Coilovers $195 for all A1's) Spring quality?

[amalventano at sc.rr.com (Allyn)]

> I realy could care less about this whole blasted epoxy thing... a pox on
epoxy : )

i dunno what started the whole epoxy thing, but i'd like to put it to rest.
check this page:
http://www.balancegroupp.com/instco14.html
the epoxy sits in a very thin, tapered area between the collar and the strut
housing itself. there are many reasons that epoxy is the better alternative
to welding here:

in general:
- the collar receives virtually NO impact-related stresses at all. it merely
holds the spring, and the forces on it gradually change as suspension acts
while driving (strut absorbs major impact stresses).
- only exception here is bottoming, but that is easily prevented with proper
use of bump stops.

pro epoxy:
- huge surface area.
- collar is tapered such that epoxy would have compressive stress as the
collar tried to slide downward after cure. (epoxy does VERY well with
compressive streess).
- only resulting stress would be shear stresses in the downward direction.
(epoxy does VERY well with shear stresses as well, especially over the huge
surface area in this application).

anti-weld:
- weld can deform the housing, making our cartridge inserts impossible to
get back in.
- weld is very small area as compared to the epoxy.
- weld must be properly painted afterwards to prevent rust.
- improper weld can fracture, possible taking the cartridge with it if the
weld is bad enough.

anti-set screw:
- set screws suck for this application. the diameter is so large that even
changes in weather temperature can cause the set screws to get slack
(aluminum collar / steel strut housing).
- above can happen even with use of loc-tite or the like.
- set screws hold on a very small surface area, possibly warping the strut
catrtidge if installed improperly.

now dont get me wrong, set screws and welds DO actually work in these cases.
the point i'm trying to drive home here is that if those 2 methods DO work,
but appear so sucky on paper, the epoxy, properly done, is probably the best
solution afterall.

Allyn Malventano, ETC(SS), USN
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