Mo

Guys, the spring rating should be stated on the spring, IIRC it is etched on the very top or bottom.

Mr J

Yep I think I could see 200 and 250, on the springs.

/Jan

X SOOOBY

paul dont take my comments the wrong way

this is not down to you you did a great job organising it all and getting the price that we did

but as far as avo are concerned i am disapointed to say the least

Pavlo

I fully understand your comments, don't worry.

The principle here, is I have led 7 people into buying the kit, granted they got a very good deal, but that doesn't mean the quality should suffer. The AVO shocks are supposed to be a quality product, top of their line for road cars, and I don't expect problems such as these to be present.

Paul

CraigH

Paul,

No disrespect but you get what you pay for - the quality on an AVO kit costing £700 isn't going to be the same as a DMS one at £1500 is it?

X SOOOBY

at last mine are fitted no noises and the ride is sorted due to the fact passenger side springs were wrong way round

the ride is 10 times better would be wouldn`t it with the springs now in the correct corners went up to manchester for the weekend and the ride dosn`t seem much worse than before so the wife is happier

havn`t tried them in anger yet but they worked well even with the springs round the wrong way

Pavlo

CraigH,

No you are right, you get what you pay for, and the DMS kit is the Bollox from what I can see. But it doesn't cost anything to make sure things are the right size in the first place, and I object to being AVOs gineau pig. Given that these are just about the most expensive AVO product, much more than other cars, I expect the quality to at least be the same accross the board, if one person can have no problems, then I don't see why everyone shouldn't have any problems.

I think they are good for what they are, and if the TSL products were available at the time, I think they would have been a better bet. I may as well tell you that I was in contact with TSL when the AVOs were looking like never appearing, and it's shame that the TSL parts weren't ready, as Trouser was happy to talk business.

Paul

Matthew

Paul

I finally got around to fitting mine at the weekend, and they went on without too many problems (apart from me not initially realising the front struts were handed). I checked the machining very carefully after seeing the comments here, and the AVO units appear identical to the OEM units fitted to my car.

I wonder if some of the spacing problems are to do with AVO not allowing for the thickness of the top spring seat when machining the step at the top of the shock? My fronts were fine (see below), but I had to ever so slightly chamfer the inside edge of the top washer on the rear units to get them to bolt down without any play.

If you want more details (or a diagram) then email me.

Thanks again for arranging this.

X Soooby

I think the issue with the spacers you had may be due to Subaru changing the design of the OEM shocks. On the front of my MY95 there was a chamfered spacer that sits directly under the bearing on the top mount and on top of the spring seat. It was separate to the spring seat and about 2.5mm thick. If the design had changed to incorporate it into the seat then it would give the problem you described.

Matthew

X SOOOBY

mathew please tell me how you know the front struts are handed pleas dont tell me they are the wrong way round again

if they are i am going to be an expert in struts by the time i am finished

Matthew

X Soooby

What makes them handed is the way the holes for the eccentric mounting bolt are machined. If you get them the wrong way around then the bolt needs to be inserted from the back of the car instead of the front.

Matthew

X SOOOBY

thanks mathew sihh i know what you mean and thankfully i got that right

well i got something right at least

Mr J

Then would it make any diffreance..except for that the bolts are the worng way ??

Still I have to remove my rear ones and get a washer that can get them quite, getting a bit tierd of that rattling noise

Jan

[Edited by Mr J - 9/25/2002 8:58:04 AM]

Matthew

Mr J

I don't know if it would make a difference - I just swapped mine over so it fitted the same as before.

You may be able to solve your rattling noise without another washer - on the rear of my car the difference was so small that chamfering the inside edge of the washer that sits under the locking nut was enough to bolt it up securely.

Matthew

Mr J

OK...I try that.
They rattle more now..than before

Jan

X SOOOBY

i have been told by trouser at tsl that when they fitted them they had to drill the top fixing points and then cable tye the springs to the holes

they did this as the springs creaked against the mountings as you turn especially on the front

Pavlo

Hmm, if you think about a spring compressing, it will twist a little as it does. It sounds like it could do with a rubber/plastic shim between the top spring platform and the spring. Which might allow movement without the creak.

Wire locking springs in place is not unusual though.

Paul

SSE

Guys,

Not meaning to hijack thread, but I put AVOs on a while ago and just wanted to share some thoughts/get others' opinions.

I am running the standard AVO 250/200 springs front/rear.
Dampers 1/4 turn from hardest front, and 1 1/2 turn from hardest rear.

On smooth tarmac (public road) the setup seems fine, both firm and compliant at the same time, with little body roll. (But it is too soft for track work.)

But when it gets a bit bumpy, it feels like the dampers are bottoming out all the time, although I haven't lowered very much at all. (Cannot remember the height) It also seems apparent when driving over speed bumps; The front does compress pretty much. It really feels as if the front springs should be quite a bit stiffer to prevent this from happening. Anyone agree?

I also suspect that the design of the dampers may cause an unecessary big reduction of suspension travel - Don't know what it is, but as I said, I haven't lowered very much, but still feels like bottoming out on bumps that aren't very big.

Another thing: On the front dampers, the rubber protection sleeve which is supposed to prevent sand and dirt from scratching the cylinder piston rod and penetrate through the gasket into the cylinder, went loose just a couple of days after I fitted the dampers! And it now sits compressed towards the upper spring cup. Only functions as a kind of bump stop now.... Those of you who have driven a couple of miles on your AVOs - Are the sleeves on your dapmers still intact or is it just me??

Input appreciated!
Simen

[Edited by SSE - 9/30/2002 12:25:18 AM]

Matthew

SSE

It's quite possible that your dampers are bottoming out because of the settings you have them on. The AVO dampers are only adjustable for rebound, so if you have them set too stiff they could pump down over a series of bumps giving the symptoms you describe.

I've only had mine on for a couple of weeks, so I don't know if they are still bedding in, but I'm currently running them just off minimum front and back. I started with the rears set about 5 turns harder, but the ride was too jittery over my drive to work so I backed them off.

I haven't tried them on track yet, but at least I know I can go a lot stiffer if I need to.

Matthew

SSE

I thought the adjustment was combined for bump and rebound!
Am I wrong??

Have I been misled? (Or have I not paid attention? )

Mo

Simen,

the rubber sleeves on my AVOs have been refitted 3 times and each time they come off after a couple of days. I've given up since...

SSE

Thanks for your reply, Mo.

How do the rods look now, then?
Scratchy??

/Simen.