VH Suspension

[mza]

Hi,
I have a VH with blue 202 and it is now a second car, so I want to do some stuff to it that I wouldn't do while it was my primary car, like dump it. but i also want some 17" rims so i want some nice stiff suspension, anyone got a good setup they can recommend?

[haloeight]

www.whiteline.com.au

[mza]

touche, though i was hoping for a little more specific advice based on others own experiences :P but im not greedy ill take what i can get

[haloeight]

i lowered my VK to FE2 height

you need an adjustable panhard rod at the back, or the rear end will sit about 2 inches to the right, its best off getting an on-car adjustable rod

FE2 height will improve your cornering and make the car less floaty

any lower and you will feel every bump in the road, and it is a bad ride, plus i think cars dumped to the floor look ridiculous

dont cut springs, it is illegal and dangerous, if you do the backs will fall out all the time, possibly killing you and passengers when you lose control of it, the ride is also awful

always replace all rubber bushings when doing suspension, if you dont you will notice in about 2 weeks the components will start rattling when the rubber bushes finally disintegrate from the addition stress of new parts.

on the VB-VL always replace the top of the strut towers on the front end, these are totally shagged after 20 years being on the car, and will rattle
you should also check out the pivot bushes, they are sometimes ok, but usually stuffed

the back end you will need to pay attention to the bushes on the arms, they are also stuffed and perished after 20 years

there is not a lot of point in doing suspension unless you look at every component in the system, or it just wont be right

[haloeight]

also the ball joints on the front shock towers are usually stuffed, get these replaced also, they will make the car shudder going down hills, and you wont get a proper align off it, not to mention uneven tyre wear and clunking every time the shock tower moves

[haloeight]

final word of advice, get a gregory's or max ellery's manual, on the VB-VK i think the max ellery one is better and more complete than the gregorys

[mza]

yeh i know cutting the springs is out of the question :P
cheers for the advice though, and yeh i got an ellerys already.

[haloeight]

its not so obvious to some! (cut springs)

i see them here allllllllllllllll the time, you can pick them from the outside of the car like dogs balls, i should be a cop

[craigvk]

If you want to stiffen up the front and rear, replace with Nolathane bushes, the rear upper and lower trailing arm bushes (4 each side), the front radius rod bushes which are a pair, replace the lower control arm bushes, replace the front strut tower mounts with adjustable Nolathane ones which will give you more alignment options and link bushes which are attached to the front and rear link rods which are 8 per end and if you want more then replace the front and rear sway bar mounts.
Do all this and your car will be nice and tight.

This will be a few hundred bucks but would require you to have a hydraulic press to make the job easier.