Brun

It seems to me that most people on here favour the Eibach springs.
I was just wondering if any body's use anything else such as Spax or Pi? I fancy a bit of lowering, as i'm off up to the lake District with the missus for a week.
My thinking is - twisty roads = springs. mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm!

dnb

Had Pi springs on my scoob. Looked good, but didn't handle quite as well as standard springs (very slight, I admit) and was so low that it wouldn't go over speed bumps and was so stiff it could be uncomfortable on B roads.

Don't think really low springs do the dampers much good either.

Brun

Anybody else?

Claudius

Dont fit lowering springs on their own to a standard damper.

Brun

Does any body else feel like Claudius, if so why?

dnb

I think Claudius is right - I bought my car lowered, and immediately put it back to standard (due to road conditions)
I then found one of the front dampers was leaking. (and put 2 and 2 together...)

Am told that lower (and therefore stiffer) springs do put extra stress on dampers, as the spring rates and dampers are ideally supposed to be matched. Someone did explain it to me in words of 1 syllable, but I can't remember who...

Brun

Bummer. Is the latest group buy the cheapest i'm going to get a suspension kit for? Possibly a bit rich for me! (i'm a cheap skate due to Scoob ownership)

[Edited by Brun - 7/19/2002 8:30:55 AM]

Claudius

Yes, springs have a certain rate. That rate is a function of the axle weights of the car, the the damper length, damper type, bump and rebound settings, level of comfort sought for etc etc. If you change the springs to shorter stiffer ones or same length softer ones (to lower the car), you are messing with this setup in a way you cannot control. The damper wont work over the initial length it was supposed to (which can cause bad handling and damper failure, ie it bursts), the balance and ride height of the car will be incorrect, you will scratch your bumper in driveways etc etc. It is so bad I dont feel like talking about it any more!

The only way you can lower the car (if that's what you want) and still have a great handling is to fit a fully adjustable suspension system where you can adjust the damper settings to go hand in hand with the spring length and rate.

But even then, you cant go too low (efficiently) because the damper needs to work over a certain distance.

Active

Just had Eibacs fitted by TSL. These work well with the standard dampers. The first 25/30mm of travel is very compliant (you can compress the springs with your hand!) after that they become progressivly stiffer and reduce body roll and understeer noticibly. I had the suspension completely reset at the same time and for the cost of £325 including labour + the dreaded vat IMO a very cost effective worth while mod. Lowers the car by only 20 or so mm so another worthwhile gain without "going over the top" and giving yourself grounding problems as mentioned in a previous thread.
Bob

juninho

I fitted a set of H+R Springs from JW racing. About £185 but the car sits really well and the ride isnt too bad either!!

mutant_matt

Everybody goes for Eibachs because they are designed to work with the OE dampers (on the MY00&lt and actually offer a better ride with improved handling.

The Prodrive (Eibach) springs for both the <MY00 and the MY01> work well also for the same reasons. I know that Prodrive go to quite some length to make sure that the Prodrive badged Eibach springs that they develop work well in both ride and handling terms with negligable negative impact on damper performance and reliability.

Hope this helps,

Matt

Active

Agree entirely with your comments Mat. Just had Eibachs fitted at TSL, best value for money mod! less body roll, less understeer and no compremise in ride comfort.

Brun

The Phonecall has been made. They will be fitted on the 9th of August (i'm stuck on Holiday next week). I'll let you know what i think.
Thanks all for the opinions!

Active

You wont regret it Brun! Dont let Paul flog you anything else!
Let me know what you think.
Regards Bob