. that's what drives the high cost.

Swedish reseller page:
https://www.streetperformance.se/product/d2-coilovers-fiat-bertone-x1-9-arsm-8289
 
Bjorn Nilson said:
I will measure the length of the D2 Probe struts next week.
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Thanks Bjorn. Ideally if you have the springs off, the total lengths with the shaft fully extended and fully collapsed would be a good start. It can get a bit particular from there to compare all dimensions, but the overall lengths will say if these are a worthwhile platform to start from. :)
 
My car started to run really poor last week in the 6000 to 6500 rpm range. Seemed to be getting leaned out on one cylinder. Above 7K, starts to clear. Since this seemed to be an rpm dependant mixture issue, the emulsion tubes, mains, and ACs seemed to be a good place to look. I took then all apart and shot them up with carb cleaner. I cannot say that I saw any dirt particles, but after re-assembly and a test ride, the problem is gone. Pulls past 7.5K nice and strong with no rough spots. My first tank of fuel had about 2 gallons of gas and a can of SeaFoam (high concentration). I have a feeling it may have loosened up something I missed in the carbs that caused the problem. The two 12 micron Wix filters ahead of the carbs looks clean so I don't think it came from upstream (fuel tank cleaned spotless, all new hoses).

I'm still using the same jets I had on the 1300. Now that the engine seems to be operating in a stable state, I may see if there is some fine tuning to do with the mains and ACs.
 
Went for a couple of drives today.
First time out was to go to the hardware store for a couple of screws for some finishing touches on the downstairs bathroom makeover.

It was supposedly 91 degrees F out and felt it.

The redneck AC was doing a fair job so we went a little out of out way for some lunch.
Tried to get my wife to take some pictures of the curvy road ahead but all she got was some shots out the side.
0818191842.jpg

We got into a little spiff over that.

Mirror is not broken,just reflection that makes it look that way.

The air was still coming out cool after we left the restaurant but after sitting in the sun it was a bit slow cooling the cab.

Got home and pretty much laid around until about six pm. and I decided to take another spin seeing as how the first one was so enjoyable.
The outside temp had cooled down and not a cloud in sight so popped the top and headed out.

Didn't take any pictures until we was almost home.
At the risk of ending our marriage after fifty years and two months I suggest we take some picture of the moon and the road.
She was all for it so we sort of got some images.
IMG_3340.jpg
This was about a quarter mile from our gate.
The moon kind of got blobby and I guess that is Venus to the right if you use your imagination.
IMG_3349.jpg
Left half of the gates.
IMG_3351.jpg
Upper half of the driveway.
Eat your heart out Batman.
 
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