I never installed the CC820 coils. I installed and still use the Monroe SENSA-TRAC LOAD ADJUSTING SHOCK ABSORBERs (MONROE Part # 58624 coil over shock) in the rear. I am also still running P235/70R16 snow tires year around and a full size tire whick is a P235/70R16 from my last set of snow tires. Since HANKOOK doesn't make the snow tire I used to use, I am using the Hercules Avalanche Extreme snow tires. These are basically the same tread as the Hankooks were. I've ridden several times in the 3rd seat and it's a nice smooth ride, not bouncy at all. At 114,000 miles, the ride is still nice and handling is still better than stock.

 

Sorry for the silly question, but does this effectively mean that you now have 4 springs in the rear (2 on the coilovers and 2 OEM springs also)?

Or ..... by installing the coilovers.... does this mean to get rid of the OEM coil springs altogether and just run the coilovers with the monroe shocks?

 

Sorry for the delayed response...Vacation and work has been sucking up time.

Yes, I have 4 coil springs...The 2 OEM coils and the coils that are on each shock.

 

i have a 2006 freestar and purchased a coil over shock this is a shock with a coil spring mounted on it ...it works great and you will have no more sag....and the ride is still very smooth

 

I need some help in arriving at best solution to increase rear spring strength on 05 Freestar limited. It bottoms out to easy with 6 "normal" size people in. I was hoping to install the progressive coils like dgripper but my mechanic said they were to big. Appreciate any ideas out there.

 

I'm still running the MONROE Part # 58624 coil over shock along with a set of Air Lift1000 Part # 60702 on my 04 Limited. I have yet to have it bottom out. I run the air bags at 25 PSI year round with no issues with bottoming out and the ride comfort is actually better because the air bags keep the OEM coils operating in their "SOFT" range. I run a full sized tire under my van and it has yet to meet the ground.

 

I have this same setup on my 2005 SES. Under normal use, it is fantastic. I am using my van as a cargo van however, with about 1200 lbs. of additional weight added. With all this extra weight (some of it tongue weight on a cargo hitch), my ride height is about 1"-1.5" lower than normal with 35 lbs. of air in the suspension. It's also "floats" a little on the road. For this reason, I am going to try the coil springs (RV820) mentioned earlier in the thread. A variable rate coil spring should help, but since the application of this spring is not specifically aimed at the Freestar, I am unsure of how stiff the ride will be loaded, or unloaded. If need be, I will transfer the air bags to the new springs to help them. I won't know that for sure until I get them on and the van loaded. I want to take my full size spare with me on trips, but with the spring sag under load currently, I would not feel comfortable doing that. I will follow up, in case anyone else ever lands on this thread in the future.

UPDATE - I installed the RV820 Coil Springs this morning. There are a couple of things worth noting. First, the RV820 springs do not hold the rubber spring seats in the top and bottom of the springs like the stock ones do. The coil on the ends of the spring is slightly larger than the stock spring, and the mounts just kind of sit there. I placed the bottom mount inside where the spring meets the rear end, then sat the spring inside. I positioned the top mount on top of the spring and then raised the rear end back up into place. I really don't think the mounts could ever come out of there as long as the rear end is attached to the shocks. Even fully extended (body raised with jack, and rearend hanging free) there is sufficient tension on the spring to keep the mounts in place. I took it for a ride, and the mounts do not seem to be moving around, so I am comfortable. The RV820 springs are also just slightly shorter than the stock ones. The RV820 springs are much heavier, have more coils, and are wound to be variable rate. Make sure the part of the spring that is closely wound is up toward the body, and not down toward the ground. Unloaded the van is sitting about 1-1.5" higher than it was before (I'm estimating). It rides nice, even with nothing in it. You can difinitely tell the ride is quite a bit more firm, but it is a long way from being harsh. I added somewhere around 500-600 lbs. of weight, and the ride height only dropped a tiny bit. It rides better with some weight in it, than it does empty. The 'floating' feeling is completely gone. I still need to fully load it up, but I am confident that I will not need the air bags back on the vehicle to handle the 1000-1200 lbs. I usually carry when fully loaded. The most awesome part of this is that I was looking at over $300 to have some springs custom wound for me. I picked the pair of RV820's up from Rock Auto for $77. I'm not even sure how they could make any money selling a pair of springs that cheap. They are really nice springs!

Unloaded Photo: http://www.liquidsinmotion.us.com/public/e771e51de

Half Loaded (500-600 lbs): http://www.liquidsinmotion.us.com/public/e76683a73



-Jim

 

Any numbers on what the front axle and rear axle weight is separately/unloaded?