DSC suspension DIY

[darbgnik]

If you have factory bi-mode suspension, skip this interior switch bezel install step
Tools
- plastic trim removal tool
-1/4" ratchet and 10mm socket
-(optional) cordless ratchet
-philips screwdriver


Remove knee panel under steering wheel. Requires removing 2 bolts on bottom edge, and pulling top edge towards rear of car which releases the clips. There are electrical connectors in this panel for the lights and handsfree mic. Disconnect from panel and remove panel, or leave panel dangle from wires at own risk. I left it, but then did most everything from the passenger side after.

Above step exposes 2 philips screws in the knee (triangle) panel that covers from below the wheel to the side of the center console. Once screws are removed, pull towards drivers door to release the remaining clips.

On passenger side, pull rear edge of the triangle finish panel between console and glove, out towarsds the passenger door to release the clips. I found it unnecessary to completely remove this panel, thus was able to leave the glove box and liner in place.

Removing the 3 above trim pieces only exposes the 2 front 10mm bolts that attach the front of the center console. The bolt heads point toward the windshield. These are a real pain to access. I used a 1/4" ratchet on the drivers side one, and a 3/8 cordless ratchet and a deep socket on the passenger side.

In the center of the rear bulkhead is a leather/vinyl wrapped trim piece that holds mesh storage cubby. This whole panel needs to come out, not just the cubby to expose the 2 rear console bolts.

Passenger grab handle gets split along the seam with a plastic trim tool. The passenger side comes off, the drivers side is screwed to the bracket underneath. Remove the 2 smaller torx bolts holding the handle to the bracket. Remove the 2 larger torx holding the bracket to the dash and console. Once bracket is removed, use the trim tool to pop the plastic handle trim piece out. The triangle piece near the glove box is clipped to this bracket, so ensure that clip is popped first.

Lift the rear of the console up and rearward as far as possible. I found a little more than an inch was sufficient.

With the console back out of the way a little, start prying on the leather/vinyl wrapped trim piece covering the NAV screen HVAC controls. Start at the bottom on both sides, and use gentle pressure. Pop the clips along the way up until it can be tilted up out of the way. The AC vents will actually hold it in an elevated position. I found this easiest in the passenger seat.
Grab the bottom of the radio bezel, and pull rearward working towards the top. Once popped loose, I found it was easier to unclip the harness from the passenger side. Clip in the harness to the new bezel with suspension switches, and reinstall in reverse of above. Use the palm of you hard around the edges to seat all the clips.

Front Coilover install
Tools for Front
-21mm socket (2)
-21mm deep socket
-18mm wrench
-21mm wrench(or 13/16")
-15 mm deep socket
-19mm wheel socket
-short extension
-1/2" ft.lbs torque wrench
-3/8" in.lbs torque wrench
-tie rod end removal tool
-3lb hammer
-low profile floor jack, plus regular floor jack
-punch/drifts (or use various lengths of 3/8" bolts instead)
-small pick

Jack up the car, remove front wheel.

Remove 15mm nut where the end link attaches to lower control arm. Use the tie rod end tool to remove end link from lower control arm, as it is in the way of removing lower shock bolt.
Hold lower shock bolt head with 18mm wrench and loosen nut with 21mm deep socket on short extension.( A longer 1/2" ratchet or breaker bar will make breaking it loose easier.) Tap the bolt out.

Use two 21mm sockets on the upper shock bolt. Or a 21mm wrench(or13/16") and 21mm socket. Once nut is off, tap out bolt.

Find shock harness connector on frame to the rear of the a-arms. If your car didn't have bimode suspesion, there will probably be debris in the female harness on the frame. If so, use the pick to loosen up the debris, and flick the harness so the debris flys out. Ensure these are clean before you connect the shock harness. I taped this connection as well, as I found the clips don't clip that tight. Zip tie shock wire to factory harness near frame mounted clip. Ensure you know where your slack is going to go.

You should note the front coilovers get installed upside down, with the wire coming out the bottom. The new coilover goes in a lot easier than the original comes out. But, since the new coilover has machined mounting bushings instead of rubber bushings, you may find the factory mount is too tight. I found this only true on the uppers. This is where the 3 lb hammer comes in. Strike the mounting bosses outward until the new coilover fits.

Reinstall the sway bar end link before installing the second shock bolt to make it easier to install. Torque to 200 in.lbs or 17 ft.lbs.

Install the upper and lower shock bolts and nuts. Torque both to 100 ft.lbs. It is recommended to torque the shock bolts in the factory ride height position, which I did, even though, seeing as these coilovers don't have rubber bushings, I am unsure if this is necessary...... To accomplish this with the wheel still off, I measured the wheel centerline before the car was jacked up. Up front it was approiximately 12 3/8". To accomplish the factory ride height, I put a second jack under the lower control arm, and positioned the height, so as the centerline of the wheel hub was at 12 3/8", then lowerd the car so all weight was on the lower control arm jack, thus simulating factory ride height.

Reinstall wheel and torque to 100 ft.lbs.

Rear Coilover install
Tools for rear
-21mm socket (2)
-21mm deep socket
-18mm wrench
-21mm wrench(or 13/16")
-15 mm deep socket
-19mm wheel socket
-T30 torx bit
-10mm socket
-I used a cordless ratchet for the 2 above bits, but a cordless drill would also work.
-short extension
-1/2" ft.lbs torque wrench
-3lb hammer
-pry bar
-low profile floor jack, plus regular floor jack
-punch/drifts (or use various lengths of 3/8" bolts instead)
-trim/clip remover for plastic pop pins
-small pick

Jack up the car, remove rear wheel.

Remove the rear fender liner using torx bits and 10mm socket on cordless ratchet or drill. There is a torx and 10mm bolt in top center of liner. Torx around the perimeter of the fender, under side sill, and rear diffuser. Remove 3 10mm self tapping bolts from fender liner at the front lower portion.

Once all bolts are removed, lower the fender liner low enough to get your hand in above it, and remove the hose feeding the rear brake duct. The duct is riveted to the fender liner, but the hose is just zip tied to the duct. If you don't remove this hose while the liner is still mostly in place, you can rip it.

Once fender liner is out:
Hold lower shock bolt head with 18mm wrench and loosen nut with 21mm deep socket on short extension.( A longer 1/2" ratchet or breaker bar will make breaking it loose easier.) Tap the bolt out.
I found that even with the rear suspension hanging loose, the rear coilover was still under a little tension. So I removed the the lower nut first, drift and hammered the bolt as far as I could, and actually used a ratchet on the bolt, using the threads to back the bolt out the rest of the way.

Use two 21mm sockets on the upper shock bolt. Or a 21mm wrench(or13/16") and 21mm socket. Once nut is off, tap out bolt.

In the upper center of the fender, you will see a 4" round rubber grommet. Remove it. This grommet is there, to allow you to raise the coilover higher than the ceiling height in the fender well. This is necessary to clear the rear CV shaft that the fork is around.

I also found the upper mounts on the rear of the car were a little too tight for the new coilover, so I used a hammer in combination with a prybar (with a large socket to pry off of), to widen it.

Install both shock bolts to 100 ft.lbs. Clip coilover harness to factory harness, located on frame rearward of upper shock mount. I taped this one as well.

Reinstall fender liner, remembering to reattach hose to brake dust. Reinstall all bolts. Ensure fender liner is seated correctly all the way around, as if it's not the brake duct could rub on the rear tire.

Controller

The controller gets installed in the rear battery compartment. The factory wiring harnesses are there whether you have bimode or not. Remove the trunk access panel to access this area.

On the left(drivers) side of the cars suspension harnesses are slides that slide to the drivers side. Pull these open. The controller will not slide into the harness with these in place. Install the right(passenger) side harness first, as the drivers side harness will impede the slide opening if inatalled first. As you close the slide, it pulls the controller into the harness and locks it in place. Then do the same with the left(drivers) side controller harness. Mount the harness to the studs already there.

To the front of the controller is a canbus distribution point (green block 3/3" by 2"). You will see one cannector not pushed in. Push it in to enable the suspension.
If you have bimode already this step will be unnessary, and the clips will be self explanatory.

[donk_316]

Very nicely done Brad!

Really want to hear what you think of this set up. Seems almost too good to be true.

Can you map your own version of street / race? So you could go ultra plush floaty for the street and then rock solid for the track theoretically?

[FLATOUT]

Yes if he wants to he can create his own calibrations for street and race. It's a fully tunable program.

Very nicely done Brad!

Really want to hear what you think of this set up. Seems almost too good to be true.

Can you map your own version of street / race? So you could go ultra plush floaty for the street and then rock solid for the track theoretically?

- - - Updated - - -

Great job Brad and great talking to you the last few days.

[swexlin]

Nice writeup, but I would for sure F*&% something up with that dash tear apart. If I do this, I'll have my Viper tech do it! Let us know how you like it.

[Simms]

Nice write up. Any pics or tips on routing the front coilovers wire? Does the extra length just hang, or is there a particular way to route it for protection?

[darbgnik]

I'll try to get some pics of what I did with the routing. To be honest, I'm not 100 percent happy with how it looks. You just have to stare at it and try to imagine where it will travel when the suspension cycles.....

[Simms]

I'll try to get some pics of what I did with the routing. To be honest, I'm not 100 percent happy with how it looks. You just have to stare at it and try to imagine where it will travel when the suspension cycles.....

Thanks.

Andy, do you or Morgan have any input or pics you can share?

[Rapidrezults]

Great write up Brad! I look forward to your impressions once you get them on track.

[Simms]

In case anyone is interested, here is how I ended up routing my line. Mine is going to look a little different since I have the Viper Exchange BBK. For reference, this is the front passenger side.

I heat wrapped it to the factory ABS line in the same area that contained heat protection from the factory.



From there I continued to run it with the ABS line and brake line. The VE BBK kit came with some spacers to put between the two lines, I shared the same location with the TracTive line using zip ties.



I also utilized the same stock mounting hole that the factory line previously used.

[darbgnik]

That's a great solution. My connector routing looks similar. But I installed the lower shock mount so that the wire exits the shock towards the engine. Same difference though.....

[FLATOUT]

Simms, that's how we do it at VE. We secure it to the brake line, and utilize the stock location at the top by the electronic exactly like you did.

Great job guys!!!

[Simms]

That's a great solution. My connector routing looks similar. But I installed the lower shock mount so that the wire exits the shock towards the engine. Same difference though.....

I debated that numerous times in my head. For me, I thought I could route it cleaner coming from the front. However, on the drivers side I routed it out the rear to stay away from heat. It's driving me nuts right now that they aren't the same, but I was running out of time last night. I'll probably change them to be the same.

[Simms]

Simms, that's how we do it at VE. We secure it to the brake line, and utilize the stock location at the top by the electronic exactly like you did.

Great job guys!!!

Thanks man. Do you guys have any input or preference on whether the line on the bottom should exit out the front or rear? Or does it not really matter?

[FLATOUT]

Thanks man. Do you guys have any input or preference on whether the line on the bottom should exit out the front or rear? Or does it not really matter?

Doesn't matter, just route it cleanly and out of the way.

[TA Two Oh]

That's a great solution. My connector routing looks similar. But I installed the lower shock mount so that the wire exits the shock towards the engine. Same difference though.....

Nice work, Brad! And a very thorough and detailed write up for DIY'ers with more guts and skill than me.

[darbgnik]

Nice work, Brad! And a very thorough and detailed write up for DIY'ers with more guts and skill than me.

Thanks Doug. I really wish this DIY was available for me before I started. It would have saved me a couple hours at least. Hope others can get some use from it.

[LmeaViper]

Great write up - thks bud.

[nwa_viper]

Found this thread very helpful this week as I upgraded my SRT to bi-mode suspension.

[darbgnik]

I was hoping it would help someone!