Well...got teh front end done up today. But sagged back down soon as i let the jack down. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />
Thought the coils wouldnt compress as much. So much for trying something different.

These are the springs used, front was roughly 17" un compressed, rears were 15" uncompressed. Rears worked fine.




So, now what to do. Think i need to contact everett...

Kia on floor jack from passenger side...


Off jack...

Who provided the springs you used???

I seem to recall you were using TJ springs??

If so, which springs did you get?

Not all TJ springs are created equal. Do a search for American Expediitionary Vehicles. They have some info on the various TJ/JK spring offerings. Also, the Jeep Tech forums had a thread about the springs and other apps. It was 2 or 4 months ago.

The front coils from the JK will not work. They compress too much because the wire diameter is not large enough to provide the stiffness needed to keep the front of the Sportage up. You are probably sitting on the bump stops in your shocks. Probably not a good idea to drive it until you put the correct springs back in.

You can't use the front coils from a TJ either becasue the outside diameter of the coil is larger than will fit inside the upper front mount.

The best option is to either take your stock spring and send it to a spring company to replace with a longer one, or use a spacer like the Up your KIA unit to push the spring down to get the extra lift.

Logansportage <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/patriot.gif" alt="" />

why go for questionable solutions when you can buy aftermarket springs for the sporty straight off the shelf? i can undestand the rear TJ conversion-makes sense and fits well-but why mess with the front springs-which are hard to install and have a severe effect on steering, when you can simply buy an aftermarket spring set which is made by a known company and was probably lab tested and has a quality certificate.
king springs, lovells, eibach, dobinson- they all make front lift springs for the sporty. i have a set of 2 inch lovells lift springs up front and they are great. soon i will be going for bigger lift - and i will be installing a set of 3 inch DOBINSON springs + longer front forks fron TRACKFINGER- that will give me serious lift at the front without compromising the driveshafts.

The problem is Eibach no longer makes the springs for the first generation Sportage, and the other spring companies you mention do not import their springs to the states. The only option we have here for lift springs from a large company was from Eibach.

Dave at Rocksportage Gear made some that gave you a 4" all spring lift, but they were limited quantity. I'm not sure if he still makes them, or not.

Logansportage <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/patriot.gif" alt="" />

so what? almost none ot the stuff on my sporty is imported here by dealers- and yet i have managed to get anything that i need.
I really dont thing that the fact that these parts can not be store bought in the US is a problem. as long as the product exists and is sold on ebay-you can ship it. if shipment is expensive-try shipment by sea- its much cheaper than air shipping.

here is a set of 2 inch king springs on ebay OZ:

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/Kia-Sportage-JA-M...=item2c5a6abf25

If you notice, this company will not ship to the states. Only options for shipping are OZ or NZ.

Most of the time shipping even by ship is more than the cost of the item. Makes it very cost prohibitive to get something in single quantity. Also the cost for the import fees jacks it up even more.

Logansportage <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/patriot.gif" alt="" />

It does say you can make arangments depending where you live, If you want them I'm sure you can find a way to get them here, just contact the seller.

Dennis

Yes, it's all a matter of time and money. Neither of which most of us have. After all, we drive KIA Sportages. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/cheers.gif" alt="" />

Logansportage <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/patriot.gif" alt="" />