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My Eibach Sportline install(PIC HEAVY); SE sports hatch

78K views 206 replies 68 participants last post by  Juicedz 
#1 ·
Just posting the pics I took during my install. Before, after, and along the way. The fronts were a pain in the butt, mainly to get the shock out. The rears were easy.

Before:

My son wanted to be included.


Wheel gaps (before):
Front:


Rear:



Install pics:
Strut removed

Looks naked

I didn't have to remove the top
plastic cover to get to the top bolts.

Stock vs. Eibach size

The red has a nice look to it : )

A helpful tidbit which I wish I had known. The rear springs on our Focus' are too small for tool which I rented (for free) from a local auto parts store. The bolt is too long which causes the top of the bolt to bottom out prior to the spring being fully compressed. I "modified" a socket and used another handy tool to create a thick washer between the bottom plate and the end of the bolt. There may be a tool better suited for smaller cars, however, if you go my route and rent one, you'll have to do something similar. You can kind of see in the pic below.

Rears installed and looking sharp


Rear, stock vs Eibach

Dust boots, old vs new
 
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16
#4 ·
These springs were installed yesterday and have not yet settled. I've only driven about 3-4 miles on them. I have not had the alignment checked yet but it does not pull at all. I had the little platic flap(the one which falls well below the front bumper) barely scrape a steep driveway once but other than that, I am so far very impressed with the clearance. I have not noticed a significant decrease in ride quality and my wife thought it felt great. Took it out on some nice twisting roads and it handled really well. There is no rubbing from lock to lock. I bought them from partsgeek.com for $200 to my doorstep. I was a little worried about buying from them because of their iffy return policy, but they were the only ones who had them in stock, at a good shipped price. I got them quick with out any issues.

I you have any questions, or need help with your own install, hit me up, and I'll help where I can. Long long ago I was ASE certified in suspension, but that was another life and I am by no means a pro mechanic. I hope you all enjoy, and I hope this helps someone.
BLarson
 
#6 ·
[thumb] Looks really good man thanks for the detailed thread. The pics next to your father in law's sedan are the best way to see the difference [headbang]
 
#7 ·
[thumb] Looks really good man thanks for the detailed thread. The pics next to your Dad's sedan are the best way to see the difference [headbang]
Thank you! I thought so too. My car has less than 2000 miles on it. So after I maybe double that, I will post an update to this thread with more pics, including more side by sides with my father in laws.
I should note: his is a sedan(obviously) SE sports pack, auto with sunroof, while mine is a manual with no sunroof. Might be a slight weight difference between the two, but it should be negligible.
 
#12 ·
Looks really good. The comparison pictures really show off the difference.
I have to agree!! : ) and thank you!!

If you disconnect the rear shock and the outboard lower control arm bolt, the suspension arm will droop down and you'll be able to slide the spring right in.

Much easier than dealing with spring compressors for the rear.
That prob. would have been easier for the rear, as you need to remove the rear shock anyways. You would also have to unbolt the rear sway bar on both sides where it connects to the control arm. By the time you unbolt the lower control arm, and the rear sway bar, and then utilize a jack, it would prob. take about the same amount of time, but it might be easier. It only took me about 20 mins to remove and replace the rear spring, and then another 10 to swap out the parts in the rear shock and put it back. So even using the spring compressor I was able to do both rears in about an hour. It would have saved me the time of renting the tool though.
 
#21 · (Edited)
My wife and two boys just did a bunch of running around. My wife says it felt "very smooth". The only difference I noticed was on the really tall speed bumps it felt a BIT more harsh but not rock solid or anything. I went over speed "humps" on the street and tall speed bumps in several parking lots with no scrapes. You just have to go a bit slower and the harshness on the speed bumps isn't as noticeable at all. I would say so far, if the ride before was a 10, It'd be a 7.5-8 now. I'm actually impressed so far.

I should also add that if before the handling was like a 8 it's now closer to a 10. Where I'm sure better away bars and shocks would make it like a 12. I've noticed less sway on hard cornering and less dip on hard acceleration and braking.

Proof that mine is a family car too!!
 
#16 ·
Epic post Blarson! Thanks for sharing. Could you edit the original with Update: info on the results of the alignment? Thanks.
 
#28 ·
Sure! I was planning on this. I only have one problem though. My car has 18xx miles on it, and was getting about 31-32 mpg at 75mph. I heard that it would improve a lot after the engine broke in after about 2000 miles. So while I will be looking to see if my MPG's improve with the Eibach's, I'm also hope it will start to creep up after 2000 miles. Either way I'll post the difference.
 
#30 ·
What's the drop rating on those springs? I was looking at H&R at 1.4" front/1.3" rear. Yours may be a little too low for me but honestly looks amazing. It's not too low visually but I have steep curbs and parking ramps I often drove over so its not practical for me.
 
#31 ·
Eibach says its 1.5" front and rear. So far clearance has not been an issue. I have been pleasantly surprised at the clearance. If you wanted just a bit less you could always go with the Pro kit. I think they say its a .8" drop. My father in law had a very steep driveway which you can see in the comparison photos. I went straight up and down with out scraping.
 
#32 ·
I'm thinking the Pro kit will be better for me since I'm not really a fan of the wheels tucked under the fender especially with our roads around here since you eventually have a scrape or three even with the Pro-kit
 
#38 ·
When all is settled, you should be tucking tire. There is another Mk3 on here with pics of them settled, it's a red sedan I believe. I'll see if I can find it.

It took my Pro Kit springs about 2k before they were settled in. I look forward to seeing your pics around then!
 
#39 ·
I will def. post updated pictures of the car in about 2000 more miles.

Yeah, that is 12FocusSE car. Looks really nice. He has the 17" black wheels, and they appear to be just shy of being tucked. His car was the push for me to go with the Sportlines.

He put pics up on the "post your mods" thread. Page 11 on my iPhone.
 
#42 ·
So my co-worker bought a 2012 TI hatch with the handling package last week. I took the chance (with his permission) to park next to him and take some more comparison shots. My install was done at 1800 miles. It's now at 3200 miles. I don't know if their fully settled yet or not. I hope they help some of you. Enjoy!!








His rear gap.

My rear (it was like a finger and a half)

His front.

My front (just shy of one finger, as in I can't stick my finger straight in, only at an angle) (insert dirty joke here)

His front (compare side skirt to ground and tire)

My front


It's a little harder to see now that my wheels are black. In a few thousand more miles I will do another comparo shoot with my father in laws car. Let me know if you want to see anything else in particular.
 
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