Lowering my Ve Calais

[Petey]

Hi guys,
I was wondering if any body could hep me out.
I've just bought a black Calais & I want to lower it just a little.
So my question is, is there a way it can be lowered without it becoming a stiff ride. I don't want to feel every bump on the road.
On my old VX I put sports lows all round and it was the worst thing I did.

Cheers Peter

 

[slepar]

I just lowerd my miss's calais v6 with ssl front and sl rear king springs and it rides and looks perfect ( for her ) you won't regret it oh I also put ss fe2 shocks in the front of hers because her ones were warn.

 

[WAGONBEAST57]

Not sure about the VE's but I had the same experience with lowering my VX as you did, so my short answer would be "no".

 

[ducker85]

^^^ lies

If you buy a lowered spring with the factory spring rate it be ride the same. Nearly all aftermarket springs carry a higher spring rate hence the stiff ride. Shocks also play an important roll on your ride too so if you more then 20mm lower get new shocks and match them to the factory specs again to keep the factory ride

 

[WAGONBEAST57]

Please tell me where I can buy lowered springs with the factory spring rate. If the spring is shorter it must also be a higher rate than factory to prevent bottoming out. And there is only so much shocks can do to smooth the ride out.

 

[ducker85]

custom order them. There's a shop on Port Road in Adelaide that do this. It is possible if your willing to spend the coin

 

[Petey]

Thanks guys, I'll go and speak to the guys at Holden & see what they say

 

[AD07]

Thanks guys, I'll go and speak to the guys at Holden & see what they say

Seriously......you are going to speak to holden about lowering your car. Good luck with that......:rofl2:

The main thing to do is to get a good quality shock to match your lowered spring. Or get coil-overs.
Speak to GSL, they are a forum sponsor & will be able to sort you out.

 

[Evil Empire]

Fail!!! Just kidding, but.....

Petey, take from a newish owner of a VE Calais also, stay away from Holdens!!! In my ignorance (being my first VE) I too thought Holdens would know best, how wrong I was! I was way overcharged for a service, got limited answers to my questions, and the service was very impersonal. They also didn't pick up an issue with the rear suspension when I asked them to check, which was later checked and immediately diagnosed by a suspension specialist. It was not a major issue, and something Holdens 'professionals' should have seen, but rather, their advice was, "we can't see an issue, but can change the shock and spring for $520!!

Being a novice, I have learnt more from researching these forums, and speaking with specialists in regards to specific issues or queries. You'll find most forum members are also happy to give you there advice and help when asked.

My immediate advice would be to search this forum for similar questions, as I asked a very similar range of questions about 6 months ago, and got some priceless info. GSL in the forum sponsors section is also a good place for information, and they will happily give you their advice if you tell them what you're after. If you decide to go it alone, I recommend calling or visiting at least 3 different specialists in your area and getting their opinions and quotes.

I discovered that bottom line is, if you lower it, you will loose some comfort regardless. This is also affected by how low you go, the quality of shocks/springs, and the tyre size you run. Some short shocks are made more for comfort so there are options available to suit your needs. Speak to a specialist, narrow your options, then search this forum for people that have that particular setup, and ask them their opinions and if they are happy.

 

[ducker85]

Petey, take from a newish owner of a VE Calais also, stay away from Holdens!!! In my ignorance (being my first VE) I too thought Holdens would know best, how wrong I was!

second that.

Holden are an absolute waste of time for 90% of your questions/issues.

I got over charged $400 and stuffed around with 3 written quotes that I refused to sign when all I wanted was a new harmonic balancer. They wanted to change my 2 week old belt saying it was worn!!!!

And this sealed the deal for me. They told if I broke just 1 rear stud in my VE that the rear axle must come out, new wheel bearings (there $260 each if i remember correctly) and $500 labour. So almost a $1000 bucks a side at Holden to replace wheel studs. Done some Internet surfing. Sourced new studs for $5.50 each (Holden was around $22 each) and fitted them myself without having to remove the rear axle, knuckles etc etc.