Rear AP Coilovers Issue Astra H 1.9CDTi SRi 3dr
Discussion
Hello all,
I'm new to this forum as my current forum is unable to help me. Hope this is in the right place.
As you can see by the title I have an 07 Astra H 1.9cdti SRi 3dr. I fitted AP Coilovers about 4 months ago and done around 1000 miles on them and have had nothing but issues with the rears.
I've removed the lower rubber and adjuster, It's fully slammed but I still have an inch gap between the tire and arch. My tires are 225/40/18
I have no issues with the fronts, just the rears. I also put 125kg of sand in the boot to help it settle but it didn't do anything so I removed the sand after about a month. I was told undoing the torsion arm bolts and jacking up the torsion beam (axle) then tightening the bolts again would help but was told by others it wouldn't do anything. AP have stopped contacting me about the issue aswell. The minimum I should get is a 35mm drop and a max of 65mm.
Hope someone can shed some light on the issue as not even a garage knows what's going on. Also the 3rd image is the spring with the adjuster on.
I'm new to this forum as my current forum is unable to help me. Hope this is in the right place.
As you can see by the title I have an 07 Astra H 1.9cdti SRi 3dr. I fitted AP Coilovers about 4 months ago and done around 1000 miles on them and have had nothing but issues with the rears.
I've removed the lower rubber and adjuster, It's fully slammed but I still have an inch gap between the tire and arch. My tires are 225/40/18
I have no issues with the fronts, just the rears. I also put 125kg of sand in the boot to help it settle but it didn't do anything so I removed the sand after about a month. I was told undoing the torsion arm bolts and jacking up the torsion beam (axle) then tightening the bolts again would help but was told by others it wouldn't do anything. AP have stopped contacting me about the issue aswell. The minimum I should get is a 35mm drop and a max of 65mm.
Hope someone can shed some light on the issue as not even a garage knows what's going on. Also the 3rd image is the spring with the adjuster on.
that spring already looks like its pretty compressed if the car is on the ground.
I reckon the springs and shocks have bottomed out and will not let the car sit any lower.
surprised you are happy with the fronts. I had an AP kit and after taking a right hand corner at a medium pace the tyre caught the wheel arch and dinged my front wing. I sold the whole kit after that. no amount of adjustments would improve the handling. Personally I thought AP was rubbish and when they say the springs are matched to the shocks I also dont think its true in my case. The name conjures up the same branding as the maker of AP brakes but I dont believe they are the same company.
I reckon the springs and shocks have bottomed out and will not let the car sit any lower.
surprised you are happy with the fronts. I had an AP kit and after taking a right hand corner at a medium pace the tyre caught the wheel arch and dinged my front wing. I sold the whole kit after that. no amount of adjustments would improve the handling. Personally I thought AP was rubbish and when they say the springs are matched to the shocks I also dont think its true in my case. The name conjures up the same branding as the maker of AP brakes but I dont believe they are the same company.
I was told don't go for cheap get AP's as a minimum haha. My mate who has the same car has cheap coilovers and his sits lower and he can lower it more... AP are actually KW. So AP's are KW's cheap crap...
Well the front is raised 25mm. I was sitting at around 12.5mm but kept catching the arches on corners.
If I had the money I'd get air ride but nope £2500 is abit much... Tempted to remove the AP's sell them and buy some cheaper ones.
AP's cost me £500 but cause they sent me the 5dr/estate/twintop springs originally and had to pay another £170 for the right set and no return for the wrong springs... Never going to them again. Basically £670 out of pocket, unless I can find a salution.
Well the front is raised 25mm. I was sitting at around 12.5mm but kept catching the arches on corners.
If I had the money I'd get air ride but nope £2500 is abit much... Tempted to remove the AP's sell them and buy some cheaper ones.
AP's cost me £500 but cause they sent me the 5dr/estate/twintop springs originally and had to pay another £170 for the right set and no return for the wrong springs... Never going to them again. Basically £670 out of pocket, unless I can find a salution.
Well I want the car to sit another 10 - 15mm lower which it should be able to do according to AP, the arch should cover the top of the tire but it doesn't. if I slammed the front and had the room the arch would come close to the top of the rim.
Well they apparently sent me the correct springs, shocks didn't need changing according to them. Oh and the ride is pretty crap. You can feel every bump which is odd cause they are progressive springs not sport springs. I can get the car to sit where I want if I put 200kg in the boot but I don't want to do that.
Well they apparently sent me the correct springs, shocks didn't need changing according to them. Oh and the ride is pretty crap. You can feel every bump which is odd cause they are progressive springs not sport springs. I can get the car to sit where I want if I put 200kg in the boot but I don't want to do that.
Edited by xSirBrutalx on Tuesday 25th September 16:13
Edited by xSirBrutalx on Tuesday 25th September 16:14
Nanook said:
You can feel every bump because the springs are bottomed out.
Do you want low ride height, or good ride/handling?
Because with coil springs, you're only going to get one of the two.
I could put up with the crap ride if the rear sat where I'd like it. I just want to know if there could be something else that's causing the car not to drop.Do you want low ride height, or good ride/handling?
Because with coil springs, you're only going to get one of the two.
It is odd. Should have listened to my mate and gotten cheaper ones. The back is actually quiet bouncy. Think I can feel every bump cause of the fronts which are not slammed. Well it ain't bottomed out yet and I have horrid speed bumps where I live. If you don't drive over them properly they jump you out of your seat haha
xSirBrutalx said:
Oh and the ride is pretty crap. You can feel every bump which is odd cause they are progressive springs not sport springs. I can get the car to sit where I want if I put 200kg in the boot but I don't want to do that.
You think it's odd that the ride is crap and you can feel every bump on a car that now has no suspension travel left?Out of purely morbid curiosity how old are you?
Mignon said:
You think it's odd that the ride is crap and you can feel every bump on a car that now has no suspension travel left?
Out of purely morbid curiosity how old are you?
No no no I think it's odd that the rear is slammed yet I have a 1inch gap between the tire and arch yet AP told me it'll drop more but it hasn't. They are telling me there is no issue. I only put I think it's odd with the ride comfort because AP stated it won't be as bumpy because they are progressive springs not sport springs. They told me that on the phone.Out of purely morbid curiosity how old are you?
I'm 31.
Edited by xSirBrutalx on Tuesday 25th September 16:46
To have any hope at all of a comfortable ride you need to have suspension travel in both directions at your normal ride height.
The suspension travel is ultimately limited by the damper stroke and bump stops. Your spring rate and length (and spring seat adjustment, if you have it) will determine where the car rides within the available travel. The fact the ride is uncomfortable and you can't get the car as low as you want makes me suspect that you are trying to go outside the available travel i.e. that the dampers are too long. However, it might just indicate that you're chosen inappropriate spring and damper rates.
If you want to see what travel is available, one way to do that is to support the car and fit the dampers but not the springs, keeping the car supported on jacks or stands. Now you can move the suspension through the full range of travel and see how much is available. As you lower the car, bear in mind the remaining bump travel at your normal ride height is a measure of how big a bump you can go over before you lose your fillings. The less bump travel you have, the more important it is to get the spring and damper rates right so that you don't exceed it.
The suspension travel is ultimately limited by the damper stroke and bump stops. Your spring rate and length (and spring seat adjustment, if you have it) will determine where the car rides within the available travel. The fact the ride is uncomfortable and you can't get the car as low as you want makes me suspect that you are trying to go outside the available travel i.e. that the dampers are too long. However, it might just indicate that you're chosen inappropriate spring and damper rates.
If you want to see what travel is available, one way to do that is to support the car and fit the dampers but not the springs, keeping the car supported on jacks or stands. Now you can move the suspension through the full range of travel and see how much is available. As you lower the car, bear in mind the remaining bump travel at your normal ride height is a measure of how big a bump you can go over before you lose your fillings. The less bump travel you have, the more important it is to get the spring and damper rates right so that you don't exceed it.
GreenV8S said:
To have any hope at all of a comfortable ride you need to have suspension travel in both directions at your normal ride height.
The suspension travel is ultimately limited by the damper stroke and bump stops. Your spring rate and length (and spring seat adjustment, if you have it) will determine where the car rides within the available travel. The fact the ride is uncomfortable and you can't get the car as low as you want makes me suspect that you are trying to go outside the available travel i.e. that the dampers are too long. However, it might just indicate that you're chosen inappropriate spring and damper rates.
If you want to see what travel is available, one way to do that is to support the car and fit the dampers but not the springs, keeping the car supported on jacks or stands. Now you can move the suspension through the full range of travel and see how much is available. As you lower the car, bear in mind the remaining bump travel at your normal ride height is a measure of how big a bump you can go over before you lose your fillings. The less bump travel you have, the more important it is to get the spring and damper rates right so that you don't exceed it.
I don't care about a comfortable ride. I just want to know is there anything that can cause my rear not to drop anymore, torsion etc. AP told me to remove the bottom rubber mount and the adjuster which I did do. The fact my rear is slammed but I still have a gap yet anyone else that slams there Astra it sits lower. This is what my full kit looks like. Well the rears look like that just with a slightly different shaped rear spring, The front shocks are slightly different aswell.The suspension travel is ultimately limited by the damper stroke and bump stops. Your spring rate and length (and spring seat adjustment, if you have it) will determine where the car rides within the available travel. The fact the ride is uncomfortable and you can't get the car as low as you want makes me suspect that you are trying to go outside the available travel i.e. that the dampers are too long. However, it might just indicate that you're chosen inappropriate spring and damper rates.
If you want to see what travel is available, one way to do that is to support the car and fit the dampers but not the springs, keeping the car supported on jacks or stands. Now you can move the suspension through the full range of travel and see how much is available. As you lower the car, bear in mind the remaining bump travel at your normal ride height is a measure of how big a bump you can go over before you lose your fillings. The less bump travel you have, the more important it is to get the spring and damper rates right so that you don't exceed it.
Edited by xSirBrutalx on Tuesday 25th September 18:00
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