Lowering a VY Berlina...

[dah_man_ben]

Hey people... just need some help.

Well I have a VYII Berlina and am considering (actually more like saving up for) some new mags for the beast... probably some 18's or something. Not to insane but just nice

Anyway, I know that it rides pretty high so I am thinking of getting it lowered. HOWEVER I don't really want to lose the kind of firm but soft ride of the car... by getting new decent springs that are slightly lowered than the factory ones, will the ride of the car be affected much? Just want to lower it slightly so it sits nice on some decent mags.

Thanks heaps,
Ben.

[daniel555]

You'll loose the softness if your lowering it. I heard lovell springs are soft, But im not 100% sure. It all depends on what you define soft as and how low you wanna go.
They sit nice with SL's at front and SSL's at rear, But i thought the ride was a little harsh.
Hope i've helped.

[Lumps of cheese]

I had a vy belina with 18's and i lowered it with pedders sports ryder and while it did stiffen the ride a tad, it still was quite smooth. I was pretty much after what you are and having done it that way i was really happy with the way it turned out.

[gslrallysport]

Hey people... just need some help.

Well I have a VYII Berlina and am considering (actually more like saving up for) some new mags for the beast... probably some 18's or something. Not to insane but just nice

Anyway, I know that it rides pretty high so I am thinking of getting it lowered. HOWEVER I don't really want to lose the kind of firm but soft ride of the car... by getting new decent springs that are slightly lowered than the factory ones, will the ride of the car be affected much? Just want to lower it slightly so it sits nice on some decent mags.

Thanks heaps,
Ben.

Ben,

Do you know if your Berlina has FE2 or stock suspension?

Cheers,
Greg

[vy_berlina03]

The Vy Berlina comes with stock suspension unless you purchase FE2 from factory

[dah_man_ben]

Everyone, thanks for your replies... your a real help.

Juzo that sounds good... like I currently really enjoy the 'softness' of it. Its not as soft and boatey as a VT but feels just nice. Wouldn't bother me with a bit more firmness but I don't want to be riding around feeling every crack in the road.

Yeah Greg it doesn't have FE2 fitted... probably wouldn't mind FE2, my mates got it in his Calais. But I don't know if FE2 is any lower than factory springs?

Anyway, like I said, I just want to lower it slightly so it doesn't have such a huge gap between the wheels and guard but then again I don't want the wheels sitting inside the wheel well haha.

Thanks for all of ya help again champs.

[Lumps of cheese]

That's my old berlina with the sports ryder in it to give you a idea

[Lumps of cheese]

And a couple more

[gslrallysport]

We can do a KYB shortened shock and Kings Springs (low front, super low rear) for $675 package price.
KYB / Kings Commodore Lowering Packages!

[TMM]

FE2 is barely lower at all - the main difference is slightly higher spring rates, shock rebound and usually uprated sway bars. My old man has a VY S pack with FE2 and 16" wheels. I have FE1 and 16" wheels. We run similar tyres (i run Bridgestone RE001 225/55R16, he runs Michelin PP2 225/55R16) the ride is virtually identical, but his is noisier over potholes and I have a lot more bodyroll in the corners .

In all honesty if you want a smooth ride, don't get large wheels. Keep the stock wheels and lower your tyre pressures to 30psi. Soft suspension prevents jarring over potholes and such but tyre pressures go a long way to prevent smaller bumps/vibrations. You can't run lower pressures on low profile tyres, and they tend to have harder sidewalls. That said, i prefer higher tyre pressures (36psi) because it gives better steering response.

[dah_man_ben]

Juzo - thanks for the pics mate, yeah exactly the kind of height I'm looking at if I do have to lower it all.. and its the exact kind of casualness that I want. What are those wheels? not the VY SS ones but the other ones? They are really rockin'.... Not really wanting for it to be lowered with a huge bodykit and huge rims etc etc. Cheers champ you really helped me out.

TMM - thanks aswell mate for the reply. I don't really care about a heaps smooth ride, just the way that it is now (which is averagely smooth). Not looking at getting huge tyres, maybe just 17" VZ calais ones or something? Don't know how these will ride but right now it just has the factory 16" ones on there.

Cheers

[Lumps of cheese]

They're vz ssz wheels. I have them on my ss now.