fraser9764

iTrader: (3)

My 2wd saff cossie is currently on spax adjustable shocks with unknown springs, its a fairly firm ride but perfectly bearable, no idea what firmness they are set too as i havent touched them.
it seems a bit unstable, especially over bumps, and the shocks do tend to be a bit bouncy, would i be better off changing to konis and ahmed springs that everyone seems to run?
i dont want to spend a loada money upgrading to find its hardly any better.
and does anyone have any for sale?
thanks

swiftinio

It depends. You know how badly you may or may not want your shocks doing. Don't know much about prices but am sure you can get summat cheap on ebay. I had a mate who would swear by konis so I would say if you find some cheap, give them a try. Like you said, everyone seems to be runniong them so give em a go mate!

Char1ie

iTrader: (6)

You may just need to get your shocks checked and possibly refurbed. Could be the cheapest option.

Charlie

phil_focus

hi mate,

personaly as you have adjustibles fitted i'd have a play around and see if you can improve the ride. if its a bit bouncy it might need stiffening up a bit.

i think the spax are 28 point adjustible and on their site they say start with all four on softest setting and go for a drive. then if its too soft stiffen up all corners by 4 clicks and repeat test drive and process until you get too stiff then start backing off by one or two clicks.

then if you want you can fine tune front to back maybe prefering to stiffen up the back a bit.

worth a try as its free to do after all and may mean you find a happy setting and dont have to spend a single penny.

nuttynil

iTrader: (3)

How old are your bushes it might be that some of them are worn ,you get the whole kit for around Ł160

phil_focus

thats a good point. one thing i've picked up on here too is the rear beam mounts on cossies are better off with either the ford oned (that have the bearings in them) or fit solid bushes. poly's can make the back end feel unstable.

i know you bought it recently off a tuner mate, you could ask him what bushes have been used?

fraser9764

iTrader: (3)

yeah its polybushed all round, like you say i might have a play with the settings if its reasonably dry over the weekend.
im gonna replace a few of the polybushes on the front as they dont look great, no idea how old they are.
the rear end seems pretty good to be honest so i dont want to start playing with beam mounts, its the front that seems a bit wishywashy.

phil_focus

if the front feels crap then i'd be looking at tyre pressures, bushes and suspesion geometry including tracking.

if you're going to replace the front buses don't go for floflex, they are aparently crap. stick with powerflex. once you've done them it would be worth having a four wheel alignent check.

out of interest, what tyres are you running at the mo mate?

fraser9764

iTrader: (3)

tyre pressures are 30psi both sides which seems about right?
tracking was done just before i bought the car, ive added the rear shims since as it was scrubbing the inside edges of my brand new tyres.
tyres are kuhmo ecsta sports ku31's, good tyres for the money, sam has used them on his astra for a while now and has been impressed and they get plenty of good reviews even on the m3 forum.
dont know the best place round here for 4 wheel alignment, most places just tend to be tyre places that have had half a days training on the tracking gauges and leave your stearing wheel on the piss and tell you you need a new tyre, exhaust and a battery while you're there
gonna have a play with the firmness setting this morning i think, and get under there with a big bar and see if i can find any movement in bushes.

tabetha

A poly rear end will not in any way make the car feel worse, it could uncover previously hidden problems though, indeed a poly diff is the ONLY way to go.
Adding the rear shims is good for the money, improvement wise as the toe does tend to kill the tyres inner edges.
Before splashing out money if needed try getting a ride in a car with the different makes of suspension fitted, I prefer chassis dynamics springs on koni over ahmed, but ahmed are a excellent spring, suspension is very personal thing though.
Your dampers springs could be well past it, so as said plenty of wd40 on the adjusters the day before trying to adjust, but spax can be rebuilt, koni on hardest setting with chassis dynamics std ride heigh springs makes a hell of a nice comfy ride that grips well.
30 psi is too soft imo on most tyres for the 2wd, so try bumping the pressures around, I'd start at 35psi on the front and experiment either side, different tyre makes of the same size work best with different pressures, I run 33 psi front and 36 rear for example on Hankook Ventus evo v12, but the previous tyres rainsports were 28-32 they worked best at.
tabetha

phil_focus

have fun having a play today mate. you sure its not because its a shonky old ford??

tyres are a very personal thing too and some say those ku31's are good and some say crap bu i've never tried them so cant comment but they are banded so should in theory give good directional stability.

increased tyre pressures will firm the ride up a bit too.

how old are the shocks out of interest? perhaps the shocks are good but the springs arent?

let us know if you get any improvement today mate or spot anything wrong.