coilovers vs separates

[Keep'emRunning]

..wanting to sort out the suspension on the sri-t.

Already have eibach pro springs. The rear sits at a perfect height, but the front is still too high. Thinking of going to sportlines once the wheels arrive..but that will entirely depend if the wheels look like they'll scrape or not (225/18/40)

For shocks, been quoted around 1000-1200 for bilstein/konis alone.

A full set of Spax RSX coilovers can be shipped for just under $1100.. these have adjustable height and adjustable damping, which will allow fine tuning.

Anyone have any experience with coilovers? The main problem I guess would be having to replace the entire unit if it starts leaking.

Alternatively, i can keep the eibach pro's on the rear, and throw some konis on, and try and get coilovers only for the front, and adjust them for height and stiffness to suit the new wheels.

Ideas or opinions? Most of the guys on VON/AOC are running the cheaper raceland c/overs without any probs, a friend with a golf GTi has spax psx and say's they're pretty good but a bit hard for daily driving.

[CNBLU]

Ive got Raceland Coilovers waiting to be fitted to the car, not too many problems with them and they were bloody cheap aswell.

[Wraith]

..wanting to sort out the suspension on the sri-t.

Already have eibach pro springs. The rear sits at a perfect height, but the front is still too high. Thinking of going to sportlines once the wheels arrive..but that will entirely depend if the wheels look like they'll scrape or not (225/18/40)

For shocks, been quoted around 1000-1200 for bilstein/konis alone.

A full set of Spax RSX coilovers can be shipped for just under $1100.. these have adjustable height and adjustable damping, which will allow fine tuning.

Anyone have any experience with coilovers? The main problem I guess would be having to replace the entire unit if it starts leaking.

Alternatively, i can keep the eibach pro's on the rear, and throw some konis on, and try and get coilovers only for the front, and adjust them for height and stiffness to suit the new wheels.

Ideas or opinions? Most of the guys on VON/AOC are running the cheaper raceland c/overs without any probs, a friend with a golf GTi has spax psx and say's they're pretty good but a bit hard for daily driving.

Obviously for you wanting some adjustability with ride height and being able to get adjustable coil overs for a similar price to sport springs and dampers and if that's your budget - go for it...hopefully someone else who's used the same brand can give you a heads up on whether or not they're any good...

Just be aware though that name brand or very high quality coil overs are not cheap...

At least the spring and shock combination you have or wanting to get (ie. with the shocks) are already top shelf stuff with Eibach and Koni or Bilstein...coil overs of those brands will cost alot more than $1,100 for a full set...

[daiflu]

I've got H&R coilovers. Very well made and great handling.

[gman]

I have Bilstein PSS14 coilovers in mine...I love'em but as Wraith said they ain't cheap...

Coilovers are great for getting handling and height adjustment perfect...You just need to get them set up right to start off with..They also should be checked periodically to make sure the springs and platforms are in good condition...

My personal opinion is that you only go to them if you really need to...Standard shock/spring setups are good for 99% of uses...The Eibach spring/Bilstein-Koni shock setup your talking about ending up with will likely handle better than a cheaper or same price coilover...But if you really can;t get the heights right, you might not have any option. Only advice I can give is get the best you can afford from a known brand...

[Keep'emRunning]

..thanks guys... personally i'd like to stick with eibach sportlines/konis, but the front drop of 50mm imo is a bit much for daily ride.

40mm drop at the front would be ideal.

4WD's use spacers under the springs to rasie the ride height, they come in either solid or rubber, at varying thicknesses... could probably find some to suit the front shocks and lift it up 10mm.

Wonder about the legality of them in this application though?

[JohnBu]

hang on..

first you said you wanted it lower, then 50mm is too much???

[Keep'emRunning]

yep.. i have the 30/30 eibach pro's on the car. After settling the rear has come down a little, but the front has remained at the same height as the original springs.

My last astra was dropped 50mm and scraped even leaving the driveway.. and on nearly every speedhump at work :o

I found this & will see if they have anything to suit.


http://members.iinet.net.au/~marmycat/spacer.jpg

[nuggz]

50/30 will only be another 20mm at the front
if its still the same as stock height with 30/30 , it'll be spot on with those

[JohnBu]

I can't imagine spacers being good for the ride or handling.

so if you use say the shorter 50mm drop spring, you have much less suspension travel than stock, then you add a spacer with will reduce suspension travel again!

I had 2 sets of springs on my astra turbo... the first was too low (40mm drop) but looked good.. didn't help ride or handling, not to mention the scraping.

Currently have Eibachs sportlines on, prob a 20mm drop from stock, but ride is similar to stock but handles better.

[mania]

The spacers don't reduce suspension travel do they? I thought they just raise the car.

[Keep'emRunning]

..the reduction is negligible... the 50mm drop eibachs are physically much shorter than the originals anyway.

[Wraith]

There's a bit of confusion here...

Spacers will add to the o/a height of the spring...so if your going to use them say in conjunction with lowered aftermarket springs, but with stock shocks, they'll put more travel distance back onto the stock shock absorber and improve the ride quality - not the case if you've also used aftermarket lowered shocks and springs in combination...

Also a 50mm drop on a TS Astra is definitely going to cause issues with scrubbing, even with the stock 17's (I'm going by an Astra T here) both on the front and rear..

Just be careful when lowering a car with different lowering height springs on the front and rear, you might end up with a raked or rear 'jacked up' look - always use the sets complete as they come, especially good brands like Eibach, H&R etc. they are fully R&D tested to work correctly...

If your after a specific look and need the front to be 'dipped' just that little bit more, then you may have to bite the bullet and go for a set of good coilovers...

Can't really see the need though, just going by my Astra T vert and so many other TS Astras I've seen lowered with Eibachs as they sit and look perfect with either a pro or sportline kit with a drop of anywhere from 25-40mm.

[JohnBu]

my bad :D