Lude Generation

Hi

I'm in the process of sorting out my suspension, mainly bushes, but I had the following question:

Is it worth buying a suspension kit from eBay, i.e. coilover springs/dampers, in order to save myself the time and effort in trying to source OEM shocks/springs? I'm not interested in a lower ride hide, so I'd set any uprated set to broadly standard, and I'm not interested in firmer damping either, it's purely for ease of swap-out. In fact, it's cheaper to buy a set of these shiny kits than it is to get original dampers, so there's a cost saving there too.

Has anyone fitted any of these kits, do you have any feedback on build/quality?

Regards

Unless you have reason to doubt the existing setup - its probably not worth the cost?

My car came with some very low springs installed, and i was not interested in dismantling the struts to replace the springs (lot of effort and dont like compressing springs if i dont have to) so ended up treating myself to some tein adjustables - which were over £700. It was worth it for me because i could put the ride height back to almost standard, and then also have it firmer for the occasional track day (this is a weekend car, with about 2 track days per year).

I wouldn't want to fit any cheap/nasty crap - its likely to just cause more trouble later and take time/effort to replace. My motto is generally, if its broke, replace it with decent stuff, otherwise leave it until it needs replacing (otherwise you would be forever wasting money on cheap replacements on an old car that does nothing to make it any better).

Replacing the struts whole is quite easy to be honest so its not a big time sink.

Scott560 wrote: ↑

Wed Jan 09, 2019 9:51 am

Unless you have reason to doubt the existing setup - its probably not worth the cost?

Replacing the struts whole is quite easy to be honest so its not a big time sink.

I have to be careful what I say as quite possibly the previous owner is on this forum, but....... he owned it for 18 months and did absolutely nothing to it, other than watch bits deteriorate. However, he bought it from a fastidious owner that'd done everything under the sun. So, my current mission (which I have chosen to accept!!) is to go through the car with a fine toothcomb and replace/repair/replenish what the previous owner couldn't be bothered to do so that I can return it to its former glory.

Contrary to the above, it sounds like it's in poor shape but it isn't, quite the opposite in fact, it's just that the remedial day-to-day/month-to-month jobs haven't been done for the last couple of years so I'm putting that right. As part of that process, if I think something hasn't been done, or there's no factual evidence in the history of it being done, then I've added it to my list. That way, I definitely know it has been done and that it has been done properly with the quality parts.

I've looked for OEM dampers, all I can find that's of similar quality is KYB, which to be fair I have used on other cars and so I know they're decent, but the issue is springs; there aren't any standard height available, they're all modified in height, so my logic was to fit "uprated" damper/springs but run them at standard height. Same for the bushes, standard OEM items aren't available, and even though people make "OEM quality versions" you have no idea of how close, spec-wise, they are. For that reason, I'm reluctantly going for polybush, at least the mechanical spec is easily verifiable.

Regards

In your case I would pick up some good quality aftermarket shock absorbers (KYB, Bilstein, Sachs...), use the existing oem springs if I could not find aftermarket standard springs and polybush the car with a oem hardness polyurethane bush kit. It's important to not skimp out on the dampers and buy from a reputable brand. The poly bush kit also costs a lot in labour as every suspension part needs to be dismantled, its original bushes pressed out and then refitted with the new kit in place.

If you do not want to keep the old stock springs (if you can't source aftermarket replacements) I would reccommend spending that little bit more and picking up a basic but reputable branded coilover kit (as Scott said) with adjustable height and rebound/damping. You can set this up however you like height and stiffness wise.
Fitting lowered/uprated springs to OEM spec dampers can cause premature wear on the damper due to it working with a stiffer spring.

If you've got no reason to suspect there are any problems with the existing springs/dampers, then there's no reason to replace them - they last well.
Very very occasionally front springs break but I don't think I can recall hearing of any instance of an oem damper failing.
People on here only change them to lower the car or make it more stiff etc.

If you are going to replace, then as others has said, stick to the reputable brands.

Pretty sure I have seen oem spec after market springs available before???

I put kyb struts on my 4g with a 40 drop spring or you could go to a 30 drop if you are after new springs think they ride the same really worth a thought

koni yellow sports shocks and eibach lowring springs are a well tried and tested combo.
The konis can be set at oem ride height if you want and used with standard springs or lowering springs.
Some used sets come up from time to time at around £200-£300 but new it would cost about £500 for the shocks and about £150 for lowering springs so not much difference between that and some entry level coilovers.