Club G40 Forum

Technical => Chassis & Braking => Topic started by: Adampolog40 on February 16, 2012, 08:34:32 pm

Title: best coilover kit available?
Post by: Adampolog40 on February 16, 2012, 08:34:32 pm
been looking for a while now and am still none the wiser! any feedback would be great
Title: Re: best coilover kit available?
Post by: Jezza-7 on February 16, 2012, 08:46:48 pm
i also wouldn't mind knowing some info on some too,

Gaz looks good and the cheaper option.
Title: Re: best coilover kit available?
Post by: Adampolog40 on February 16, 2012, 09:11:24 pm
compared to h&r and koni i think they are a cheap option, but is that for a reason or are you paying the difference for the brand? i would like quite a range of height adjustment with a kit. im not too fust with the price but its alway nice to save a bit here and there and over all its all about performance at the end of the day for me! 
Title: Re: best coilover kit available?
Post by: Jezza-7 on February 16, 2012, 09:52:27 pm
My mate is going from H&R to Gaz cause there too low. Im sure he can tell more.

Gaz are ment to be really good and there fully adjustable.
Title: Re: best coilover kit available?
Post by: Adampolog40 on February 16, 2012, 10:11:50 pm
could do with some more info really
Title: Re: best coilover kit available?
Post by: xandyx on February 16, 2012, 10:20:19 pm
gaz coilovers at a good price/quality, if money ain't problem, look at kw kits, but those are arround 1000£
Title: Re: best coilover kit available?
Post by: Jezza-7 on February 16, 2012, 10:25:35 pm
and when gaz are half the price and do more i would go gaz.
Title: Re: best coilover kit available?
Post by: dub-disaster on February 16, 2012, 11:49:03 pm
I currently have H&R front coilovers (did have full set but rears died and i replaced them with gaz gha's) all i can say is ride is realy comfortable realy nice in tight bends realy realy good kit even though mine are 8 years old i cannont recomment them enough the fronts are a monotube design with high pressure gas in them i think h&r actualy use bilstien dampers, monotube dampers have better cooling larger piston and are an exellent damper they dont have the same dampening properteys around town but are ment to have far superior dampening charicteristics at speed (although i find mine lovley around town and at speed) Another problem with this type of damper is it is preset for a certain spring and the valving is very sensitive to spring changes so if multiple spring changes to fine tune your setup are required then this may lead t a big bill if you can find somone to revalve them for you.

The main problem with these coilovers is the fact that due to the size of the damper some of the ride strut length is lost which means that ride height adjustment is roughly -50mm down to -80mm which in my own opinion is too low for use on bumpy roads. With the coilovers adjusted fully up you put preload on the spring and shorten the already short 180mm (sagged to 170mm due to age) this means that coil bind does occour with large pot holes etc also something to do with the design of the damper means long stroke lengths are not as achivable as with twintube dampers im not sure if this is with g40 front strut only or just in general but baisicaly i think safe travel is in the 2.5" region which with the 230lb srpings in there isnt too much of a problem but can cause loud bangs when the suspension bottoms out or coil bind occours over large pot holes.

To cure these problems i have temporarly invest in some front gaz shocks i opted for the gaz gold variety at the front with the 22mm piston and preset dampeneing as the gha's come with adjustable rebound (although this is more of a wear feature like koni's ) rather than a full range adjustment for tuning purposes.

These shocks are a twin tube design with low gas pressure this means that there is less force on the piston due to the lower gas pressure so there is less force on seals etc..etc.. which should mean longer life although i think these will loose there dampening ability much much faster than the bilstien dampers in the H&R.

I have specced mine to be standard ride height and adjustable down to around 40-50mm as this is what i wanted, they turned uptoday and quality looks good although i did spec 225lb 8" springs and ive actualy got 250lb 7" springs thats neither here nor there though!  intotal including postage they come to around £430 mark and the rears came to aroun £180 both prices including vat and postage although if you buy them together this will be cheaper.

Im going to fit them and see how i get on with them. But the main reason i have got them is the fact that i can whip them of and have them revalved with quick turnaround and helpful advise for the pricley sum of £20 and i can purchase different springs for the same price so i can play about with springs and valving untill my heart is contenet and if the car changes use i.e. from road to track a quick revalve and some new springs will be cheap quick and easy.

In the mean time i will play with some custom springs length for the H&R's and if i still have no joy then i will flog them to somone who likes lows  :D and may buymyself some bilstien shocks and some eibach springs

So to sumise from my experience and research into the matter. You get what you pay for as with everything with the H&R coming in at well over a grand and the gaz coming in at around £600 but you need to ask yourself what you want from your suspension and from your car and pick accordingly rembering that you will pay a large priem for height adjustablility which may not always be required by everyone.One thing worth mentioning is that i have spent alot of time reasearching opn the net and in books about suspension types dampers springs etc..etc. and it may be worth doing the same yourself otherwise you may end up wasting money further down the line

Sorry for such and essay just had alot to say! Hope it helps

I will report back how i find the gaz (after ive phoned and complained about the wrong springs  :(

So Keep your eye out as i will be selling either the brand new gaz's or the H&R dependant on which ones i dislike
Title: Re: best coilover kit available?
Post by: Adampolog40 on February 17, 2012, 10:12:47 am
thanks mate thats a great help and yeah keep me posted on how you get on