Some pics from AMD
Old suspension being stripped
New Gaz coilovers ready to go on
Old vs new front strut - look how short the Gaz one is!
Thankfully after the delays on Thursday, it rolled out of the AMD workshop yesterday with the 200 mile trip from Dartford to Cardiff as a test.
I got about 2 miles away before I pulled over and softened up the rear shocks, which had been set to about the same stiffness as the front. I'm guessing because there's no weight over the rear wheels, you don't need them that stiff, even on fairly soft springs. But I managed to get it just right in the first hit which was a pleasant surprise!
Drove the rest of the way back to Cardiff with a massive grin on my face. What a difference! Obviously it's removed a few squeaks and groans that the aged old stuff was suffering from, but what's really different is how it behaves over bumps and lumps on the motorway. Whereas the old kit used to tug at the steering wheel over uneven sections of tarmac, it seems a lot more stable now. And, because the front end is now sat slightly lower than the rear it feels like I'm getting less front end lift. Driving into a headwind it felt a lot more planted than it used to, really really stable.
Ride quality is slightly better than the old kit I reckon, but still stiff, and I can go softer if I want. And it's definitely tightened up the body roll it was starting to suffer from on the old stuff before.
AMD also changed my brakes - I'm now running EBC GreenStuff and USR discs. They're still running in, so I'll save judgement on them for now.
It's slightly lower front and rear, with a bigger drop at the front to get it all sat level and the back end has been leveled out after years of leaning onto the offside rear wheel. I can wind it down about another 30mm if I want, but I don't want to. Never really been the point of this car!
Here are a couple of quick pics of how it's sat now. It's filthy, and I couldn't be arsed to take it to a decent location. I'll take some decent pics when I get time. But these give you some idea!
I might drop the back 10mm or so, I haven't decided yet. Just to get it a bit more level. I'll wait until it's settled first. I also need to get it back down to AMD for corner weighting at some point. It's been laser aligned but due to delays with the bearing there wasn't enough time to do everything.
Overall, very happy with this! The car's driving really, really well. But there is a niggle, as always. It sounds like the nearside CV joint is on its way out. I knew it was a bit tired, but I'm guessing the diff hasn't done it much good!