Forrest Gump
CCCUK regional rep
I’ve finally got round to bolting on some new suspension parts to both ends of the car with the aim of sharpening up the handling. All the items are from VanSteel in the US except the shock absorbers. I’m following a street/slalom combination recommended by VanSteel which will be similar to the Gymkhana option.
Out-going stock front coil springs (c~300lb?) replaced with 550lb coils. The new springs are much shorter making them a lot easier to install.
The stock 7/8” sway bar has come out and replaced with an 1 1/8” bar, only quarter of an inch bigger but looks so much beefier. This should stiffen up the cornering! See the brackets have a grease nipple which is a nice feature. All bushes are poly.
To the rear, and this is where it is more exciting….The stock 10 leaf steel spring, rated at 196lbs has come out. It still looks okay from when I took it apart and painted it ten years ago, but is way too soft for my liking on corners and allows the car to squat too much under acceleration. They say steel springs get softer over time so it could be considerably less than 196lbs by now.
In goes a VanSteel 360lb rated low arch composite spring. The composite weighs 7lbs versus the 36lb steel spring. I knocked-up the aluminium plate which shields the composite from the exhausts where they pass under it. Composites don’t like too much heat. The new spring is so straight when unloaded that I didn’t need to do the “dangerous” procedure of jacking up the ends of the spring to get the link bolts in. In fact I had to do the opposite and lift the trailing arm a bit to get the bolts through, the bolts then dangled loose until the car was back on the ground. 8” link bolts and poly bushes.
My car didn’t have a rear sway bar fitted so I’ve added a 5/8” bar. The tapped holes for the brackets are present in all chassis from the factory but tend to get concealed with paint and crud if not in use. I had to run a tap through to clean the threads. A bracket added to the top of the trailing arms connects the link bolts.
I’ve fitted Bilstein B6 shock absorbers front and rear to replace KYB Gas-adjust units. The KYBs have been okay, perhaps slightly harsh, but also not suited to controlling the composite rear spring.
I‘m going to re-jig the brackets before refitting the exhausts so haven’t taken the car out for a drive yet. It should feel totally different with all these changes.
Out-going stock front coil springs (c~300lb?) replaced with 550lb coils. The new springs are much shorter making them a lot easier to install.
The stock 7/8” sway bar has come out and replaced with an 1 1/8” bar, only quarter of an inch bigger but looks so much beefier. This should stiffen up the cornering! See the brackets have a grease nipple which is a nice feature. All bushes are poly.
To the rear, and this is where it is more exciting….The stock 10 leaf steel spring, rated at 196lbs has come out. It still looks okay from when I took it apart and painted it ten years ago, but is way too soft for my liking on corners and allows the car to squat too much under acceleration. They say steel springs get softer over time so it could be considerably less than 196lbs by now.
In goes a VanSteel 360lb rated low arch composite spring. The composite weighs 7lbs versus the 36lb steel spring. I knocked-up the aluminium plate which shields the composite from the exhausts where they pass under it. Composites don’t like too much heat. The new spring is so straight when unloaded that I didn’t need to do the “dangerous” procedure of jacking up the ends of the spring to get the link bolts in. In fact I had to do the opposite and lift the trailing arm a bit to get the bolts through, the bolts then dangled loose until the car was back on the ground. 8” link bolts and poly bushes.
My car didn’t have a rear sway bar fitted so I’ve added a 5/8” bar. The tapped holes for the brackets are present in all chassis from the factory but tend to get concealed with paint and crud if not in use. I had to run a tap through to clean the threads. A bracket added to the top of the trailing arms connects the link bolts.
I’ve fitted Bilstein B6 shock absorbers front and rear to replace KYB Gas-adjust units. The KYBs have been okay, perhaps slightly harsh, but also not suited to controlling the composite rear spring.
I‘m going to re-jig the brackets before refitting the exhausts so haven’t taken the car out for a drive yet. It should feel totally different with all these changes.
