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Uprated front struts 240

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Old Jun 2nd, 2011, 17:57   #1
Vambo
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Default Uprated front struts 240

hello all, does anyone know where i can get a pair of uprated front struts for my 240 estate?

the car will soon be lowered quite a bit (3" off the front)

i have found Konis on the web but at £205 quid a side its working out a bit costly!

Any ideas very appreciated!

Ta
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Old Jun 2nd, 2011, 18:12   #2
wooble
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3" is a lot, hope you don't have many speed bumps whre you live! with 1.5" lowering springs on mine, I have 4" of ground clearance under the front crossmember. Taking off another 1.5" would leave you with 2.5" ground clearance, as well as front suspension geometry problems.

Koni or Bilstein are your options, whoever you choose it's probably better to order direct from Germany as you'll get lower prices and better service, the UK importers for Bilstein and Koni are idiots.
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Old Jun 2nd, 2011, 20:05   #3
Vambo
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Quote:
Originally Posted by wooble View Post
3" is a lot, hope you don't have many speed bumps whre you live! with 1.5" lowering springs on mine, I have 4" of ground clearance under the front crossmember. Taking off another 1.5" would leave you with 2.5" ground clearance, as well as front suspension geometry problems.

Koni or Bilstein are your options, whoever you choose it's probably better to order direct from Germany as you'll get lower prices and better service, the UK importers for Bilstein and Koni are idiots.

Hi, thanks for the reply, do the arches sit just on the tyres with your drop? thats kinda what im after!

thanks for the advice, how much do you think front struts would cost from Germany and do you have a contact?

ta
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Old Jun 2nd, 2011, 21:30   #4
wooble
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I don't have any actual contacts, but even checking German ebay I can see you can get a pair of front Koni yellows for about 300 euros + post, which is a saving of about £150 on the pair. Bilsteins seem to be about 50 euros cheaper.

Konis are the better shocks out of the box, but if you deal with Bilstein direct they can shorten and revalve your shocks to your specs, which is probably a good idea if you're running that low.

If you lower the front that much, you'll also end up with your front roll centre below the level of the ground, which means increased body roll and reduced front-end grip. DVS in Australia and Kaplhenke in the US make spacers to go on the bottom of your strut tubes that address the problem, but they're not cheap.

You CAN just go lower if it's for looks, but you won't be helping the handling.


As far as my car sits - its lowered 40mm/1.5" on Lejofors/Kilen springs. The rear wheels are about 1" from the tops of the arches, the fronts 1.5". I have 4" of ground clearance on the downpipe and front crossmember. Remember due to the rear suspension setup, as you lower the car the axle will move backwards in the arches and to the right side of the car. if you're planning on running a 205 or wider tyre with a 3" drop, you'll probably get rubbing at the back unless you also fit an adjustable panhard rod and torque rods, or cut/weld the originals to shorten them.

Last edited by wooble; Jun 2nd, 2011 at 21:39.
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Old Jun 2nd, 2011, 23:47   #5
Vambo
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Originally Posted by wooble View Post
I don't have any actual contacts, but even checking German ebay I can see you can get a pair of front Koni yellows for about 300 euros + post, which is a saving of about £150 on the pair. Bilsteins seem to be about 50 euros cheaper.

Konis are the better shocks out of the box, but if you deal with Bilstein direct they can shorten and revalve your shocks to your specs, which is probably a good idea if you're running that low.

If you lower the front that much, you'll also end up with your front roll centre below the level of the ground, which means increased body roll and reduced front-end grip. DVS in Australia and Kaplhenke in the US make spacers to go on the bottom of your strut tubes that address the problem, but they're not cheap.

You CAN just go lower if it's for looks, but you won't be helping the handling.


As far as my car sits - its lowered 40mm/1.5" on Lejofors/Kilen springs. The rear wheels are about 1" from the tops of the arches, the fronts 1.5". I have 4" of ground clearance on the downpipe and front crossmember. Remember due to the rear suspension setup, as you lower the car the axle will move backwards in the arches and to the right side of the car. if you're planning on running a 205 or wider tyre with a 3" drop, you'll probably get rubbing at the back unless you also fit an adjustable panhard rod and torque rods, or cut/weld the originals to shorten them.

OK, here where I could be totally wrong... but, I have just been outside with the tape measue and when my car is on flat ground I have 7" clearance from the crossmember to the ground.. minus 3" gives me 4" clearance, is my car just super high or something?

Good call on the rear suspension set up. i thought that may be something i would have to look at, cutting and re-welding shouldnt be a problem!

I have sent off instructions to the spring makers, but im maybe thinking of a little less lower! 2" back 2.5" front? hmmmmm its a stressfull decision!

When I have finished them, the car will roll on 16" Banded Mondeo rims, with 205/50/R16 tyres with a little stretch (not much tho!) these tyres should about match the standard wheels diameter.

What wheels/tyres are you running?

thanks again!
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Old Jun 3rd, 2011, 00:10   #6
wooble
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Beats me, I measured mine and that's the measurement I got. Mine sits a bit low as the struts and shocks are fairly worn. I guess it doesn't help I have a set of front lower subframe braces fitted which hang below the crossmember and reduce ground clearance even further, makes it hard to measure!

At the moment I have standard GLT virgos (15x6 and 195/60) fitted. I have slightly less than 1" clearance to the rear arch lip at the closest spot (the rear arches turn inwards at the back, this is the spot where wider wheels first catch) I'm in the market for something better though, but everything I come across seems to slip through my fingers! I also have a set of 16x9/10 staggered Compomotive FH 3-piecers I'm trying to shift, as I can't find a new set of outers to reduce their width at a reasonable price, and I don't fancy fitting forest arches to the car.

Last edited by wooble; Jun 3rd, 2011 at 00:12.
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