Hello Men,

Something i noticed with the van on the Croma and also when i took the van off was the rear suspension "sagging".
Whilst away on holiday we moved from one site to another and every time she seemed to get worse even though the caravan nose wieght stayed the same.
Even with the van removed she seemed to take ages for her to come back to ride height level.
Are the springs a bit weak on them.Any mods that can be done?
Towed really nice though.

Ah, you've discovered the Vectra rear suspension problem. Yes, the springs are very weak at the back in terms of towing. If they are loaded for long periods of time, they also tend to sag and stay sagged. Best solution I've found is to fit Vectra Estate rear springs, they are appreciably thicker than the Croma items. Downside is that the ride is slightly harder but on the plus side it handles better. There are a couple of other Croma owners on here who tow, hopefully they'll have more to add.

Thanks for the tip, Didi – I don’t tow, but would like to add the mod to my possibles list … may help to relieve my medical condition (Croma twitch).

Part No’s ? Presumably these are HD type & avoid the pig-tail flaw?

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55 Prestigio 1.9/16v150

The ones on mine at the minute are second hand and have sagged a bit (before I got them - they were freefrom a chap on the Vectra-C forum so I don't mind ) so in the next couple of months I will be getting some like these. Had a look in the KYB book at my local motor factors yesterday and there is only one part number listed for all Vectra estates between 2002 and 2008. I don't know what the vauxhall part number is though - sorry.

I've had mine fitted for two years now with no ill effects. I would avoid fitting lowering springs though, the Croma has too much negative camber at the rear anyway (which is why it deforms the tread blocks on the inner shoulders of the rear tyres, leading to excessive road noise / sounds like a rear wheel bearing has gone) and lowering makes things worse.

Pig-tail issue is still present but the spring material is much thicker than the Croma standard items, I reckon about 2-3 mm thicker. This should help them last a bit longer. Bad design I'm afraid.

On the subject of your twitchy rear end I had a similar problem when I got mine. Rear wheel alignment helped a lot, and since I fitted Bilstein B4 shocks I've been happy with the way the back of the car behaves. 18" wheels also makes things worse, especially when the tyres wear down a bit

Hope this helps.

On Croma / Vectra etc the standard manufacturer springs are of tapered wire size. i.e. the diameter of the spring wire in not constant. Thinner at the ends thicker in the middle. This gives rise to softer ride for small deflections with increased resistance with heavier load. I don't no if the Vectra Estate updated springs are the same.

I have fitten after market Kilen springs. These are full thickness wire over the full spring length. No sag or excessive deflection with load that I have noticed.

Personally I would say skip Fiat or GM springs and go straight for Kilen ones.

My notes from late 2009 re springs - but now 21 months on, not sure how accurate they are …

SPRINGS
51755684 (M88, M89, +007) 2.24kg £76.02/pair (2005)
51754215 (M92) 2.24kg £76.02/pair (2005)
51757484 (M42) 2.75kg £76.02/pair (2005)
51755500 (M95) 2.75kg £84.29/pair (2005)

Lesjofors
40 261 85 (Front Coil Spring)
40 261 33 (Rear Coil Spring)

KYB Springs: Tel. 01925-417444
1.8/16v RH2658
1.9/16v 115/120: RH2661
1.9/16v 150: RH2698?
2.2/16v RH2661
2.2/16v RH2658

I recall speaking with someone at KYB, who advised they did have a constant dia. spring for the Croma/Vectra – but only for the rear.

I’ve only lost one spring (o/s/f) during my term - & this was replaced with a Kilen 12168.

My `Croma twitch’ is a neck muscle complaint - aka a nervous tic or involuntary movement that comes on when I taxi out for take-off! Any idea where I can pick-up a second-hand Martin-Baker GQ-7A seat?

55 Prestigio 1.9/16v150 (Mach 0.17)

Hope you've got the 'Skydome' fitted as ejection might prove painful otherwise...

buster said:

Hello Men,

Something i noticed with the van on the Croma and also when i took the van off was the rear suspension "sagging".
Whilst away on holiday we moved from one site to another and every time she seemed to get worse even though the caravan nose wieght stayed the same.
Even with the van removed she seemed to take ages for her to come back to ride height level.
Are the springs a bit weak on them.Any mods that can be done?
Towed really nice though.

Click to expand...

I used spring assisters on mine for a while untill I had to replace the springs,haven't got round to fitting them again after the garage removed them.
Car didn't bottom as much with them on when towing,even solo it didn't affect the ride.

Hi Lads,
Just fitted Kilen Springs listed as 'Vectra C Estate Reinforced'. Took 25 minutes to fit and increased ride height by almost an inch [ unintended ]. Ride is only joggly on a very bad road, car never ever bottoms even with a 1400kg van on the back. This was complimented by a pair of Sachs shocks, finally that soggy vectra a**e sorted!!!!!