I’ve seen posts before discussing how a set of ~$50 eBay coilover sleeves plus some good quality springs can get you an adjustable setup for less than Ground Control. Is there enough consistency in shock diameter from one manufacturer to the next that these sleeves are universal? FWIW I’ll be running Koni yellows.
I’ll spend $400-$500 on GC if that’s truly the best way to go, but I question the value there.
The eBay sleeves usually come with o rings to take up the slack between the shock and the sleeve.
I used Ebay sleeves on my Challenge Miata on Bilsteins. The shock body is 50mm, so the sleeves went on without the need for the O-rings. A narrower body would necessitate using the O-rings but I don't know what the sleeve would sit on. It would drop right past the C-clip. On Konis you may have to turn down the stock spring perch to set the step on. "Good" sleeves have a step on the inside so they will sit well down over the perch C-clip, the Ebay ones didn't, so I had to cut one with a Dremel. Without that step the sleeves sit high and won't allow you to drop the car much and I'll bet that varies with different cars.
Years ago I used Ground control sleeves on a VW and they had the step well up inside so I could drop that car quite a bit. You need the threads to be well below where the C-clip/perch is. To use the Ebay stuff , and get lower , you could turn a new C-clip groove lower down the shock body. If the sleeves are thick enough you can turn the inside and create the step at any point along the length.
Great, thanks for the info guys!
I have some on my celica. Best part is, I got a spring coupler and now I run dual springs to half the spring rate.
I have run both the Ebay ones and the much pricier Afco racing sleeves. Don't really see much difference. Not enough to justify the 4 to 5 times as much cost difference. On my applications, I have to remove the original spring perch and weld on a ring lower on the strut tube to serve as a new lower perch. Some guys will just sit the sleeve on top of the original perch, but what good is a coil over if you can't spin the perch down low enough to remove the spring while the strut assembly is still in the car. My TR8s use a strut insert inside a steel tube/spindle assembly.
Pete - if interested I have a set of eBay coilover sleeves and springs for a Civic. I was told they'd fit Spitfire. They don't fit to my liking, so I don't need them.
If you have middling fabrication skills and equipment, getting the sleeve situated on the damper tube isn't much of a problem. Though I will say, I recently put a GC sleeve kit on a set of Tokiko SA dampers for an E36, and by the time I was done, I concluded it was nearly more trouble than it's worth to cut of, grind down, and repaint the huge lower spring seat . Then there's also the question of sourcing a spring hat that settles properly into the existing chassis mount.
There is a middle ground, Allstar performance makes coilover sleeves and depending on the application they have Koni Specific parts. On my Miata Champcar I have 5" sleeves with the adjuster nut, but didn't need the top. At MSRP that's ($16 + 14) x 4 = $120. I believe I bought them from Summit racing.
Ian F said:Pete - if interested I have a set of eBay coilover sleeves and springs for a Civic. I was told they'd fit Spitfire. They don't fit to my liking, so I don't need them.
Can you measure the ID of the sleeves when you get a chance, and do you happen to know the spring rates/lengths? It’s going on my Miata, but it’s possible they’ll work.
In reply to Snrub :
Hmm...that sounds like it would work. I’ll hit Summit’s site & see if I can find them.
In reply to Pete Gossett :
It's this kit. I don't remember if the spring rates are on the springs, but look again and I'll take some measurements when I get home tonight.
Hmm...unless you guys are finding cheaper individual springs than I am, I’m not sure there’s much savings here. The Allstar Performance sleeves are $45/corner, and springs are $60-$70 each, so that puts me in the same range as GC.
If I get lucky gambling on a $45 eBay set of sleeves, that saves about $140 - if they work.
Mounted on miata nb stock struts fine. Also mounted on the bilsteiens fine.
450/350 rates.
In reply to Dusterbd13 :
Your link didn’t work, but those rates are quite a bit lower than I need anyway. I haven’t settled on rates, but they’ll be in the 700f/400r to 800f/650r range.
If your good at figuring your height and don't need total adjustability then you can always just use a 50mm ID spacer cut to length to set your height. The Q45 spacers were like $2 a corner.
Crap. Sorry about the link.
And thats the rayes i will eventually run, however challenge budget and all....
In reply to Pete Gossett :
What are you using for shocks to control rates as high as those fronts? And what's the car intended for? CSP autocrosser?
Well. It seems I've either managed to really bury that eBay kit in the black hole of my house or I have already sold it and don't remember. If I happen upon it and you still need something I'll let you know. 
In reply to DeadSkunk :
I’m building it for STS autocross & using Koni Race(which are basically Sports that are already revalved to handle the higher rates).
Pete Gossett said:Hmm...unless you guys are finding cheaper individual springs than I am, I’m not sure there’s much savings here. The Allstar Performance sleeves are $45/corner, and springs are $60-$70 each, so that puts me in the same range as GC.
If I get lucky gambling on a $45 eBay set of sleeves, that saves about $140 - if they work.
For the Allstar sleeves I believe you need ALL64162 and ALL64180 which works out to ~$120 total. If you can't find springs used, they're $52 each at pit stop USA for hypercoils in 6" lengths. You'd be looking at $330 all in.
Not sure about pricing these days, but when I last raced a decade ago the cheapest source of good springs was AFCO.
I've had trouble scoring shorter-length Hyperco springs in the used market. I've managed to get what I need in 6" lengths but it has taken a long time.
I'm aware of the Allstar stuff and I will be using it fairly soon, not to save cash on parts though. I'm doing a car for which there are not any commercial solutions worth buying.
Well I was all set to pay a bit extra & order from GC since I knew I’d get a kit that worked...until I saw the $60 shipping charge.
I ended up ordering the Allstar sleeves($76.72) & collars($67.92) -thanks JBasham for the individual P/Ns!, individual Eibach 800f($130)/650r($145.84) springs(they were the same price as Afco), and ISC upper shock mounts($164)
Excluding the upper mounts, since they aren’t included in the GC kit, and including shipping, I saved $120.
Thanks for the tips everyone!
Good deal! Credit goes to Snrub for the part numbers though.
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