L series Front/Rear Suspension Ford/Honda King springs

Yarran · Post by **Yarran** » Thu Sep 05, 2013 11:52 am

So ive just purchased online KDFS-14 & KHFS-58 King springs for my L series wagon. I tried to source some second hand ones from Perth Wreckers but it was half the price to get them new after postage up to KARRATHA

And my Question is...

KDFS-14 are the ford laser springs that will be going in the front, Has anyone fitted a new pair of these not second hand?

And the same for Brand new KHFS-58 the Honda accord springs that will be going in the Rear?

Ive also seen a few comments mentioning Putting an exhaust clamp under the strut seats to help support the extra pressure from stiffer springs??:!:

Has anyone done this? How well did it work, What size clamp was used?, How well it fitted.

Any feedback would be appreciated!:D

I will post Photos when they arrive and of install!! cant wait

Got 195/80/R14 Maxxis 753 MT's @ $195 each on the way no body lift so a bit of cutting to be done should be a good finished product if all works to plan!!

pzs · Post by **pzs** » Thu Sep 05, 2013 5:19 pm

I will look forward to your update and pics, currently playing around with my l series in prep for a trip next winter to go up your way.

Yarran · Post by **Yarran** » Fri Sep 06, 2013 10:10 am

probably should have checked this before i ordered them..

KDFS-14 is 20% stiffer than stock ford laser front springs

KHFL-54 is 25% stiffer than honda accord front springs

its going to be a bumpy ride....

Yarran · Post by **Yarran** » Fri Sep 06, 2013 10:12 am

pzs wrote:I will look forward to your update and pics, currently playing around with my l series in prep for a trip next winter to go up your way.

well you can learn from my mistakes! ha

great country up here in the north west mean 4WD tracks & Beaches everywhere!!

pzs · Post by **pzs** » Fri Sep 06, 2013 4:56 pm

Price on tyres? I think the freight to you from perth, or Darwin, would likely be about the same for me... Alice Springs from Adelaide is about $80 on top of retail price, for 5 tyres

steptoe · Post by **steptoe** » Fri Sep 06, 2013 8:01 pm

Settle...that 20% stuff is to entice the market to upgrade - no one is gonna wanna buy std factory marshmallows - they wan't an improvement -s o, spring makers upgrade the spring rate to suit the market!

Yarran · Post by **Yarran** » Sat Sep 07, 2013 11:14 am

steptoe wrote:Settle...that 20% stuff is to entice the market to upgrade - no one is gonna wanna buy std factory marshmallows - they wan't an improvement -s o, spring makers upgrade the spring rate to suit the market!

yeh makes sense..

so you think it wont be too stiff??

NachaLuva · Post by **NachaLuva** » Sat Sep 07, 2013 11:45 am

Yarran wrote: so you think it wont be too stiff??

I dont think so. Satndard King springs for a Forester are also ~20% stiffer, while the raised springs are much stiffer on top of that. Thats what I have & while I find the ride firm I dont think its harsh. It certainly improves the handling onroad with heaps better cornering!

Yarran · Post by **Yarran** » Mon Sep 09, 2013 1:42 pm

ive also purchased new struts front brumby adjustable (thanks to FROG) backthe 2WD sedan ones to gain more height

Part numbers... Front Kyb #333231/0 Rear Kyb #341214

and also to try and put less pressure on the spring seat with dampers that actually work unlike the ones i have in atm..

i fitted my 195/80/R14(26.1") Maxxis 753 bravos on the weekend i gained 55mm ground clearance all round and lost a fair bit of power ha i would recommend going more like 25" to whoever is upgrading Tyre size with stock engine.

my L is stock height too so there was a lot of fender cutting and bashing..

i have posted some photos for some entertainment it looks pretty funny as i didnt want to pay $160 for fender flares..

http://www.ausubaru.com.au/showthread.php?t=24095

but the end result.. NO SCRUBBING AT ALL and thats offroad over 5 klms of heavy rock trails was surprised she made it with no damage ha

GO Sporty Su!!

pzs · Post by **pzs** » Mon Sep 09, 2013 5:35 pm

i fitted my 195/80/R14(26.1") Maxxis 753 bravos on the weekend i gained 55mm ground clearance all round and lost a fair bit of power ha i would recommend going more like 25" to whoever is upgrading Tyre size with stock engine.

So what size would you think comes in 25"?

Yarran · Post by **Yarran** » Mon Sep 09, 2013 7:20 pm

pzs wrote: So what size would you think comes in 25"?

you'll just have to start serching the only one i know that is close is the 185/75/R14 maxxis bravo 753 MT witch is 25.5 inch..

just search online and look up specs im sure there would be an 25" A/T somewhere..

if your unsure what the overall size will be go to this calculator its great!!

Yarran · Post by **Yarran** » Tue Sep 17, 2013 10:23 am

soo i only just realised i ordered the Wrong Honda springs for the Rear of SportySu...

i have adjusted my first post so it has the correct part number now.. KHFS-58
The Front 2 Coils HONDA CIVIC 1987-1993..

so i was talking to king springs today about the civic springs compared to the standard kings for the L wagon. he gave me this info...

(Civic) KHFS-58 Diameter=65mm, Hieght=380mm, 11turns, 280lbs

(Lseries)KSRS-03* Diameter=65mm, Hieght=280mm, 9.5turns, 320lbs

(Ford) KDFS-14 Diameter=115mm, Height=300mm, 7turns, 185lbs

(Lseries)KFFS-45 Diameter=115mm, Height=275mm, 5turns, 230lbs

he said the KSRS-03* would actually be stiffer because 9.5turns is stiffer than 11turns..

i asked him twice to make sure i didnt miss hear him but thats what he said!

can anyone shed some light on this?

i can see how the extra 100 mm on the rear will lift..
but only an extra 25mm on the front and a loss of 45lbs carring weight i cant see how they will sit any higher if not a lot lower..

have i just wasted money on new springs that will do less than before!?

Yarran · Post by **Yarran** » Tue Sep 17, 2013 12:25 pm

Loyale 2.7 Turbo · Post by **Loyale 2.7 Turbo** » Fri Sep 20, 2013 4:29 am

If you read my Writeup, which is Here:

~► http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/top ... n-loyales/

You'll notice that I used the Honda ACCORD coil Springs, instead of the Civic ones,

also the Ford Tempo has Two Different coil Springs... Look at my Writeup for Numbers.

Kind Regards.

Yarran · Post by **Yarran** » Fri Sep 20, 2013 10:26 pm

Loyale 2.7 Turbo wrote:If you read my Writeup, which is Here:

~► http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/top ... n-loyales/

You'll notice that I used the Honda ACCORD coil Springs, instead of the Civic ones,

also the Ford Tempo has Two Different coil Springs... Look at my Writeup for Numbers.

Kind Regards.

hey mate yeh thats were i got the idea to order the HONDA ACCORD CA4 CA5 1985 - 1989 Standard King Springs KHFS-54 but i noticed one of the ausubaru members used KHFS-58
The Front 2 Coils HONDA CIVIC 1987-1993

the accord spring base has a 75mm base diameter

and the civic has a 65mm base diameter

witch is the same as the 65mm Lseries king spring

so i went with the civic springs..

we dont have the ford tempo in aus (im pretty sure)

so i tried to get the aus version witch i think is the LASER/CORSAIR
witch another forum member had mentioned he had used

(Ford) KDFS-14 Diameter=115mm, Height=300mm, 7turns, 185lbs

witch matched your description of the ford springs i thought and has the same base diameter/Turns.. so i went with it.

Yarran · Post by **Yarran** » Fri Sep 20, 2013 10:49 pm

hey guys the front brumby adjustable struts arrived today from FROG.

i had planned to fit them to the front of my 94 Lseries as i heard you could change the top hats and it was almost a straight swap..

has anyone done this as the lower mount looks totally different..

Brumby front struts

Front struts Lseries OEM

What are your thoughts?

YouTube · Post by **El_Freddo** » Fri Oct 25, 2013 10:16 pm

A month and a bit later - how'd you go with this?

That lower mount looks the same from the pics and knowing that there's an inch + in the top of the hub there.

Keen to know how you went.

Regards

Bennie

Yarran · Post by **Yarran** » Sun Nov 17, 2013 9:58 pm

El_Freddo wrote:A month and a bit later - how'd you go with this?

That lower mount looks the same from the pics and knowing that there's an inch + in the top of the hub there.

Keen to know how you went.

Regards

Bennie

Hey Bennie,
thanks for your input i see what your saying looks like they will fit!
ive been working away for ages and havent had the chance to fit them.

I got the wrong springs sent but the right ones should be here in a couple days.

will post some photos of the swap over!

Yarran · Post by **Yarran** » Wed Jun 25, 2014 9:46 pm

Ford/Brumby/2wdLseries/Honda

Old vs New before fitment:

FRONT

REAR

BEFORE SHOT

so only had a day to do this, and had never replaced any suspension components before so i thought i would start at the front.

The rear mount is almost exactly the same other than the brake line support so i just zip tied mine. Took me a while before i realized that i needed the Brumby upper spring seat and strut mount to make it work properly but i done a temporary fix until u could get a hold of one.

sorry but i didnt take any photos of the front setup as i new i would have to take it out and repplace it.

KHFS-58 King Springs and 2WD shocks fitted

And the finished product, the rear is loaded up and the front struts are set to low

by memory i think this photo is with the front struts set to high

so the end result the front suspension with the struts set to high are very stiff hardly any articulation and dirt roads are not fun if you have your tires pumped up high. On the road though it sits high and corners nicely..

The rear cant complain gave the extra clearance i wanted and handles a big load fairly well

The bushman fix i done on the front struts busted my front left upper strut mount up while i was 4wding so i have some second hand l series adjustable struts im picking up off RSR555 and i also wouldnt mind getting a hold of a brumby top strut mount and spring seat to see if i can fit that.

but atm i am traveling from byron bay NSW back to Karratha WA along the coast so will be a while before i get back to work

pzs · Post by **pzs** » Sun Sep 07, 2014 7:46 am

After running this set up for a while what would you do differently,

The AUSubaru.com.au Forums

L series Front/Rear Suspension Ford/Honda King springs

L series Front & Rear Suspension Ford & Honda King springs

Just talked to king springs

Will keep you posted

after alot of thought..

Wrong part number!!

More interesting info (OEM I THINK)

Brumby front adjustable struts

Got around to fitting Suspension