Std Vtr Shox, How low can they go?

1. PozytroniX Infrequent Poster Joined: Nov 2008 Barnstaple Posts: 159 1998 Citreon Saxo VTR 1.6

   #1 17th November 2008, 15:01

   Hey people, okay this is my first post so im not expecting a hug response lol.
   ive just bought my first car, its a saxo vtr as standard. ive got a bit of money left so thought i would lower my car. i havent got enough to replace all the shox so its just gonna have to be new springs which leads me to my question. how low can i go on the std vtr shox?
   
   ive read that 40mm is nice for handling and doesnt hurt the shox. but i quite fancy 50mm. i aslo read that 40mm with 15" alloys works good too. could anyone shed some light on this subject plz. whats working well for you guys?
   
   Look forward to hearing from you
2. Matt Established Member Joined: Sep 2008 Walsall Posts: 1748

   #2 17th November 2008, 15:06

   Upto 40mm for handleing m8 and after 40 looks
   Youle get 50mm with the standard shocks but they wont last as long as a standard set up
3. TU-Tuning Saxperience Hardcore! Joined: May 2006 Bristol Posts: 16575 JP4urio, 306 DTurbo SportShed

   #3 17th November 2008, 15:37

   in all fairness std shocks are matched to std springs so as soon as you change em theyre not working at theyre best and should be uprated. That doesnt mean theyre not fine to still be used, but theyll wear out much faster and the handling wont be optimal
4. PozytroniX Infrequent Poster Joined: Nov 2008 Barnstaple Posts: 159 1998 Citreon Saxo VTR 1.6

   #4 17th November 2008, 18:48

   okay cool thanks guys, well i think ill go for the 50 then. ive been reading up on the new springs and it seems that on average the vtr sits at 45mm with 50 springs. if the std shocks wear out thats a good excuse to go find some new ones. Ive contacted apex spex and they said that they have sold many 50mm springs to saxo owners and have had very little trouble.
   
   my m8 runs a garage, ill take my vtr to him and see what condition my std shox are in, may have go for 40mm if they aint looking to good.
   
   Thanks again
5. Berg Saxperience Forum Bum Joined: Aug 2007 rugby Posts: 3766 MK2 VTS, Ibiza Cupra 20VT

   #5 17th November 2008, 18:58

   my old vtr was lowered 60mm all round with standard shocks all round
   
   8 months with no trouble at all
   
   wouldnt recommend it though as its bangy as fook
6. PozytroniX Infrequent Poster Joined: Nov 2008 Barnstaple Posts: 159 1998 Citreon Saxo VTR 1.6

   #6 17th November 2008, 19:05

   Quote:

   Originally Posted by Berg my old vtr was lowered 60mm all round with standard shocks all round 8 months with no trouble at all wouldnt recommend it though as its bangy as fook

   okay thats good to know thank you, so forget the 60mm for now then. do you think having the 50 instead of the 60 would prevent that banging. or maybe stick with 40 just in case?
7. frankie Saxperience Addict Joined: Apr 2006 Frome, down deepest, darkest zummerset Posts: 12971 VTRallye

   #7 17th November 2008, 19:06

   im down 50mm on standard shocks and all is good in the hood
8. Berg Saxperience Forum Bum Joined: Aug 2007 rugby Posts: 3766 MK2 VTS, Ibiza Cupra 20VT

   #8 17th November 2008, 19:10

   tbh however low you go on standard shocks will be fairly bangy i think
   
   although my old one was quite bangy 60mm it wasnt exactly head doing thats why i just left it as it was
   
   40/50mm probably wont be as bad
9. PozytroniX Infrequent Poster Joined: Nov 2008 Barnstaple Posts: 159 1998 Citreon Saxo VTR 1.6

   #9 17th November 2008, 19:19

   Quote:

   Originally Posted by frankie im down 50mm on standard shocks and all is good in the hood

   cool thats good to know, im thinking 50 on the back and 40 on the front now and just sticking with the 14" wheels. nice one
10. gouldy87 Saxperience Forum Bum Joined: Jun 2008 Posts: 3932

    #10 18th November 2008, 21:16

    loads of people have dropped there car 60-90 on standard dampers, i have done it but i would definately say if you can afford full kit then its worth splashing out on. my car is a really bouncy ride and the standard dampers are not designed to be compresseed constantly that much hence the massive bounce factor
11. MaRiO89 Saxperience Post Whore Joined: Jan 2007 Posts: 7705 Saxo VTS

    #11 19th November 2008, 13:10

    Go no lower than 50mm on std shocks..Std springs allow 100mm of travel, if you lower it 50mm thats halved..Handling will be fine if you get a decent spring although all lowering springs will suffer abit on bumpy roads..On smooth roads then no worries..Aslong as you keep the bumpstops on the shocks you shouldnt have any issues with the shocks failing seriously early..The bumpstops are there to stop them going too far..Trouble is with uprated dampers, they are always alot harder than std therefore you get a shit quality hard ride, which is fine if your car is a track car, but not soo nice if you dont like rattles and want to keep the std ride quality..
    
    If you want to keep standard handling characteristics and nice ride whilst keeping rattles etc to a minimum i would recommend Eibach Sportlines (50mm lowering), thats what i have and the car is just like standard apart from sitting lower..Which is what i wanted! They were ok on the Nurburgring aswell, but the good thing about them is that they are only a tiny bit stiffer than standard VT* springs therefore the handling is similar and it doesn't put anymore stress through bushes and mounts etc..
    
    To sum up my points..If you want your car just to look better and handle like standard (which is no bad thing), then i recommend the Eibach Sportlines..
    
    If your gona go all out with shocks etc go for Bilstein or Gaz shocks and get custom made springs to match..

    1 user thanked this post: PozytroniX