View Full Version : What Shocks?
I think its time to replace the standard shocks! The H&R springs are seeing them off at a quick rate. :devil:
Everyday the car seems more bouncy and controlling it over bumpy sections becomes more difficult / dangerous.:sick:
I am thinking of replacing with koni sport shocks or Bilstein shocks. Does anyone have any comments on what they think would make a good match with the springs i've got and which would not be too bone jarring.
Finally, who would be an affordable supplier of these shocks , looking to spend around 350ish
Thanks for your advice
:)
sjb sport will do ya a sprintline kit from bilstein for 300 and i think they are real good on fitted price,am hoping to get a set myself soon ,best set up for ibiza:cheers:
hopkinsgm
29-01-2002, 13:14
As some of you will know, I have the Koni Sport suspension kit on my 8v Cupra Sport with 6Jx16" wheels on 195/45R16 rubber. I have found these to be excellent, with nicely balanced springing & damping rates. I would have to say that i've suffered from none of the "rattling your filling out" behaviour that Koni's are generally known for in the 10k miles that the kit has been on the car. The only problem i've had is that there's a little feathering of the outside edges of my front tyres which I used to get with the standard setup anyway as a result of gung-ho cornering. Price was 400UKP supplied, fitted (with new bumpstops) and aligned.
The standard choice is the Bilstein kit, although IMO (note - this is an OPINION, so don't start flaming me!) it lowers the car a bit too much. I need to retain some ride height due to my usage, so dropping the car something like 60mm wasn't really an option (although the drop is supposed to be 40mm).
It might be worth hanging on for a couple of months to see what Mark Hales has to say in CCC - he tried my 8v with the Konis and NeilP's 16v with Bilsteins a couple of weeks ago along with a couple of Oettinger 20vT's and a Cupra R...
Glyn
Thanks for your opinions guys, has anyone else experienced the bilstein kit that is lowering more than the stated 40mm.
I think going to a 60mm drop would be too much looking to keep it around 35-40. Otherwise the kerbs are gonna devlop a nice appetite for my splitter!
Thanks again.
glyn, any idea when this article is coming out ?as an opinion from one person on all the set ups would be good,though i not heard any bad things said about either koni OR bilsteins so my only misgivngs are :
too hard a ride or too low a drop other than that i know they both handle very well. and are roughly the same price:cheers:
hopkinsgm
30-01-2002, 09:09
Originally posted by jason
glyn, any idea when this article is coming out ?
Well, he drove the cars a week and a half ago (Friday 18th Jan), so would guess it'll take some time in production, choosing pictures etc... CCC hits the shelves on the 2nd Friday of the month, so my best guess will be the issue that comes out in March or April.
I feel the Koni's give a slightly more compliant ride than the Bilsteins, but that's my OPINION. I should point out that every time i've been in a car with Bilsteins on in the last year or so, it's been riding on 17's which would make the ride a bit firmer anyway.
Originally posted by Rapido
anyone else experienced the bilstein kit that is lowering more than the stated 40mm
I think most people have noticed that the Bilsteins give a generous 40mm drop - perhaps not quite 60mm but not too far off. A mate of mine came along to the CCC test day with a camera, I'll have to hassle him into getting the pics developed, see if I can find a pic of mine and a pic of Neils from a similar angle so you can compare... Will post back here with anything I find...
Cheers,
Glyn
ibizacupra
30-01-2002, 13:02
Originally posted by hopkinsgm
I think most people have noticed that the Bilsteins give a generous 40mm drop - perhaps not quite 60mm but not too far off. A mate of mine came along to the CCC test day with a camera, I'll have to hassle him into getting the pics developed, see if I can find a pic of mine and a pic of Neils from a similar angle so you can compare... Will post back here with anything I find...
Cheers,
Glyn One thing which can not be ignored it the setup of the suspension, not just fitting it.
The CCC test on PSS9's will be relative to the car tested with its specific setup for ride height, damping adjustment and geometry. All these things can make a huge difference better and worse.
Bill
A complient ride would be nice! As I already have the H&R springs who would do just the dampers @ a reasonable price, or is it a case of get the kit, sell the current springs.
Also have a quick question at the mo since fitting the H&R springs the rubber mount on the front suspension that sits up in the turret is poking through a bit , and it doesn't sit flush like it used to.
Could it be worn and need replacing, also what other small bearings and mounts etc.. would be worth replacing on front & back.
thanks again
cheers glyn lad.
rapido, will be buying new top mounts for mine as i presume they have had as much stick as the dampers with the lowered springs,bonrath have heavy duty ones for the ibiza BUT i have it on good authority(BILL) that they are too harsh so will be getting new standard ones .seems good econamy to replace them with new suspension ,you'll have to get it all done again should they be worn out when you fit ya new kit,good luck:cheers:
hopkinsgm
30-01-2002, 23:36
Originally posted by ibizacupra
One thing which can not be ignored it the setup of the suspension, not just fitting it.
Obviously, in the case of damping & ride height adjustable suspension such as the PSS9 kit for the mk3 Ibiza, the damper settings are an issue. The Koni's on my mk2 are damping adjustable but not ride height.
Geometry wise, the camber adjustment on my mk2 is set to factory settings, the castor is a little bit out of spec but that's not adjustable - a slightly twisted wishbone, I think. It's only a couple of minutes out of spec, not far enough out to be a worry on a road car anyway.
Of course, I may be stating the obvious here but tyre pressures are a major factor in determining the handling characteristics of your car - funny, isn't it? We spend hundreds of pounds on wheels, tyres, new springs and dampers and then don't check the single most important parameter... i'd certainly hope that you're able to adjust the tyre pressures yourself :D
Originally posted by Rapido
As I already have the H&R springs who would do just the dampers @ a reasonable price
Try Swift Motorsport, I know of a mk2 8v running around on Koni top adjustables, not sure which springs but that was all supplied by Swift for a reasonable cost. Bear in mind that if you do go this route you'll most likely end up having to do quite a lot of tweaking to get the car to handle and ride how you want it to as you'll be starting from scratch trying to match your damping rates to the rates of your existing springs. There's something like 20 or 25 damping settings on the Koni top adjusts, and even assuming you set both sides the same, there's still the front to rear balance to get right... The flipside is that you stand more chance of getting it just the way you want it if you're prepared to spend a bit of time and effort fiddling. I have the Koni Sport SSK 5 7 kit on my 8v and i'm more than pleased - this has top adjustable fronts and bottom adjustable rears... They're set on a soft/medium setting on the front and soft at the back and the ride/handling suits my driving style.
As for your top mounts, you might as well have them changed while it's all in bits. I believe they can actually be changed later without having to mess about with the strut bottom mounts, so you shouldn't have to re-set the camber settings. It's more hassle trying to slide the strut out of the tower with the bottom end attached to the hub though, and as replacements shouldn't break the bank anyway, i'd get it all done together.
Cheers,
Glyn
speaking of camber, I presume that it is adjustable on a Ibiza 1.4 97 on the fronts. The reason I ask is that someone at work who used to own one reckons there might not be adjustment.
At the mo my front left wheel has got quite a bit of positive camber, causing the outside to wear quickly, also pulls a lot to the left!
Does anyone know the factory setting for camber on this car
cheers
ibizacupra
03-02-2002, 18:29
Originally posted by Rapido
speaking of camber, I presume that it is adjustable on a Ibiza 1.4 97 on the fronts. The reason I ask is that someone at work who used to own one reckons there might not be adjustment.
At the mo my front left wheel has got quite a bit of positive camber, causing the outside to wear quickly, also pulls a lot to the left!
Does anyone know the factory setting for camber on this car
cheers
The camber is adjustable of sorts as the bolt holes on the hub are laregr than the bolts, allowing some adjustments.
I do not know the factory settings, but from 0 degrees to -ve 0.5 degrees should be ample, Equal both sides of course, and retracked after adjusting these.
Bill
thanks Bill, just need to get some new shocks now. Who did u get your suspension from?
Cheers