fiestaturbo.com

[vx220]

as above. discussed before, i know.

also, i've noticed koni coilovers have progressive springs... are these available (the springs) generally?

might be the solution to coilover harshness?

[wildheart]

Both are carppy but if i had to choose one it would be Avo.

[Oranoco]

Why do you want coilovers?

TBH from experience they are just too much on a car used mainly on the roads. I can't rate Koni top adjustables and Eibach springs enough.

[heeman10]

Coilover harshness is a myth, and shows total ignorance of a suspension system, to be very blunt! The damping is adjustable, you can buy springs of all stiffness ratings, so can fully-tune the feel of the suspension.

Avo have a horrendous customer support reputation, terrible build quality reputation and often refuse to replace the many broken units that seem to arise. They use plastic grub screws to secure their spring platforms - enough said!

I went with Gaz because they have a good reputation, good customer service (I bought them through Dampertech - who have a great deal of experience with them, are very knowledgeable, and in fact stopped dealing with Avo and converted to Gaz for several reasons) and good build quality.

[j7aoc]

Heeman's got it spot on there but ive got avo only because i got them very cheap mine have been very good to me and my car handle's like a dream but if i had to spend out the cash as there about the same in prise i would go GAZ

[vx220]

heeman 10, could you ask the dampertech about the progressive springs please? as i believe then you could have the best of both worlds.

also, i understand that some coilovers have a "tender" or helper spring of a significantly lower rate? usually only about 50lb?

this is to stop the springs dislocating under "droop" and is a requirement for the MOT.

i was wondering if stronger rated tender springs might give a basic progressive effect?

cheers

[heeman10]

Why should I call them?!

I've run out of milk, please can you bring some up?

[Oranoco]

Please refer to Fast Ford of 2 months ago which completely underlines my statements. The consensus amongst the drivers and tuners I have dealt with over the last 13 years is coilovers are too much for most road applications. On track they are simply the best you can get, unfortunately our roads are not maintained to the same high standard. What works on track does not always translate to working well on the road

[heeman10]

What works on track does not always translate to working well on the road

Yep, I agree with you there. That's not to say you can't find a happy medium With stiffer springs mine would be spot on for the track. Who wrote the article in the magazine? What experience did he/she have? Not wanting to cast a shadow over any magazines in particular, all publications (and forums) can be guilty of the same rumour mill-type "advice", but some of these things come not from experience, but from Chinese whispers.

[j7aoc]

My Avo are not as harsh as my mate's frswt and he just has a set of spring's. I had PI full kit on my xr2i with a 40mm drop and that use to nock my filling's out

[BUTRE]

What works on track does not always translate to working well on the road

Yep, I agree with you there. That's not to say you can't find a happy medium With stiffer springs mine would be spot on for the track. Who wrote the article in the magazine? What experience did he/she have? Not wanting to cast a shadow over any magazines in particular, all publications (and forums) can be guilty of the same rumour mill-type "advice", but some of these things come not from experience, but from Chinese whispers.

I agree.
What makes the ride stiffer are spring rates. When you buy a set of springs for shoks you don't know it's spring rate and even thou two manufactores have the same drop on springs, they have different rates (sparco VS eibach for example).

Coilovers are stiff from start since they are design for true performance! The main idea is the possibility to have the car weight distribuition fine tunned to the drivers liking and this is performance!
Because of this fine tuning there is a catalogue of springs for coilovers from each coilover manufacturer (you can use other brands if you respect the diameters, uncompress lenght, etc) that alows you to have a softer ride, stiffer ride and even lower ride (besides the std height coilover adjustment).
It's expensive and to get it properly done to the drivers liking makes it even more expensive than std shock and spring. Want the best, there's always a price.

[vx220]

Why should I call them?!

I've run out of milk, please can you bring some up?

sorry to impose, i thought you had a contact!

how did you know i was a milkman? it's not in my profile

[vx220]

spoke to dave at dampertech tonight.

great guy, excellent service. answered all my queries and more.

good to know there's people out there that know about what they sell, not just "barry-bolt-on"

[heeman10]

Glad you got to speak to him - as you say, top bloke - happy to spend some time on you and make sure you get just what you want Have you placed an order?

[vx220]

not quite ready yet, only got the car because it came up right place right price right time.

going for GAZ "gold" set, fully adjustable fronts