Will VZ struts fit my VR??

[lowvpcal]

Yea I was suspect of them to begin with ah well. Ive heard good things about the pedders xtreme kit but due to the size and weight of my cars im unsure as to which direction to go. Ive heard coilovers dont like australian roads and tend to collapse. Isnt a macpherson strut essentially a non adjustable, coilover based design?
My daily has lovells front and pedders rear super low springs with all brand new monroe grange struts and pump up rears, stock sway bars, wl caprice genuine tower brace and 20" wheels with 35 front and 30 rear profile tires. What I want is the instant adjustment of bags but the roadholding and firmness of coilovers.
Ive also been wanting to have a look at the possibility of retrofitting ve gts mrc into my project grange. If I got the loom, module, button etc I don't see why i couldn't with the exception of the rear shock spring set up

 

[_R_J_K_]

ve heard coilovers dont like australian roads and tend to collapse. Isnt a macpherson strut essentially a non adjustable, coilover based design?
My daily has lovells front and pedders rear super low springs with all brand new monroe grange struts and pump up rears, stock sway bars, wl caprice genuine tower brace and 20" wheels with 35 front and 30 rear profile tires. What I want is the instant adjustment of bags but the roadholding and firmness of coilovers.

See, here's the misconception. Plenty of people throw coilovers in and instantly think that it will somehow magically transform their handling. No Commodore owner I have come across yet has put effort into finding out which spring rates will work best for their setup, only trying to use a spring with the most S's in the part number. 20" wheels will also have a pretty big effect on handling (usually negative) and acceleration (also usually negative because it effects final drive).

As far as Monroe and Australian roads go, Monroe get the job done for a daily, but they're pretty average. Pedders gear is probably the equivalent of Monroe or BC or something. Longevity of coilovers is dependent on a lot of variables, but I don't see why they would ware any different than a standard strut, or why a strut would ware better than coilovers. I think part of the reason you hear this is that a lot of Japanese cars that run this run some pretty stiff springs and are really low, and the damper is always compressed. A lot of it probably also comes down to quality, there's a lot of cheap coilovers out there,

As for MacPherson adjustment you typically have height, and most coilovers these days will have pillowball tops with adjustment for camber and sometimes castor (seen this on K-Sport coilovers for Commodores). Most will also have damper adjustment, but this can be found on good struts too. Because of the way that pre-VE Commodores rears run the springs separate from the shock, coilovers aren't really an option for the rears. Unfortunately there's not much of an option for Commodores and coilovers, and what is out there is overpriced and is minimal on features.

Not sure about the MRC though.

 

[lowvpcal]

Very interesting. I think the misconception about the magic of coilovers is also because of all the rice and the racing history they have godzilla (skyline gtr) for example. .
Both of my granges are absolutely gorgeous to drive, the lowered one is a little bumpier but given the car it is, its still very comfortable. The other one well thats my project build but when I drove it home it was comfortable. I want to maintain the level of comfort and quality in road feel and stability as this but also have a street appeal. If youve ever seen a stock standard 99-03 wh grange youll know that they are scarily low. The super low springs haven't made it stupid low to me its just right but if id had left the stock 18s on id be see sawing on speed humps.

Interesting thought isnt it... once a rear shock and spring of comparable rate and tension (maybe a different front strut body?) Theres no reason why not. VZ struts will fit right back to VN with a different car mounting plate is VE really all that different underneath?

 

[_R_J_K_]

is VE really all that different underneath?

VE's look to run the rear coil and damper together. Are VZ-VN struts the same length though?

 

[lowvpcal]

I know the VE s do that in the rear that's what I meant about the challenge there. The fronts im not 100% sure of but theres one down at my local wreckers at the moment I might go down today and buy one of the front and rear struts and have a play up in the shed