The Suspension Discussion Thread

[corozin 0]

I will be offering up my Nothelle springs for sale in a week or two if anyone wants to start planning ahead.

 

Suitable for a VR6, approx drop is 20mm front, 40mm back compared to a late VR6, or 20mm/20mm compared to an early car. Spring rates not known but are a fair bit stronger than stock ones. Taking a guess at around 400lb front. Simply fantastic ride and control for a road car, I'm only moving them on as they're not strong enough for the track work I do.

 

Photo of the springs/ride height on my car before they came off : http://eventpictures.fotopic.net/p40803642.html

 

There are no dampers (they were old and a couple were starting to leak) but they'd probably be tremendous with a set of Koni adjustable shocks.

 

Watch the for sale section - they'll be on there in a week or two once I've cleaned them up

 

 

John

[KipVR 1]

Right, after a six and a half week wait :? I've finally got my Bilstein coilovers back from being refurbished by Bilstein UK. They were unable to reduce the length of the body but tbh wasn't too fussed about that...but they were able to make the damper settings 10-20% softer all round. It's made a massive difference, I can finally go down country roads without worrying about my teeth :lol: It's now in my view the perfect balance for everyday driving. I'm still using the standard springs that came with the pss kit, which are fairly firm as I understand, i did write down the spring rates but I've left them at work...They sent the springs up the road to eibach to get them rated which was nice of them.

 

Noticeable points are that I've had the kit on the car for 60k and the bearings in the front shocks were totally shot. If there are any of you out there with a quiet clonking noise over gentle bumps (like when your shuffling in traffic) coming from the front, and you've got some coilovers then you might want to get the bearings in the fronts checked.

 

The quoted price for a standard refurb was £60 each shock. However this is just for a re-seal as I later found out. The total bill in the end came to £427 (inc vat) This was for new bearings, spring platforms and re-cutting the thread- basically a new set of shocks but not re-plated unfortunately. Much more money than I had hoped for, certainly after a six week wait, and considering a new set of coilovers isn't much more ...... The guys doing the shocks were great, very helpfull and informing, but I was very aware that the bosses were saying 'some guy with a set of knackered Corrado coilovers' can wait till next week whils't we do this rush job for Aston Martin etc- hence it was always 'next week'

 

On the upside they now feel excellent, much better than when they were when new - which was too hard for anything other than smooth A roads and things got very crashy on country roads and town. It's now very composed on bumpy/country roads, and comfortable through town.

 

In all, I would get them done again, only this time pause my insurance and Tax!!! Worth the wait. Totally professional company, but be prepared to wait behind the bigger fish. You could probably get H & R's done there too, it's still cheaper than a new set.....

[Kevin Bacon 5]

That's good news then, shame about the wait!

 

£430 to put 50 quids worth of parts in 4 old dampers is way too much imo, but it is very rewarding for you to get the ride quality you've craved for, one way or another!

 

Personally I would have bought new ones because £430 is too close to the price of a complete new kit as you say. Technology is changing all the time and the excellent Sachs/ZF coilovers are now filtering down into the mainstream markets.

 

The H&Rs are close to what you describe, perhaps a little harsh over close packed bumps. Glad you've found a way to iron that out!

[Owen VR6 0]

Just ordered my FK Highsports, in the post and on the way! Can't wait to get them on and feel what's actually going on in the car! Ordered some powerflex bushes to go on the front wishbones too as they're non-existant. So with the new coilovers, new bushes, ball joints and anything else that needs replacing when the old ones come off, should handle great................

 

I'll let you know how it all feels when they go on..........

 

No more wallowing and soft corners! Ace.... :)

[Kevin Bacon 5]

Nice!

 

I'm going to be trying R32 wishbone bushes and PowerFlex rear axle bushes in August (with my existing Gaz coilovers) and I'll naturally share my opinions.

 

Incidentally, Kip VR's situation highlights the benefit of having independantly adjustable bump and rebound settings 8) The KW V3 has precisely that, which I'll be trying when the Gazzers go pop....

Although the bump adjustment is only in the low speed range (high speed bump preset by KW), it's that one that usually needs the tweaking. I found the H&R/Bilstein high speed bump to be spot on, but the low speed bump was far too hard.

[dukest 0]

when the Gazzers go pop....

 

are you expecting them to go pop Kev?! :shock: specialised engine bits aside I would have thought all the other aftermarket kit on your car is of sufficient (& expensive) quality that you shouldn't have to have them fail on you? do you do pretty high mileages?

 

john

[Kevin Bacon 5]

They shouldn't do, but I do tend to get through suspension components pretty quickly, hence why I need new rear axle bushes again. Uprated suspension and brakes kills all the bushes and top mounts really quickly. That's why Powerflexes are going in this time. Not a fan of poly bushes, but I'd rather the small compromise of that than changing rubber ones every 2 years.

 

I've had Konis and Bilstein/H&Rs fail on me (more than once) and so far the Gazzers are holding up well.

[jonrb 0]

My top mounts were shagged after only 5 months / 3000 miles (although that does include a track day) when I had the springs changed over on Saturday.

 

Seems the mounts were moving around a lot which is what destroyed them. You'll have this problem too, Kev. Vince is going to talk to you about it as we found a way of reducing the movement with an extra washer. Vince thinks that the top spring seats off any coilover kit may be a more permanent solution.

 

Too soon to say whether the 325lb springs are better than the 275lb ones, but initial impressions are good.

[Kevin Bacon 5]

Good stuff RE the 325lb springs. I'd appreciate an appraisal before the 24th Aug if you'd be so kind as that's when I'm at stealth, so could get the 325s in before then. Did you get them from Gaz? Are you using the same rear springs?

 

That's the thing with the top mounts, mine are knackered after less than 3000 miles with no track work! Thinking about going back to the spherical top mounts as they seem to last just as long!

 

Did you speak to Vince about this bearing problem today as I called him earlier and he said he'd need to look at it all again?

[jonrb 0]

Rear springs are unchanged.

 

I don't know about your Gaz dampers, Kev, but on mine they aren't threaded all the way down so Vince had spacers made up to compensate. The trouble was that they don't clamp the top mount properly. For normal driving gravity holds everything in place, but yumping or taking kerb on track causes the whole coilover unit to drop down a few inches and then slam back up (my top mounts don't sit flush like they should - they stand proud due to the spacers).

 

Vince and I noticed that the standard retaining nut on the top has an integral washer so he found a washer of the same diameter and we put that under the spacer to try to do the same job and that seems to have worked to some extent, although the top mount still stands proud and can therefore drop and return as before and hence has the same problem.

 

Vince thought he had a further idea on Saturday which he was going to discuss with you, Kev, but if he's told you something different today then he's probably mulled it over during the weekend and rejected it.

[Kevin Bacon 5]

Thanks Jon.

 

For what it's worth, the Spherical top mounts solve that particular issue (aswell as giving 1.5 deg more caster - very useful in the turns!). Just a shame you can't switch off the noise and rumble they create when driving it on the road!

[Owen VR6 0]

Just had my Konigsports fitted and they feel lovely! Not to harsh in normal driving but brilliant round the corners.... Still settling in though so they can only get better! :)

[jonrb 0]

Just a quick update - the 325lb front springs on my Gaz setup are just so much better than the 275lb ones. The car feels far less undersprung now.

 

The difference is most noticeably on track but there are noticeable improvements on road driving too.

[Kevin Bacon 5]

Thanks John.

 

I ordered the 325lb springs today actually, so it's good to know they're working out. Hats off to Mr Lockie 8)

 

I don't know about you, but on mine, I find damping click 4 is spot on, but it feels undersprung as yours did, but then damper click 5 is too stiff as the damper is doing more work than it should, so hopefully the 325s + damper 4 should be spot on.

 

Shame it's taken about 8000 miles to come to this conclusion :? :lol:

[dukest 0]

Just had my Konigsports fitted and they feel lovely! Not to harsh in normal driving but brilliant round the corners.... Still settling in though so they can only get better! :)

Owen, I guess better round dry corners than wet ones eh?! :D

[Jim Bowen 1]

Rather than make a new thread, i'll add to this one, and i'll try and keep things simple:

 

Problems i have:

-While parking and turning wheels i have a loose metallic sound, like a disc of metal wobbling within something

 

-accelerating and braking heavily the car squirms alot

 

-steering generally feels a bit vague over crap roads and round towns, if i pull out a junction and turning at same time the car just wants to go straight on, and the wheels seem to creak

 

-when taking a corner at speed, something at the rear sounds knocky and rear wheels feel as if they skipping across road, also get the knocking at low speeds over bumps

 

took car to garage yesterday and they having it next week to look if anything needs replacing, but i said i just wanna start replacing bits anyway, (the chap that works there is the previous owner of car)

 

he said that the top mounts need doing, (he already knew this, from when he had car), i said could you do ball joints too, then i thought i should buy new shocks up front as well. Now after reading some thread here i feel as if the rear axle bushes need doing too :lol:

 

before i know it, i'll end up with a massive bill, so need to find out whats most important.

 

so now i'm not sure what i should get done first, should i just get ball joints, suspensions and top mounts done and see whats improved before i fork out for ARB's, rear axle bushes etc, not sure what other components there are

 

i just don't want to get suspension done and be disappointed, at the moment i don't enjoy driving the car, doesn't feel any nicer than my corsa :lol:

[Jim Bowen 1]

i'm thinking of getting the weitec spring and shock combo?

 

i know they a budget suspension, but would anyone recommend them, any reviews of these?

[Goldie 2]

I know a few guys who have Weitec coilies who will vouch for their quality, why not give Gwerks a ring as they supply weitec gear and can probably tell you what you need to know..

[Jim Bowen 1]

i'm not really after coilovers, just a spring & shock combo really

 

am down to

 

-weitec

-bilstein

-koni

 

i've had koni before and found them too harsh/firm, i just want to take the wallow out of the bends

[Dub_nut_g60 0]

i have the weitec coilovers on my C and they are superb IMO. I have heard that the 'shocks and spings' are also very good when compared to similar items.

 

They may appear to be 'budget suspension' but when you consider they are made by KW (thhe shock bodies on the coilovers actually have KW printed on them!) and are effectively just their non stainless line they are fantastic value for money.

[A-J 0]

I had Weitec shocks and springs on my mk2 and was happy with them.

[Jim Bowen 1]

do you think the funny noises and instablity is down to top mounts and ball joints?

[Jim Bowen 1]

Weitec Hicon GTN Coilover/adj ring kit £325.00

 

^^^ would i be better geting them or this H&R spring/shock set, or the weitec springs/shocks?

 

like i say i doubt i'll be changing ride height

[Jim Bowen 1]

car is in the hands of the garage now. nearly crashed it lastnight due to the dodgy steering something is definately wrong, the transit connect and pug 306 i use handle better than my corrado tbh

 

bit gutting, but i'm sure it'll get sorted

[Jim 1]

Hi folks..

 

Am rethinking my suspension plans and after reading some positive comments (and talking to a happy owner or two) i'm thinking about not getting coilovers, and instead getting some standard Koni TA's with some PI springs as they seem to tread the line perfectly between comfort and handling. Have been out in a Corrado with this setup and it is very good..

 

So my question is - any idea on a supplier who can sell a complete package of all four dampers with a set of PI springs already on them?!

 

TIA :)