Styling Lowering & Geometry Setup

[richydraper]

as some of you may know im hoping for this to be the year of sorting my Stilo.

im thinking since i have to do front springs, Wishbones and rear bushes and will be disturbing the suspension it may be time to drop her an inch or so. A 50mm drop is too extreme so im looking at a 30-35mm drops. probably go for Eibach Pros as i hope they will set off the blades that will be going on her soon-ish.

now the rears will drop beautifully in terms of geometry as its a beam axle... but the fronts, the fronts are my worry. im not into scrubbing tyres up so i'll be needing to push the camber out to suit. im thinking the best/only way of doing this is to dremmel the upper hub retention bolt hole in the struts to allow camber adjustment... im assuming on a 35mm drop i dont need to worry about modifying wishbones, but do i need to be aware of ARB drop link lengths possibly allowing the ARB to foul on large wishbone deflections? also will it throw the tracking out... im assuming it will push slightly tow-in.!?

finally... with lower, stiffer springs (although only marginal) im guessing ill have to do something with the shocks (which maybe in contradiction to my idea of dremmeling the hub mounts of stock shocks)...

thoughts please

 

[gadge]

You won't need to do any of that on the front, the geometry of the wheels will be the same the whole length of the travel, the wish bones will just follow the hub up and down and the ARB links bolt to the underneath of the shock so will not be affected (I'ld change them though while your there though they only cost about £7 and are a known failure on the stilos).

You get a from me on using ebachs I've been using them for years and have always been more than pleased with them. If your after a sportier ride (less roll around the bends) then maybe a set of sports shocks will suit. But if it's just looks your after then stick with the springs only and save a few quid. The springs will firm things up a bit though

 

[richydraper]

im after a bit of stance without comprimising too much handling/repair bills. i know that with some setups you can get a kind of 'nodding' on m/ways and 'bouncing' with speed humps or premature shock failiure due to the higher spring rates of the actual springs. i want the ride slightly firmer and less wallowy but as its my daily driver and the 'family car' i dont want it boneshakingly stiff which i think id have with greater drops.

im kinda toying with a front strut brace but will need it to go towards the bulkhead to avoid fouling on the ECU plugs iirc any suggestions?

 

[gadge]

I'ld say all you need is just the springs, they'll offer you the stance you want while still retaining good road manners. The strut brace is also worth having. Again I have one on mine (actually I have 3 lol) and it really helps. What engine do you have you may not meet to move the ECU - I had to on mine but only by an inch

 

[richydraper]

1.6... as in my sig

infact come to think of it ill need it to clear all the upper engine plastics...

u got top and bottom for the rear too gadge??

 

[gadge]

I have an OMP front upper and an ulrtarace front lower sub frame one and and ultrarace rear lower one. I'll be getting an ultrarace rear upper one at some point but it kind of takes up your boot abit.

You'll be fine with the 1.6 it'll clear everything if it's the OMP One. It's the JTD and the 2.4 that there's usually an issue

Here's a pic of the upper front one

 

[richydraper]

nice 20v engine dressing!

im amazed its the same lump they used in the coupe!

 

[gadge]

More or less just a tad bigger. It should be a dull looking plastic one but I got this off a non turbo coupe

 

[Morty Mort]

As mentioned, you don't have to do anything. I changed my setup to Eibachs (the complete kit with 30 mm lowering springs and shocks). Camber/castor, toe-in is all the same afterwards. See the fantastic step-by-step guide (in the Stilo guides section). You will notice that speed bump issues will vanish into thin air, in comparison to the OEM soft-kit.

 

[philipb82]

As mentioned, you don't have to do anything. I changed my setup to Eibachs (the complete kit with 30 mm lowering springs and shocks). Camber/castor, toe-in is all the same afterwards. See the fantastic step-by-step guide (in the Stilo guides section). You will notice that speed bump issues will vanish into thin air, in comparison to the OEM soft-kit.

Are Eibach springs the best for the Stilo? I have been looking at lowering springs myself and as well as Eibach I've seen Pi and Gmax. I used to have Gmax lowering springs on my Focus TDCi and with 45 profile tyres. The ride was not harsh but you could feel every bump in the road, better handling though and less body roll. What's your tyre profile Morty and what's the general ride like with a 30mm drop? I would imagine there's also less body roll? My JTD is sitting on 16" alloys with a 55 profile tyre.


Sorry richydraper I don't intend to hijack your thread

Thanks


Phil

 

[sussexa]

ive had eibach 35mm drops on for a few years now and got through a few sets of tyres but not really for uneven tyre wear any more than the first set that were also worn on inner edge when on std suspension set up.
I just think the torque and weight of the jtd 16v kills tyres quicker than most.
the only thing I did was added 15mm hubcentric spacers as when the car settled lower the top of the tyres looked too far into the arch, near perfect now for my liking.
after 15mm hubcentric spacers

after a few years of eibachs so fully settled just before spacers fitted

was a pain to sort out longer bolts and locking studs though( had to go longer and cut to fit)

 

[minimad99]

Def go strut brace route, it's the best mod I've ever done. I did mine myself when I changed the springs & shocks so made drilling the turrets easier. Just need a lowering bracket for the fuel filter on jtd and you're done. Get a proper laser alignment done after, I've never had any inner wear problems since.

 

[Morty Mort]

The ride was not harsh but you could feel every bump in the road, better handling though and less body roll. What's your tyre profile Morty and what's the general ride like with a 30mm drop? I would imagine there's also less body roll?

Shocks and springs in combination with the strut brace, the body roll and nose dive is reduced to zero.

I have 215/45R17 filled to 2,7 bar at the moment. Wife and kids don't complain.

 

[richydraper]

and neither Morty Mort or sussexa have had any problems on std shocks?

I did toy with spacers but wanted to see how a full set of blades looked on mine before diving in.

No worries about hi jacking phil!

 

[Morty Mort]

17" Blades on 30 mm Eibachs vs 15" multispoke.

 

[richydraper]

just out of interest how do you boys rate the APEX springs (they're £70 cheaper, but still a good brand right??)

 

[sswaras]

17" Blades on 30 mm Eibachs vs 15" multispoke.

When lowering does the rear of the car drop to the same height as the front? As I been told before that it could still be higher than front. Are the pi springs any good?

 

[gadge]

just out of interest how do you boys rate the APEX springs (they're £70 cheaper, but still a good brand right??)

Tbh for what you need their probably just as good as the ebachs. I choose ebachs as I've used them on three of my cars and have never been disappointed with the quality and the fitment of them.

 

[richydraper]

ok so i think im gonna go with Apex springs, Monroe Reflex struts and shocks and and OMP front top Brace... all in im looking around the £300.

 

[gadge]

If you get the strut brace, it will come with self tapping bolts. Bin them and use proper nut and bolts as they offer a much better fixing plus if you fit the struts at the same time then fixing a bolt underneath whilst the old shock is out if really easy