Lowering AUIII wagon...

[bigpez]

hi guys, i know this has probably been covered somewhere else in this huge amount of info in the forums, but can anyone give a reccommendation on setup/brands for lowering an auIII wagon? not exactly drop it on the road, but a least drop it 1.5-2 inches on the front and 2.5-3 inches on the rears.

its currently on au1 XR 17inch alloys. can anyone reccommend a setup/brands, and anywhere it get it done on the gold coast/brisbane?
cheers alex:

[The Dok]

Hey Alex.
I can't recommend anyone up your way unfortunately but what I will recommend is to avoid using lowering blocks on the rear, make the effort & have the leaf springs re-set to your specs, if done by a professional it'll tighten up the rear end nicely & shouldn't cost too much.

[blueoval]

Alex, I know of a few other members here who have use the site sponsor 'FULCRUM' suspensions in Brisbane. If you ask them and say that your a member of the forums, you will receive up to a 10% discount.

They will be the best people to ask in your area. www.fulcrumsuspensions.com.au

MOOROOKA-HEAD OFFICE & DC

Fulcrum Suspensions, 28-40 Evesham Street,
MOOROOKA 4105, Queensland, Australia

Ph: +61 7 3892 9000
Fax: +61 7 3892 1526

CAPALABA

Fulcrum Suspensions, 2/41 Neumann Rd,
CAPALABA 4157, Queensland, Australia

Ph: +61 7 3390 3900
Fax: +61 7 3823 3707

HILLCREST

Fulcrum Suspensions, 2/108 Anzac Ave,
HILLCREST 4118, Queensland, Australia

Ph: +61 7 3800 7306

STAFFORD

Fulcrum Suspensions, 46 Webster Road,
STAFFORD 4053, Queensland, Australia

Ph: +61 7 3356 6733
Fax: +61 7 3356 6377

YEERONGPILLY

Fulcrum Suspensions, 760 Fairfield Road
YEERONGPILLY 4105, Queensland, Australia

Ph: +61 7 3892 9000

Brand wise, you cant go wrong with brands like KONI, BILSTEIN, KING SPRINGS, BOGE, ULTIMA.

Get your rear leaves reset rather than fit blocks. Its a better way of doing things, and not that expensive.

Good luck

[bigpez]

blueoval and dok, thanks for your advice with lowering the wagon, will keep it in mind as i start to look around. might give fulcrum a call and see what ideas they have, and from reading other members comments about their work pretty sure hopefully they'll do a good job for me.

thanks for the help

[blueoval]

no probs. Make sure you keep us up to date with it all. Please post some pictures up too.

[Stav]

Im regret lowering mine mate.It looks better but the ride isnt so great. If you lower it tell them to quote on new rer leaf springs and a written guarantee that it wont bottom out!!

[fipcee]

Originally Posted by bigpez

blueoval and dok, thanks for your advice with lowering the wagon, will keep it in mind as i start to look around. might give fulcrum a call and see what ideas they have, and from reading other members comments about their work pretty sure hopefully they'll do a good job for me.

thanks for the help

heya bigpez, I have just had my car lowered through fulcrum (Brisbane) and I cannot say enough about the service and honesty of the guys . No crap, they know their stuff and don't charge an arm and a leg. Get them to look at your car, tell them your budget and go from there mate. I have a XR6 sedan but have just put in boge shocks (already had lowered springs fitted approx 18 mths ago) and they are awesome in comparison to the original shocks, ride is great, feels like a new car and still sticks like s$%t to the road.

[Sox]

Originally Posted by Stav

Im regret lowering mine mate.It looks better but the ride isnt so great. If you lower it tell them to quote on new rer leaf springs and a written guarantee that it wont bottom out!!

How many leaves do you have Stav?
Standard they have 4 leaves.
Probably the ideal compromise for handling and comfort is 5 leaves.
And if you want minimum body roll, good load carrying ability, and good handling (though a little choppy at times), then 6 leaves is what you want.

To the original poster, I would go with a reset spring with 5 leaves. And any brand lowered coil for the front, though make sure it's NOT a progressive rate spring. Single rate springs provide much better feedback.

Rick.

[Stav]

4 leaves from memory mate. I didnt know any better at the time and got shafted.

[bigpez]

thanks a lot for the advice guys, honestly had not much of an idea of what was best to get done, but you've cleared a couple of things up for us

cheers
alex

[Sox]

Originally Posted by Stav

4 leaves from memory mate. I didnt know any better at the time and got shafted.

Yer, lowering a standard spring without adding any leaves is asking for trouble.
You do realise you could quite easily add another leave or 2 yourself. Quite an easy job, and you don't even have to remove the entire spring, just undo it from the diff.

Rick.

[Stav]

Problem thats keeping me from doing it is fear of it raising the back.In any case I installed the airbag suspension in the back with coil springs.Its made a huge difference.

[Sox]

Originally Posted by Stav

Problem thats keeping me from doing it is fear of it raising the back.In any case I installed the airbag suspension in the back with coil springs.Its made a huge difference.

It won't raise the *** if you select the right height leave.
I used the air bags for a few months many years ago, I hated them as they were way to freakin hard.

Rick.

[waggaclint]

ive got tickford stuff in the front of mine (I think its was lowererd from the factory as its a SR model i think its xr6 stuff) and 1in blocks in the back sits nice and even its drives good had no complaints with blocks in rear hey....

[private9]

Originally Posted by Sox

How many leaves do you have Stav?
Standard they have 4 leaves.
Probably the ideal compromise for handling and comfort is 5 leaves.
And if you want minimum body roll, good load carrying ability, and good handling (though a little choppy at times), then 6 leaves is what you want.

To the original poster, I would go with a reset spring with 5 leaves. And any brand lowered coil for the front, though make sure it's NOT a progressive rate spring. Single rate springs provide much better feedback.

Rick.

Hey Rick,

Would you have any idea what a 5 leaf setup would cost roughly? Just curious!

Originally Posted by The Dok

Hey Alex.
I can't recommend anyone up your way unfortunately but what I will recommend is to avoid using lowering blocks on the rear, make the effort & have the leaf springs re-set to your specs, if done by a professional it'll tighten up the rear end nicely & shouldn't cost too much.

Why is it that lowering blocks are not safe/desirable? I know how they lower the car, but what I don't understand is why that's bad, hoping someone can tell me!

[The Dok]

Originally Posted by private9

Why is it that lowering blocks are not safe/desirable? I know how they lower the car, but what I don't understand is why that's bad, hoping someone can tell me!

To my knowledge they are still banned in Vic (I know they were a few years ago) but from my experience they make the rear end feel floaty (like the HQ sedans of old) where as having the leaf springs actually re-set seems to make the rear end feel really tight.

[Sox]

Originally Posted by private9

Hey Rick,

Would you have any idea what a 5 leaf setup would cost roughly? Just curious!

Depends whether you're R&R them yourself or not, though when I've had mine done (R&R myself), quotes ranged from $100 to $350 to have them reset and add a leaf.

Why is it that lowering blocks are not safe/desirable? I know how they lower the car, but what I don't understand is why that's bad, hoping someone can tell me!

I actually don't think their not safe if lowered within reasonable limits, though I don't like how much the diff winds up when they are used. Diff wind up leads to a lot of bump steer, so handling is not as good as it could be.

Rick.