Suspension refit...

patricks

Hi all seeking recommendations on suspension refit. My 2003 astra sri has the original suspension and im wanting to restore its original performance..... i feel as though i have more vibrations transmitted through the body of the car and a more jiggly ride at high speed. Also get some minor creaking/moaning happening on front suspension.... the noise happens mainly at lower speeds over bumps or chaingng direction when the car leans.

I was thinking i should change front and rear bushes but not sure if i should change the bearings on the strut mounts too....how can i tell if they are any good still?? The front shocks are still good the rears too but the drivers side rear shock leaks a bit of oil. What do u guys think should be on the "must do" list to regain the smoother quieter ride the car once had....

Sjdickso

If its the original suspension and you want to over haul it.

New shocks - Bilstein / New ARB droplinks / Top mounts and bearings / ARB bushes "Poly ones" Then Poly wishbone bushes and bottom gearbox mount.

patricks

Sjdickso said:
If its the original suspension and you want to over haul it.

New shocks - Bilstein / New ARB droplinks / Top mounts and bearings / ARB bushes "Poly ones" Then Poly wishbone bushes and bottom gearbox mount.

Thanks and yep its original suspension and i do want to overhaul it - are not poly bushes harder than rubber and give a firmer ride more vibration?

identiti66

From a general road users point of view, I've found poly bushes and uprated suspension runs the risk of being harsh.. but coupled with stock suspension it seems to just tighten up the whole setup rather than stiffening it.. if that makes sense.

evocarlos

my whole car is poly bushed and i would not change it 🙂
im with simon if it moves then change it 🙂

identiti66

I hope to be poly bushing mine over time too - makes perfect sense to me.. suspension is staying stock, it's plenty firm enough for our driving.

patricks

identiti66 said:
From a general road users point of view, I've found poly bushes and uprated suspension runs the risk of being harsh.. but coupled with stock suspension it seems to just tighten up the whole setup rather than stiffening it.. if that makes sense.

Im perfectly happy with the handling so dont need to stiffen it - for street use only - im specifically chasing improvement in ride as its a bit jiggly speed and less vibration thru cabin and steering parficularly under acceleration... with that in mind would u still go poly?

patricks

evocarlos said:
my whole car is poly bushed and i would not change it 🙂
im with simon if it moves then change it 🙂

Hey carl did u end up fitting a watts link to the rear? Now that would be a great mod!

evocarlos

patricks said:
Hey carl did u end up fitting a watts link to the rear? Now that would be a great mod!

no lol i never had the heart to cut the spare wheel well to get the room for it
the white line RARB is pretty good at what it does tho

identiti66

patricks said:
Im perfectly happy with the handling so dont need to stiffen it - for street use only - im specifically chasing improvement in ride as its a bit jiggly speed and less vibration thru cabin and steering parficularly under acceleration... with that in mind would u still go poly?

Not sure it'd deal with vibration through the cabin, that sounds like a different issue to me (I'm far from expert and could be way off, am very much just a driver who's tinkered a little for 30 years). I would do the poly thing though, it should improve the ride without altering the comfort - which is my goal.

Sjdickso

I wouldn't go back to normal bushes mine is fully poly bushed and has a RARB also one of best handling mods 🙂 the only poly bushes I hate and are possibly going top take off are the exhaust hangers they add far too much vibration through the car and make me feel:Vomit: