Adjustable Coilovers

poloboyben · Post by **poloboyben** » Sun Feb 20, 2005 1:27 pm

After spending one year driving around with -50mm springs and spax dampens I am loving the general handling but cant stand the bumpiness. I live out in the country so the trip home every night isnt much fun, however driving through the town is awesome.

I havent really properly looked into it, but have heard that coilovers could be the option of having both looks and comfort and sporty handling.

Where can i get coilovers from? and could someone explain how i woild adjust them and exactly how they work?

I have fit my dampers and springs a few times so know how to replace the suspension, would i beable to fit the coilovers or is it much harder?

Can you adjust the suspension without removing the suspension?

cheers, in advance

polopowah · Post by **polopowah** » Sun Feb 20, 2005 6:48 pm

hiya me again lol
coil-overs
well i wouldn't say they improve comfort at all, but im sure they would be no worse than your eibach springs, im currently running spax and its bumpy as hell much to my despair

the coil-overs can be heightened and lowered on the car by just taking the wheel off and using a tool that the company provides you with (very easy to adjust)
the damping is slightly different and much easier, the front is adjusted under the bonnet, if you look under you bonnet you will see two plastic covers one at each side of the car (the turret mountings for the suspension)

the rear adjusts on the actual damper so the removal of the wheel is necessary (unless you have small hands like me)

most big car companies supply them now, i purchased mine from demon tweeks
any other questions feel free to ask
-Ben-

dubpolo · Post by **dubpolo** » Sun Feb 20, 2005 10:48 pm

i have to say they are bumpy. but the handling is ace!

polopowah · Post by **polopowah** » Mon Feb 21, 2005 4:40 pm

yeah oops forgot to mention handling, yeah if you have good tyres (which i dont!) the handling is unsurpassed
-Ben-

ICEYPOLO · Post by **ICEYPOLO** » Mon Feb 21, 2005 8:53 pm

i went to drop my motor again yesterday and my FK coilies have seized... well 3 out of 4 corners have!!

gutted, only had them on 9 months and have covered them in grease

scott

bstardchild · Post by **bstardchild** » Mon Feb 21, 2005 9:11 pm

ICEYPOLO wrote:i went to drop my motor again yesterday and my FK coilies have seized... well 3 out of 4 corners have!!

gutted, only had them on 9 months and have covered them in grease

scott

Grease or copperease?

ICEYPOLO · Post by **ICEYPOLO** » Mon Feb 21, 2005 9:16 pm

whenever i've had the wheels off before i've cleaned up the threads and put some spray grease on, thats on top of the thick suff that came with them....

i've had wd40 all over them yesterday and they're not moving for sh*t!

is there a 'releasing agent' thats any better than that??

scott

bstardchild · Post by **bstardchild** » Mon Feb 21, 2005 9:40 pm

ICEYPOLO wrote:whenever i've had the wheels off before i've cleaned up the threads and put some spray grease on, thats on top of the thick suff that came with them....

i've had wd40 all over them yesterday and they're not moving for sh*t!

is there a 'releasing agent' thats any better than that??

scott

Yep - It's called Plus Gas and I have never found anything that works as well as it - WD40 is more lubricant than release

And if it's on coilovers try to take the weight/pressure of the srings off the adjuster with some spring compressors

http://www.tool-up.co.uk/shop/diy/EAC803.html

But don't take my word for it......

Clicky

As far as grease for threads exposed to the elements - Copperslip is outstanding even on exhaust manifold nuts - trouble is I need a new tin of it and the last one cost me Â£60 and I'm scraping the bottom of it - you can sometimes get it in expensive tubes though - you don't get a lot in a tube but enough to do your shocks

http://www.molyslip.co.uk/antiseize.html

Edited to add some links

mikegti · Post by **mikegti** » Mon Feb 21, 2005 11:46 pm

plusgas is very good, we buy it by the gallon at work and tip it into spray bottles. Does the business on corroded steam pipes! (not that you have many of those on cars..)

poloboyben · Post by **poloboyben** » Tue Feb 22, 2005 5:14 pm

Ok cheers for your help guys.

So I guess that the car becomes less bumpy as you make the car higher. Is that right?

Also have enquired into buying some and they are about Â£500.00. Have also checked ebay and there are non, can anyone let me know where the cheapest place to get them from is? and which is the best manufacturer of coilovers?

If i do decide to get coilovers I will also get euro style alloys, most likely 14' or 15', so i would want the option on the coilovers to lower them as far as possible or do they all lower as far as you want?

Cheers

bstardchild · Post by **bstardchild** » Tue Feb 22, 2005 5:46 pm

poloboyben wrote:Ok cheers for your help guys.

So I guess that the car becomes less bumpy as you make the car higher. Is that right?

I think the reverse is true

- the springs are compressed as the ride height goes up and it becomes harsher

- The springs are less compressed as the ride height falls so the ride os softer - grounds out easier tho!!!!

poloboyben wrote:If i do decide to get coilovers I will also get euro style alloys, most likely 14' or 15', so i would want the option on the coilovers to lower them as far as possible or do they all lower as far as you want?

I think Speedlaw would be your man for this question

polopowah · Post by **polopowah** » Tue Feb 22, 2005 6:02 pm

european brands of coil-overs tend to lower the most (past the -75mm mark) like FK for example some kits goto -110mm
and yes i've driven the car whilst having the coil-overs set at about -45mm and it was slightly harsher than at -75mm
only option to get over bumpiness is to opt for airbags or hydraulics!
-Ben-

ICEYPOLO · Post by **ICEYPOLO** » Tue Feb 22, 2005 6:50 pm

ok spring compressors no probs, halfords do them, but where can i get plusgas from? ideally need it quicker than an internet order see...

scott

Randall · Post by **Randall** » Tue Feb 22, 2005 10:20 pm

Hey,

Place: Awesome GTI Store
Product: FK AK Coilovers (40mm-70mm)
Price: Â£299.99
P&P: Â£8

Will be getting some of these shortly

Rich

bstardchild · Post by **bstardchild** » Wed Feb 23, 2005 12:16 am

ICEYPOLO wrote:ok spring compressors no probs, halfords do them, but where can i get plusgas from? ideally need it quicker than an internet order see...

scott

Halfords as well