Spring Manufacturers i.e. King's vs Lovells vs Pedders

[SimoVXSS]

have used King Springs and Pedders and prefer the pedders springs. Just as firm but less harsh and better ride IMO

 

[HoldenOnn]

Yeah it's surprising I know. but my VS rides hard and stiff...feel every bump. It holds the road really good though..just pisses me off cos I'm not always driving on the smoothest of roads.

I have just sold my VS S Pack Series 2 Commodore which I had for 3 years and that had factory FE2 on it. I had the standard 15" alloys with 205/65/15 yokohama soft tyres. The ride was soft, compliant and fantastic.

You have 18" rims which will contribute more than you think to being the sole cause of a harsh ride. My mate had a VY Calais on stock 16's. Its was a soft awesome ride, he then went to 19's and it changed the whole car to be firm and harsh.

Tyre and rim size alone can affect hugely the firmness and harshness of suspension.

But also, your shockies may be worn if they are still factory and 10 years old.

Many things that contribute as a whole to ride quality, but 18" rims are a big factor. Plus if you go lower, you will have less suspension travel and it will be even harsher.

Don't go lower if you don't want a rougher, firmer ride than you have now. 18" tyres aren't going to help as opposed to 15 or 16's etc.

Goodluck.

 

[mastadd]

I just went through a set of Lovells and Pedders springs for the front of my VN SS to correct exhaust to ground clearance but wasnt happy at all with the ride quality of either. Lovells were too soft and wernt trapping properly and the pedders springs were too firm and didnt raise the car high enough. Got fed up so got a pair of springs made to order for height to the mm and chose ride quality. For $170 a pair couldnt complain at all. Excellent springs. If you dont know what your buying why buy it?
A U R O R A** S P R I N G S - coil - leaf springs

I would agree with this guy here, aurora let you pick the Spring rate, the Height everything,
kings and Pedders are made in the same factory for those who didnt already know.

They are actually quite similar

 

[Calaber]

Car manufacturers spend a lot of time matching spring rates to the different suspension/wheel/tyre combinations they offer on each model.

Then, along comes Joe Bloggs, who wants the car to sit three mm off the deck, so he fits a set of SSSSSSL's, then wonders why his car feels like **** when it runs over a matchstick.

You can't just throw in a set of stiffer, lower springs and not expect the balance of the ride/handling compromise to be upset. Getting a good handling and ride balance is a fine art and it takes more than just lower, stiffer springs to get a car to handle properly.

Some of you have mentioned that your springs are crap, with sag, harsh ride or whatever. This is obviously going to be affected by the spring rate, wheel diameter and tyre type and profile - it won't just be the fault of the springs alone.

Incidentally, if I remember correctly from some years back, Lovells provide Pedders and OME (Old Man Emu, if they are still around) with their springs. There are only a couple of spring manufacturers in this country and the are the source for most of the local suspension component suppliers and modifiers.

 

[foo27]

I had the standard fe2 suspension in my vyss when i got it, went to dobinson's and got a set of their super lows put in. The ride originally was harsh and tracked badly, with the dobinson's in the ride is so much better. The biggest problem for some people is that the dobinson's springs aren't quite as low, but as they manufacture their own springs they can do a custom set up for you anyway, I spent about two hours with the guys in rockhampton explaining exactly what i wanted so i have no problems. At work, and in the past i have fitted alot of kings springs and i try to talk anyone out of buying them as i believe them to be some of the worst on the market. Anyways thats my two cents worth and i hope it helps.