would this work

[butchman_3]

i got to thinking about this today while thinking of the rear suspension on my ratty, but for guys running a 4 bar rear end, would a strut assembly work to take the place of an individual spring and shock set up? in theary it should work, since a strut is a combo of the coil built around a shock. i was picturing a plate/ mounting point at the cross member similar to a top spring bucket, with the top of the threaded part of the strut coming through the top of the spring cup plate, granted, the mount that would go onto the axle would have to be fabbed up depending on the bottom strut mount. but if it would work, wouldnt it be easier to mount a single item in the ideal location instead of having to find a happy medium for the seperate coil spring/ shock? and i know they make a lot of adjustable struts where you could adjust the spring rate and rebound on the shock fairly easily instead of having to change coil springs to get the ride you want. just wanting to get some other opinions on this to see if it would work or if im just off my rocker a little. like i said, im just thinking outside the box a little here.

 

[Sam_Fear]

How about a coilover?

 

[butchman_3]

be the same

i honestly havent seen many coil over set ups, unless i have just been not paying attention, but if your wanting to die a real low buck budget build, would the concept work?

 

[flatheadgary]

struts?

of course it could be made to work. if it works on the front it can work for the back. it's nothing but a coil with a shock. probably the only problem would be how long they are. i am not real familiar with them but i think they have camber adjustment at the spindle which would need to be looked at.

 

[Blue Eyed Devil]

i honestly havent seen many coil over set ups, unless i have just been not paying attention, but if your wanting to die a real low buck budget build, would the concept work?

Coilover setups are one of the most common out there. I know you're thinking and that's good, but by the time everything was said and done logistically a strut just isn't that feasible. As far as budget goes a set of coilovers isn't expensive and they are much more compact and adaptable for hot rod use. A strut would look pretty funky anyways...

 

[Willowbilly3]

Most of the struts have a rather large spring and are long so it's going to take a lot of room to mount them. Also if you look at any McPherson strut, it usually is pushing directly to the contact patch on the tire so to mount it in any other position, like a coil over, it won't behave like it was designed to.

 

[TiredIronGRB]

This would be a good thread for the "Frame/Suspension/Brake Q&A" forum.

 

[bob w]

There's a build thread somewhere on RRR where rear struts were used. Seems they were Honda, Accord possibly. You could try some searches, you might find it.

 

[butchman_3]

was wondering

it was just something i was curious about or if anyone had ever tried it. kinda the thinking outside the box deal, also i was going on little sleep when i was thinking about it and posted the question.

 

[rainman]

They could be used, many have small springs also!! One drawback is they tend to be long! I've thought about it since I have access to very good, (almost new) take offs at work, but it seems more trouble than it's worth in the end!

 

[bob w]

http://ratrodsrule.com/forum/showthread.php?t=6404&highlight=struts&page=7