DIY Extended tophats

twisterfelix · 11-07-2011, 10:57 AM

Ok so I extended my tophats for my RT4WD civic and here are the pics. Hope they help out. They are not hard to do I recomend you guys do them, the car rides great despite being lowered.

Step 1 remove the tophats. And take off the bolts by placing the tophat on table or ground, and hitting the top of the bolt till it comes off. Make sure u dont hit the thread

twisterfelix · 11-07-2011, 11:00 AM

Step 2 mark and cut the tophat at desired location. U can use hacksaw or grinder.

Chuck Chainz · 11-07-2011, 11:01 AM

umm... then what?

twisterfelix · 11-07-2011, 11:01 AM

Step 3 weld piece of 2" pipe to top part of top hat then the bottom. (In the front i hear u can go up to 1 1/2 inches tall and still clear the hood)

***Rufus*** · 11-07-2011, 11:02 AM

Huh, that's the end?

twisterfelix · 11-07-2011, 11:04 AM

Step 4 grind off excess welds (i went alittle over to take of paint, i did it with a flap disc)

twisterfelix · 11-07-2011, 11:06 AM

STEP 5 Primer and paint.

twisterfelix · 11-07-2011, 11:07 AM

STEP 6 Put studs back in place. Easiest way to do this is by sliding stud back in hole. Then install 2 washers, and the nut on the stud and tighten away. It will pull the stud back in place.

twisterfelix · 11-07-2011, 11:08 AM

now thats the end. It took a while cause I was uploading it from my phone.

failedabortion · 11-07-2011, 06:26 PM

weld the bottom from the inside...don't have to grind down so much.

Do your shock bodies fit inside?

twisterfelix · 11-07-2011, 06:43 PM

Yeah they fit

gunsup0331 · 11-07-2011, 07:21 PM

Or call aaron garcia and he'll make you a sick set for a good price!

twisterfelix · 11-08-2011, 01:56 PM

Well this is for guys on budget who cant afford ebay or aaron like me. Spent less than $10 on all four.

projectaccord · 11-08-2011, 04:47 PM

The finished product looks good.

twisterfelix · 11-09-2011, 08:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by projectaccord

The finished product looks good.

Thx man. This was my first set. The last one I made required less grinding ands looks just as good finished.

TucsonEuroCamry · 11-09-2011, 09:44 AM

why would you do this? like what does it accomplish?

nyenye09 · 11-09-2011, 04:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TucsonJDMAccord

why would you do this? like what does it accomplish?

x2...?

that one da · 11-09-2011, 09:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TucsonJDMAccord

why would you do this? like what does it accomplish?

Quote:

Originally Posted by JDMTramp09

x2...?

gives your stock strut more room when your lowered on coilovers and such so your shock isnt bottoming out everywhere resulting in blown struts and shitty riding suspension

SloDezl · 11-09-2011, 09:26 PM

it allows the shock body to basically travel past the top of the shock tower allowing you to have a better ride while the car is slammed. depending on the car you can add up to 2 in of added travel without having to shim the hood.

C.R.A.Y. · 11-09-2011, 09:43 PM

Your control arms will hit your shock towers before your strut gets near going inside the tophat

SloDezl · 11-10-2011, 07:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by blinded

Your control arms will hit your shock towers before your strut gets near going inside the tophat

depending on the car thats not true, on my wagon it made a huge difference in ride doing extended tophats, because it would bottom out on the strut before even coming close to the upper arm hitting the body

twisterfelix · 11-10-2011, 09:00 AM

What happens when you drop you car is you lose shock travel. So If you drop you car 2" you lose 2'' of shock travel. Thus making your car ride shitty and potentially blowing your shocks. So lets say you extend you tophats 2" and drop your car 2". It would feel like you were ridding on stock height.

C.R.A.Y. · 11-10-2011, 09:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by twisterfelix

What happens when you drop you car is you lose shock travel. So If you drop you car 2" you lose 2'' of shock travel. Thus making your car ride shitty and potentially blowing your shocks. So lets say you extend you tophats 2" and drop your car 2". It would feel like you were ridding on stock height.

this. I made 2.5 inch tophats for the front and 3.5 for my rears just to get the preload back on my springs. THATS what make the ride quality better

twisterfelix · 11-10-2011, 09:19 AM

i did 1.5 on my wagon all around rides great.

nyenye09 · 11-10-2011, 09:30 AM

i see.

TucsonEuroCamry · 11-10-2011, 01:02 PM

hmmmm thats interesting and something everyone should consider doing. ill look into it for my car, thx

also, do you need the extended top hats when you have an adjustable suspension or is the top hats just for the shocks

failedabortion · 11-10-2011, 04:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TucsonJDMAccord

hmmmm thats interesting and something everyone should consider doing. ill look into it for my car, thx

also, do you need the extended top hats when you have an adjustable suspension or is the top hats just for the shocks

Drop springs and adjustable coil sleeves yes...not always needed but they help. If you're going full body coilovers they aren't needed and most likely wont fit.

twisterfelix · 11-11-2011, 04:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by failedabortion

Drop springs and adjustable coil sleeves yes...not always needed but they help. If you're going full body coilovers they aren't needed and most likely wont fit.

True

pr1nc3s5 · 11-11-2011, 11:22 PM

great right up how much did u spend granted buying a grinder and welder to?

twisterfelix · 11-13-2011, 08:15 PM

Well i already have the grinder and welder cause of my work. But i spent less than 10 bucks on material

11-07-2011, 10:57 AM	#1
twisterfelix Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Tucson Posts: 53 iTrader: (1)	DIY Extended tophats Ok so I extended my tophats for my RT4WD civic and here are the pics. Hope they help out. They are not hard to do I recomend you guys do them, the car rides great despite being lowered. Step 1 remove the tophats. And take off the bolts by placing the tophat on table or ground, and hitting the top of the bolt till it comes off. Make sure u dont hit the thread

11-07-2011, 11:02 AM	#5
*Rufus* Home Wrecker Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Out of the cage Posts: 19,589 iTrader: (14)	Huh, that's the end? __________________ BEFORE YOU PM ME: I cannot change your screen name.

11-07-2011, 06:26 PM	#10
failedabortion boats n hoes Join Date: May 2011 Location: west Posts: 3,881 iTrader: (20)	weld the bottom from the inside...don't have to grind down so much. Do your shock bodies fit inside? __________________ I was paid with the shadow of consensual rape

11-08-2011, 04:47 PM	#14
projectaccord DIRTY D-SERIES Join Date: May 2006 Location: Glendale Posts: 4,032 iTrader: (29)	The finished product looks good. __________________ LUCKY'SGARAGE WORKS HGH TUNING SAVE THE SOHC

11-09-2011, 09:43 PM	#20
C.R.A.Y. ravi speaks in 3rd person Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Phoenix Posts: 8,425 iTrader: (31)	Your control arms will hit your shock towers before your strut gets near going inside the tophat __________________ Modern Performance and Tuning We wont leave a rag in your motor Brand tuning is under achieving #torquedtospecmainssquad

11-07-2011, 11:00 AM	#2
twisterfelix Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Tucson Posts: 53 iTrader: (1)	Step 2 mark and cut the tophat at desired location. U can use hacksaw or grinder.

11-07-2011, 11:01 AM	#4
twisterfelix Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Tucson Posts: 53 iTrader: (1)	Step 3 weld piece of 2" pipe to top part of top hat then the bottom. (In the front i hear u can go up to 1 1/2 inches tall and still clear the hood)

11-07-2011, 11:04 AM	#6
twisterfelix Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Tucson Posts: 53 iTrader: (1)	Step 4 grind off excess welds (i went alittle over to take of paint, i did it with a flap disc)

11-07-2011, 11:06 AM	#7
twisterfelix Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Tucson Posts: 53 iTrader: (1)	STEP 5 Primer and paint.

11-07-2011, 11:07 AM	#8
twisterfelix Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Tucson Posts: 53 iTrader: (1)	STEP 6 Put studs back in place. Easiest way to do this is by sliding stud back in hole. Then install 2 washers, and the nut on the stud and tighten away. It will pull the stud back in place.

11-07-2011, 11:08 AM	#9
twisterfelix Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Tucson Posts: 53 iTrader: (1)	now thats the end. It took a while cause I was uploading it from my phone.

11-07-2011, 06:43 PM	#11
twisterfelix Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Tucson Posts: 53 iTrader: (1)	Yeah they fit

11-08-2011, 01:56 PM	#13
twisterfelix Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Tucson Posts: 53 iTrader: (1)	Well this is for guys on budget who cant afford ebay or aaron like me. Spent less than $10 on all four.

11-09-2011, 09:44 AM	#16
TucsonEuroCamry Trollin JoeShmoe Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: Tucson AZ Posts: 6,333 iTrader: (9)	why would you do this? like what does it accomplish?

11-10-2011, 09:00 AM	#22
twisterfelix Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Tucson Posts: 53 iTrader: (1)	What happens when you drop you car is you lose shock travel. So If you drop you car 2" you lose 2'' of shock travel. Thus making your car ride shitty and potentially blowing your shocks. So lets say you extend you tophats 2" and drop your car 2". It would feel like you were ridding on stock height.

11-10-2011, 09:19 AM	#24
twisterfelix Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Tucson Posts: 53 iTrader: (1)	i did 1.5 on my wagon all around rides great.

11-10-2011, 09:30 AM	#25
nyenye09 aka JDMTramp09. Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Nogales, Az Posts: 2,328 iTrader: (14)	i see.

11-10-2011, 01:02 PM	#26
TucsonEuroCamry Trollin JoeShmoe Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: Tucson AZ Posts: 6,333 iTrader: (9)	hmmmm thats interesting and something everyone should consider doing. ill look into it for my car, thx also, do you need the extended top hats when you have an adjustable suspension or is the top hats just for the shocks

11-11-2011, 11:22 PM	#29
pr1nc3s5 F.A.M.E Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: west phx Posts: 3,925 iTrader: (3)	great right up how much did u spend granted buying a grinder and welder to? __________________ 03 is300 (daily) 07 is250 ( weekend ride) 91 accord (pos project )

11-13-2011, 08:15 PM	#30
twisterfelix Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Tucson Posts: 53 iTrader: (1)	Well i already have the grinder and welder cause of my work. But i spent less than 10 bucks on material

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