Hey all
Just a few questions in regard to lowering my vs calais. Im going to be doing the work myself, using King Springs. I want to use ultra lows all round or ultras int he back/super lows in the front. What is everyones suggestions? Do they even make ultra lows for vs commodres? And do the shocks have to be replaced? I want it dumped on its ass so I think they do but any feedback will be appreciated. And being IRS, just wondering how hard the camber kits are to install? The old man is a mechanic so hes gonna be helpin me out. But yer anyone with experience lowering these, just fill us in with ure own personal opinions on what to use etc.
Thanks. Matt
Ahh ok so do you reckon im gonna have major scraping issues using ultras all round? should i jsut go super lows all round? And yeah i have full car loads kinda regularly
So you mean replacing all the shocks with shorter stroke ones? Wont i have to do that anyway with superlows? And the camber kit i know i have to do it anyway so wat extra $$$$ are you talkin about? Am i missing somethin?
Well if you want to go real low and still have it ride sweet you really need to go with coilovers. A good setup will cost $2,500-$3,500+
Have a look at something like this, it seems pretty cheap if he can do the rears for the same price making it $2,000 all up, it would be sweet
http://cgi.ebay.com.au/Complete-fron...QQcmdZViewItem (http://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/711-53200-19255-0/1?type=3&campid=5335860158&toolid=10001&mpre=http%3A%2F%2Fcgi.ebay.com.au%2FComplete-front-coilovers-for-VB-VZ-HSV-Pedders-or-Koni_W0QQitemZ130031715787QQihZ003QQcategoryZ130648QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem)
hey mate i just lowered my vp calais myself. I put king spring super lows allround and was happy wiht the height of the front, but the rear was sitting a little high. i changed them over for pedders ultras, the stiffest sping they have as when you put the car into drive it squats more there for the camber becomes worse
I have a 4 bush camber kit waiting to be installed which for irs cars i beleive is 400% nessacary cos my tyres are farked allready from camber wear.
I am using monroe sensatracs short stroke fronts and fe2 wagon rears . to me this is a perfect combination, the ride is still as comfy as before with better handeling i think.
and yes the camber kit is gonna be **** to fit, you ahve to drop the rear control arms and press out the old bushes, and depending on which way the bolt on the exhaust side control arm is entered you may have to remove the exhaust to get it out
hope that helps mate, good luck
all up from motor trades all my stuff cost me 650, which included 4 springs, 4 shocks and a nolathane 4 bush camber kit
yep cheers for your help mate, theres more to take into consideration then i first thought but i will give it a shot. Your input saves alot of farkin around thats for sure. Anyone else there with some info?
Quote:
Originally Posted by VL Ately
yep cheers for your help mate, theres more to take into consideration then i first thought but i will give it a shot. Your input saves alot of farkin around thats for sure. Anyone else there with some info?
My advice is use decent shocks. Monroe's arent even worth looking at.
Sorry if this offends you [427vlc] but I just can�t stand Monroe
I put a set of Monroes with superlows in my last daily driver (98 Mitzi VR4) and they were softer than the factory KYB�s that were in it! I took it back to the importer and we tried 3 different Monroes and they were all way too soft and made the car ride like crap with the lowered springs in it
After 3 weeks I got fed up, and replaced the lot with a full custom Koni/King coilover setup. It was an exercise that cost me a lot of time and money, and I swear never to go near another Monroe shock in my life time
This is just my experience, others may have had different
Quote:
Originally Posted by 427vlc
the end of the day it all depends on his budget
KYB- budget
Monreo - Average
koni - great quality
No it doesnt. Putting an incorrectly valved shock in a lowered vehicle will almost guarantee its failure. The way I see it is that if you cant afford to do a job properly and safely then dont do it at all.
Monroe are a good shock for a standard car, but for a lowered car you'd be better off using blocks of 4x2 as they will have the same dampening properties as your Monroe's once they collapse.
if you want the back to be sitting on the tyre use SSSL king springs they sit nice. Not sure about the front though. A few people put BMW springs in the back cos its hard to get them low (irs).
I specifically went out of my way to put a set of Sensatrack shocks in the front of my calais when I lowered it.
I had the Sports Ryder Pedders shocks in the front of my last VL and the ride was so bloody rough it wasn't funny. Put the cheap a5s short stroke Monroe Sensatracks in this car with the same Pedders sports springs and the ride is a hell of alot better. (swaybar does a reasonable job of keeping it flat still)
I didn't even have the balls to put the Monroe gas "Reflex" shocks in it, which my brother has in his R31 and it handles likes its on rails and still has comfortable ride. (im very impressed with these shocks, for the $ you pay atleast)
I still have the Sports Ryder in the back and they are great, seem alot better damped compared to the fronts Sports Ryder shocks.
So whatever you do don't put Pedders Sports Ryder shocks in the front of your commodore unless you plan on entering Commodore Cup racing or something. They just aren't valved for the street, lol
