Best handling for a VN

[4PLAYN]

Hello all,

I am currently after what you drivers of VN's and VP's have in the way as suspension setups and what are the BEST setups for a car handling like a train on rails.

Also what other ways i can set up the suspension up and what are the best brands for ...

Springs
Bush's
Panhard Rod
Strut Brace
Sway Bars
Shock Absorbers
Control Arm
Radius Rod
Upper Trailing Arm
Strut Tops
+ What ever else i missed out on

Also whats better off out of full airbag kit and normal suspension. What are the Pro's and Cons and what is better off for the ride quality ect ect ...

Anything else like rough prices, best brands and url's for information, for buying parts and also information is greatly thanked

Cheers

Adam

[xcop5l]

i doubt that you will get a vn to handel like its on rails.
ive got adjustable k-mac strut tops with super low king springs,superlows in the rear with shortend monero air shocks and an adjustabil panhard bar
also tyres will help with making it stick around corners. ive got turnzas all round and i can take 90degree corners at about 40-50 before it starts to loose grip at the front

[4PLAYN]

Yeah tyres are on the ajenda as i got bald as stockies needing new rubber + a full set of mags needing new rubber. That is one way to get traction to the ground. What would the "adjustable k-mac strut tops" do? Is it just a castor and camber adjustment or is it for something else?

I got about 3 to 4 months before i get my licence back so the VN will be sitting around ... I would like to get all new suspension for it and make it handle nice.

Thankyou xcop5l for your help Anyone else?

Adam

[cohn]

go a nice hard set of springs, supa lows. 300 bucks
nolathane bushes all round front and rear. 150 bucks ish
bigger swaybars and bushes 400 bucks
strut braces 150 each
good tyres, bridgestone potenza's or michilins are good. 15 inch, 150-200 each, 17' 300 bucks each
nolathane spring plates 150 each
kyb shocks 150 a pair.
adjustable panard 150.
i wouldn't go adjustable unless u going to start doing something like drift and have time to fiddle with all the settings to get it right.

[anton1o]

Eh, mine handles not bad.. Proper handling also incorporates good brakes too
Also you can buy $3000 worth of suspension bits, but still handle the same.. All depends on the type of parts you have bought.

Currently;
Kingspring SuperLows, Monroe GT's Shortened Shocks, WASP Sway Bar, Link Pin Bush Kit, WhiteLine Panhard rod

Planned:
Whiteline Strut Brace

[xcop5l]

do it the easy way and lower it with good springs and shocks(king springs &monero)
then get some big wheels, like 17's or so. it will stop with the dreded tyre roll

[greenfoam]

I can take 90 degree corners at 80km/h or even more, but that's taking a nice apex through the corner and almost lifting the inner front wheel over the grass on the inside of the corner :O and heaaaaaaps of body roll with my FE2

[4PLAYN]

Im not only talking about lowering but

What kind of bushes i would need to replace the stock ones ...
What are the Pro's and Con's of Air Bag Suspension over the Convential Suspension
What settings for camber/castor would be best for handling ...

[4PLAYN]

At the moment i have NO ... i repeat NO lower rear trailing arm bushes and some of the other bushes are cracked or warped so they would need replacing, thus the questions why, how, where and when :P

Nolothane bushes, what brand and where to get them from for 150 bucks .... and thats for front and rear right??

[J_D]

Nolathane is the brand. I just replaced my radius rod bushes last weekend and cost me 40 bucks just for those two bushes from Repco, so I doubt you could get a whole set for 150.

[1991_Vn2nV]

Nolathane is the brand mate.

Heres a con of airbag suspension... 3-4 thousand dollars in price!

[1991_Vn2nV]

Heres my setup which I think works well:

Superlows Progressive/Variable Rate King Springs in the Rear, Lovells Ultralows in the front.
Whiteline Strut Brace - $165
Whiteline Premium Adjustable Rear Panhard Bar - $220
Nolathane Bushes
Monroe shortened Shocks.
Nolathane Sway Bar Link Modification Kit - $35

Planned for the future:
Whiteline Adjustable Strut Tops when I get my new wheels - $235
Whiteline Front & Rear Sway Bars - When I figure out the best setup (bigger is not necessarily better for sway bars as too big will give you oversteer...You need to find the right combination for your setup). - $180 to $250ish each depending on size
Also LSD diff which I have, I just need put into my car.

[253@7k]

Air bags are for looks and comfort. The BEST you can get is coil overs all round with new bushes and adjustable everything.

[xcop5l]

I can take 90 degree corners at 80km/h or even more, but that's taking a nice apex through the corner and almost lifting the inner front wheel over the grass on the inside of the corner :O and heaaaaaaps of body roll with my FE2

im talking on the road not a race track with optimum grip.
and im also talking hooking it into the corner hard

[greenfoam]

Who said anything about a race track, there just happens to be a 90 degree bend on my daily drive and it's in a 80 zone (used to be a 100 zone too ) but like I said you can cut into it pretty hard, enough to clip the grass on the inside, I've taken it at about 70? in the rain but it took me along time to get it straight again on the exit so I haven't done that again:P

[flyen]

Who said anything about a race track, there just happens to be a 90 degree bend on my daily drive and it's in a 80 zone (used to be a 100 zone too ) but like I said you can cut into it pretty hard, enough to clip the grass on the inside, I've taken it at about 70? in the rain but it took me along time to get it straight again on the exit so I haven't done that again:P

sounds farmiliar,
take the corner beautifully but on exit the backside decides so swing out, i stupidly brake but the brakes lock up.

why do you think people crash vn's so much, dam rear end loves to swin out

[Emackulation]

why do you think people crash vn's so much, dam rear end loves to swin out

I don't want to talk about it....

[mouce]

Whiteline do a really nice kit, I've heard some good things about them. When I've got the money for the kit, I'll be putting it on mine. Might be worth looking into.

[Calais3800]

I havent had time to read the other replys but i'll give you a short answer, coz i agree with xcop-51. Be hard to get a Vn to handle Perfectly. JUSt get the basic setup. E.g low/supalow kings or lovells springs . Shocks go by buget. Monroe GT gas r enty level but do a good job, then you got KYB's little better again, then you could go all the way up to Koni adjustables! if u were rich.... U could get your self a front strut brace to minimise undasteer and a rear adjustable panhard rod to polish the deal off, posibly even a k-mac caster camber kit. But for all that your looking at a lota cash new and then the install price on top! unless u can do it your self?

My advice get a Manual Vn, or a commodre wiff IRS and LSD. My first commy waz a Red VN manual with only pedders red springs and shocks all round nothing else and she went round corners like it waz on rails!!! Why? coz i could pick the perfect gearing for each corner (manual) i went into. Then throttle out of the apex.

Also get the best tires u can afford! they make a lot off differnace. MY choice would we Pirreli, Falken or Toyo's. Wiff 16" wheels or better....

[4PLAYN]

Calais3800 .... I have a Manual VN :P Come to think of it i have 2 in my driveway .... a White and Yellow one, White one is Mine, Yellow is my Mums :P

IRS??
I would get that from a VQ or would a VR/VS be ok to use? and how hard is it to modify the rear end?

A good LSD tightened up would cost about 1000-2500 depending on initial cost and cost to get it tightened.

I have got SuperLow King Springs in the rear at the moment but the car handles like puss. I wouldnt mind having all the fancy bells and whistles on my car like LSD and IRS with ABS and traction control and all that but the $$$$$$$ is a huge factor + how hard things are to modify to fit the VN.

But hey if i had about 40,000 to spare and i wanted the VN i would get the whole 4WD system out of the 'HSV Coupe 4' and modify the floor pan of the VN to suit. But i dont have that kind of cash.

I have about 3/4 maybe 5 months to have everything on the car for when i get my P's. My last red VN (auto) managed to spin out of control every corner and make lots of weird noises over every bump. I dont want that to be on my 5 Speed VN.

I have heard somewhere that going UltraLow on a VN would make the handling worse than what it would on SuperLow. Aswell as Ultra Lows being defectable due to too low (obvious enough) i wouldnt choose to go UltraLow. I have got a bit of information on each company whho does suspension

WhiteLine
Monroe
Eibach
Koni
King Springs
Lovells
KYB
Jumboz
Fulcrum
Tubular Suspension Systems
Burn'in Customs
K-Mac

But i cant see which ones are better than the others, thus why i asked on here.

From what everyone has said in this thread the best setup could possibly be:

Springs: King Springs; Super Low
Shock Absorbers: Monroe; GT Gas
Bushes: Nolathane (front and back)
Panhard Rod: Whiteline Adjustable
Strut Brace: WhiteLine
Strut Tops: K-Mac Adjustable
Tyres: Falken Azenis or Re-treads till i get a bit more cash in the kitty.
Nolathane Sway Bar Link Modification kit ...

Anything else what needs to be updated? I will be installing them myself so yeah..

Cheers

Adam :thumbs up:

[mouce]

Be careful with the Nolathane bushes, I know of quite a few people who have gotten them, and found that they are TOO hard, they tend to really shake crap out of your car.

And a note on the tyres: don't bother with retreads, about the only way to wrap your car around a pole it to cut the springs with an angle grinder. If you can't afford to put good rubber between you and the ground, you can't afford to drive it.

[4PLAYN]

I said retreads cause i am in the thoughts of getting some 18 inch mags. not really much point in getting good quality tyres to only use then for a few weeks to a few months ...

Are all Nolathane bushes too hard or is it just certain batches or certain bushes that are hard?

[J_D]

You can get second hand tyres for less than retreads which would be a lot safer. Personally I wouldnt risk my life with retreads.

All the Nolathane bushes are harder than the original rubber ones. The handling is made sharper but the side effect is increased NVH, thats why they arent used as original equipment.

[4PLAYN]

Buying used tyres, might have to look into that one Thanks for the heads up J_D.

Side note: i dont have my licence till next year and it aint being moved till the suspension is done :P, so yeah, it will sit in the same position with those tyres on till i get the 18s for the car

[cohn]

do not touch air bags if you want handling, they are usaeless, they are too soft and cause major problems with hadling unless your use to driving a boat.
ANd yeah the bum seems to love sticking out, especially if the tyres are on the fritz. lol.
IRS and LSD you will get out of a VP Calais, this will bolt pretty much straight up to your rear end.