Hi Guys,
I fitted my Buddyclub coilovers and have tried them out today.
These are what they look like:
(http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a83/gmogle/PB100210-1.jpg)
What I found isnt what I was expecting, I set them up as best as I could without any instructions so bear with me on that.
Basically when driving on country lanes I am finding it very bouncy through the steering wheel as the car goes from one dip and into another. It also seems very stiff which is strange as I thought it would either be stiff or soft !!
I have adjusted the damping rate and this made a small difference but not as much as I expected.
The springs arent wound up very tightly, see this pic taken from my camera phone and obviously with the wheel off !!
(http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a83/gmogle/DSC00084.jpg)
To reduce the bounce do I need to wind the springs up more ?
I have only done the fronts so far and will be doing backs this weekend.
On flat flat rounds it handles pretty well but I plan to get the geometry etc setup as per the street setup on the sticky thread in this section of the forum.
Not setup suspension before so forgive me if I am missing the obvious !!!
Do you mean that the car is following the imperfections in the road, tugging the steering left/righ as you go along the road? Is this what you mean by bouncing?
if that is the case then 90% sure that will be due to the geometry- incorrect toe etc will cause this tugging and generally queer steering feel. How does the steering feel if you try to hold a constant radius bend - does it track true or do you have to \'wiggle\' the steering to keep on course.
If you can give more info, I\'ll try to help more.
If its bouncy then have either a damper thats not working or if they are adjustable then they are wound right off ( but this should not make it bounce).
Winding the coil springs up will not help this as its the dampers that control what you are describing and not the springs.
Also looking at the wire diameter used to make the springs these look to be far to stiff to be road friendly because the ride will be very hard.
Cheers for the replies,
Yes Tony it does tug left and right with the imperfections in the road.
If you are going round a bend it does track ok unless it has bumps then you have to wiggle it.
Also put on larger wheels and ever since then the steering feels quite different and more sharp (guessing the geometry will fix that).
When I say bouncy what I mean is that you get quite a bit of vibration through the steering wheel.
Clive not sure what you mean as the spring size and thickness looks exactly the same as the Tein Super Street suspension. But forgive me if I\'m wrong as I dont know a lot about suspension. I did do a lot of research before buying them and virtually nobody in the UK had them but a few of the American guys did and they all gave them good marks and didnt say they were unsuitable for the roads.
I think you need to work backwards on this one,
Did you have these symptoms before you changed your suspension and wheels ?
If you didn\'t first of all put your original wheels back on and then try again, just like setting up a race car, if you make to many changes at once you are unable to work out what change is affecting things with the car.
I may very well be wrong about the stiffness of the springs but I was basing what I was looking at from the Tein stuff
BTW with an FD I have always said that with the geometry correct you should be able to go down the road (sorry track) and virtually take your hands off the wheel at 150mph
Hope this helps
As Clive says, the vibration may be due to the wheels being unbalanced or even a damaged wheel. Prsumably it was ok with the original wheels, You\'d need to put them on and see if the vibration still exists. is it all the time or at certain speeds - if all the time and with both better check you tightened everything up!
tugging, etc mor than likley geometry.
you\'ll have to do it step by step and methodically.
Yeah there was no vibration with the previous suspension but it did tug when I changed the wheels (which was before fitting the new suspension).
Sounds like I need to get the rears on and then take it to a specialist. I have been recommended one in this neck of the woods who sets up cars.
Cheers for your help, I will keep you posted !!