Technical Raised suspension??

[paxmanmerv1960]

Greeting collective genii!
Our poor little Stilo is suffering. The main reason being that we live on a farm & needless to say, the road home is hardly a motorway. The Stilo is ok with this, as long as you keep out of the ruts & potholes. If, when it rains, you slip into a rut or hole, the poor thing bellies out & thats the end of that!......until the tractor turns up with a chain to do a rescue.
My question is this. Is there a suspension lifting kit available that would give a few more inches ground clearance? Would longer stronger springs do the job? Dont really want to get rid of the old gal as its far to useful & a lot cheaper to run than the damned Landrover.
Any ideas people?

 

[MarkThompson4]

No idea about getting a higher lifting suspension kit - plenty out there to lower it though unless you splashed out big bucks on air bag suspension. You could try fitting bigger wheels/ tyres to it? What size have you got on your Stilo at the moment?

 

[vladof]

I believe there are a couple of custom suspensions that can do the job. There was someone on the forum that changed the suspension and it was ridiculously high until it was adjusted.

Lemme see if I can fetch that thread for you.

Cheers.

EDIT: please see below:

Updated Pics - Stilo Lowered

 

[paxmanmerv1960]

Your motor look sweet! Credit to you.

 

[clock34]

i recently fitted standard shocks and springs for a 1.8 and it sits aroudn the same hight as in the pics.....


is yours a jtd by any chance as i beleive they naturally sit alot lower at the front

 

[paxmanmerv1960]

Yes it is a JTD, am guessing that the same springs are used on petrols & diesels. With the diesel being heavier, it would sit lower.

 

[clock34]

yeh, they tend to sit nose down ive found....

im unsure what you can do tbh, you could get custom springs made with a stiffer rate but the car might be horrid to drive then on normal roads... might be time to get a few tonne of gravel thrown down in the bigger holes?

 

[vladof]

There are different part numbers on springs for all engines, so they are not at all alike.

It's normal too, as engine weight is different. Using springs from a 1.2 could lower your car a little bit, whilst having the 2.4 springs may make it higher. That's only for the front though, as the ratio in the back may be different.

 

[paxmanmerv1960]

SO. What i am having a go at now, is some spacers between the struts & the body. Also new heavier springs & see what happens!

 

[clock34]

good luck.... please be careful with the car as handling amy be impeded

 

[paxmanmerv1960]

Was thinking that spacers would keep the steering geometry at the current settings rather than longer springs that would alter the geometry.
No doubt the local roadside hedges will soon let me know if this was a rash decision!

 

[Numptey]

I think I would go with some gravel or waste rubble in the holes as well. Don't forget to tell your insurance you have put spaces in your suspension before you hit the hedges

 

[Davren]

SO. What i am having a go at now, is some spacers between the struts & the body. Also new heavier springs & see what happens!

Where in relation to the picture in post #8 are you putting the spacers?

 

[paxmanmerv1960]

Not 100% sure yet as not got it in bits. Probably between parts 5 & 10. Alternatively, lower the top of the strut mount on the inner wing. Would ultimately have the same effect but would need some serious surgery.
Plan to experiment with spacers before cutting the car to pieces.

 

[Davren]

The ring clipped to the top of part 10 is a roller bearing. If you put a spacer on top of that, it would need to be very accurately shaped to match the top of the bearing surface and the curved lower surface of part 5.

The sides of part 5 are tapered, and angled in relation to it's top surface. It fits in a matching angled taper in the underside of the turret, which is part of the inner wing. If you put a spacer on top of part 5, it could turn in the turret causing the camber and caster to continually change.

Assume you've checked that your springs haven't broken? It was common for the bottom coil to break off. Fiat used to fit free "spring catchers" to catch the broken part to prevent it puncturing a tyre, but with or without the catchers, many people didn't realise a spring had broken until their next MOT inspection.

Depending on mileage and type of use, it could be that your existing springs have sagged. Just replacing them with new ones may raise the ride height.

When I bought my JTD MW, the front was very low and hit almost every speed bump. Strange, I thought, because the previous owner had recently had new springs fitted. From the part number on the invoice, I realised they were after market, and not Fiat original springs. Most aftermarket suppliers list the same springs for all Stilos, whereas Fiat supply different springs for all models and engine types. They even listed a different spring for cars fitted with air conditioning. (Presumably because of the increased front end weight). I fitted original Fiat springs for my JTD MW with A/c which raised the front by about 5cm.

Another possibility would be to fit spring spacers designed for towing. They are curved hard rubber spacers that fit between two adjacent coils of each spring. They're designed to be fitted to rear springs though. I'm not sure if they would stay in place in the steeply angled coils of Stilo front springs. They would be relatively cheap and are easy to fit, so may be worth a trial, however by forcing two coils apart, they would give a harder ride, and would likely put extra strain on the springs. Stilo rear springs are a different diameter to the front ones, so orderimg them as suitable for a Stilo wouldn't work. You would need to source some that match the diameter of your front springs.

 

[paxmanmerv1960]

More food for thought & more research to be done!

 

[Numptey]

Get some Gypsies to off load all that paving down the street