How low should I go???

[VY03]

Good News. My brother's mate is changing his 12month old suspension in his 02 vx calais cause it's too low as a family car. He's got Pedders (Ultra low) springs, and is giving them to me for a very, very, very good price. Also getting them installed by him and someone he knows who works for holden.

My concern is shockers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I've been told not to waste my money on shockers because I don't need them even with ultra lows. I was told the springs cannot fall out because newer model commodores have a different part or rather, which holds them in.....unlike older models which needed shortened shocks. What do I do?????? Do I get shockers or keep my originals?????

Get new shockers all round otherwise you will stuff up the originals in no time

 

[ProphetVX]

Good News. My brother's mate is changing his 12month old suspension in his 02 vx calais cause it's too low as a family car. He's got Pedders (Ultra low) springs, and is giving them to me for a very, very, very good price. Also getting them installed by him and someone he knows who works for holden.

My concern is shockers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I've been told not to waste my money on shockers because I don't need them even with ultra lows. I was told the springs cannot fall out because newer model commodores have a different part or rather, which holds them in.....unlike older models which needed shortened shocks. What do I do?????? Do I get shockers or keep my originals?????

If you've got ultras, definitely get new shockers or you'll wear out the old ones very quickly, and have a car that handles like a pig in mud and terrible ride quality.

Its worth investing the extra few hundred to save yourself time and money in the future. You generally need shortened shocks for ultras anyways, as your car gets lowered beyond the 40mm that is recommended from standard ride height. You can have other issues besides poor ride quality if you lower it beyond this, such as your shocks pushing through the strut tower.

 

[ruso]

Cheers, What shocks would you recommend?

 

[VY03]

kyb or koni both are very good but stay away from monroe's as they use plastic valves inside of them and tend to wear out very quick on rough roads

 

[EXCESSV]

get the shocks...only a couple of hundred dollars extra

 

[Wombat]

Going lower than an inch or so on standard geometry suspension...up to 3" or more lower, just for looks...? I am just shocked also at how many people think you can lower a car by three or more inches and not have to get new short stroke shock absorbers...:bang:


A couple of things spring to mind...has anyone ever read up on suspension design and geometry?

There is a reason that companies spend millions on suspension design...

Personally, I wouldn't be lowering a Commodore more than, say, the level an SS is set at. Steering geometry, suspension angles and especially rear IRS geometry are all designed to work effectively with the suspension at a certain height. If you think you know better and go down two, three, or more inches, then all those carefully worked out angles simply are irrelevant and will not work at all. Your suspension might "feel" stiffer, but trust me, it certainly won't be working as intended, and I am sure when you have your super-to-the-power-of-10 low springs in the rear or front, and have the inevitable prang when road conditions and terrible suspension geometry all come together nicely, the friendly insurance company will want to know why you and your mates at the spring shop think they know better than Holden and thier multi-million dollar engineering...:yeah:

Find an old book titled "Chassis Tuning In Theory and Practice", read it thoroughly, and be amazed at how small changes in suspension angles can bring about unwanted consequences...especially in that lovely area of how it controls body roll for a start...

...sometimes, looks aren't everything...

 

[SpaceYam]

Is the ride height still legal with super lows all round?

ie. 10cm ground clearance?

 

[ProphetVX]

Is the ride height still legal with super lows all round?

ie. 10cm ground clearance?

Yeh super lows all round are legal, anything lower most certainly isn't though.

 

[WinterVX]

How much clearance does Super Lows actually give at the lowest point of the car anyway, im sure its more than 10cm. 12cm is the legal limit here in VIC.

Im sure this one has been asked before aswel, but whats the difference in height with FE2 vs Kings Super Lows?

 

[ProphetVX]

How much clearance does Super Lows actually give at the lowest point of the car anyway, im sure its more than 10cm. 12cm is the legal limit here in VIC.

Im sure this one has been asked before aswel, but whats the difference in height with FE2 vs Kings Super Lows?

FE2 and Lows are pretty similar in ride height...

Super lows drop it about an inch or so beyond FE2.

I don't know of anyone ever being defected for super lows, my car doesn't get targeted by cops either because of its height.

Depending on how your exhaust/extractors look from the bottom of the car, I'd say almost definitely you would have 12cm of clearance with super lows.

I can hit speed humps at 60kmh if I want and it wouldn't scrape.