SilverProject front top hats

[Cole]

Hey guys, just going to do a quick write up on the aforementioned top hats.

Here is where I ordered them from. And sorry in advance, I took no pictures of them before, during or after install. Will get some pictures tomorrow when I'm feeling a bit better.

So, first things first, the price. They were about $380 CAD shipped, then I got hit with a $55 duty bill when they were delivered. Still work out to be the cheapest option.

Next, quality. They seem to be decently built and the quality is well above the price I paid for them.

Install, was, well, interesting. I took the lazy mans way and undid the stock top hats while the car was on the ground, then jacked the front end up and removed the stockers. After that, bolted up the new ones and slowly lowered the car while I was guiding the struts into the top hats. Not ideal, but my car was wet (soaked and covered in melting snow and ice), and it ended up working out in the end. The only problem I encountered was the left side mount didn't line up correctly. The bearing was tilted, don't know how to explain it better than that, or what the actual correct terminology is. Once I rectified that, everything went smoothly.

The final product? I now have about -2* camber on each side. I figure once I get my camber bolts installed, I'll have a nice range of adjustment to get to a point that I'm very happy with. Went for a 20 minute shakedown drive after I installed and apart from a small increase in NVH, everything seemed like it was good to go, but again, will make sure the alignment place double checks everything.

Another member on here ( @Canehda ) had these as well, and mentioned they raised the front end by about 1/2 an inch. I saw that comment after I ordered and was a bit worried as I'm on springs and not coils. I immediately emailed the manufacturer and in his broken english, he assured me that they wouldn't raise the car. I was still a bit skeptical, but after the install, if anything, the car is a little bit lower.

I'll hold off on giving these a buy or pass recommendation until I've put between 500-1000km on them and then check in again after alignment and some HPDE stuff. With that said, for someone looking for a budget or a "good enough for occasional hard driving" I'll give these a thumbs up. Though, reading about these on other platforms, the bearings are apparently junk, which isn't a big deal. I'll buy better bearings once these ones die.

Thanks for taking the time to read this and I promise to get some pictures up tomorrow. And any questions, I'll do my best to answer.

[Canehda]

hmm did you by any chance take a picture of the hardware that came with it? In mine the part that interacted with the spring top perch and the top hat was pretty thick, very similar to the way that the mooresport design is which is what caused that higher front height, i thought about reusing stock hardware for it, but wasn't sure if it would work. I also noticed that the ones I bought were for the GD Impreza series, since I bought mine they came out with a BRZ/FRS specific one which costs more, I assumed that they would be exactly the same but apparently not xD I'll see if I can track down the guy I sold them to so that he can take a picture of the hardware!

[Cole]

Originally Posted by Canehda

hmm did you by any chance take a picture of the hardware that came with it? In mine the part that interacted with the spring top perch and the top hat was pretty thick, very similar to the way that the mooresport design is which is what caused that higher front height, i thought about reusing stock hardware for it, but wasn't sure if it would work. I also noticed that the ones I bought were for the GD Impreza series, since I bought mine they came out with a BRZ/FRS specific one which costs more, I assumed that they would be exactly the same but apparently not xD I'll see if I can track down the guy I sold them to so that he can take a picture of the hardware!

That could be it!

Like I said, didn't take any pictures as it didn't occur to me that I should do a write up about these until afterwards. But, the mounting part was pretty thin, these are substantially smaller than the OEM ones. Good to know that that's where the confusion could be.

Either way, looking forward to getting some miles on these and seeing how they do. As I mentioned before, the bearings are supposedly a weak link, and if they crap out on me, I'll see what can be done about getting some higher quality ones in there.

Edit: I sent you a message on FB (at least I think it was you) about these this evening

[makinen]

I've used it about an year with Koni's and RCE Tarmac springs.
Basically no height rise, but for the balance of my suspension setting, I've added rear 1/4" rear spacers from Subtle solution.

[Cole]

Just a little update here:

Still having no issues with these, they're holding the camber adjustment I have. Only problem is that I'm getting some "twang" noise and feeling during low speed turns. No biggie, I know a lot of coils do the same. SOmething about thrust bearings and stuff.

[makinen]

Originally Posted by Cole

Just a little update here:

Still having no issues with these, they're holding the camber adjustment I have. Only problem is that I'm getting some "twang" noise and feeling during low speed turns. No biggie, I know a lot of coils do the same. SOmething about thrust bearings and stuff.

That sound usually indicates loosened top nut.