Hard ride......

[lee_golf_v5 0]

My car is lowered on springs and standard shocks. I am not 100% on how much it has been lowered by as the previous owner did it, I think it has got to be 40-60mm as it sits very low. The roads around here are not great and I feel every bump in the road and the car is forever rattling, this does not bother me too much but just curious as to whether this is what I should expect on a car lowered with just springs.....or whether there is a problem....

 

Never had a lowered or modified car before so don't know what to expect.

 

Lee

[n3p 3]

I'm not far from you mate, and while I await my coilies I can tell you that the roads around us are a nightmare! esp. Caterham + Redhill. I've also got some crappy springs dropped 40mm that the previous owner installed - all looks but no comfort :(

[Jim Bowen 1]

it can be alot harsher, do you get a lot of thuds/bangs over bumps?

 

i wonder if the bumpstops have been shortened when lowering the suspension?

[lee_golf_v5 0]

Drove to ikea other night, some nice smooth (cough) roads on the way. I don't know what it is but Volvo's seem to always pick fights with me lol, was on the outside lane coming around a corner and he started really giving it some, I was only doing 35 so stuck the boot down and really had to max her out to get in front, tbh only reason I entertained him was because I was scared he would try and cut in front of me and cause an accident....

 

Other time was on a trip down to Winchester last week, I was cruising along and all of a sudden me and my friend who was in his Lotus Elise, were almost bullied out of the way by another Volvo V70 lol, again, I didn't entertain this guy so just got out the way.

 

Lee

[lee_golf_v5 0]

it can be alot harsher, do you get a lot of thuds/bangs over bumps?

 

i wonder if the bumpstops have been shortened when lowering the suspension?

 

Yes I do, when ever I hit something like a bump, or sunken man hole let's say, it is a very harsh bump/jolt. I don't know what the bump stops are or where they are on the suspension.....is it something easily changed or adjusted....

 

Lee

[Jim Bowen 1]

the bumpstops are the creamy/white bits in these pics.

 

 

yes they should be under the black cover, i did fix that :lol:

 

basically when the suspension travels the bumpstop is what stops it hitting metal on metal, if you have less suspension travel the bumpstop will come into action sooner, you may have to take them off and cut them down.

 

it could be your shocks are on their way out too, mine is still bumpy and quite harsh its just part of lowering really

[lee_golf_v5 0]

Well I think coilovers are out of the question, mainly the cost tbh. Might consider some new aftermarket shocks and springs, I imagine about £2-300 ish for this kind of set-up. I have 16" alloys and I don't believe any work has been done to the arches so what drop would people recommend....30-40mm ?? I have a sneaky feeling its more than 40mm at the moment, if a 30mm or 40mm drop would cut out rubbing and mean no further work then that would be what I would go for....

 

Lee

[StuartFZR400 0]

Lee, a harsh ride is exactly what you should be expecting, lol. You've forgotten to mention that you've also go non-standard wheels and tyres on the car, thus making the matter worse (or better depending how you view it).

 

If you like the ride and you're sure that the shocks are standard, I'd swap the shocks for somthing better. If the springs are old or cheap, then replace those too, by buying a total set. Using a standard shock is just wrong and thus will result in you needing new ones sooner than usual - although vw shocks are extremely good. The rebound will be wrong, with your current setup.