Member Profile - Shav *07 Liberty GT Premium*

[peadya100]

Well, upgrading just the rear sway bar which reduces rear body roll increases oversteer. Upgrading the front sway bar is know to cause turn in understeer. But that turn in understeer is short lived and once you get grip you will corner quicker than without the front sway.

I guess you could try and soften the front sway slightly to reduce the understeer.

[shav]

Well, upgrading just the rear sway bar which reduces rear body roll increases oversteer. Upgrading the front sway bar is know to cause turn in understeer. But that turn in understeer is short lived and once you get grip you will corner quicker than without the front sway.

I guess you could try and soften the front sway slightly to reduce the understeer.

Yeah this is what I am leaning towards. Soften both bars though. I reckon the springs will reduce the body roll plenty. Having both bars on stiff will just induce understeer too much.

[shav]

Well, I can tell you now, the bill for todays work is not going to be cheap.

New CV boot
Standard Service
S&F New shocks
Fit supplied springs
Fit supplied globes to rear number plate lights in boot
S&F new sway bar bushes

Check condition of input driveshaft
Check coolant and water pump
Check for additional wear on ancillary items in engine bay

About to pick up the car in half an hour.

Expecting a ~$1500 bill.

[BigBCalais]

Damn, that's no good shav at least you've had a thorough check and have a few things installed

When you get the bill is there any chance you could tell me how much it cost you to get the springs installed, I dont have spring compressors to do it myself so I'll have to pay someone and trying to get an idea of what it will cost

[shav]

Hi Bryce,

Well to fit the new shocks and springs it took my mechanic 1.8hrs @ $83.50 per hour. That portion of the bill was $150.30. He then got a 4 wheel alignment for $60. So all fitted and aligned for say $210.

The total bill for everything was better than I thought, probably because my mechanic is a mate of mine and we've known each other for quite some time.

Standard 12,500km service (5W40 penrite oil)
Enviro waste/incidentals
Upper cyl cleaner
Fit shocks and supplied springs
New shocks http://www.monroe.com.au/products/monroe-original.html
New sway bar bush
Full inspection of all fluids, leaks, wear, hoses, lights etc
Didnt have to replace the CV boot, it wasnt torn, just the clamp on it was loose so he replaced it with a brand new clamp.

Total inc GST - $1203.95

I need to go back in 500km time to get the shocks all tightened up since everything down there is new.

Handling and ride quality - Well this is where I was under the impression I was going to have a stupidly rough and kidney jarring ride. Based on what others have said on here and even my mechanic saying it was rough, I was kind of expecting the worse. To be honest, I dont find the ride THAT bad. Yes it is a little firmer than before, but not to the point Im hitting my head on everything. The ride is actually liveable. Those who know what its like to drive on SA roads can contest that they are not great. But it seems as though the new setup handled it without too much fuss. Im not saying the ride is exactly the same as before, just saying that the ride is firmer but not as bad as others were hyping it to be. Perhaps everyones version of what firm/stiff is, is different to mine?

That all said, I found out the OEM rear shocks were completely stuffed. The shaft when pushed down wasnt coming back up. The OEM fronts had side shaft play and were also slow to rise back up too which perhaps contributed to the ride quality I originally was feeling on stock springs and hence didnt make the new ride quality feel as bad?

Handling wise, I got Danny to reset the sways to their soft position since he was under there changing a sway bar bush for me. I reckon this in combination with the springs has made the handling feel more compliant. The car feels like it wants to turn in and out of corners with more flow than before. I can approach corners I know with more precision and speed. It's early days for me to really get a good feel for the new setup, but so far I feel far more confident in the handling than I ever did.

The ride height is lower than I thought. The rear basically there is no gap between the tyre and guard visually looking at it. It's like the guard is sitting on the tyre. The front guard height is about 10mm above the tyre. There is no scrubbing happening with 2 people in the car. I dont know about it with a car load as I rarely take a full load. I find I am approaching speed humps and kerbs slower to allow for my front lip as well as reduction of jarring in the car unnecessarily.

I will post up pics once I wash my car and make it look a bit more presentable.

[shav]

Bit of an update. After driving the car around for a while today in this heat, I get home, and noticed some smoke coming from the bonnet scoop, pop the bonnet to see some smoke coming from the underside of the dump pipe. Look further down only to see driveshaft and cv boot all wet with dark grey greasey oil. I reckon I've split a CV boot due to the car being lower. Dump pipe is closer to the CV Boot.

Reckon some heat tape or stick on sheild on the dump or something is needed where the dump is closest to the cv boot.

[shav]

Got the car back today. It was a split cv boot. Mechanic paid for a tow truck and replaced the split cv boot for nothing. Top bloke

[BigBCalais]

That's both shitty and good news shav, at least you noticed early and no further damage was done

[shav]

That's both shitty and good news shav, at least you noticed early and no further damage was done

Yeah totally agree Bryce. A good ending to a potentially bad situation. I need to fit some for of heat shield to the dump or this will happen prematurely again. Gonna get some self adhesive zircoflex

[alexeiwoody]

Bit of an update. After driving the car around for a while today in this heat, I get home, and noticed some smoke coming from the bonnet scoop, pop the bonnet to see some smoke coming from the underside of the dump pipe. Look further down only to see driveshaft and cv boot all wet with dark grey greasey oil. I reckon I've split a CV boot due to the car being lower. Dump pipe is closer to the CV Boot.

Reckon some heat tape or stick on sheild on the dump or something is needed where the dump is closest to the cv boot.

A heatshield is a good idea, and on the ride height - lowering your car (unless the dump is physically touching the cv boot ) it wouldn't have worn out your boot that much faster. Sounds like the boot was on its way out for a while now...

[shav]

Bit of an update. After driving the car around for a while today in this heat, I get home, and noticed some smoke coming from the bonnet scoop, pop the bonnet to see some smoke coming from the underside of the dump pipe. Look further down only to see driveshaft and cv boot all wet with dark grey greasey oil. I reckon I've split a CV boot due to the car being lower. Dump pipe is closer to the CV Boot.

Reckon some heat tape or stick on sheild on the dump or something is needed where the dump is closest to the cv boot.

A heatshield is a good idea, and on the ride height - lowering your car (unless the dump is physically touching the cv boot ) it wouldn't have worn out your boot that much faster. Sounds like the boot was on its way out for a while now...

Your probably right Alexei. The boot clamps were replaced both sides so I wouldnt be surprised that the tampering had something to do with it. But I have read that the RHS cv boot is the first to fail.

[Bezzza]

From my reading i also read the RHS was most likely to go due to dump pipe heat exposure.

I am contemplating removing my dump pipe to be ceramic coated in the near future to help with the heat radiation.
Not sure if it will make that big of a difference however. More reading will need to be done.

Good to hear it all got sorted promptly for you Shav

[shav]

From my reading i also read the RHS was most likely to go due to dump pipe heat exposure.

I am contemplating removing my dump pipe to be ceramic coated in the near future to help with the heat radiation.
Not sure if it will make that big of a difference however. More reading will need to be done.

Good to hear it all got sorted promptly for you Shav

Thanks Ian. Yes the old cv boot probably was at its last tether with the lowering of the car and the dump being that bit closer in heat. It was 104,000km old, so in my opinion, it lasted well. When speaking to Danny (my mechanic) I mentioned about getting some form of heat shielding for the dump to protect the cv boot and he reckons it will help in the long run.

[shav]

Black Mishimoto TMIC ordered. Matt coming Friday.

[peadya100]

Nice choice Shav!!
Black will look really nice under the factory engine cover