Epoxy (why it doesn't matter)

[brett at netacc.net (Brett VanSprewenburg)]

>  > Please pay attention before you jump in and comment.
>>  NO, IT DOES NOT.
>
>umm, in this case, "YES, IT DOES". the old spring perch is ground off prior
>to installation of the threaded sleeve. leaving the spring perch in place is
>an option, as per their website, and i suppose if one was worried about
>this, they could get the best of both worlds by grinding away only enough of
>the stock perch in such a way that you could get the lowest height
>adjustment while having the sleeve sit on a smaller diameter (remaining)
>perch. regardless of what is done, these guys have done this install with no
>perch at all, and it has worked just fine for them thus far.
>
>relevant links:
>no old perch:
>http://www.balancegroupp.com/instco14.html
>using old perch:
>http://www.balancegroupp.com/instco13.html
>
>the pics on the first page are a bit unclear as far as just how much of the
>perch is cut away. it looks pretty much flush with the body, as far as i can
>tell, but the pics are pretty small, and low res.
>
>Al


Actually, once again, no it does not. (In jest... :-)  )

Having actually removed a lower stock spring perch in the past, my personal
experience says different.  What you will find on a stock front strut 
tube after
you remove the rather monstrous lower spring perch is a raised ring all the
way around the tube like a small collar.  *THIS* is the what the threaded
coil over body pushes down against.  The epoxy does *NOT* hold the weight
of the car in this application, it just keeps the lower threaded body 
still.  This
is my assumption here:  the lower threaded body fits tightly enough
around the lower strut tube such that there is no chance of it slipping over
the built-in resting ring of the strut tube.  The epoxy around the threaded
collar (between the collar and the stock strut tube) most likely insures this.

I have Ground Controls, and I have personally done a similar modification.  The
threaded collar fits rather snugly around the lower tube, BUT GC includes a
small steel plate you push on first, which stops itself against the 
aforementioned
built in stock strut tube ring.  The underside of this area is what 
is welded, to
attach the small resting plate to the strut tube in the area of this 
built-in raised
ring.

I just checked the Balance instructions, they refer to the stock strut tube
resting raised area, as the "nub".  Their threaded body has a portion of
it machined out to a larger I.D. section so that it actually slips 
over this nub somewhat,
likely to insure centering and a full "down" position at time of 
installation.  The
other 99+% of the threaded body will not go over this "nub".  This is what the
weight of the car is resting against, pretty must *exactly* what the 
stock lower
spring perch was resting on holding up the weight of the car before. 
Like, duh... :-)

==Brett