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Pedders eXtreme XA coilovers

PostPosted: Wed Nov 04, 2009 4:53 pm
by Laps
Just went to pedders... He told me that it would be best to just get coil overs to change the height of my car, as changing ONLY the springs and not the shocks would have long term negative affects, and that coils would mean being able to fully adjust the height. He said save for longer and get coils...

I have decided I am happy to get coils. He quoted about $1850 inc instalation/wheel allignent for the following coilovers (watch the video):
http://www.pedders.com.au/products/52

So all is good, I will do suspension and then look at purchasing wheels.

My question is - Is there a better brand I should get for around this price (or even cheaper :D)...

Re: Pedders eXtreme XA coilovers

PostPosted: Wed Nov 04, 2009 5:17 pm
by adhar
Read this thread about BC Racing Coilovers
You can get them cheaper than the Pedders and they seem to get a good wrap as a street set-up.

Also look up Racing Logic Coilovers, a QLD company, i have them. They are quite firm but still good. In hindsight i wish i just bought some bilsteins and a good set of springs (like the ones with STi springs in the for sale section atm)

Just don't rule out spending your money on a good spring/shock combination yet. For a road car it is much more comfortable than coilovers, you just don't get the advantage of getting the height perfect to the mm. Coilovers don't have the travel of a standard length strut so big bumps and pot holes can be a bitch.

Hope that helps.

Re: Pedders eXtreme XA coilovers

PostPosted: Wed Nov 04, 2009 7:21 pm
by Laps
Dunno about those BC ones... They are pretty much the same price as the pedders, and pedders carry great support so I think I would rather just go with them (if i had to choose between the 2).

Can anyone else confirm that a spring/shock combo is better than coilovers in terms of comfort? I thought coilovers would be well comfy?

From what I gather it would cost around the same to get good spring/shocks or just coilovers so now im really confuzzled, i thought coilovers were the best...

Also, can someone list the coilovers that will fit an 08 2.5i sedan, in the order of how good they are??? Same with shocks/springs. Thanks.

Re: Pedders eXtreme XA coilovers

PostPosted: Wed Nov 04, 2009 7:35 pm
by teK--
Those BC Racing coilovers actually look very similar to Pedders ones! Same colour and design top hat, bottom spring collar, bottom strut mount. It may be a different spring and that's about it. Quite likely all the entry level coilover brands all use core components from the same factory or based on a reference design, and then just pair them with different springs depending on the aimed market price.

BC Racing, Megan Racing, Pedders, Racing Logic are probably all of similar quality.

You are right in pointing out though that Pedders are a product that has very good local support so it may be worth paying a little extra.

IMHO coilovers give great adjustability but they must be set up properly (I would suggest corner weighting even though some people think it's overkill for a street car). In terms of the extra complexity of a coilover you will always get lesser quality coilover compared to a strut/spring setup when paying the same amount of money.

I've driven the Pedders coilover and they feel pretty good on the road and have a wide range of adjustment. Also I have been in a passenger on the track with these coilovers and I would have to say it was very impressive. As for longetivity that is something I am unaware of however the test car had reportedly done over 30,000Kms of hard driving with negligible reduction in performance (which of course can be compensated by adjusting the firmness higher).

Re: Pedders eXtreme XA coilovers

PostPosted: Wed Nov 04, 2009 7:46 pm
by Laps
teK-- wrote:Those BC Racing coilovers actually look very similar to Pedders ones! Same colour and design top hat, bottom spring collar, bottom strut mount. It may be a different spring and that's about it. Quite likely all the entry level coilover brands all use core components from the same factory or based on a reference design, and then just pair them with different springs depending on the aimed market price.

BC Racing, Megan Racing, Pedders, Racing Logic are probably all of similar quality.

You are right in pointing out though that Pedders are a product that has very good local support so it may be worth paying a little extra.

IMHO coilovers give great adjustability but they must be set up properly (I would suggest corner weighting even though some people think it's overkill for a street car). In terms of the extra complexity of a coilover you will always get lesser quality coilover compared to a strut/spring setup when paying the same amount of money.

I've driven the Pedders coilover and they feel pretty good on the road and have a wide range of adjustment. Also I have been in a passenger on the track with these coilovers and I would have to say it was very impressive. As for longetivity that is something I am unaware of however the test car had reportedly done over 30,000Kms of hard driving with negligible reduction in performance (which of course can be compensated by adjusting the firmness higher).


I was hoping this thread would attract you and your expertise Jimbo! So by the sounds of it Pedders are pretty good? Im just hesitant about getting springs over the net as I wouldnt want to get the wrong ones, or get coilovers that are shit. Thats why pedders appeal to me, because if they are shit, i can drive 5 mins and say fix them..

And so you reckon spend 1800 on strut/springs rather than coilovers? Honestly, either way I really dont think im going to be able to tell the difference. As long as its not bumpy im happy lol!

PS. what does corner weighting mean?

Re: Pedders eXtreme XA coilovers

PostPosted: Wed Nov 04, 2009 7:47 pm
by nytrojen
I assume you already read this thread?:

http://forum.liberty.asn.au/viewtopic.php?f=48&t=6455

I think in your particular instance, the pedders coil overs should be fine for the application. You'll get the look you're after as well as a decent ride and handling. Plus the peace of mind knowing you always have someone to yell at when things go pear shaped ;)

Re: Pedders eXtreme XA coilovers

PostPosted: Wed Nov 04, 2009 7:49 pm
by GTB Liberty
http://lmgtfy.com/?q=corner+weighting



Note - I am NOT endorsing the company above.

Re: Pedders eXtreme XA coilovers

PostPosted: Wed Nov 04, 2009 7:52 pm
by Laps
nytrojen wrote: Plus the peace of mind knowing you always have someone to yell at when things go pear shaped ;)


I LIKE THIS!!!!!!!!

and yeh i read that thread, thanks for that :)


ABout that video... How much do teins average, and how do they compare to pedders... Also Bilstein is a good brand, do they have coilovers for the 08 libssss?

Re: Pedders eXtreme XA coilovers

PostPosted: Wed Nov 04, 2009 7:59 pm
by teK--
I think based on the fact that you seem so uncertain about what you want, then coilovers may be the way to go because then you can adjust the height and the firmness of the damping to your preference.

It can potentially avoid a lot of money spent and frustration in chasing that "perfect" ride height or a ride that is to firm or too soft.

Corner weighting involves putting scales under each wheel and then adjusting the height of the coilover so that the weight can be as evenly distributed as possible whilst retaining as equal ride height as possible. Not doing this is not the end of the world it means that the height of the car is just set by measuring tape which is probably acceptable for most people.

You are probably better off skipping the corner weighting actually, and invest in adjustable camber bushes for the rear, since the negative camber *will* increase when you lower the car.

Re: Pedders eXtreme XA coilovers

PostPosted: Wed Nov 04, 2009 8:01 pm
by teK--
Laps wrote:
nytrojen wrote: Plus the peace of mind knowing you always have someone to yell at when things go pear shaped ;)


I LIKE THIS!!!!!!!!

and yeh i read that thread, thanks for that :)


ABout that video... How much do teins average, and how do they compare to pedders... Also Bilstein is a good brand, do they have coilovers for the 08 libssss?


When I was looking, the basic Tein coilovers which are the Superstreets were around $2100 or so plus fitment. I would place these at a higher quality than the Pedders. Bilstein are far far more expensive than this if they even make them for our cars at all. I would expect $3000 and likely overkill for what you want to do.

Re: Pedders eXtreme XA coilovers

PostPosted: Wed Nov 04, 2009 8:10 pm
by Laps
haha so i defs want to go with the pedders...

now i did some research about what 'camber' is...

From what i can gather, I want 0 degree camber (wheels are straight up, no positive or negative camber)
****Edit: Just figured out that ideal camber varies from tyre to tyre lol

Now if corner weighting will resolve this issue (which surely pedders can do), why would I waist money on camber bushes? Are they better or something? (google provided no answers :()

Re: Pedders eXtreme XA coilovers

PostPosted: Wed Nov 04, 2009 8:11 pm
by smythie
Bilstein don't do coilovers for the Libs (at least not sourceable through the Australian distributor). They do have products for the WRX and I would expect that if you wanted to go racing with coilovers you'd be able to get something made up. Dollars wise, well they want around $600 per shock to add damping adjustability and that's on top of the rebuild cost.

Re: Pedders eXtreme XA coilovers

PostPosted: Wed Nov 04, 2009 8:19 pm
by teK--
Camber is not adjustable at the rear of our cars, and corner weighting does nothing to address it either.

Our cars have mult-link rear suspensions which will provide more negative camber as the rear wheels are compressed (dynamic camber). This maximises the tyre contact patch during cornering (good). When you lower the car you are taking the rear wheels through its natural range of compression, which mean that when the car is stationary and lowered, the negative camber will already be at some amount higher than when the car was not lowered.

If you are using the car mostly for daily driving it is not ideal to have too much negative camber when the suspension is unloaded, i.e. start with as little negative camber as practicable ("static camber"). To adjust this you need the rear upper control arm bushes I mentioned. They are only around $70.00 plus half an hour or so of labor to fit.

Re: Pedders eXtreme XA coilovers

PostPosted: Wed Nov 04, 2009 8:26 pm
by Laps
ok wel because i need to walk before i can run, i will first get the coilovers before i annoy you some more about camber brushes lol...

so all i need to do now is save $1800

hmmmm pokies n e one lol?

Re: Pedders eXtreme XA coilovers

PostPosted: Wed Nov 04, 2009 8:47 pm
by nytrojen
Shoulda just bet $180 on shocking :P