Afternoon all, I've decided to change my dampers and springs. Reading previous threads I think coilovers wont be right for my car, so I've decided on standard cup/R26 dampers and either Grams or cooksport springs. I think doing the front top mounts makes sense wile I'm at it. Any feedback from the different springs would be great. I might have a go myself, its not a job that's beyond me but I would possibly need to get the springs fitted to the new dampers unless I bought clamps? Doing it myself would help my wallet right now but of course sometimes this can be false economy. Any feedback or advice much appreciated
Hello mate, I had Cooksports fitted before I went down the coilovers route. I found them great, a bit stiffer than standard and they drop the car to a perfect height, no issues with speed bumps etc. Si Sent from my LYA-L09 using Tapatalk
top mounts dont really do anything on the 225/R26 as the hubs rotate not the struts like on other cars, so theyre probley be fine to leave. ive got H&R springs on mine the ride isnt really any different from the standard springs and havent had any trouble with speed bumps or anything. the front suspension can be quite difficult to work on due to the set up and the 3 bolts on the bottom of the hub can be hard to undue but if you set aside a few hours over the weekend you should be fine
I had my mechanic fit them, most of the work on my car is done by him, I'm either too lazy or clueless! Sent from my LYA-L09 using Tapatalk
Cheers Matt, I didn't know that, but with the R26 I'm always learning! I was going to put a day aside to do them as I know its not as easy as stuff I'm used to and I don't need the car day to day. What's the worst that could happen lol
i have cooksports on mine with new oem dampers, but will be removing the cooksports to replace with oem eibachs. On typical crappy UK roads i find the cooksports just dont have enough travel when really pushing on. You find yourself hitting the bumpstops,which obviously is not good at speed. Inevitable really when you remove 30mm travel. On smooth roads they are fine,but when the going gets a bit rough,the ride gets ragged. All depends on how you drive,and where you drive it. If its town driving..no problems.
Oh really, that's disappointing to read as I thought the cooksport springs wouldn't result in this sort of ride quality. I don't drive like a nut case on the road but I do live out in the sticks so the roads are far from perfect where I am. Bugger, not sure what to do now? I want a good road car not a crashing, back breaking car that belongs on the track really. How do you find the ride Matt and Si ?
i also live in the country..On the long sweeping,sometimes empty roads of the moors.A pace can be kept up that isnt possible in heavily populated areas with lots of traffic. As i said...you are not going to encounter any problems in decently tarmacked urban areas,or track. I only drive my R26 when i know i can open it up.But in typical country roads,the standard Eibachs really are a fabulous compromise,and will soak up bumps that would have the cooksports smashing into the bumpstops. Again..you have to make a compromise, if you are going to lower a car by 30mm. Another thing is the small matter of OEM eibachs costing £90 each! I have a friend whos just put HR springs on his 265,and he says they have not decreased the ride quality at all.
H&R 20 mm lowering are good, they are stiff but good ride quality. To remove the shocks yourself isn't too hard, dealing with rusted bolts might make it fun. Took me 4 hours to deal with 3 seized brake disc bolts. Finally bought a removal tool (ie a drill bit like think that works backwards). They are relatively cheap and an absolute must for a garage. If the shocks slide out of the hub carrier (or whatever it is called that connects to the shock), or you have a spreader tool, maybe, its not too bad. I am just not sure there is enough room in there to remove the shock, it may not be possible to push the strut down far enough. I removed the strut completely. Spring compressors are not hard to use, just make sure the spring is siting in the compressor correctly. You can often rent them from auto-part stores and they are better than cheap ones you might buy.
