Aftermarket Springs - Made car comfier????

[stew07gt]

So ive replaced my springs after 130000 k's to some cheap used king springs in got on here from jimbo. The thing is, my car has become less bumpy and more comfortable?

Can anyone explain this or should i assume my old ones had become so sagged they became harsh??

Also, upon seeing this improvement im tempted to upgrade my struts too, i think they were serviced about 30000 ago by the looks of them, but i wouldnt know for sure because the previous owner didnt keep receipts. Was thinking the bilsteins from tyrepower for $550... are they actually a worthy improvement over the konis, or would i not notice much difference, because of the king springs etc, or should i just wait... quite a while, and get coilovers?

stew

[garbo41610]

I found the upgrade to Bilsteins a pretty decent improvement on the handling on my MY05 GT sedan. They come with the standard GT springs but all being basically brand new they were still very taught (much better than the Bilstrein struts and spring in the MY10 GT).

You would probably find your factory springs were shot, for anyone to say King Springs are comfortable then their old springs must have been shot LOL... No offence...

It all depends on how hard you want to push your car and if you want to track it I suppose. You could always look at the Bilstein struts and pair them with a set of STi pink springs. But that is just my opinion.

[stew07gt]

You would probably find your factory springs were shot, for anyone to say King Springs are comfortable then their old springs must have been shot LOL... No offence...

haha, none taken, i understand they arent the best, but i just wanted it lower as a temp fix, suprisingly im quite happy with them, especially for $100, they must have been shot.. feels a lot more solid on the road now... might invest in driving someone elses liberty, who actually has good suspension, so i could see the difference, it could still go lower though i reckon... makes me interested in a H&R / Bilstein combo which i think a few people here have. would be good to see what the difference of that is.

[Dropz]

Your stock springs may be slightly sagged, but the reason they were bouncier is because they were designed for comfort and daily driving, most people want softer springs so they don't feel all the road bumps.

The king springs, being aftermarket, are designed to have better handling and be stiffer. The reason they would be better, being king springs, would simply be an age issue. Soon enough they will be bouncier than a gen 3 outback (inside joke at work, those fuckers bounce like all hell).

After driving many gen 4s with Bilsteins I would HIGHLY recommend them over the konis. Much firmer feel and alot more responsive. The bilsteins can be cheaply rebuilt if you buy secondhand ones that aren't too great.

[stew07gt]

fair enough, for $100 i havent lost too much though, still find it weird that it feels a lot smoother. whats the step up like from the billes to coilovers though?

[Dropz]

Personally, I can't say. I've not driven a car with coilovers myself. Next year or later this year I'd like to look into some adjustable coilovers for my car. The biggest selling point for coilovers for me is the fact I can set everything how I want it. Camber, damper and height. I'd like to have -1.6degrees camber, lowest legal height, and find my desired damper settings for daily driving, and for hills runs. Reason for the camber is to keep the grip in the tight corners with some speed, lowest legal for looks and to lower the centre of gravity, being a big heavy car its prone to alot of weight transfer, the lower I can get that weight the less it'll effect the cornering abilities of the car.

But if you want to keep it very budgeted then the Bilsteins are an affordable and worthwhile upgrade, I've seen them around a few places for $550 brand new with springs. And if you want them to be a bit stiffer, as suggested look into the STi springs.

[stew07gt]

yeah, aligned mine yesterday to -1 camber and -1 toe.. just for a week to see how i like it, turns in nicely now. putting in phat's lca bushes next week, havent had time till now, but i cant wait. anyone looked into BC coilovers, few guys on rexnet have used them i think, seem to get ok reviews for the money, can be had for around $1150 i think?

thanks for your help guys

[Dropz]

Theres a few different sets on eBay AUS and eBay US for similar pricing. I've been recommended by a mate to look into HSD, but a quick look at their online compaibility list doesn't look promising. I was thinking of phoning to see if they have any plans to bring out a set suitable for Gen 4 Libertys, but I assume to kick it off it would need a group buy, and I currently don't have the time or money behind me for such an endeavor.

[smythie]

Drop a line to JimmyS - he got a set for his GT-B. Was quite happy with them IIRC

[stew07gt]

of the bc's or the hsds? his car does look pretty good i must say

[smythie]

Sorry about the, HSD's.

[Dropz]

Just had a quick look in his thread, an image is on page 18 or 19 and they look good. A look on their website says they're $1349 for a set. Not bad considering no ones heard a bad word about them.

[stew07gt]

So after a month or so it seems that one of the following is the case:

1. Either my shocks are infact shot and ill need to replace them.
2. The new king springs are knocking somehow and as well as the added noise are now what id describe as 'plasticy and bouncy'
3. Something was installed incorrectly. Ive done a spanners check and everything is tight and looks alright. So im not sure where the new noise has come from.

So my question is what should i do/what options do i have? I Wasnt keen to pay a suspension mob money only to have them look at it say yeah sure we can fix it but itll be pricey.

I figure my options are regas? replace with bilsteins struts from tyrepower/different springs? or get coils?

So which should i do? the noise is horrible to a point where im driving slow for fear of wheels falling off.(noise is at all 4 corners).

[Dropz]

Have the rubber stops at the top and bottom of each spring been reinstalled when they were put in? If not that'll knock like all hell.

[stew07gt]

do you have a picture? please post one and allow me to feel silly, i did install them myself/hadnt done it before. Was kind of learn as i went.

edit: 'Nevermind, just went and looked at my old springs, i know what you mean now, as yes, theyre still on my old ones, should i just take my springs out and put these on the new springs. Also theres none on the rear ones and theyre also only on the bottom of the front ones?