Lowering Caps and Sidewinder II Wheels on Gen IV [Pics]

[FrgMstr]

Got the new Sidewinder II wheels and shoes back on with the lowering caps installed. Car stays a bit flatter on launch which is nice. Kinda cold here today so it was not hooking incredible well though.

The caps surely dropped the car. I was worried I was going to have to put it on ramps to get the stands out from it since it damn near did not clear my low profile jack, but it just made it.

Also, the front wheels are .5 inches wider (18x10.5) than the last 6-spoke fronts and the offset is a about .5 further out too, so the front fills out a little different.

I drove around a bit, did not have any issues with rubbing or lock to locks.





Here is about the only good profile shot I have of the car, but it shows how much the wheel gap closed.





Yep, still sporting my [H] vinyl!

So there are a couple of little tricks to doing this and I will pass along my opinion. I did "all" the work myself. You will need a 4' crowbar....yeah. 21mm, 18mm, 15mm, assorted sockets and wreches and extensions, and a phillips head driver....and a tire tool of course. And a dead blow hammer helped me get some of the bolts in and out.

Took under 2 hours to pull all the coilovers out. You will need to pull out the rear fender skirts first. I don't see any way of doing this on a Gen IV car with the coilovers in place. The back is straight forward, top and bottom bolts out, use the crowbar to push the control arms down, work it out. On the rears there is a 5" relief cut into the body with plugs in these. On the convertible, it says to remove the convertible top first in the manual...I did not do this. Working the backs out I pushed the plugs up and out of the relief holes. I did not remove the top and the carpet to push these back down and after playing with it for a bit, I don't think it can be replugged any other way. So I may do that later. Getting the rears back on is simply the reverse of what you did to get those off.

On the fronts, you will need to pull the top and bottom coilover bolts. Using the right sized tool will let you do this without pulling the skirts. However, per the service manual you need to pull the sway bar control rod that is pressed into the lower control arm. Don't mess with it. Instead, pop the three 15mm nuts on the bottom of the lower control arm that hold the bottom shock mount. This will give you enough wiggle room to get the bottom shock bolt out without having to hammer out the sway bar control arm. Once you get coilover out, again you will likely need the crowbar (carefully), go ahead and fasten down the lower shock mount to the control arm and torque to spec. When you go to reinstall, simply put the bolt in from back to front and if you take the coilovers off again, you will not need to loosen the lower shock mount. I called JonB to make sure this was not an issue and it is not.

On actually getting the caps installed. There is no way in hell I would suggest you do it yourself. I tried, failed, and moved on. These coilovers are tight as hell and very short. I hit three auto shops before I found one that would do it. Well actually the second would but wanted $180. Eff that....Third shop did it for $80 while I waited. Do have the person doing the actual cap install be aware that the caps are keyed for the ends of the spring so that it will sit flat. (Once you look at the part, you will know what I am talking about.)

And clean the hell out of everything while you are down there. I did mine with Simple Green, then came back and wiped it all down with WD40 and green scrubbie pad.....wheelwells look NEW. It took longer to clean than the install of the coilovers.


Thanks to JonB for his guidance and advice and his lowering caps. And he has the wheels for less than $2400 a set. Give him a call.

[Brian GTS]

Wow, those sidewinders look great on the Gen IV.....and look exceptional on your SSG!!! Nice!

[Victxv10]

Are you using the stock 275 size tire on the front?

[Nixon's SRT]

Looks Great. love the way the wheels look. I thought I read somewhere it was possible to install caps without removing the coil overs?

[FLATOUT]

Looks great!

[FrgMstr]

Are you using the stock 275 size tire on the front?

285 on the front.

Looks Great. love the way the wheels look. I thought I read somewhere it was possible to install caps without removing the coil overs?

That may be possible on Gen I and II, but I think it would be nearly impossible on Gen III and IV. And honestly, I think it would be faster to take these off if you could. I could not even find a spring compression hand tool that would fit in between the springs on the front. Something like THIS might work, but I did not want to spend $150 to find out that it did not.

[ACRucrazy]

Dig it! I have 275 on the front of mine because I already had them but want to get 285s. Looks good, so a pair of 285s and caps may be on my list.. That or fork over $$ for MCS.

[FrgMstr]

Dig it! I have 275 on the front of mine because I already had them but want to get 285s. Looks good, so a pair of 285s and caps may be on my list.. That or fork over $$ for MCS.

I have not driven the car hard yet or on any twisty country roads that have lots of bumps, but I think the 285 should clear unless there just a whole lot of suspension compression. I think it would look better if the rears had the wider offset. I am not into putting spacers on wheels, so I will likely just live with it. But you really have to be eyeing the car to even tell. It is certainly worth the tradeoff all the way around.

I figured this would be a good stop-gap before spending big bucks on new suspension. The car certainly feels great and you can tell the center of gravity has sunken. $230 for the whole suspension project is a pretty good deal.

[Crotalidae]

Very nice indeed!!!

[slowhatch]

Looks great, whats on the trunk?

[Victxv10]

I think it's time to sell the 6 spokes and the 5 spokes and move to these.

[Bill Pemberton]

Wonder if the 295s would fit okay too? Definitely looks good but am thinking this would be a great setup for the Gen IV ACRs, and would probably help with tracks that have a tendency to push
the front end with the different offset/width. Really like the look and thanks for posting!

[ACRucrazy]

I think it's time to sell the 6 spokes and the 5 spokes and move to these.

http://driveviper.com/classifieds/wh...heels-new.html

[FrgMstr]

Ah, found a picture that shows the side profile a lot better.

[FrgMstr]

Looks great, whats on the trunk?

That my website logo, been my full time job for 14 years. www.HardOCP.com Geek stuffs.

I think it's time to sell the 6 spokes and the 5 spokes and move to these.

I am going to sell my 6 spokes. I curbed one so I have having it stripped, repaired, and then re-powder coated. Set will be perfect then.

Wonder if the 295s would fit okay too? Definitely looks good but am thinking this would be a great setup for the Gen IV ACRs, and would probably help with tracks that have a tendency to push
the front end with the different offset/width. Really like the look and thanks for posting!

On a stock suspension I do not think 295s would be an issue at all. With it dropped I think the 295s would rub.

[cubican]

Wonder if the 295s would fit okay too? Definitely looks good but am thinking this would be a great setup for the Gen IV ACRs, and would probably help with tracks that have a tendency to push
the front end with the different offset/width. Really like the look and thanks for posting!

The 295/30/18 fit perfec on my 04 with the sidewinders II, Im not sure if I like them better than my six spoke.

[cubican]

Ah, found a picture that shoes the side profile a lot better.

Hey Kyle when your ready to sell the 6 spoke let me know. Pedro.

[JohnnyH]

I think it's time to sell the 6 spokes and the 5 spokes and move to these.

Let me know if you want to sell the 5 spokes

[Bill Pemberton]

Cubican -- fantastic, I think I need a set for my ACR, and maybe I can sell off my second set of original sidewinders?

Damn, I was perfectly happy with the way the car looks, ha!! Probably should just sell the car and take away the temptation. Just get me a new one or something that can't be modded so much.
Damn Venom Red Mistress !

[Austin]

Much better. Looks great. Those Sidewinders were made for the GEN III/IV cars.

[IndyRon]

Looks great! Can you post a picture from the front corner down the side of the car showing how much the SWII's stick out in the front past the fender?

[ACRucrazy]

Mine with 275s

[FrgMstr]

Looks great! Can you post a picture from the front corner down the side of the car showing how much the SWII's stick out in the front past the fender?

I will grab a pic tomorrow when it is daylight so you can see better......but the tire does NOT stick out past the lip of the fender. It is behind the inner edge of the fender.

Edit: Well I guess it does down towards the bead! The contact patch/tread area is inside the lip.

Thanks ACRucrazy!

[Austin]

I think this guy has a different idea about what the 'H' means.

[FrgMstr]

Asia Carrera knows what [H]ard means! LOL!

But I love your chop....you are damn good!