Dub Style 0 Posted February 20, 2005 Just looking at some suspension kits for my C and i'm quite interested in the FK highsport kit.........is anyone here running these, also what others are good within the budget of abt 500 quid. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kerrinmay 0 Posted February 21, 2005 Can someone explain the pros and cons with regard to different types of lowering options? I understand (or at least I think I do) that coilovers are probably the best option, but would be interested to hear about other options. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Henny 0 Posted February 21, 2005 Coil overs are great if you want to do one of the following: 1) change your ride height regularly 2) corner weight your car for the ultimate in balance/handling 3) drop the car as far into the weeds as you can 4) show off the suspension at shows Otherwise, save some cash and get a good set of shocks/springs which will give you the ride height you want to achieve... Kev (and others) rate the H&R springs and Koni top adjustable shocks to be among the best for giving near standard ride quality with a lower ride height. You also have to factor in what kind of roads you drive on mostly and how compliant you want the ride quality to be... Coilovers DO tend to be a bit harsher/firmer than a normal set of shocks/springs as they have to be reasonably uprated to be able to drop to their lowest setting... The FK coilovers have a good reputation (I'll probably be fitting some to my own car as soon as I've sorted out some slight financial hic-cups...) and are supposed to give a very good ride quality... 8) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Riley 0 Posted February 21, 2005 you can just go for shorter/lower springs on your original shocks as a cheap option,id say you shouldnt go for anything lower than 35mm on original shocks though due to the piston not being shorter to compensate. then theres the uprated shocks/springs,normally 30% uprated damping/stiffness,and a choice of drops,25mm,30mm,35mm,40mm,etc... if your running big/wide rims you may have problems catching the arches,and you have no adjustment for the height or stiffness,so you would be stuck with the set up. height adjustable coilovers give the obvious height adjustment and are normally around 30% stiffer/uprated damping. height and damping adjustable,same as above but you can stiffen/soften the ride. then theres the above plus rebound which alters the speed that the shocks settle back to position,only really needed for the track. neil. :) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Riley 0 Posted February 21, 2005 Henny, beat me to it :salute: :thumbleft: ps:ive got some fk konigsports on the way,ill let you guys know what it think to em,gotta be better than avo's from what ive heard anyway. :D neil. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CoxyLaad 0 Posted February 21, 2005 Phat is putting together a group buy for HW coilovers. check the names of the big manufacturers that are using them, to me thats a sign that they are quality kit. Thats what I am going for. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kevin Bacon 5 Posted February 21, 2005 KW don't you mean? Coilover schmoilover...they're all the same, apart from a select few which are terrible. Coilies....one area you skimp on at your peril! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kerrinmay 0 Posted February 21, 2005 Thanks for ALL the info! All I really want to do with mine is bring it down a bit so that it looks better (i.e. no huge gap above the wheels in the arches), possibly about 40mm? It has to come down evenly though, I don't it noise down and arse in the air! What would be my best bet and what's it likely to cost? Can I get away with just shortened springs? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kevin Bacon 5 Posted February 21, 2005 If you want a guaranteed level drop, coilovers are the way to go. Some normal spring/damper combos lower uniformly but a lot don't. It's weird because the H&R/Koni setup on the VR drops the car to exactly 62cm off the ground (floor to arch) all round, but on the G60/16V you need to whack the rear konis up to the highest adjustment slot to get the same. Avoid Eibachs, they defo cause the car to drag it's arse.... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Henny 0 Posted February 21, 2005 I have no idea what kit is fitted to my new G60, but it's a lovely even drop of about 40mm all around and the ride is excellent... I'm almost considering NOT changing the suspension it's that nice... 8) I'll have a look next time I get it up on ramps to see what's fitted to it and have a look through the receipts folder I got with the car to see if there's anything in there too... 8) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GIXXERUK 0 Posted February 21, 2005 i've got koni coilovers basically you can adjust the height using two locking rings which are the spring platform, you can wind them up or down using a c spanner, so you can set to any height, either that 4x4 look or smell burning rubber as you roll your own arches they are also top adjustable for damping Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kerrinmay 0 Posted February 21, 2005 Looks like I'll be needing coilovers then. Will probably have to wait a few months/years before I can justify spending out for those! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gradeAfailure 0 Posted February 21, 2005 With the FKs is there a big difference in ride quality between the basic AKs and the Highsports, etc? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
carpoid 0 Posted February 21, 2005 Dub Style, If you're paying £500 then you can get some Konigsports for that, plenty of forum members can recommend them. Theres a group buy on edition38.com dealing with Rimstyle for all types of FK's and its open till the end of the month. Call them on 08700278434 and just mention the Edition38 group buy. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kerrinmay 0 Posted February 28, 2005 Any idea what sort of price I'd expect to pay to have a set of lowered springs/shocks fitted? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kerrinmay 0 Posted March 1, 2005 Any idea on how many hours work this would normally be? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Supercharged 2 Posted March 1, 2005 About 2/3 hours fit plus the geometry set up... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kerrinmay 0 Posted March 1, 2005 About 2/3 hours fit plus the geometry set up... Thanks. Just trying to work out what it might cost in total to get my car lowered. So I could probably get new shocks and springs and the lot fitted for about £400. Does that sound reasonable? Then on top of that I would have the insurance to sort out - whatever they decide to charge me extra. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Supercharged 2 Posted March 1, 2005 Also allow for new front top mounts and rear bump stops - maybe an extra £40 tops Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
carpoid 0 Posted March 1, 2005 Stealth have quoted me £188 to fit my blinging new FK Silverline X (SS Konigs)coilovers and set up geometry etc Top mounts were £28 IIRC. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kerrinmay 0 Posted May 16, 2005 Kev (and others) rate the H&R springs and Koni top adjustable shocks to be among the best for giving near standard ride quality with a lower ride height. Bringing this subject back alive, I've just had a look to see what price etc you can get H&R springs and koni shocks for and it doesn't look like they do springs that will lower by 40mm. Can anyone help advise? It was really 40mm I wanted to lower by. Does anyone recommend SPAX springs and shocks? You can get the SPX-V7815-40-40 for about £255 + vat and they claim to lower by 40mm. And I don't really want to pay anymore than that. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bullockm 0 Posted May 16, 2005 will a 40 drop even notice if your car is still running on original standard set up, I was told that the car would have probably sagged 30-35 on my 92 J G60?? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GIXXERUK 0 Posted May 16, 2005 i prefer eibach to spax , i've had both and find that eibach are less severe ,spax crash a bit Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kerrinmay 0 Posted May 16, 2005 will a 40 drop even notice if your car is still running on original standard set up, I was told that the car would have probably sagged 30-35 on my 92 J G60?? Well if mine has already sagged then I dread to think how high it would sit on new standard suspension!! It currently sits pretty high up in the air and if it was to go up another 30 - 35mm then there would probably about 10cm between the top of the tyres and the wheelarch! Can anyone else confirm if 40mm will make much difference? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites