Wanted, Coilovers etc to lower my 240 Wagon

[classicswede]

Yes the short shocks are compatible, you need the 60mm shorter dampers to hold the springs in tight.

Revolver I would suggest you go 60/40 if you are carring weight (heavy passengers) and this will alloy you to get away with not fitting an adjustable panhard rod or torque rods.

[mylittletony]

Originally Posted by classicswede

Yes the short shocks are compatible, you need the 60mm shorter dampers to hold the springs in tight.

Revolver I would suggest you go 60/40 if you are carring weight (heavy passengers) and this will alloy you to get away with not fitting an adjustable panhard rod or torque rods.

Cool thanks! Have you got any side-on photos of a car with the 80/60 kit fitted? or could you find a pic of a car at a similar height?

[Antz]

Originally Posted by classicswede

. Coilove rs are more for racing or extrema lowering and are not ideal for a road car.

What makes you say this?

As long as you're running a decent spring rate then there's no reason you can't use coilovers every day and they are comfortable. The only real downside is that they require extra care when used in bad weather to stop them rusting. I find a big handful and grease on the threads protects them well enough.

I've ran coilovers daily on a few cars right through winter and never had trouble with them. That even extends to carrying weights and cars full of people on both cheap fk branded coilovers and expensive BC Racing ones.

[classicswede]

Corrosion is one issue but with lots of grease and keeping on top of them it need not be a problem.

Springs need to be stiffer than with a well sized conventional coil spring to keep the strength in it. Not an issue in most cases as when fitting coilover we normally want a firm ride.

The biggest loss with a coilover on a strut is the extra loading applied to the damper. The damper and spring do not compress in a nice uniform manner due to the position of the spring. If you look at a production car you will notice the spring is central at the top of the strut but offset to the outside at the bottom. This might not look right but is done for very good reason. Doing this reduces the side loading on the damper piston and is doing so allows the damper piston to move smoothly. Manufactures have put a lot of time into working these things out.

If you just want a normal amount of lowering or just to improve the ride then springs and dampers are the way to go. Fit them set them up and them forget about them for the next 10 years or so.

Coilovers are for going very low and are really the best way of going very low. Also great for a high level race car where you want a selection of springs etc.

I am not biased and sell both, I am just honest with the pros and cons exactly as I was with you when you ordered tour Coilovers from me.

[Antz]

Originally Posted by classicswede

I am not biased and sell both, I am just honest with the pros and cons exactly as I was with you when you ordered tour Coilovers from me.

I understand that, I just wondered what your reasoning was behind the statement that coilovers are for track use only or extreme lowering.

I don't deny I bought my coilovers from you. Having come from lowering springs and shocks, they didn't do what I wanted which was in reality more of a competition focussed suspension package that gave me the freedom of setting the ride height how I want. We spoke at the time about it and I confirmed I wasn't just one of "those people" wanting coilovers because the internet said it was a good idea. I knew what I wanted based on my intentions.

I was merely stating that coilovers can be used on daily drivers and many people do. Myself included. My BMW E36 sits on the cheapest crappest set of FK Automotive coilovers I could find (£150 new for all 4 corners) and 2 years later they are still working fine. Sure they aren't as comfortable as lowering springs but I've found that lowering spring comfort varies between brands anyway. Buy crap like G-Max and you may as well fit a piece of scaffolding to your strut because they are rock solid whereas decent brands like H&R offer the lowering and handling improvement but still retain an extremely comfortable ride that's only a fraction stiffer than stock.

How do your suspension kits that go lower than 40mm cope with the steering angle being thrown out Dai? Been meaning to ask you about it for a while out of curiosity. I need to do something about mine because of the coilovers but I was always under the assumption that any more than 40mm lowering and the optimum angle is greatly affected.

[volvoid]

have you considered chopping 1 turn out of each spring ?

[revolvor]

Originally Posted by classicswede

Yes the short shocks are compatible, you need the 60mm shorter dampers to hold the springs in tight.

Revolver I would suggest you go 60/40 if you are carring weight (heavy passengers) and this will alloy you to get away with not fitting an adjustable panhard rod or torque rods.

Not very often laden like that Dai, plus a load of RC Racing gear in the back too, maybe the spring asistors and some new shocks would sort it ?

[revolvor]

Originally Posted by Antz

What makes you say this?

As long as you're running a decent spring rate then there's no reason you can't use coilovers every day and they are comfortable. The only real downside is that they require extra care when used in bad weather to stop them rusting. I find a big handful and grease on the threads protects them well enough.

I've ran coilovers daily on a few cars right through winter and never had trouble with them. That even extends to carrying weights and cars full of people on both cheap fk branded coilovers and expensive BC Racing ones.

Do you use these Antz ?
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/CUSTOM-COV...4AAOxy4dNS92nu

I bought some for my Elgrand and son's Clio 182.

[revolvor]

Originally Posted by Antz

What makes you say this?

As long as you're running a decent spring rate then there's no reason you can't use coilovers every day and they are comfortable. The only real downside is that they require extra care when used in bad weather to stop them rusting. I find a big handful and grease on the threads protects them well enough.

I've ran coilovers daily on a few cars right through winter and never had trouble with them. That even extends to carrying weights and cars full of people on both cheap fk branded coilovers and expensive BC Racing ones.

Yes, Recently fitted some £180 JOM Coilovers off Ebay to a Daily Driver S40 T5,
Car sits mega and handles mint for the dollar, plus another £180 would buy a complete spares package if or when needed.

[Antz]

Originally Posted by revolvor

Do you use these Antz ?
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/CUSTOM-COV...4AAOxy4dNS92nu

I bought some for my Elgrand and son's Clio 182.

Nope never had anything that fancy. Just a handful of grease to protect them and keep the threads free. After any adjustment I just top up the grease covering where needed.