The Suspension Discussion Thread

[daleyboy 0]

has any1 used the fk sport edition plus coilovers are they any gud

 

or what coilover is the most preffered, i tryed readin some of the thread but havin 40 pages makes it nearly impossible

 

Yea ive got these coilies on mine, i can only compare them with OE struts as they are the only two suspension set-ups ive tried.

 

The handling improved dramatically, cornering is much improved much less roll than standard (but i did drop it quite a bit). they are quite hard and i end up bouncing up and down in the seat. The finish isnt great the zinc plating looks knackered only after a year, although they havent seized up (yet). I got them for £400 in a group buy on the VR6 OC................ :)

[Guest]

has any1 used the fk sport edition plus coilovers are they any gud

 

or what coilover is the most preffered, i tryed readin some of the thread but havin 40 pages makes it nearly impossible

 

Yea ive got these coilies on mine, i can only compare them with OE struts as they are the only two suspension set-ups ive tried.

 

The handling improved dramatically, cornering is much improved much less roll than standard (but i did drop it quite a bit). they are quite hard and i end up bouncing up and down in the seat. The finish isnt great the zinc plating looks knackered only after a year, although they havent seized up (yet). I got them for £400 in a group buy on the VR6 OC................ :)

 

sound, how much does the adjustible damping actually work or carnt you tell the diffrence between each setting realy

[daleyboy 0]

has any1 used the fk sport edition plus coilovers are they any gud

 

or what coilover is the most preffered, i tryed readin some of the thread but havin 40 pages makes it nearly impossible

 

Yea ive got these coilies on mine, i can only compare them with OE struts as they are the only two suspension set-ups ive tried.

 

The handling improved dramatically, cornering is much improved much less roll than standard (but i did drop it quite a bit). they are quite hard and i end up bouncing up and down in the seat. The finish isnt great the zinc plating looks knackered only after a year, although they havent seized up (yet). I got them for £400 in a group buy on the VR6 OC................ :)

 

sound, how much does the adjustible damping actually work or carnt you tell the diffrence between each setting realy

 

Yea you can mate it comes with a little adjuster a six point adjustment but in reality you can pretty much get them either boneshakingly hard or so soft it feels like theres no shocks on the car (makes you feel sea sick bouncing everywhere). I started off really hard (ooh err) then gradually (inevitably) got softer.............. :wave:

[bigrichi 0]

I am thinking about changing my suspension soon. I nearly chopped the Corrado in a few weeks ago after test driving a new Clio 200. I decided against taking finance but want my Corrado to handle a bit better.

 

The car has about 125k miles and currently has a Bilstein suspension kit on it (not coilovers) which were on the car when i bought it. this kit was fitted about 5 years/30k miles ago.

 

they seem in generally good condition and the MOT station mentioned nothing about them being an issue a couple of months ago.

 

Not a question about coilovers etc at this stage as money's a bit tight....What I want to do is start replacing/renewing some of the other suspension components so when i change the struts etc i will get the full benefit.

 

I'm a mechanical novice so what should i be looking to replace?? and roughly how much are the parts to buy

 

Thanks for all info given

Richi

[naughty 0]

hey ppl

 

yeah i have same question as Richi kind of i dont know wat suspensions i have on my car its not stock the previous owner said he changed them into sport suspension and i feel its not a gr8 one

 

so i would like to know what is best for all wheels front and back, and i have an idea of strut bar and sway bar but i really dont know which is best and if its needed in the 1st place.

 

my car is a VR6 18" rims well i had nice 17" but then one of them cracked so i had to buy something thats what was available at that time so i dont expect to b lowered so much

 

thanks for any info

[richair 0]

Hi guys,

 

Done lots of searching on here and on other forums, but I've not turned up anything too specific.

 

Looking to buy some mid-range coilovers for my VR and I've whittled my choice down to either Spax RSX or Gaz GHA. Both are around the 500nicker mark, both have 2yr warrenties, same adjustmet and both seem to get decent reviews. Spax seem to have a little edge over the Gaz in that the spring collar threads are stainless whereas the Gaz are all zinc plated. I've also considered FK's Konisports (the reviewes are too mixed and they seem to corrode too much) and Weitecs (cost around 600 and don't seem to offer anything more than the Gaz or Spax). I like KW V2's, but the coffers won't extend that far i'm afraid.

 

If anyone on here is running either I'd be pleased to hear your opinions on them! My car will be used for daily driving (including trips for work) and I live in an area where bumpy B-roads are the norm. I will however make the odd aperance on a trackday (rebound adj will be useful here) and I can cope with a certain level of compromise in ride quality...

 

Cheers all! Rich :grin:

[Neil VR6 0]

KW v1s? Totally corrosion proof and pothole friendly.

 

Gaz made good stuff and it's all servicbale in the UK which is appealing although make sure they're more 'road' than 'track'. I personally wouldn't touch Spax stuff - bit too cheap and cheerful.

[big ben 10]

nearly everyone on here will tell you KW V1's for that price range... If i was you i would be buying a set of them!!

[Kevin Bacon 5]

I had Gaz Gold and the quality was appalling, so make sure you use that 2 year warranty! Good dampers though.

 

Spax - very hard high speed bump usually, but quality miles better than it used to be.

 

KW - Almost a sheep coilover now as everyone seems to get them, but they are good. No question.

[richair 0]

Cheers for the input guys.

 

I'm suprised about the quality issues with Gaz; was that with some earlier units? Come to think of it, in my CRX days (around 2004/5/6) I remember a few guys had trouble with them. Form what I can tell they have their act together now though? What sort of things went wrong?

 

If I can get V1's/V2's for a decent price then I'll got for them as I know you get what you pay for... But I am on a bit of a budget i'm afraid as I have a few expensive months ahead of me :|

 

I've got mixed feelings on the Spax if im honest; a lot of peeps who've used them say they're good and the quality seems miles beter than it used to be. But then if there's way too much compression I guess they'll be pretty harsh... Does anyone have any experience with the revised ones? (last couple of years..).

 

What ever I decide to go with, I'll be sure to give a write up of them in here 8)

[Danny B 0]

I just put on weitecs on myn and around town they are a little stiff and I have speedlines as well !!

 

the tail isnt as planted as I'd hope either if I were honest but I think I was expecting too much considering my old suspension was fubared :eek:

 

That sounds like a bad review, overall I'm happy with them.

[Critical_Mass 10]

I just put on weitecs on myn and around town they are a little stiff and I have speedlines as well !!

 

the tail isnt as planted as I'd hope either if I were honest but I think I was expecting too much considering my old suspension was fubared :eek:

 

That sounds like a bad review, overall I'm happy with them.

 

Mines the same though with the KWs. Round certain corners the back end feels like its going to let go. Though from what i gather is a corrado characteristic isnt it? or could be just word axle bushes, though i've had mine looked at and have been told they're fine.

[Kevin Bacon 5]

I'm suprised about the quality issues with Gaz; was that with some earlier units? Come to think of it, in my CRX days (around 2004/5/6) I remember a few guys had trouble with them. Form what I can tell they have their act together now though? What sort of things went wrong?

 

Mine were a catalogue of blunders and quality issues mate. They originally arrived with 8" front springs and no helpers, which mean the springs went coil bound over every bump (fully squashed down!). That was sorted with longer springs. Then I had siezing issues on the spring perches due to the completely ineffective zinc plating. They were also designed for MK2 top mounts (shallow top hat instead of a cone shaped one), despite my order specifying them for a MK3/Corrado plus axle strut design. And last but not least, the chrome plating on the offside front piston rod started flaking off and the shards of chrome cut the top seal open, spraying damper fluid out. I went to Gaz's factory twice to try and sort these problems but they weren't interested and didn't seem overly competent either. Considering they are a performance suspension maker, they don't even have a proper premises with laser alignment etc. Just a tin pot warehouse with a few lathes and a pre-war hydraulic ramp.

 

That may sound like a harsh appraisal, but remember the Gaz Golds are £1000 coilovers and quality problems like that shouldn't exist in this price range. The damper performance was superb though and you can tell Dave Lyons's expertise from Leda came with him when setting up Gaz. I just hope the quality has improved now.

 

I dumped them and went KW V3 and have been very impressed and happy with those :D I can't make my mind up on spring rates and every time I take them off the car, they look brand new after a quick wipe with some WD40...and they've been on 2 years.

 

I've got mixed feelings on the Spax if im honest; a lot of peeps who've used them say they're good and the quality seems miles beter than it used to be. But then if there's way too much compression I guess they'll be pretty harsh...

 

Spax were in the same league as Avo back in the day... i.e. crap! Both had very hard spring and damper rates and lots of lowering and didn't last long.

Both have improved a lot in recent years. They had to in order to compete with the german kits. Spax is just a stupid sounding name, so I'd never buy any based on that alone :D I hear they're pretty good now though!

 

You can't go wrong with KW inox. They seem to get the dampers spot on. Springs can be changed for any rate you like but the supplied ones are what most people tend to go with, but I feel they are too hard for British roads.

[Danny B 0]

I just put on weitecs on myn and around town they are a little stiff and I have speedlines as well !!

 

the tail isnt as planted as I'd hope either if I were honest but I think I was expecting too much considering my old suspension was fubared :eek:

 

That sounds like a bad review, overall I'm happy with them.

 

Mines the same though with the KWs. Round certain corners the back end feels like its going to let go. Though from what i gather is a corrado characteristic isnt it? or could be just word axle bushes, though i've had mine looked at and have been told they're fine.[/quote:3ixxrvk2]

 

....my bushes have been replaced recently.....I suppose with a road set up its going to be difficult to inherently change the cars characteristics just with different coilovers, I have heard others say the back end feels loose occasionally, makes it interesting sometimes though :)

[richair 0]

Cheers for the appraisal on the Gaz there Kev; sounds pretty shocking if you ask me! Gawd knows how they sent them out with the wrong springs; that must have been just plain dangerous!!!

 

Well I'm sure they will have improved quality now, but it's sounds like it's not worth the risk; especially if buying one of their low-end products.

 

I know what you mean on Spax and if i'm honest I hadn't even considered them at first, but I've since read a few good things about them and they offer all I need at a decent price. So the jury is still out.

 

I'll look more in to KW's, however when I was checking prices the V1's go for around £750 which is 50% more than I really want to spend. However I know you get what you pay for... :?

[Critical_Mass 10]

However I know you get what you pay for... :?

 

Exactly. I hear those words alot on here when it comes to suspension. I learnt it the expensive way and eventually got hte KWs - never looked back. :D

[Chris Langdon 0]

I have a question! i was looking through my coilover paperwork the other night and i noticed that it says they are TWIN tube shock absorbers not mono tube??? what does that mean and which is better??? mono or twin ??

 

many thanks

 

chris

[Kevin Bacon 5]

Monotube

 

 

Twin tube

 

 

 

Twin tubes are the most common. Monotube are popular with Bilstein dampers, characterised by the very wide piston rod!

[mark__gti 0]

hmm so many choices so little money lol

[Neil VR6 0]

I took my rear coilovers off at the weekend to adjust and clean them. They're over 2 years old and with nothing more than some Fairy liquid they came up like this:

 

 

[Danny B 0]

I took my rear coilovers off at the weekend to adjust and clean them. They're over 2 years old and with nothing more than some Fairy liquid they came up like this:

 

 

 

thats just showing off :D

[Neil VR6 0]

To be fair the reason I had them off is because the plastic threaded spring seats wouldn't turn and I had to hacksaw them off and replace them with new ones (thanks G-Werks for supplying them as warranty :notworthy: :salute: ) It was a simple job in the end but you could tell they're quality units as they come apart. The only downer are those spring seats but I can't fault them otherwise. You definitely get what you pay for.

[Wizas 0]

Hi Guys and Gals,

 

I have recently been refurbishing our 1995 VR6. We bought the car when it was 3 years old. The car has now done just over 80,000 miles. Although the car has always passed its MOTs I have, for many years, thought that it had lost (!) some of the quality in the handling department. The car would judder over ruts and wander about at high speed!

 

I have just taken the plunge and sorted it out. Having read many of the postings on this forum I was very keen not to make a mistake and ruin the ride. After a lot of dithering and mind changing I decided on OEM dampers and H&R springs. I wanted to lower the car slightly and regain a comfortable but firm ride. In fact I was trying to recreate the ride that the car had when we bought it. Matters were brought to a head because I need to replace both cv joints. So, with 2 new cv joints, new oem dampers all round, H&R springs all round, 2 new oem front wishbones, 2 oem front bottom ball joints, 2 new oem rear bump stops, 2 oem new front suspension top mounts, new oem anti-roll bar rubbers and 4 wheel alignment the job was completed.

 

Result?

 

Brilliant. The ride is excellent, the juddering through the steering has gone and the car looks great! I am totally satisfied.

 

Martin :D :D :D

[alip_corrado 0]

has any1 used the fk sport edition plus coilovers are they any gud

 

or what coilover is the most preffered, i tryed readin some of the thread but havin 40 pages makes it nearly impossible

 

Yea ive got these coilies on mine, i can only compare them with OE struts as they are the only two suspension set-ups ive tried.

 

The handling improved dramatically, cornering is much improved much less roll than standard (but i did drop it quite a bit). they are quite hard and i end up bouncing up and down in the seat. The finish isnt great the zinc plating looks knackered only after a year, although they havent seized up (yet). I got them for £400 in a group buy on the VR6 OC................ :)

 

sound, how much does the adjustible damping actually work or carnt you tell the diffrence between each setting realy

 

 

Yea you can mate it comes with a little adjuster a six point adjustment but in reality you can pretty much get them either boneshakingly hard or so soft it feels like theres no shocks on the car (makes you feel sea sick bouncing everywhere). I started off really hard (ooh err) then gradually (inevitably) got softer.............. :wave:

 

 

This info on FK sport edition plus coilovers is very useful, does anyone else have any experience with these?

 

I am tracking my rado VR so was wondering if these would be suitable. If not are there any others in the FK range that would be? I have heard very good things about KW V2, but don't want to pay more for them if FKs or another coilover will do the job. Having said that I have also heard that you get what you pay for and my understanding is that KWs are likely to last longer than other coilovers and perform very well.

 

Any thoughts will be much appreciated.

[Owen VR6 0]

Just bought some KW V1s from tuningwerks at a very reasonable price!

 

Will be fitting them in the next week so hopefully the ride will improve from what it's like now........

 

Cheap Ebay shocks bought by the previous owner, shocking ride and no oil left in them! :shock:

 

Looking forward to having a more involving drive rather than just reading the road for every ripple in the tarmac that's going to shake me to bits :brickwall: