Handling Improvements

[stustag]

Hi All

Had a chat to Chris Witor today about improving the suspension setup like we did on my 2000 MK2.

He recommended lowering the front and rear springs,especially on my late Stag as the ride higher than early ones (did not know this!). He also recommended I change my shocks which have coil-over springs as they cause excessive roll on the front and the tendency to cause to car to wander mid corner.

Curiously I asked if I should fit Spax shocks, he told meNO as they are not very good due to wearing out in under 30K miles and the adjustment stops work after a while! He has told me to fit KYB Gas shocks http://www.kyb-europe.com/which give superior performance and are slightly shorter, useful if the car is sitting lower on the springs. This isdue to shorter (lower) springs tend to pop out at the rear when the car is jacked up!

His lowering kit with spring and shackles is a lot cheaper than Tony H's at £150

It was a pleasure to speak to Chris again and he is like Tony Hart a fountain of knowledge. http://www.chriswitor.com/

Stuart

[stanlittle]

imported post

Hi Stu,



For what it's worth i've 'done' my suspension this winter with very good results. The difference it has made to the ride and handling is very exciting and has increased my enjoyment of the stag a 1000 fold.

I replaced the front shockers with standard shock and left my rear standard shocks after advice from Paddocks, (i still bought a pair of Spax's for the rear but don't think i'll fit them), replaced the top mounts and fitted the shortened springs from Harts.

The results are exceptional in ride quality, and the tilt to the drivers side has also gone. An added bonus was that when i was changing thefront top mounts i found that the old mounts had lost the bond between the rubber and the bearing carrier. This was the cause ofa mysterious twitch i had between 60 - 70 MPH, and the oversteer on corners.

Well worth the effort and one of the more enjoyable jobs i've done on the car, with the exception of replacing the camber brackets on the rear suspension, (thanks Tony but one line saying, 'replace with supplied bracket', understated the job a little i feel).

Cheers

Stan