Graystone coil spring assisters
Discussion
Has anyone had experience of these? They are rubber ring things that fit into the gap of the rear springs of a car.
I was pointed at them by a friend when I remarked that my caravan frame seemed to ground just behind the tow hitch of some speed bumps and cushions in my estate.
My ride height looks OK on my Volvo V70, it is running on 15" steels. The nose weight of the caravan is under the maximum allowed and the tow ball is within the recommended height.
Something that raised the rear of the car by a few millimetres would suffice. Would the Graystone coil spring assisters do this?
Also would it raise the car when not towing? I quite like the low lean look it has, and don't really want to change that.
I was pointed at them by a friend when I remarked that my caravan frame seemed to ground just behind the tow hitch of some speed bumps and cushions in my estate.
My ride height looks OK on my Volvo V70, it is running on 15" steels. The nose weight of the caravan is under the maximum allowed and the tow ball is within the recommended height.
Something that raised the rear of the car by a few millimetres would suffice. Would the Graystone coil spring assisters do this?
Also would it raise the car when not towing? I quite like the low lean look it has, and don't really want to change that.
I had a Ford Fiesta with stock suspension, but I soon noticed that the small 13 inch wheels with skinny tyres were a bit of a liability in the wet.
I was commuting a fair chunk of miles into London every night (working night shifts) and after a few hairy moments, I made my mind up to do something when one evening I was driving in a bus lane (allowed after 6pm) in the pi**ing rain, and some eejit pulled out of a side road in front of me. Hitting the brakes just saw the tiny tyres lock up in the wet / diesel-strewn lane, and I just slithered along with barely any retardation.
Luckily the idiot accelerated quite hard and I missed slamming into the back of him by inches...
So I bought a set of 15 inch x 6J wheels.
Problem was, over a big bump or yump, the rear suspension would compress so far that the rear tyres hit the inner wheel arch.
So to combat this, I bought some of these Graystone rubber doughnuts.
They didn't change the ride height at all (as they just sit inside the coil - they don't push the coil apart) and they only really stiffened up the suspension when it was hugely compressed. On those occasions, they then prevented the tyres from jamming up under the arch as they previously had.
So - they were good and a thumbs up for me!
I was commuting a fair chunk of miles into London every night (working night shifts) and after a few hairy moments, I made my mind up to do something when one evening I was driving in a bus lane (allowed after 6pm) in the pi**ing rain, and some eejit pulled out of a side road in front of me. Hitting the brakes just saw the tiny tyres lock up in the wet / diesel-strewn lane, and I just slithered along with barely any retardation.
Luckily the idiot accelerated quite hard and I missed slamming into the back of him by inches...
So I bought a set of 15 inch x 6J wheels.
Problem was, over a big bump or yump, the rear suspension would compress so far that the rear tyres hit the inner wheel arch.
So to combat this, I bought some of these Graystone rubber doughnuts.
They didn't change the ride height at all (as they just sit inside the coil - they don't push the coil apart) and they only really stiffened up the suspension when it was hugely compressed. On those occasions, they then prevented the tyres from jamming up under the arch as they previously had.
So - they were good and a thumbs up for me!
Bill said:
How tired are your springs? I know you like the low look, but I'm fairly sure Volvo didn't design it like that 
The springs seem to be Ok. Ride height of 400mm looks Ok to the eye. I can't find info online about the correct ride height. Putting the caravan on the towbar doesn't make it sink much at all, although I've never measured it (70kgs). Me standing on the towbar makes it sink by 10mm. That's about 88 kgs. I've forgotten the towball height, but it was well above the minimum required.Anyone know the correct ride height for a V70 2001 Torslanda on 15" 195/65 tyres?
Well, I fitted them. Perfect. Raised the back of the car just enough to have the caravan A frame and the blade stabiliser clear all the speed bumps I come across. Car has a slightly nose down stance when empty, but I quite like the look. Feels firmer when going over speed bumps empty and solo, just like my old 740 used to.
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