UK Owner: Need Suspension and Brakes Advice Please

[Boggie]

Hi All,

I live in London, England and have just bought a 2005 VZ Monaro. Vauxhall, the UK arm of GM, imported around 1000 Monaros and stuck Vauxhall badges onto them. Thankfully the previous owner was an Aussie so he has fitted Holden badges instead.

The first owner uprated the car with a Harrop 112 pushing 9psi into the 5.7 via an intercooler and out through a big bore Wortec exhaust which makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end and pi$$es off my environmentally conscious neighbour.

It is quite a change for me, having sold my Le Mans TT with 270BHP and 4WD etc. I do miss it as I owned it for nearly 9 years but I lived in Melbourne about 20 years ago so have always yearned for a big Aussie muscle car and this one was too good to pass up. Whilst the Monaro has nearly twice the power of the Audi, it is 300KG heavier and a LOT bigger so is nowhere near as agile but the acceleration is awesome.

The second owner (the Aussie) fitted VXR brakes, poly bushed the drag struts, anti-roll and link pins and at the rear he has poly bushed the subframe and diff mountings. However, even with all these mods, the car handles like a boat, the steering is vague with no feel and the brakes, apart from wobbling the steering wheel at slow speeds, are pretty poor too. So, it is now my turn to bolt on some mods!

As there are only a limited number of Monaros in the UK and only 1 or 2 mod shops I thought I would join your forum and ask the advice of the country who made this fantastic car and where there are far more tuning companies I could look at.

Suspension first: I want to tighten up the front end feel and generally improve the handling of the car. Essentially I want the car to change direction much more precisely and quickly with little or no body roll. I don't mind the suspension being a little harsh but I want to retain my fillings and don’t want to feel my middle-aged flab wobbling too much on the bumpy UK roads. I need to do this as cheaply as possible as I still have a lot of other mods to fund (LPG, Stereo, Wheels etc, etc).

Quick Steering Rack: Is there one that will give me more 'feel' at the wheel? The standard power steering rack is almost completely disconnected from the front tyres and worryingly vague at high speed. A quick rack would improve steering response but I would like one that is less power and more steering if possible

Brakes: What would be the cheapest way to get better braking than the VXR brakes? EG Does anyone in Australia make a basic big brake conversion that includes 2 larger front discs and adapter plates to mount the VXR callipers further out? I fitted a kit like this on the TT and it made a huge difference.

Suspension kit: Do I get an uprated kit to stiffen up the chassis and lower the ride height a little OR perhaps go for a full coilover kit?

Obviously a suspension kit is cheaper than the coilovers and money is definitely an issue. I like the idea of adjustable damping as I am a fiddler but perhaps a good suspension kit is damped just right and does not need adjusting.

I would greatly appreciate any advice from you guys as you will know far more than Poms about the Monaro and if you could point me in the direction of a few good Aussie mod shops where I can get decent upgrades at reasonable prices, that would be great.

Many thanks,
Boggie

[NIVSSZ]

Hi Boggie,
you could take a look at VCM suite australasia. I had a chassis kit fitted and rear strut brace. The car feels a lot tighter around corners and there is a lot more control over the back end. Also take a look at the Tru-Trac LSD from harrop. This thing is amazing with the sort of power you have. You could also add a swaybar kit from whiteline. Couple of shops in melb that sell them.
As for the brakes, there are 6 pot front and 4 pot rear kit combined with 355 mm slotted discs available from pbr performance brakes..They are the cheapest 6/4 piston combo at the moment.



Cheers
Niv

Hi All,

I live in London, England and have just bought a 2005 VZ Monaro. Vauxhall, the UK arm of GM, imported around 1000 Monaros and stuck Vauxhall badges onto them. Thankfully the previous owner was an Aussie so he has fitted Holden badges instead.

The first owner uprated the car with a Harrop 112 pushing 9psi into the 5.7 via an intercooler and out through a big bore Wortec exhaust which makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end and pi$$es off my environmentally conscious neighbour.

It is quite a change for me, having sold my Le Mans TT with 270BHP and 4WD etc. I do miss it as I owned it for nearly 9 years but I lived in Melbourne about 20 years ago so have always yearned for a big Aussie muscle car and this one was too good to pass up. Whilst the Monaro has nearly twice the power of the Audi, it is 300KG heavier and a LOT bigger so is nowhere near as agile but the acceleration is awesome.

The second owner (the Aussie) fitted VXR brakes, poly bushed the drag struts, anti-roll and link pins and at the rear he has poly bushed the subframe and diff mountings. However, even with all these mods, the car handles like a boat, the steering is vague with no feel and the brakes, apart from wobbling the steering wheel at slow speeds, are pretty poor too. So, it is now my turn to bolt on some mods!

As there are only a limited number of Monaros in the UK and only 1 or 2 mod shops I thought I would join your forum and ask the advice of the country who made this fantastic car and where there are far more tuning companies I could look at.

Suspension first: I want to tighten up the front end feel and generally improve the handling of the car. Essentially I want the car to change direction much more precisely and quickly with little or no body roll. I don't mind the suspension being a little harsh but I want to retain my fillings and don’t want to feel my middle-aged flab wobbling too much on the bumpy UK roads. I need to do this as cheaply as possible as I still have a lot of other mods to fund (LPG, Stereo, Wheels etc, etc).

Quick Steering Rack: Is there one that will give me more 'feel' at the wheel? The standard power steering rack is almost completely disconnected from the front tyres and worryingly vague at high speed. A quick rack would improve steering response but I would like one that is less power and more steering if possible

Brakes: What would be the cheapest way to get better braking than the VXR brakes? EG Does anyone in Australia make a basic big brake conversion that includes 2 larger front discs and adapter plates to mount the VXR callipers further out? I fitted a kit like this on the TT and it made a huge difference.

Suspension kit: Do I get an uprated kit to stiffen up the chassis and lower the ride height a little OR perhaps go for a full coilover kit?

Obviously a suspension kit is cheaper than the coilovers and money is definitely an issue. I like the idea of adjustable damping as I am a fiddler but perhaps a good suspension kit is damped just right and does not need adjusting.

I would greatly appreciate any advice from you guys as you will know far more than Poms about the Monaro and if you could point me in the direction of a few good Aussie mod shops where I can get decent upgrades at reasonable prices, that would be great.

Many thanks,
Boggie

[naf33n]

can deffently say these cars are rare in the UK, ive seen 1 in the year ive been over here, you would proberbly be better looking in the US for what they have done with the pontiac GTO, gettin stuff sent over would work out cheaper,

[Benboy]

Have a look at these links:

LS1GTO.com Forums

Australian LS1 and Holden Forums

[Boggie]

Thanks Guys, very helpful and much appreciated. Ironically I found an Aussie company on the LS1GTO forums who do a Munroe suspension package for $777 which includes:

2 x King front springs, available spring height: 0, .5", 1", 1.5" drop
2 x King rear springs, available spring height same as above
2 x Monroe GT rear shockers*
2 x Monroe GT front struts*
2 x King front strut short bump stops
1 x delivery with UPS (tracking number available)

Seems like a great deal compared to what is available in the UK. They offer a variety of spring rates but I have no idea what to go for so any suggestions based upon experience would be very helpful. Here are the choices:

King Part Number__________Height________RATE(lbs/in)
KHFL-22HHD*_GTO front___-1.00" lowering___300-500
KHFL-47HD___GTO front___-0.50" lowering___200-250
KHFL-47HHD*_GTO front __-0.50" lowering___350-500
KHRL-46HD___GTO rear___-1.00" lowering___440-520
KHRL-46HHD*_GTO rear___-1.00" lowering___600-1000
KHRL-45HD___GTO rear___-0.50" lowering___440-520
KHRL-45HHD*_GTO rear___-0.50" lowering___600-1000
KHRL-125HD Rear Stock Height GTO Springs__440-520

Cheers,
Boggie