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Off Topic Few questions about wheels/lowering

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Off Topic Few questions about wheels/lowering

Studentas

Studentas

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Hi,

I was searching for similiar topics, but i havent found the right answer, that i was seeking.

I drive 1.6 16v 2002 5dr Stilo, atm on 215/45-17 wheels, and the gap between wheel and arch just killing me. I was thinking about lowering, so i would like you guys to tell me your opinion or suggestion.
Springs - cheaper, but i prob wont be able to replace those myself, and i wouldnt be able to drive during winter with lowered car, our winters are just too bad :D, So i was thinking about coilovers, lower car on summer time and fully up car on winter, with minimal drop. Would that be ok? if i want to buy coils do i need something else to replace?
Coils lowers by 30mm front 20-25mm rear, even when they are fully un-wounded, would that be a problem if i got 195/65-15 winter wheels? (had those only for 1 winter season)

other though was that i should get 215/40-18 wheels to cover some of the arch gap. But on this one i would need a rly honest opinion. my 17" tyres are brand new, so buying something else would be to costly.
And what about 18" on 1.6 Stilo? how the ride changes? I know that the comport will be worse, but what about power? any changes on that?

And last feww random questions.
Is there any worthy sport air filters to orginal box, rather than normal ones?
I want to change exhaust silencer, i want double look, what i need to know? Can i just buy an universal one?


Thank you for your time, and i hope ill get the right answers :)
 
Studentas said:
Hi,

I was searching for similiar topics, but i havent found the right answer, that i was seeking.

I drive 1.6 16v 2002 5dr Stilo, atm on 215/45-17 wheels, and the gap between wheel and arch just killing me. I was thinking about lowering, so i would like you guys to tell me your opinion or suggestion.
Springs - cheaper, but i prob wont be able to replace those myself, and i wouldnt be able to drive during winter with lowered car, our winters are just too bad :D, So i was thinking about coilovers, lower car on summer time and fully up car on winter, with minimal drop. Would that be ok? if i want to buy coils do i need something else to replace?
Coils lowers by 30mm front 20-25mm rear, even when they are fully un-wounded, would that be a problem if i got 195/65-15 winter wheels? (had those only for 1 winter season)

other though was that i should get 215/40-18 wheels to cover some of the arch gap. But on this one i would need a rly honest opinion. my 17" tyres are brand new, so buying something else would be to costly.
And what about 18" on 1.6 Stilo? how the ride changes? I know that the comport will be worse, but what about power? any changes on that?

And last feww random questions.
Is there any worthy sport air filters to orginal box, rather than normal ones?
I want to change exhaust silencer, i want double look, what i need to know? Can i just buy an universal one?


Thank you for your time, and i hope ill get the right answers :)
Click to expand...

I have 185/55r15's on my Stilo and the arch gap is horrendous! :yuck: I'm getting coilovers that lower up to 100mm to cure it :) FK Highsport they are (y)

If you get a vehicle specific kit then it will just be a case of out with the old and in with the new :)

Fitting bigger wheels has the effect of making the final drive ratio longer, effectively making your car accelerate slower. It may also make the steering a bit heavier, but bigger wheels I believe are quieter and handle bumps better?

There's no real point in getting a cone filter or induction kit unless you upgrade the exhuast like decat and manifold. Have a look at the BMC/K&N/Pipercross replacement air filters for the original airbox. They will work better in normal driving conditions.

Your best bet for a new backbox is to get a custom one done. You can pick the silencer size, tip size/style and they can fit it for you (y)
 
to be honest you run the risk of getting heat soak with a cone filter unless you can put it somewhere else, they don't really give you much bhp if any but the noise will be nice, i have run cone filters on all my cars since 2000, and have always tried to mount them away form the engine, on the marea's i had the cone was in the front wing just above the splash guard this kept the air getting to it cool.

lowering i would say take too long, my old marea took me about 2 hours start to finish to change the springs, so it depends what you want to do, coilovers are mega money but then you adjustability, i am going for springs on my mutli and they will probably take a me a few hours to do but once i have done these once i know next time i will have them done quicker :)
 
Studentas said:
Springs - cheaper, but i prob wont be able to replace those myself, and i wouldnt be able to drive during winter with lowered car, our winters are just too bad :D, So i was thinking about coilovers, lower car on summer time and fully up car on winter, with minimal drop.
Click to expand...

Am I right in saying that the standard front suspension of a Stilo are "Coil Overs" and the rear isn't?

I'm just not up to date with this "lowering speak". :eek:
 
Last edited:
I agree coils is huge money sink, but i dont want to try and replace springs by my self, i aint got any required tools, and for first time to do it, im kinda scared not to mess up :D
And replacing lowering springs/shocks to original ones every summer/autum, in service, is quite expensive.

About wheels, i know that bigger wheels, with bigger tyres makes huge difference on driving, but, how does it work? etc: is it cuz of the diameter of the wheel with tyre?
etc, 215/45-17 7J and 215/40-18 8J how big difference is there? i tryed tyre calculation, and it just shows that difference is 0.6%, and acceleration is almost the same. Could u guys give me more info about that?
 
Shadeyman said:
Am I right in saying that the standard front suspension of a Stilo are "Coil Overs" and the rear isn't?

I'm just not up to date with this "lowering speak". :eek:
Click to expand...

Yes...and no. The fronts as you know are McP struts, so the coil is 'over' the damper. But the springs on proper coilovers are usually much smaller in diameter than the OEM spring/strut set-up.
 
Studentas said:
I agree coils is huge money sink, but i dont want to try and replace springs by my self, i aint got any required tools, and for first time to do it, im kinda scared not to mess up :D
And replacing lowering springs/shocks to original ones every summer/autum, in service, is quite expensive.

About wheels, i know that bigger wheels, with bigger tyres makes huge difference on driving, but, how does it work? etc: is it cuz of the diameter of the wheel with tyre?
etc, 215/45-17 7J and 215/40-18 8J how big difference is there? i tryed tyre calculation, and it just shows that difference is 0.6%, and acceleration is almost the same. Could u guys give me more info about that?
Click to expand...

you will still need the top hats of your original shocks for the coilovers though so you will still need to compress the spring, with spring compressors. if the rear uses a beam like the multi wagons (correct me if i am wrong please) then it would just be a case of kacking teh rear up and axle standing it, and then using a jack to put under the spring platform while you undo the bottom shock nut, take the bolt out and then gently lower the jack so the rear spring falls out. and then pop new one jack the platform into postions put bolt back in and hey presto rear is done. fronts if there like the marea's then 2 bolts on the hub and the drop link and a couple on the front platfom (in the engine bay) compress spring and undo the top nut. the first time i did this it took me 2 hours and that was with a neighbour talking to me too. i found it very easy now if you gave me a marea weekend i could do it in less than an hour on my own, the stilo i will need to look over but if its the same will be very easy and quick to do you just need to make sure you have the right tools for the job and soak all the nuts and bolts in wd40
 
Just a quick note , I fitted eibach -30mm springs and although the car looked better side on ( gap reduced a fair bit ) the wheels sat further in at the top of the arch(or just looked it) and eventually I fitted some 15mm hubcentric spacers to bring the wheel face back out to the arch, another £100 I didn't wanna spend.
This was with oe 17" blades and 215/45 17.
Anyone contemplating -100mm has never seen a speed bump, I regularly get the rubber splitter catching humps.
 
im sat on -80/-90 H&R adjustable coilovers with 215/45/17 blades and dont bottom out on anything....

i know people wont beleive me but the gap chassais to floor is still 15-20cm... and speedbumps sit maximum legally at 10cm its never going to hit. the problem comes if you hit them fast as the car bumps down off it and causes a bounce. but you can do that in standard cars...


another thing ive noticed, i parked next to a friends standard 1.8 and his engine lower tray was sat LOWER to the floor than my car's lowest point without the tray. so alot of people hear that and think its serious, when realisticly its just abit of plastic that fiat themselfs even gave up fitting.


imo. on 17" rims, -80ish is as low as i would go though :). and my arch gap is litterally non existant, where the tyres stop the arch starts.

no rubbing or scrubbing with no spacers on blades. but im sure the stiffness of the suspension helps with that.
 
clock34 said:
im sat on -80/-90 H&R adjustable coilovers with 215/45/17 blades and dont bottom out on anything....

i know people wont beleive me but the gap chassais to floor is still 15-20cm... and speedbumps sit maximum legally at 10cm its never going to hit. the problem comes if you hit them fast as the car bumps down off it and causes a bounce. but you can do that in standard cars...


another thing ive noticed, i parked next to a friends standard 1.8 and his engine lower tray was sat LOWER to the floor than my car's lowest point without the tray. so alot of people hear that and think its serious, when realisticly its just abit of plastic that fiat themselfs even gave up fitting.


imo. on 17" rims, -80ish is as low as i would go though :). and my arch gap is litterally non existant, where the tyres stop the arch starts.

no rubbing or scrubbing with no spacers on blades. but im sure the stiffness of the suspension helps with that.
Click to expand...

It all depends on the engine , stiffness of the suspension and weight in the car. Im on the Standard GP Schumacher -30/-20 iirc and since adding a modest amount of weight to the car i bottom out on everything, anything with a gradient adds a new mark to the collection on my front lip and the underside of the side skirts get cained on uneven country roads.

rat20v said:
i am going 50mm down on PI springs very soon on my multiwagon so will see how that sits
Click to expand...
Sorry to sound a bit Del Boy here but if your on a Budget i am Selling my GP Schumacher Blistein/Spax combo soon.
 
Last edited:
Yellow Peril said:
The main difference between coilovers and standard McP struts is that the coilover will incorporate some system to adjust its variable ride height.

For example:

http://www.kw-suspension.co.uk/
Click to expand...

(y)

Oh right, so all coil over's are adjustable(damping I presume) and a standard shocker through a spring that look like a coil over's aren't?

Edit.
That can't be right.
I had an old Kawasaki z1000 that had coil over suspesion and they weren't adjustable? :confused:

Google as usual comes up trumps.
So the standard Stilo from end is "Coil Over" although some coil overs are adjustable.

A coilover is an automobile suspension device. "Coilover" is short for "coil spring over strut". It consists of a shock absorber with a coil spring encircling it. The shock absorber and spring are assembled as a unit prior to installation, and are replaced as a unit when the shock absorber has leaked. This provides for optimal damping without torsional loads. Some coilovers allow adjustment of ride height and stiffness, using a simple threaded spring perch similar to a nut. More advanced adjustable coilover systems will use a threaded shock body, coupled with an adjustable lower mount for ride height adjustment, while an adjustment knob is used to adjust damping, commonly referred to as "stiffness." Spring rate also plays a role in stiffness.
[ame]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coilover[/ame]
 
Last edited:
I swear everybody gets it wrong. A coil over is just that. A strut with a coil over it.
For some reason this has all come about from the Aftermarket Jargon that a Coilover has to be adjustable. It doesnt, thats when it becomes an Adjustable Coilover lol.
 
volxstu said:
I swear everybody gets it wrong. A coil over is just that. A strut with a coil over it.
For some reason this has all come about from the Aftermarket Jargon that a Coilover has to be adjustable. It doesnt, thats when it becomes an Adjustable Coilover lol.
Click to expand...

So the Stilo front end is coil over?

Finally.

This has confused me for years ... :eek:
 
Exactly that :)

Aftermarket coilover kits at entry level are usually only height adjustable, the more expensive units will also have adjustable rebound damping (how quickly the damper reacts/ expands after a bump) and then up from that will be adjustable rebound & bump damping (how fast the damper reacts under contraction/ bump)

An oem Stilo coilover is none of the above, just a fixed rate damper with a fixed rate spring. Not sure if oem's are gas filled though??
 
I was thinking in cheap way, (cheap person pays double..) What if i lower car by 30mm on original shocks, and keep it summer/winter, but change only wheels, 195/65-15 winter
215/40-18 summer (i saw preatty good looking wheels, cheap, used, but 4x100/4x108, should be high more than 40ET, what if i buy adapters?), what do u think car will look like?

Could any1 provide me with stilo pics lowered by 30mm on any size wheels?
 
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