Is it possible for a slammed Sax to handle well?

16th November 2011, 23:27

I'm talking about 70mm front and around 80mm rear, is there any suspension setup that could make it handle well enough for me to give it a bit of fast-road abuse aswell as maintain that 'slammed' look?

Are coilies the only option? What ones would be best?

Thanks all

16th November 2011, 23:30

Many people say no, I haven't had mine set up at different heights long enough to feel it.
But the recommended lowering amount is around 40mm for optimum handling.

16th November 2011, 23:34

If you change the angle of the steering rack / driveshafts so that they was level when slammed, it'll handle good! Like hillclimb car's, the bumper scrapes floor!

16th November 2011, 23:42

mine handles like a dream in the dry. spun it once in the wet so i dont try to out corner other cars when its raining anymore. and even at that, i just put it down to the plastic tyres

16th November 2011, 23:49

Quote:

Originally Posted by ed-bradley

Many people say no, I haven't had mine set up at different heights long enough to feel it.
But the recommended lowering amount is around 40mm for optimum handling.

That's the problem, I really don't like arch gap or the look of a 40mm drop, I like slammed cars etc, but I want it to handle well aswell :/

Quote:

Originally Posted by saxova

If you change the angle of the steering rack / driveshafts so that they was level when slammed, it'll handle good! Like hillclimb car's, the bumper scrapes floor!

I'm guessing that that's a costly and difficult job to do?

Quote:

Originally Posted by kennym1987

mine handles like a dream in the dry. spun it once in the wet so i dont try to out corner other cars when its raining anymore. and even at that, i just put it down to the plastic tyres

Yeah I don't hammer it about in the wet anyway, too dangerous, but in the dry I want to be able to have some fun on the back roads etc but still have the slammed look

16th November 2011, 23:54

Mines rather low and i love the way it handles....very predictable handling ftw

16th November 2011, 23:59

Slamming saxos helps induce bump steer - not good mmmkaaay...

17th November 2011, 00:00

Quote:

Originally Posted by J222JRA

Mines rather low and i love the way it handles....very predictable handling ftw

How low is it man and what kit have you got? Any other handling aids?

17th November 2011, 00:02

well like i say, mines handles like a dream in the dry. and thats with the shit tyres. dropped 60/70 at the front 100 at the back

17th November 2011, 00:26

Quote:

Originally Posted by kennym1987

well like i say, mines handles like a dream in the dry. and thats with the shit tyres. dropped 60/70 at the front 100 at the back

bet thats fun when the road surface is shit in the middle of a corner.

17th November 2011, 00:52

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ryan

bet thats fun when the road surface is shit in the middle of a corner.

there was one time i did understeer on a fast bend. tbf it was my own fault for carrying too much speed round a corner i vaguely knew(showing off). i really only do spirited driving is on certain roads i know extremely well so have never had that problem

17th November 2011, 00:57

When i had my slammed Punto 5 door that had lowering springs that i cut in half it handled like it was on rails. Considering it was a 5 door and the chassis was as soft as.

I only had 155/70/13 tyres on too.

They say you need to have the car's weight on the tyres when cornering so the tyres compress under load (a thread about it on here somewhere)

Imo, lower the better.

17th November 2011, 01:18

Lowered that much the suspension will be nearing it's stops. If it hits it's stops mid corner/mid roll then the proverbial shit hit's the fan. I'd say around 30mm to keep the geometry happy at the front

17th November 2011, 01:23

Quote:

Originally Posted by logic_guy

They say you need to have the car's weight on the tyres when cornering so the tyres compress under load (a thread about it on here somewhere)

Imo, lower the better.

I suggest you read into bumpsteer and poorly angled track rods/suspension geometry.

I doubt most people on here whos cars on gmax 70mm springs that handle like theyre on rails have ever driven a car with a decent suspension set up.

17th November 2011, 03:47

Quote:

Originally Posted by logic_guy

When i had my slammed Punto 5 door that had lowering springs that i cut in half it handled like it was on rails. Considering it was a 5 door and the chassis was as soft as.

I only had 155/70/13 tyres on too.

They say you need to have the car's weight on the tyres when cornering so the tyres compress under load (a thread about it on here somewhere)

Imo, lower the better.

Your opinion is wrong.
Are you ever going to change yoyr user name. The irony is killing me now.

17th November 2011, 18:14

I'm aware that it will never handle like a 30-45mm drop with a decent setup, but I want my car to be able to behave itself a bit when it goes back road blasting yet still have that slammed look!

17th November 2011, 18:19

I doubt your shocks will have enough piston travel to give good handling over rough country roads if you go lower than 50-60mm

17th November 2011, 19:26

I used 60mm springs cut down and it was awesome.

17th November 2011, 19:35

Would a set of Gaz coilies be alright for this?

18th November 2011, 09:42

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nathan-HxC

Would a set of Gaz coilies be alright for this?

Yes Gaz are great bits of kit. What tyres do you run?

18th November 2011, 12:03

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ryan

Slamming saxos helps induce bump steer - not good mmmkaaay...

Especially on country roads. Bump steering into a hedge isn't what I'd consider a handling quality.

18th November 2011, 12:07

my vts is down alot on the back on apex, with eagle f1 tyres the grip/handling is very good,

the only downside as stated is bumpsteer, so the car is either full grip or nothing,

ive kept up with everycar ive seen round bends unless its really bumpy then i slow down because its french and the door might fall off or something!

my CTR is easy as hell and predictable in comparison handling wise, its like a boat tbh..

18th November 2011, 12:41

the vw boys use these to correct the wishbone angle and reduce bump steer

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/VW-Golf-MK...item3cbe71d9eb

18th November 2011, 12:43

Quote:

Is it possible for a slammed Sax to handle well?

Depends on the kit, obviously cut springs with cheapo kits from Egay won't cut the mustard. Then get some decent tyres otherwise it's just pissing against the wind.

18th November 2011, 12:48

But what are you going to do with the back where the dampers will have virtually no movement. Combine that with the compromised damper movement ratio and you have a nice little recipe for poor traction.

18th November 2011, 13:08

get some decent coilovers, that way you can lower it so much......if its gash raise it and play around with it till you get a good balance

mega low cars are just for show not go remember

18th November 2011, 13:20

could someone not have just said 'no' as their answer?
40mm would be alright, anything over 50, and you'll fuck your rear beam if you try anything too 'spirited' too often.
Suspension needs some room for movement and cant be completely rigid because its job is to keep the wheel in contact with the road for grip, so 'slamming it' will just make it rigid, leading to bump steer as everyone else has said.

what about air?

18th November 2011, 17:30

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gandi699

Yes Gaz are great bits of kit. What tyres do you run?

Would they suffice for what I'm after though?
Atm it's on Michelin Pilot SX MXX3's I think is what they're called.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mieran

the vw boys use these to correct the wishbone angle and reduce bump steer

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/VW-Golf-MK...item3cbe71d9eb

Are there Saxo equivalents?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Manu

Depends on the kit, obviously cut springs with cheapo kits from Egay won't cut the mustard. Then get some decent tyres otherwise it's just pissing against the wind.

It definitely won't be a cheapo eBay or cut jobby, looking into Gaz coilies atm.

Quote:

Originally Posted by KamRacing

But what are you going to do with the back where the dampers will have virtually no movement. Combine that with the compromised damper movement ratio and you have a nice little recipe for poor traction.

I'm guessing cutting bumpstops won't effect damper travel?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Damask

could someone not have just said 'no' as their answer?
40mm would be alright, anything over 50, and you'll fuck your rear beam if you try anything too 'spirited' too often.
Suspension needs some room for movement and cant be completely rigid because its job is to keep the wheel in contact with the road for grip, so 'slamming it' will just make it rigid, leading to bump steer as everyone else has said.

what about air?

I'm not made of money!

Thanks for all the replies so far, really appreciate it and always good for me to learn more

18th November 2011, 17:45

Look at the Saxmax race cars.

(google "saxmax")

Is it possible? Yes
How do the saxmax boys do it? Not sure
Will it be expensive? Yes

ps.
I cringe when i hear some newbie on saxp mention plastic tyres or cutting springs. To then go on talking about how well they think their shitty saxo with cheap shitty suspension handles on public roads is laughable. I hope no one from other owner websites reads some of the replies in this thread, makes saxp look like absolute idiots.

18th November 2011, 18:03

Quote:

Originally Posted by Paul

Look at the Saxmax race cars.

(google "saxmax")

Is it possible? Yes
How do the saxmax boys do it? Not sure
Will it be expensive? Yes

ps.
I cringe when i hear some newbie on saxp mention plastic tyres or cutting springs. To then go on talking about how well they think their shitty saxo with cheap shitty suspension handles on public roads is laughable. I hope no one from other owner websites reads some of the replies in this thread, makes saxp look like absolute idiots.

Having a good look at their website but can't seem to find much information on their suspension setups?

Yeah I know what you mean man, cut springs/poor springs in general and ditch finders are a no go!
Does make Saxperience look bad though, although the Saxo brings that reputation

18th November 2011, 18:10

Quote:

Originally Posted by Paul

Look at the Saxmax race cars.

(google "saxmax")

Is it possible? Yes
How do the saxmax boys do it? Not sure
Will it be expensive? Yes

Saxmax cars are not slammed on their arses like most of the chav chariots on here.

Also a race track is a hell of alot smoother than a country road, so damper travel is not needed so much.

18th November 2011, 18:19

it doesnt really matter about how low it is. the more important stuff is about having a decent set of tyres , a good suspension kit and a strut brace out two. they are the main things. fair enough 40mm might be the best height but 40mm with rubbish tyres does nothing for handleing. also lower the car the lower the COG which is a big positive.

i knew a lad who had a 306 on bump stops and his car handled amazingly. and he gave it death through most corners.

everyone has there opinion but until you actually try it you will never know the really answer.

18th November 2011, 18:23

Quote:

Originally Posted by tomnelson

it doesnt really matter about how low it is. the more important stuff is about having a decent set of tyres , a good suspension kit and a strut brace out two. they are the main things. fair enough 40mm might be the best height but 40mm with rubbish tyres does nothing for handleing. also lower the car the lower the COG which is a big positive.

Er.... Ok lets ignore suspension geometry then its not that important

18th November 2011, 18:34

The saxmax cars i've seen have looked alot lower than that lol.

18th November 2011, 18:39

Quote:

Originally Posted by Paul

The saxmax cars i've seen have looked alot lower than that lol.

Not slammed

chavtastic

18th November 2011, 18:55

just get some gaz gha coilovers and wind them all the way to the bottom. Thats what i have and ive measured it to roughly 70-75mm lower than standard. The rear is at 85mm with the bumpstops shortened down a bit.

I mainly do town and motorway driving so its never been on a track but the occasional scenic roads i do take, its never failed me and handles great imo. Nice and firm. Much better than the eibach 35mm set up i had 4 years ago.

Saying that though i think it depends on what you deem to be a good handling car. Ive never driven any other cars on the road apart from various saxo's and 3series bmw's (and a murcielago on track but that doesnt count

), so i can't really compare it to good set up car if you know what i mean.

Also just to add, if you do 'slam' it, i wouldnt get them spacer things posted in the ebay link, you don't really want your wishbone closer to the floor

unless you don't mind catching it on everything

Quote:

Originally Posted by Damask

could someone not have just said 'no' as their answer?
40mm would be alright, anything over 50, and you'll fuck your rear beam if you try anything too 'spirited' too often.
Suspension needs some room for movement and cant be completely rigid because its job is to keep the wheel in contact with the road for grip, so 'slamming it' will just make it rigid, leading to bump steer as everyone else has said.

what about air?

Cant see why that would happen?

18th November 2011, 18:56

wow that low it must hanndel like a dream lol

18th November 2011, 21:02

Quote:

Originally Posted by tomnelson

it doesnt really matter about how low it is. the more important stuff is about having a decent set of tyres , a good suspension kit and a strut brace out two. they are the main things. fair enough 40mm might be the best height but 40mm with rubbish tyres does nothing for handleing. also lower the car the lower the COG which is a big positive.

i knew a lad who had a 306 on bump stops and his car handled amazingly. and he gave it death through most corners.

everyone has there opinion but until you actually try it you will never know the really answer.

Jesus I bet that felt like shit to drive over any bumps in the road though?!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ryan

chavtastic

That's fucking stupid I'd never get it like that...

Quote:

Originally Posted by LSOfreak

just get some gaz gha coilovers and wind them all the way to the bottom. Thats what i have and ive measured it to roughly 70-75mm lower than standard. The rear is at 85mm with the bumpstops shortened down a bit.

I mainly do town and motorway driving so its never been on a track but the occasional scenic roads i do take, its never failed me and handles great imo. Nice and firm. Much better than the eibach 35mm set up i had 4 years ago.

Saying that though i think it depends on what you deem to be a good handling car. Ive never driven any other cars on the road apart from various saxo's and 3series bmw's (and a murcielago on track but that doesnt count

), so i can't really compare it to good set up car if you know what i mean.

Also just to add, if you do 'slam' it, i wouldnt get them spacer things posted in the ebay link, you don't really want your wishbone closer to the floor

unless you don't mind catching it on everything

Cant see why that would happen?

Well I'm gonna get some GAZ coilies soon and then go from there, if it doesn't suit my needs when it's real low I'll just adjust them

LSO mate what's your car like in terms of sliding out/hopping etc?

19th November 2011, 00:04

simple answer is no
unless you are going to alter alot of other things --not cheap to do it right .
anyone who says it handles well when lslammed --either doesn,t drive fast or has never been in a car that handles correctly
your talking all new custom dampers +springs ,struts ,steering arms, wishbones shorter drive shafts, turn engine around on its mountings (drive shaft angle),dif esx manifold lots of cutting in wheelarchs
If going that far you might as well make it widetrack at same time then it will look mean

19th November 2011, 00:22

Quote:

Originally Posted by axsaxoman

simple answer is no
unless you are going to alter alot of other things --not cheap to do it right .
anyone who says it handles well when lslammed --either doesn,t drive fast or has never been in a car that handles correctly
your talking all new custom dampers +springs ,struts ,steering arms, wishbones shorter drive shafts, turn engine around on its mountings (drive shaft angle),dif esx manifold lots of cutting in wheelarchs
If going that far you might as well make it widetrack at same time then it will look mean

Yeah I've been looking into it all and it just doesn't seem possible.
Don't think I'm gonna go for the Gaz coilies now as they're 300lb springs apparently?
Is there a 50mm fast road setup? Think I've read somewhere about B8's and either Eibach or Faulkner 50mm springs up the front, along with strut braces, polybushes etc being a decent setup?

19th November 2011, 00:31

If its ridiculously low, more in the 70-100mm zone i guess, it puts alot mor strain on the diffs, driveshaft, general suspension joints (at least this is what i've read and been told, should point out ive never had a saxo that low and probably wouldnt if i wanted to rag it around....) so to drive it fast and expect it to handle well around corners, eventually the extra stress will make it go bang...

19th November 2011, 01:42

my vtr down 60mm on spax psx was really good and hard although did bump steer a bit (kit is designed to drop 40mm) i could always make it do what i wanted within reason and control that, and thought it was great tbh.....fast forward and add another 120bhp to that and it handles like shit, the car is far too low to drive right now it has some power, cant wait to get it at least raised antoher 20mm so ive got some damper movement

full new sups set up needed though

19th November 2011, 06:32

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ryan

chavtastic

1.1tastic

19th November 2011, 06:47

Quote:

Originally Posted by Manu

1.1tastic

Furio/west coast ran drum rear beam and vt kit btw

19th November 2011, 09:30

Quote:

Originally Posted by Manu

1.1tastic

this car has NO REAR SUSPENSION at that height its sat on the bump stops --very dangerous and should not even pass an mot

19th November 2011, 09:47

I ran b8's with gmc 50mm springs, looked smart and handled very well for a road car, could get towards its limits but you had to really push hard, I couldn't say how they fare on track but i can imagine quite well.
I've now fitted Leda remote res coilovers and dampers (same as a saxmax race car) that have been re-valved and a 225lb spring fitted to make them a bit more suitable for a road car. There still very hard though. The car does corner stupidly well now, the only thing holding it back is the lack of slicks. It's still down around 50mm, I could drop it lower but I like it how it is. It doesnt bump steer enough for me to notice/bother me.

Other aspects of the suspension have been upgraded accordingly also, just fitting flash suspension on its own will highlight issues elsewhere

19th November 2011, 11:08

Quote:

Originally Posted by axsaxoman

this car has NO REAR SUSPENSION at that height its sat on the bump stops --very dangerous and should not even pass an mot

lol agreed, as a mechanic i would not pass anything near that, wouldnt even get on the 4 post m.o.t inspection ramp

19th November 2011, 12:51

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nathan-HxC

Well I'm gonna get some GAZ coilies soon and then go from there, if it doesn't suit my needs when it's real low I'll just adjust them

LSO mate what's your car like in terms of sliding out/hopping etc?

its never slid out or lost control on corners and ive driven round some pretty hairy corners at speed. Handles fine in my opinion, really sticks to the road and the back end never steps out.

whats wrong with 300lb springs? you can always buy some lower poundage springs if you want. Ill admit the 300 ones are extrememly stiff. I dont mind it at all but passengers dont seem to like my car anymore lol

due to it being so stiff, i can sometime see a bit of understeer while going fast round a bumpy corner as it hops and loses a bit of traction. But theres only one corner in my area which ive had this problem.

lowering 50mm is not 'slammed'

How well do you want it to handle? will you take it on track?

19th November 2011, 13:23

Quote:

Originally Posted by SnakeVTR

lol agreed, as a mechanic i would not pass anything near that, wouldnt even get on the 4 post m.o.t inspection ramp

bloody hell, how old's the ramp? get it sunk into the floor

19th November 2011, 13:24

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ryan

Saxmax cars are not slammed on their arses like most of the chav chariots on here.

Also a race track is a hell of alot smoother than a country road, so damper travel is not needed so much.

Good call. Even though the SaxMax cars are much better then most chavtastic road cars setups there still are rather slow to start with and have very tight rules to say the least. In more open class racing even the SaxMax setup would be considered poor.

19th November 2011, 13:25

Quote:

Originally Posted by axsaxoman

this car has NO REAR SUSPENSION at that height its sat on the bump stops --very dangerous and should not even pass an mot

I don't think it even has bump stops

19th November 2011, 13:28

[QUOTE=LSOfreak;5665675]
lowering 50mm is not 'slammed' [QUOTE]

If that was aimed at me im aware 50 isn't low, I only put my two pence in as people mentioned the saxmax setup, and im not aware of anyone else on here running it on a road car.

It would prob drop about 70mm but I don't see the point, function over form and all that.

19th November 2011, 13:30

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ryan

Saxmax cars are not slammed on their arses like most of the chav chariots on here.

Also a race track is a hell of alot smoother than a country road, so damper travel is not needed so much.

that looks well nice

im going to lower mine 40mm no more but i will also have good tyres to match

19th November 2011, 15:15

Quote:

Originally Posted by LSOfreak

its never slid out or lost control on corners and ive driven round some pretty hairy corners at speed. Handles fine in my opinion, really sticks to the road and the back end never steps out.

whats wrong with 300lb springs? you can always buy some lower poundage springs if you want. Ill admit the 300 ones are extrememly stiff. I dont mind it at all but passengers dont seem to like my car anymore lol

due to it being so stiff, i can sometime see a bit of understeer while going fast round a bumpy corner as it hops and loses a bit of traction. But theres only one corner in my area which ive had this problem.

lowering 50mm is not 'slammed'

How well do you want it to handle? will you take it on track?

Well that's the thing, I can't decide if I want to go for pure looks, pure handling, or a bit of both.

300lb springs are ridiculously stiff aren't they? I'd imagine a lot of bumpsteer and loss of traction around corners that have a bumpy surface?

Can you gun it round corners and it doesn't misbehave or anything?

I know 50mm isn't slammed, but with the setup it'd handle pretty well and that's what appeals to me!

It'll never see a track, I imagine.

19th November 2011, 15:19

[quote=wicked-vtr;5665704][QUOTE=LSOfreak;5665675]
lowering 50mm is not 'slammed'

Quote:

If that was aimed at me im aware 50 isn't low, I only put my two pence in as people mentioned the saxmax setup, and im not aware of anyone else on here running it on a road car.

It would prob drop about 70mm but I don't see the point, function over form and all that.

no it wasn't aimed at you mate, said it becuase the OP said he was going to get an apex/eibach 50mm kit, which would handle good but wouldnt be as slammed as he wanted

19th November 2011, 15:25

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nathan-HxC

Well that's the thing, I can't decide if I want to go for pure looks, pure handling, or a bit of both.

300lb springs are ridiculously stiff aren't they? I'd imagine a lot of bumpsteer and loss of traction around corners that have a bumpy surface?

Can you gun it round corners and it doesn't misbehave or anything?

I know 50mm isn't slammed, but with the setup it'd handle pretty well and that's what appeals to me!

It'll never see a track, I imagine.

well you get used to the stiffness, its not a comfortable ride by any means lol but i quite like it stiff, gives you a better feel for the road rather than soft suspension which irons out every bump. I can quite happily gun it round corners and it sticks to the ground really well. Guess it depends what the roads are like round your area really but i dont find bumpsteer much of a problem.

Where you say 'pure looks', its not really purely for looks, becuase it still handles pretty well. If you had a shit vmax or raceland coilover kit then it would be pure looks and shit handling.

Saying all this though, people still recommend 30-50mm to be best for handling if thats what you really want

19th November 2011, 15:37

Quote:

Originally Posted by LSOfreak

well you get used to the stiffness, its not a comfortable ride by any means lol but i quite like it stiff, gives you a better feel for the road rather than soft suspension which irons out every bump. I can quite happily gun it round corners and it sticks to the ground really well. Guess it depends what the roads are like round your area really but i dont find bumpsteer much of a problem.

Where you say 'pure looks', its not really purely for looks, becuase it still handles pretty well. If you had a shit vmax or raceland coilover kit then it would be pure looks and shit handling.

Saying all this though, people still recommend 30-50mm to be best for handling if thats what you really want

I like the decked look though, but I also want the handling lol

Grr I can't for the life of me decide...

What's your complete suspension set up man?

19th November 2011, 16:12

im running gaz gha coilovers on the front with 300lb springs, no helpers or bumpstops and wound all the way to the bottom.

rear is lowered 85mm on the torsion bar with spax dampers and about 1cm chopped off the rear bumpstop so its not constantly hitting them.

decisions decisons.... dont you hate them

lol

19th November 2011, 16:23

Quote:

Originally Posted by LSOfreak

im running gaz gha coilovers on the front with 300lb springs, no helpers or bumpstops and wound all the way to the bottom.

rear is lowered 85mm on the torsion bar with spax dampers and about 1cm chopped off the rear bumpstop so its not constantly hitting them.

decisions decisons.... dont you hate them

lol

Wait so you're not running the Gaz rear shocks?
Any reason? :o
What damper setting do you have your Gaz coilies at?

19th November 2011, 17:30

nope im not. Becuase i bought my kit 2nd hand, and they wanted extra for the rears which i thought my current spax ones had no problems so didnt want to spend the money really.

The gaz are set roughly half way. Too hard and its literally jumping and hopping over bumps on a completely flat road. Too soft and my exhaust would catch on speedbumps when it bounced slightly

19th November 2011, 17:44

my experience of saxos and lowering.

saxo at 50/80. wishbones, shafts and you kill rear beams. ( handled well in dry, in the wet was a death trap ( on proxy tr-1s... )
saxo at 35/40 lowered the wrong way, fucked rear beam.
60k 106 rear beam all the way down, fucked within 4 months.

i personally wouldn't go lower than 40mm front, and 50mm rear correctly lowered.

Please make sure the rear is lowered correctly, rear beams are a fuckin pain in the arse.

19th November 2011, 17:53

Quote:

Originally Posted by LSOfreak

nope im not. Becuase i bought my kit 2nd hand, and they wanted extra for the rears which i thought my current spax ones had no problems so didnt want to spend the money really.

The gaz are set roughly half way. Too hard and its literally jumping and hopping over bumps on a completely flat road. Too soft and my exhaust would catch on speedbumps when it bounced slightly

Ahhh I see, the Gaz rear should be an improvement then.

When it's on a soft setting does it bottom out a lot? I imagine it helps handling a bit more slightly softer though.

Quote:

Originally Posted by enthrone

my experience of saxos and lowering.

saxo at 50/80. wishbones, shafts and you kill rear beams. ( handled well in dry, in the wet was a death trap ( on proxy tr-1s... )
saxo at 35/40 lowered the wrong way, fucked rear beam.
60k 106 rear beam all the way down, fucked within 4 months.

i personally wouldn't go lower than 40mm front, and 50mm rear correctly lowered.

Please make sure the rear is lowered correctly, rear beams are a fuckin pain in the arse.

Hmm.
My rear is lowered properly, I've taken it to an axle specialists local to me and they take the whole thing apart to lower it, charge £100 a pop though.

My difficulty is deciding whether I want the slammed look and have a bit of decent handling, or whether I want the handling side of things and going for like a Bilstein B8's and Eibach 50mm spring setup :/

19th November 2011, 18:00

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nathan-HxC

Ahhh I see, the Gaz rear should be an improvement then.

When it's on a soft setting does it bottom out a lot? I imagine it helps handling a bit more slightly softer though.

Hmm.
My rear is lowered properly, I've taken it to an axle specialists local to me and they take the whole thing apart to lower it, charge £100 a pop though.

My difficulty is deciding whether I want the slammed look and have a bit of decent handling, or whether I want the handling side of things and going for like a Bilstein B8's and Eibach 50mm spring setup :/

Go for the handling side. in all honestly i average about 25k a year and i've chewed threw twice the amount of parts on the 50mm saxo compared to my 35mm on now..

I wouldnt even be able to park at work if my car was 50mm, massive speedbumps ftl.

19th November 2011, 18:06

cant really say if it bottoms out on the softest setting, i only took it down the road when i was testing it out.

I dont really have much problems with my car being low. Catches certain speedbumps occassionally but aslong as you take it slow should be alright. I can still quite happily take a full car without the wheels rubbing too

19th November 2011, 18:10

Quote:

Originally Posted by enthrone

Go for the handling side. in all honestly i average about 25k a year and i've chewed threw twice the amount of parts on the 50mm saxo compared to my 35mm on now..

I wouldnt even be able to park at work if my car was 50mm, massive speedbumps ftl.

I do about 5k miles a year if that aha... >_<
If I went for the handling side I'd still be on a 45-50mm drop :/

Quote:

Originally Posted by LSOfreak

cant really say if it bottoms out on the softest setting, i only took it down the road when i was testing it out.

I dont really have much problems with my car being low. Catches certain speedbumps occassionally but aslong as you take it slow should be alright. I can still quite happily take a full car without the wheels rubbing too

Ahh right..
I don't really have many speedbumps around my area and I don't ever have a full car either, which is in favour of getting coilies haha :/

Hardest decision I've had to make on my Sax!

19th November 2011, 18:34

if you only lower it 45-50mm
come a few months of spirited driving, wouldnt you just think everytime you look at your car, you'd wish you had gone lower? Ive lowered my car 3 times now, each time i get bored of the height and feel it needs lowering. I still think the front could go another 10mm lower tbh

19th November 2011, 19:05

Aye i always want to lower it more too, must resist though. Lso don't you find the rear end really soft.with std bars? I only havr 225s up front and 21mm torsion bars and the back feels soft to me.

To op, I'd get the billies and springs, great combo for a road car imo. Coilovers are better but you have to try be pushing to notice, its not like a night and day difference.

19th November 2011, 19:05

Quote:

Originally Posted by LSOfreak

if you only lower it 45-50mm
come a few months of spirited driving, wouldnt you just think everytime you look at your car, you'd wish you had gone lower? Ive lowered my car 3 times now, each time i get bored of the height and feel it needs lowering. I still think the front could go another 10mm lower tbh

Hmm.. True I suppose...
I might go for the coilovers and see how it is, if it's bad I'll raise them up a bit until I find a nice setting, if I don't get on with them I'll sell them on and get a handling setup!

20th November 2011, 12:07

Quote:

Originally Posted by wicked-vtr

Aye i always want to lower it more too, must resist though. Lso don't you find the rear end really soft.with std bars? I only havr 225s up front and 21mm torsion bars and the back feels soft to me.

To op, I'd get the billies and springs, great combo for a road car imo. Coilovers are better but you have to try be pushing to notice, its not like a night and day difference.

I havent noticed anything with the rear. As i say its just a road car really so it rarely see's a good hammering lol

20th November 2011, 12:46

Quote:

Originally Posted by wicked-vtr

Aye i always want to lower it more too, must resist though. Lso don't you find the rear end really soft.with std bars? I only havr 225s up front and 21mm torsion bars and the back feels soft to me.

To op, I'd get the billies and springs, great combo for a road car imo. Coilovers are better but you have to try be pushing to notice, its not like a night and day difference.

That's my worry though with coilies, having the fronts at 300lb and the rear being too soft to suit it and it getting too tailhappy!

It's quite bad as it is atm being tailhappy being on a 60mm spring/shock kit but I'm guessing that's partly because it's hitting the bumpstops then having no more room to go and sliding out.

Which is partly what's making me wanna go for a nice fast road handling setup, I like the idea of being able to blast it down some windy roads and not worry too much about the twitchy rear.
But on the other hand I like the decked look

19th August 2012, 18:12

I have heard you can scrape chewing off tarmac with your car , 1 with black wheels lol

19th August 2012, 18:27

Here is my suspension setup:

The steering arms have been repositioned so there is no bump steer:

19th August 2012, 21:37

Photo above looks like a nice job. This used to be quite common on club race cars and always worked well for track work.

Though this one is quite a worrying photo. You would normally use inserts with extended strut threads for this sort of top bearings. You would also reinforce the strut tops as well and use triple or quad bolts for top mounted bearings.

19th August 2012, 22:09

Quote:

Originally Posted by AXracing

Though this one is quite a worrying photo. You would normally use inserts with extended strut threads for this sort of top bearings. You would also reinforce the strut tops as well and use triple or quad bolts for top mounted bearings.

Like so:

20th August 2012, 08:01

lol yup thats the ticket. Looks really nice work there