Is My Suspension Stuffed?

[tootz_d]

hi all

Can any s2 stagea onwers that have standard suspension tell me what their suspension is like?

well mine is pretty crap i dont know if they are gone or thats the way the standard suspension is!

i can feel all the bumps, the ride is a bit rough and it the suspension feels hard to me

well this car is for my wife to drive and we are having a baby soon so i wanted the suspension to be smooth and absorb the bumps

what should i getting?, i have a new rear sway bar coming and i'm thinking of taking the car to Trutrack.

i like the standard height cause the front dayz bar fits over the curb when parking

any thoughts would be so greatful

thanx guys

[kidafa]

Perhaps a set of bilsteins with stock springs at stock height?

[lachlanw]

mine feels harsh with only me in it . put 4 people in it and drive somewhere and see what its like

[tootz_d]

yeah had a full load in it the other day still feels harsh !

[tootz_d]

the rear of the car feels unstable over bumps!

[-RBD2-]

Sure it's all standard under there?

Mines harsh with lowered king springs

[Tangles]

check out the shocks - most likely lost pressure and weeping heaps. ie gone, shot.

use stock springs, order Bilstein shocks to suit with some circlips and grooves slotted into the shock body (to adjust height).

best bang for buck. my stock S1 shocks were gone at 80,000kms. weeping, too easy to compress by hand.

for the past 20tho kms Ive had Bisltein shocks, stock springs, lowered 350mm ride height, Whiteline swaybars and bushes

awesome. a little hard under 80kms on bumpy roads, but above 80km in the Hills its awesome. been to the racetrack a few times too, handles fantastic.

[tootz_d]

Should the measurements from centre of wheel to arch be the same for all four corners?

mine is out by 5 cm front to back

[wolverine]

Just get the suspension place to have a look.

You might have aftermarket Jap suspension which historically had been a little on the firm side.

Some of the newer Jap stuff is pretty good but like Tangles said there are plenty of good options out there with Bilsteins.

First see what you have then come back and work out the best way to proceed before spending money.

[KiwiRS4T]

A good suspension shop should have a look at your car and give you a free assessment. Check for aftermarket suspension.

The traditional check for shocks is to push each corner of the car down hard and let go. It should spring up and stop dead. If it goes up and down once or more the shocks are shot. A proper suspension shop will have a machine that can measure the rebound and show it on a graph.

If you have aftermarket shocks they may be adjustable. If not or if your standard shocks are shot a set of Bilsteins would be the answer valved to your requirements (i.e. not too stiff) and retaining the stock springs. A stiffer rear anti roll bar will improve cornering without affecting your ride quality.

[rb26stagea]

Rear strut brace is the most dramatic handling improvement you will make, if you can afford the loss of practicality. After that, shocks and springs like the rest say, and don't skimp on decent bushes...

[QWK32]

Should the measurements from centre of wheel to arch be the same for all four corners?

mine is out by 5 cm front to back

yeah thats about right, from memory mine were higher at the front, something like 390 front, 380 rear. when my rear shocks let go the car got really "wobbly", if you stick your head under the back of the car you'll be able to see if they have blown out, they will be covered in oil.

[pyro-ns]

we had the standard suspension in ours up until a couple of weeks ago. we'd done just over 100,000km and ours were proper screwed.

when i took the suspension out, i pulled the dust boots back to have a look and in three of them the bump stops fell out in tiny pieces, in the fourth one, the bump stop had already fallen out in pieces and parts of it stuck in the spring :S

put the new coilovers in and the ride is 10000000% better. no wobbling any more. only bitch is that now the rear rim is scrubbing on the suspension on occasion. we've got aftermarket rims though, so don't fret if you've got stockies

[rb26stagea]

Just got mine back from a diagnostic session to identify a slight shudder I have had for a few months: it would appear my 40,000km-old front left Bilstein shock is on the way out: bit disappointing, but I guess that's all part of the modding game....

In hindsight, I suspect it may have been faulty since new, as I have been trying for ages to identify a strange intermittent thump from the front left corner around right hand turns...

[wolverine]

I am guessing the lower bush on the Bilstein shocks is knackered? The left is pretty stuffed on our one. The shocks otherwise are still ok on the car.

You can buy replacement bushes and press them in but I don't have a part number.

[rb26stagea]

Sadly, it looks like a bad valve at this stage...

[wolverine]

That sucks.

[tootz_d]

just got back from a pedders saftey check

problems found were

- worn link rods $195 fitted

- sum play in the steering rack POA

- front bump stops $192 fitted

- rear bump stops $192 fitted

- rear shocks fail $992 koni fitted

and to get rear sway bar fitted 95$

am i better getting a BC coilovers? are they easy to fit yourself?

any thoughts

[lachlanw]

define easy ? if you have all the tools and a hoist its a piece of piss . saying that the jack on the drive way is still fairly easy if you take your time and think about things first

[SABBAi]

Fitting coilovers yourself is achievable but anyone in your drive way if you have some spanners/socket and a jack. You'll easily get the mfitted in an afternoon taking things nice and easy.