sleeve too small for that shock!

[migsk8]

so i bought some ground control coilover sleeves, and when i go to put on the sleeve over the front (bilstein) shocks, the shock is too fat at the bottom to let the sleeve slide all the way down. so i keep going with the sleeve at the fat part of the shock, slide the spring on and do it with both sides. i put the car back down and I now have a wheel gap of like 4-5 inches!how do i get the sleeve to go all the way down?

can i put the spring without the sleeve? (the bottom spring holder is kind of uneven) can i still do it?