Eibach lowering springs or G-Max suspension kit

[Frank]

[post]360386[/post] Hi,
So you removed the Eibachs again if I understand well, did they drive that bad?...
...Were the bumps on a bad road very noticeable with them on your puma?

The Arch Bishop lives in West Sussex and I live in East Sussex and, yeah, it would have been pretty bad. The roads and lanes in Sussex are pretty bad and I can even go along a B road and tell you where it crosses into Kent (the next county, which is less rural and thus has a higher Council budget for road maintenance) just by the road surface.

As stated, hard suspension tends to skate on rough surface bends (oh, what fun that was on a different car with uprated suspension), but Sussex has the lot - big potholes, raised manhole covers, broken away edges, undulating surfaces, broken up surfaces, negative cambers, lots and lots of curves and bends....I could go on.

My Puma has standard suspension with RS 3s on the front and the ride is fine and it hangs onto the road like a leech.

Don't let that put you off, I know the roads of The Netherlands pretty well (admittedly, I've only 'driven through' Belgium) and their roads are fine. Just be aware of this rough road problem. But no, Fast & Furious 6 was filmed in London and not rural Sussex for a very good reason.

 

[Wild E. Coyote]

I am actually toying with the idea of having made springs in the middle, sort of. I was thinking making them just a bit firmer and lower by 15 mm at front and 10 mm at the back for the very same reason you oviously have in Sussex. That might give you just a bit more control, but not getting the car to stiff for bad roads.
Seem to remember how mondeo ST220 looked good with drop of only 15 mm compared to the regular one and drove nicely, hence my idea. Sometimes less really is more (although I am not sure ladies would be open for such an interpretation of life....)

 

[TylerB]

[post]360389[/post] Ultimately they are horses for courses. I didn't like them as the car kept hitting the bump-stops and would scrabble for traction on anything other than billiard-table-smooth roads - of which we have precisely zero of in Sussex.

Nah, just didn't like them at all - the original set up is pretty close to perfect for everyday use so I went back to that.

Thanks for the info. Same for me, it annoys me when driving on bad roads. Now I don't think I will invest in other springs anymore, apparantly it will be the same story!

[post]360390[/post]


Don't let that put you off, I know the roads of The Netherlands pretty well (admittedly, I've only 'driven through' Belgium) and their roads are fine. Just be aware of this rough road problem. But no, Fast & Furious 6 was filmed in London and not rural Sussex for a very good reason.

In general it's ok but I live in a quite small village in Flanders and I can assure you, the roads here could be a lot better I think a Puma just drives best on its original setup. Cheers for the input

[post]360400[/post] I am actually toying with the idea of having made springs in the middle, sort of. I was thinking making them just a bit firmer and lower by 15 mm at front and 10 mm at the back for the very same reason you oviously have in Sussex. That might give you just a bit more control, but not getting the car to stiff for bad roads.
Seem to remember how mondeo ST220 looked good with drop of only 15 mm compared to the regular one and drove nicely, hence my idea. Sometimes less really is more (although I am not sure ladies would be open for such an interpretation of life....)

That should be a good idea, I have been wondering if there was such a thing as -10 mm lowering springs but didn't find any information on it. But how would you shorten them? Welding a spring yourself is impossible and cutting of a ring would be unsafe, no?

 

[Wild E. Coyote]

No, no wlding or cutting. There is a company here (one small garage) that can make any spec you want. You give them old spring and tell them to make another one like that, only shorter by xxx mm and stiffer by x%. They produce it to your specification

 

[AshLaw]

[post]341185[/post] Hi all,

I'm after some advice please. I want to lower my car but don't want to loose the ride quality too much. 30mm should suffice but am wondering which would be best - either the eiback lowering springs with standard dampers or the G Max suspension kit. Both are close in price at around £200.

I appreciate that full coilovers might be the best option but budget is limited to a few hundred.

Any advice would be welcome.

Thanks

What did you go for in the end?

 

[MrNoisy]

^^ Also interested in this, even though it was months ago.
As for the comments about suspension crashing into bumpstops on eibachs that's more likely that the shocks they were fitted to were knackered; a set of lowering springs that only offer a 30mm drop shouldn't result in you hitting the bump stops period.