Coilovers tein vs Pedders

[maka5]

Coilovers are more of a overkill imo.... i would of went with tinsnips' suggestion bout 2 weeks ago if i had the extra $$... i just got munroe gt/ kings... some bushes and new strut tops... car feels much better than stock...and for the price cant complain....

 

[TinSnips]

i actually have a BOGE shock book at work everyone just ignores it like its forbidden but..... never knew anything about them.....

They're pretty good things - I think they have a lifetime warranty - which is a bit bizarre!

 

[TinSnips]

The aftermarket springs will ride a little harder than factory - but they're progressive, which is a good thing. The Boge shocks will be more comfortable and the Bilsteins will grip like bastards. Sway bars will keep her level and the urethane will make sure everything responds in an instant. That's pretty much the breakdown (in very general terms)

 

[glenn l]

what type of set up do you have in yours tinsnips?

 

[Decicrate]

One thing to consider when changing to coil overs is clearance.
Most coil overs have the lower spring seats lower than the top of the tyre. This means that the distance between the inside of the tyre and the outside of the strut is reduced. This will limit how wide you can go with the front tyres and will also limit how much camber that can be dialed into the front end.
There is a big misconception that the coil overs are able to be adjusted for height, this is not the case for most coil overs.
If the coil over only has the spring seat adjustment and no secondary adjustment, then you should not be trying to adjust the height of the car by winding this up or down.
If however the coil over has a secondary adjustment, usually at the bottom of the unit, you can adjust the ride height from there.
The spring seat adjustment is simply there to get the spring sitting where it should be for the length of the spring.


If you are only going to be using the car for road work, personally I would go a good spring and shock combo and stay away from the coil overs.

 

[TinSnips]

what type of set up do you have in yours tinsnips?

Unfortunately, whilst this ute remains a gearbox-eating POS (have chewed through 4 boxes in around 38,000km), my car is staying stock as a rock. I have a long list of mods ready to go (a lot of which are sitting in my garage collecting dust!) should they find the issue, but at this point all plans are on hold. My last two cars were modded - vp calais had the old pedders sports ryder system in it when I bought it and my last ute (VY) had Kings with Konis fitted pre-delivery. The konis were great, but with all the research I've put into the (now held) mods on this ute, I've been lucky to have the opportunity to drive A LOT of different set ups - and the Bilsteins (admittedly with H&R and also eibach springs) is by far and away the best set up I've found for my budget. I like the Pedders XAs but considering that for the same money you can get the bilstein/kings (which I found considerably more responsive, but also more drivable) plus sways and a bunch of urethane for the same money, the decision for me is a no-brainer!

About the only thing I have planned for my ute that I haven't actually had the chance to try out is the seats - I haven't found anyone who's fitted sparco milanos to a ute! haha - but you just know they'll be good!

 

[glenn l]

i was quoted a **** load for bilstein and kings, more than i was quoted for extreme xa's, thats why i went the xa route, you must have got a good price for the bilstein and kings, also found the h&r's didnt come down to where i wanted them.

 

[TinSnips]

The Bilsteins are around for good prices. Just seems to depend on where you can source them from. In the end, it all comes down to what you can get at the time for the right price. I'm not saying XAs are bad - they're not - but my money would go on the Billies.

 

[gslrallysport]

A full set of Bilstein and Kings to suit VE we could for about about $1600 delivered. To step up from that in performance you'd need to spend at least $3k on a set of coilovers. There isn't a sub-$3k of coilovers that will out perform a set of Bilstein B8 and Kings spring, and you'll have better ride quality.

Just to emphasis a point here, and to prove that you can increase both ride and handling in the same package, the following email is from a customer who fitted Bilstein B8's and higher rate specification Kings to his late model Falcon:

Subject: BF Falcon Kings Springs/Bilsteins
Date: Mon, 19 Apr 2010 11:51:05 +1000
From: <***********>
To: <[email protected]>


Hello Greg,

I got around to fitting the Kings Springs/Bilsteins I purchased from you for my BF Falcon on the weekend. I have yet to get the car wheel aligned but I'm very pleased with the way its ended up. It will only get better with a proper wheel alignment I know.

As you will remember I purchased the "uprated" Kings with the optional increased spring rates (520/380 pounds supposedly) in "low" height. In conjunction with the Bilsteins the ride is definitely firmer than before but extremely well controlled. In no way would I call it harsh or even stiff - it definitely is no billy cart now. There is no way the Missus will be complaining about the ride that's for sure. To my thinking it is actually more comfortable than before - comparing it with the previous Kings springs fitted and worn out dampers though.

Height-wise its slightly higher than before at the rear and about the same at the front - I'm really happy with the way it sits as I definitely didn't want it any lower than it was. It may settle a little bit with time but that won't be a problem.

On the handling front its much sharper than before - I've yet to really push it but all the float and wallow it had have disappeared. It's quite nimble for a big car and will only get better with the wheels aligned by someone who knows their stuff (Harder to find than you'd expect these days).

Overall a very worthwhile package. I'd recommend it to anyone who wants to take the handling of their Falcon to the next level.

Appreciate your help with this - it was definitely worth it thanks.

regards

Andrew E

The fact is, $1300 worth of Bilstein, is $1300 worth of damper. There's only ONE thing that determines the ride/handling of a suspension package, and it's the quality of the damper. When you buy $1300 worth of coilovers you're only buying a damper package worth $300-$500 (at best!!) by the time you take off the springs, threaded tube bodies, spring seats and strut tops. You'd be better off buying KYB in terms of quality and performance. Then there's the fact that the dampers are that piss poor that they need to fit ridiculously stiff springs to compensate for their lack of high speed* bump, or else the shock would bottom itself out to the point of destruction.

Also keep in mind with VE rear Bilstein you've got a limited amount of height adjustment too.

* Shaft speed, not vehicle speed.

 

[brgsv6]

bit of an old thread, saves starting a new one..
ive been quoted just under $2k for the pedders coilovers fitted.
i had pedders in my last car and were happy with them (springs and shocks)

anyone got feedback on the coilovers for the ve? its going in an sv6..