lowering + improving/maintaining handling.

[richman711 10]

Hi guys

 

im looking to lower my corrado soon, I have a budget of 500, what tbh isnt going to gwt me a lot.

 

im runnig 205/45/16 so cant lower much any way but my main focus is improving the handling while lowering the car.

 

Im told no more than 40mm or the wishbones begin to point upwards and then the handling is effected.

 

At this price range, i presume springs and shocks are the best to go for at this price range what brings me too..

 

koni TA dampers ( not sure the best place to buy these? )

 

H/r or eibach springs , heard mixed things about both but these seem to be the ones mentioned the most?

 

Whats every ones opinions?

P.s sorry for long post:)

 

 

Kyle

[Ray1965 10]

I was looking into lowering springs but being on a tight budget i started this thread and asked about coil over alternatives.

 

http://the-corrado.net/showthread.php?t=89002

[davidwort 0]

If you want to fully maintain handling just look at the rear beam and the front wishbones on level ground, ideally they should both be down by several cm at the hub connection point as they repeatedly bounce up from rest as you drive over small bumps, you don't want them to often go above level on normal B roads (slightly bumpy) surfaces.

It depends on the original springs and suspension as to how far you can lower as some cars have slightly different setups from the factory, although any original parts will be very saggy by now.

I personally wouldn't go low on a corrado, after having driven an 8v on newish standard springs and dampers with new bushings it's so much better to drive than lowered and stiffer which I've done in many guises too.

[Ray1965 10]

David, so whats your opinion on the AP coil overs as i am not lowering too far, about 40mm is the limit for me.

[Kevin Bacon 5]

People on other forums say AP are KW's budget end (as well as Weitec), but that doesn't really mean anything. Not when you consider KW V1 dampers are actually made by a company who make dampers for caravans.

 

At the risk of stirring up Jim's "suspension snobbery" feeling again, I would personally steer clear of any coilovers that aren't made by a well established and trusted brand, such as Bilstein for example, and certainly ones less than £400. If you're going to do it, do it once. This forum is littered with posts about people taking shortcuts with suspension, and regretting it.

 

KWs are OK, but you need to dig deeper into your wallet for the kits that actually bring anything worthwhile to a Corrado. The Inox line is worth it alone for the stainless steel construction. The first truly corrosion resistant coilovers to hit the market.

 

£500 isn't far off a B12 kit and you can't go wrong with Bilstein's experience and the springs aren't silly low.

 

I also agree with David. Standard is great too, but most people don't like the ride height.

 

And steer clear of 17" wheels, unless they are very light and have a soft tyre like the ContiSport. 17s more than anything completely ruins a Corrado.

[richman711 10]

The basic opinion I keep seeing is if ypu cant afford the likes of kw coilovers or better then lowering springs and shocks are the a better buy, what im completly happy with as I only want to lower like 40mm as I hear thats the lowest I can go to retain handling, just wonder on the best set of springs to use?

[captainredeye 0]

I had a set of kW v1's on my car and was impressed by the build and handling,I went back to standard as I found I was loosing traction on the road due to very uneven roads in wiltshire, city and track driving I would go for coilovers but it's standard for me from now on, another thing I found was at higher speeds the stability of the car on standard shocks is set up well and hitting pot holes is less nerve racking.

[Jim 2]

At the risk of stirring up Jim's "suspension snobbery" feeling again, I would personally steer clear of any coilovers that aren't made by a well established and trusted brand, such as Bilstein for example, and certainly ones less than £400.

 

My spidey sense is tingling :)

 

Though to be fair, subject to a spin in GlosterOx's car, the B12 kit is what I'd be most likely looking to fit to my own car.

[Jamie 1]

I've got AP coilovers on my daily which is a Seat Alhambra :lol: and the ride quality is fine. Obviously the handling isn't a major concern (although it is remapped as well and quite funny how quickly it can move along a twisty B road) so it was just getting it lowered on a budget.

 

I've got Weitecs on the Corrado and again it's pretty low but for me the ride quality is excellent. Handling wise it's decent enough for the way I drive, I'll never be doing track days in it and above everything else it's mainly about the aesthetics. I've taken quite a few people out who've commented how good the ride quality is considering how low it is.

 

Having said that though I went out in my mates ebay coilover equipped MKII and that was horrendous. It was like being pushed down a cobbled street in a tin bath.

[swiftkid 1]

I've got KW V1's and couldn't recommend them more, I disagree with Kev's comments about spending more. If you are wanting to spend hours messing with the dampening settings etc then yea, you need to spend more but if you are like me and you want to bolt them on and have the freedom to set the ride height yourself then I'd massively advise them with the inox coating.

 

My friend religiously buys the cheap and nasty £150 german ebay specials for his car and everytime he wants to change the ride height its coilovers off, blow torch and hammer to change them. I didn't touch mine for about 2 years and all I did was slacken off the grub screw on the adjuster and hand wind them off, I was massively impressed!

 

I tend to run mine pretty low and the ride is perfect, I don't like to drive around feeling every bump but at the same time I like to feel the road not drive on a cloud and get seasick like standard ride height.

[GlosterOx 0]

My spidey sense is tingling :)

 

Though to be fair, subject to a spin in GlosterOx's car, the B12 kit is what I'd be most likely looking to fit to my own car.

 

Hopefully post Xmas, as discussed, that can be arranged?

 

Ian.

[richman711 10]

Considering the car gets driven hard and a few track days are in the pipe line what would you guys recommend coilovers or lowering springs with koni shocks?

[davidwort 0]

top adjustable konis might come in handy then :)

[lesarcsneil 0]

Another recommendation for the Koni TA's if you're planning on doing a few track days. It takes a couple of minutes to wind the fronts as hard as they'll go and you've got a very track focussed car. I left the rears on their standard road setting. I'm running H&R springs on my 16v which are good for smooth roads but too hard for bumpy back roads and speed bumps. They give about 25mm drop from standard.

 

Taking a few psi out of the tyres on track helps with grip and braking stability (check tyre pressures when hot).

 

Neil

 

94 Flash Red 16v

[richman711 10]

Spot on guys

 

think ive decided on the koni dampers then, heard h&r and eibach mentioned at lot for springs, whats every ones preference?

[davidwort 0]

I've had Konis for years on a valver too, no complaints although on the lighter 4cyl cars I think even on the softest setting they're fairly stiff for road use (and I have the standard ones I think there's a stiffer version too)

mine are on eibach springs which again I'd say are on the firm side, but once you get on a track it's altogether different so TA's are pretty much a must, you certainly don't want off-the-car adjustable dampers (of which Koni do do a rear golf/corrado shock of that design)

my eibach springs leave the front just about level on the wishbones and I actually had extra grooves machined in the rear dampers so I could adjust the spring baseplate a little higher to get the right front/rear balance (koni rear dampers, but not the fronts, tend to have 3 - 6 baseplate adjustment grooves)

[Kevin Bacon 5]

My spidey sense is tingling :)

 

Though to be fair, subject to a spin in GlosterOx's car, the B12 kit is what I'd be most likely looking to fit to my own car.

 

That is the one kit I wish I'd tried on mine and I'm pretty sure it would have ticked all the boxes!

 

I've got KW V1's and couldn't recommend them more, I disagree with Kev's comments about spending more. If you are wanting to spend hours messing with the dampening settings etc then yea, you need to spend more but if you are like me and you want to bolt them on and have the freedom to set the ride height yourself then I'd massively advise them with the inox coating.

 

My friend religiously buys the cheap and nasty £150 german ebay specials for his car and everytime he wants to change the ride height its coilovers off, blow torch and hammer to change them. I didn't touch mine for about 2 years and all I did was slacken off the grub screw on the adjuster and hand wind them off, I was massively impressed!

 

I tend to run mine pretty low and the ride is perfect, I don't like to drive around feeling every bump but at the same time I like to feel the road not drive on a cloud and get seasick like standard ride height.

 

I'm glad you like the V1s but personally I found them to be sh1te. Crashy, bouncy and under damped. This was in a member's 24V Rado, otherwise standard.

On the V1, they just use generic settings for the whole Corrado range, and it shows. I'm glad I tried those AFTER buying my V3s otherwise I would never have gone with KW in the first place.

 

Likewise, I disagree with your comments. People who are happy with what they've got tend to tout on the forums that anything more expensive is just a waste of money and time, without even trying the better stuff!. I hate to break it to you, but you really do get what you pay for with suspension. And your mate using blow torches, really? Who the feck can be arsed with that? What a total waste of time and money, not to mention constantly jacking the car up, weakening the floor each time.

[richman711 10]

One thing I have just noticed is that although my rado is standard height as far as I know the wishbones are still flat rather than pointing down?

 

Seems rather strange, and if it is already -40mm it rides so high still!

[Jamie 1]

And your mate using blow torches, really? Who the feck can be arsed with that? What a total waste of time and money, not to mention constantly jacking the car up, weakening the floor each time.

 

I think that's what he's saying there Kev - be arsed with spending money on cheap coilovers then going through all that if you ever want to raise or lower