Sam Elassar

hi there.
i have neglected the suspension side for a while now. i am looking for an adjustable set up but i am not interested in the Leda set ups, my car rattles enough.

i have got eibach springs just now. so does any one have any advise on this subject ?

I am looking for something adjustable for track use, budget around £700-800.

cheers

sam

Dave T-S

Sam
My MY01 Leda suspension rattles/squeaks/groans. As you probably know this is because all the rubber doughnuts are taken out of the spring cups.

End result is that it is all steel to steel contact but because of this it is far more precise than having lumps of rubber in it.

I tolerate this because it is the business in keeping the car under control.

The AVO (or any other) coilovers will also rattle etc. for the same reasons.

You won't get the same control with any setup with rubber in it, particularly if you are going to use it on track.

All about compromises i'm afraid.

Sam Elassar

i did not know that the AVO rattled as well ? oops.

i am not looking for the best suspension ever. if it is the leda but it rattles then fair enough i don't want it. there is a lot of cars runing good solid suspension that does not rattle, isn't there ?

the prodrive suspension does not rattle but it is none adjustable, any news regarding the bellis

sam

Steve Clements

Hi Sam,

I've had Avo coilovers on my MY96 WRX for a couple of months now, and haven't noticed any rattling so far. Initially I wasn't that impressed with the ride quality, but after playing with the settings I've now found a good balance between handling/comfort. They seemed to survive the country lanes on the 'Ring of Cambridge' run on Sunday!

The only downside is that the rear dampers are top adjustable, which means I have to remove the back seat to make adjustments (no split rear seats on my car).

Cheers

Steve

Dave T-S

Sam
I think you have hit the nail on the head - no rubber = noisy, but precise, but no adjustment; rubber = quieter but not so precise and not adjustable.

All the coilover types will be ride height and bump/rebound adjustable, no strut type units will be ride height adjustable; and I doubt if many or any are bump/rebound adjustable.

You are talking about two different products - strut types are essentially road suspension, coilovers are competition suspension, and there is no real halfway house.

Sam Elassar

thanks steve
i never heard anyone complaining of rattling of the AVO yet, but you never know really.
how difficult was it to find a good set up ? how long did that take you. ?

anyone else with AVO suspension, on this board ?

Dave T-S

Guys

Sorry, let me clarify the rattling issue:

We have two identical MY01's fitted with Leda.

Mine rattles/squaks/groans much more than Carolyn's.

What I meant is coilovers aren't guaranteed to rattle/squeak/groan, but they are more likely to (and it's inconsistent...).

Mine only does it over very rough roads (i.e. most of them where we live!), windows wound up, in 4th at 30-40mph off boost - maybe I just can't hear it when it's wound up!

Steve - the roads were a bit bumpy on Sunday, weren't they! (was yours the red STI?)

Steve Clements

Sam - It took me a couple of weekends trying different settings before I was happy with it. It's much better now that everything's settled in. The handling seemed very odd at first but I think I was running the dampers with too soft a setting (so the springs were doing all the work). I'm now running the front dampers on their hardest setting with a fairly soft setting on the rears. This combination suits the roads I usually drive on (mostly dual carriageways and roundabouts in Peterborough!) - I guess it's down to personal preference.

Dave - yes, mine was the red one (it's actually a WRX with Sti bodykit and badges). A few of the big bumps caught me out because the rear tyres were rubbing on the arches. The rear damper settings may have been too soft for those sort of roads. Maybe I need to get the arches rolled?

Dave T-S

Steve

I didn't have one instance of the suspension bottoming out - in fact, haven't in 2000 miles + since the Leda fitted.

Providing your wheels are acceptable offset then you shouldn't need to get the arches rolled. Try whipping a wheel off and see if you can see where it is rubbing inside the arches.

By the sound of it I would say you may either need to raise the ride height a touch at the rear or stiffen the bump setting a bit.