Although I've posted these pictures elsewhere in a different thread. I appologize to the mods that this thread has morphed from its original thread title to now include the front spring mod. (Mike and the rest of the staff: If at all possible to change the title to read Front and Rear lowering suspension mod, may make future searches a little easier for new members.)
But, this ties-in nicely here with the rear airspring mod as a request from another member for more info. And hopefully, this will help you get started with your own front air-shock/coilspring mod or as some have humbly called; The Octane Mod. This lowers your Mark even more, maintains the original factory ride quality, eliminates that occasional air spring bounce and gives you that added mojo when carving into turns. I guarantee it!
This was done at my home garage and I do not work at a professional machine shop. Please use common sense and wear protective eye wear for your safety when working around machinery.
I used five drill bits starting with a small pilot bit and worked my way up to the large
9/16" bit. The dime is just for image reference.
A small neodemium magnet, wrapped in a plastic baggy (pictured below), was used to keep the work area clean of metal shavings so I can see the work surface better. Its up to you if you if want to use one or just brush the metal shavings off. It did help with cleanup to a minimum though.
I made a template out of an old cell phone airtime card as a reference to help me consistently mark and center the four new holes I needed to drill out. I used a scratch awl to make the markings on the template and the work surface as you will see later. I saved this template for future reference in case I need to modify another coil or air spring shock on my next Mark VIII project.
The new upper holes were vertically located at
21/32" from the center of the bolt hole to the center of the new hole to be drilled. Or
3/8" from the outside edge of the bolt hole to the center of the new hole to be drilled. This will leave you with a
0.20mm clearance between the bottom of the shock tube to the upper surface of the lower control arm once you are done. Dont worry. There's plenty of clearance at maximum articulation as shown in the last picture of post #36 in this thread.
You can expect to see a drop of about
1"-1.20" with this mod. If you are on air springs and want less of a drop. Do this mod and then fine tune the ride height with the sensor adjustment. Reminder for new Mark VIII owners: Sensor adjustment will not apply to Mark VIIIs riding on coil springs.
If you were wondering what that other template notch was for? Well, there it is. Drop that template in that 'valley' and it makes for locating the horizontal center that much quicker and easier for the next hole.
I sprayed the all the surface areas with rattle can primer so I can better see the scratch marks I make and accurately center the laser to my mark for the new holes to be drilled. I did not want to use a Sharpie this time around. A scratch awl was better suited to make a fine mark over primer in this situation.
Machine oil will help lubricate your drill bit and the work surface while drilling.
Occasionally check to see that the pilot hole remains centered on the mark. Even with a drill press, sometimes, a small bit has a tendancy to "crawl" or stray away from the center. Here, you see the pilot hole is spot on.
Once your first bit punches through, things get easier from here and just work the hole until you use to the last drill bit. Make sure your work is secured properly as the larger bits apply more torque and may cause your shock springs to be dislodged from the press table.
Medium speed and a constant downward pressure from the drill press keeps the cutting edge bite into the metal. Keep your work lubricated. Pictured below is the last of the five bits used. The
9/16" drill bit. Although not pictured, the holes were chamfered prior to the final paint application.
The collected metal shavings that i didn't have to cleanup from the floor. This I had to do because my wife and I have a small dog who likes to follow you around and randomly chews on small objects. Eliminating a choking hazard for our Maltese.
Well, that's all for now. Look for a picture of my ride in a sweet lowered stance. She drives slightly firmer than stock, corners like it should and does not bounce like a sensor lowered-only Mark.:shifty:
-Ren
