MX6.com - View Single Post - 2nd gen Illumina to 1st gen conversion(and other things) HOW-TO

**gavin** · 7-2-05, 3:21

There they are, you’ve managed to get yourself a set of.2nd gen Illuminas.

Nice aren’t they?

They are externally adjustable with 5 settings. The adjuster changes both compression and rebound at the same time(more rebound than compression however). They are however, a bit different than the 1st gen struts and will require a bit of modification to fit.

Regardless of how far you go with the illuminas there is one thing to check first. The stock bumpstops.

If you have a GT the likelyhood is you have the red foam bumpstops. These do not fare well over time and get old, dry and crumble to nothing. New bumpstops may be needed. 2nd gen closed cell foam bumpstops(right) or 1st gen non-turbo hard rubber bumpstops(left) can be used.

I would suggest the 2nd gen bumpstops as they are slightly shorter( Gives a bit more travel. Much more useful when using coilovers/lowering springs) and are softer/more progressive than the hard rubber non-turbo stops.

First the Front strut….

Well that seems to work very well. No real issues here as they fit the front spindle quite fine. The biggest difference is that the strut body is @3/4-1” shorter than the 1st gens strut body. The spring perch is pretty much at the same height however so again, no issues there.

The rears…….

hmmm, well that needs some work.

The rear mounts will need to be widened by @1mm to fit over the rear spindles. You can have this done by a machine shop for a few dollars(or at least I did when I had this done)

Much better.

Just one little thing left to take care of.

In this picture you see the strut fitting over the hub, however there is a small tab/point directly under the bottom hole on the struts mount. this tab prevents the strut from lining up correctly. Remove that small tab.

Like so.

If you plan to use the stock springs or simple lowering springs like Eibachs, intrax, suspension techniques etc. You can stop here, this is it for you. All that will be necessary is to reassemble your springs, spring perches and strut mounts in the reverse order that you had disassembled them.

Congratulations. You are done......Almost.

Now head off to your local alignment shop To reset your alignment as there is one final thing that needs to be corrected on the 2nd gen illuminas.

The 2nd gen struts are angled inwards slightly more than the more upright 1st gen struts. Because of this when the 2nd gen illuminas are installed on the 1st gen, the mounting position angles the hub mount outwards. This results in a loss of camber(another way of saying this is that they add camber).

The addition of camber is @ 1deg. This should be within the range of correctable tollerance. If not, crash bolts may be necessary. Check first.

On to other things.

7-2-05, 3:21	#3 (permalink)
gavin Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: santa cruz.ca iTrader: (1)	illuminas with stock/replacement springs There they are, you’ve managed to get yourself a set of.2nd gen Illuminas. Nice aren’t they? They are externally adjustable with 5 settings. The adjuster changes both compression and rebound at the same time(more rebound than compression however). They are however, a bit different than the 1st gen struts and will require a bit of modification to fit. Regardless of how far you go with the illuminas there is one thing to check first. The stock bumpstops. If you have a GT the likelyhood is you have the red foam bumpstops. These do not fare well over time and get old, dry and crumble to nothing. New bumpstops may be needed. 2nd gen closed cell foam bumpstops(right) or 1st gen non-turbo hard rubber bumpstops(left) can be used. I would suggest the 2nd gen bumpstops as they are slightly shorter( Gives a bit more travel. Much more useful when using coilovers/lowering springs) and are softer/more progressive than the hard rubber non-turbo stops. First the Front strut…. Well that seems to work very well. No real issues here as they fit the front spindle quite fine. The biggest difference is that the strut body is @3/4-1” shorter than the 1st gens strut body. The spring perch is pretty much at the same height however so again, no issues there. The rears……. hmmm, well that needs some work. The rear mounts will need to be widened by @1mm to fit over the rear spindles. You can have this done by a machine shop for a few dollars(or at least I did when I had this done) Much better. Just one little thing left to take care of. In this picture you see the strut fitting over the hub, however there is a small tab/point directly under the bottom hole on the struts mount. this tab prevents the strut from lining up correctly. Remove that small tab. Like so. If you plan to use the stock springs or simple lowering springs like Eibachs, intrax, suspension techniques etc. You can stop here, this is it for you. All that will be necessary is to reassemble your springs, spring perches and strut mounts in the reverse order that you had disassembled them. Congratulations. You are done......Almost. Now head off to your local alignment shop To reset your alignment as there is one final thing that needs to be corrected on the 2nd gen illuminas. The 2nd gen struts are angled inwards slightly more than the more upright 1st gen struts. Because of this when the 2nd gen illuminas are installed on the 1st gen, the mounting position angles the hub mount outwards. This results in a loss of camber(another way of saying this is that they add camber). The addition of camber is @ 1deg. This should be within the range of correctable tollerance. If not, crash bolts may be necessary. Check first. On to other things. Last edited by gavin : 6-14-06 at 19:47.