Gaz fixed height coilovers
Discussion
It's approaching the time to change my Mk 1 suspension. I don't really have a need for the full fat adjustability of HA coilovers (I would probably tinker with it & bugger it up!) but some level of damping adj' is very desireable. So am seriously considering the Gaz fixed height package along with WIM alignment.
Anyone had any experience/opinions of these? Thanks in advance.
Anyone had any experience/opinions of these? Thanks in advance.
I bought a set of these for myself last Christmas and spent a very cold day in January fitting them to my 95 1.8 Eunos. I went for fixed height because I was looking for a 'sensible' amount of lowering and I reckoned that, once fitted and the geometry set up, I'd really be unlikely to want to adjust the ride height again. A further factor is that the fixed height units are appreciably cheaper than the adjustables.
After fitting, I paid a visit to WiM to make sure it was all set up properly. I use the car mostly for weekends, fun trips and the occasional track day and went for their 'fast road' settings.
The results are exactly what I wanted. The springs drop the ride height by about 3cms. I started off with the damnpers set at 20 clicks out of 40, i.e. at 50% hard. The result was a very firm ride which I decided was a bit too much for road use so I backed them off to 10 clicks, giving a ride that is well damped but comfortable. Since then I've added another 2 clicks all round and I think that, for road use, I'll leave them at that. It rides the bumps without bouncing around but you can really chuck it into a corner or brake hard and feel that the chassis is right with you. I've not yet tried different settings front to back - perhaps I'll try that in due course but right now there doesn't seem to be any need!
So far I've done one track day with the Gaz units fitted but it was peeing down so I left the damper settings where they were and it seemed to work well. Changing the settings is a doddle: providing you don't mind lying down on the tarmac, it takes literally 60 secs to adjust all four units - no need to take the wheels off to get at the adjusters.
So overall I'm very happy with them. I think the spring rates are marginally softer than they are when you buy the height adjustable units but they're still much firmer than the standard set up and I rate them as a very good compromise for someone like me, who wants something that works on both road and track.
After fitting, I paid a visit to WiM to make sure it was all set up properly. I use the car mostly for weekends, fun trips and the occasional track day and went for their 'fast road' settings.
The results are exactly what I wanted. The springs drop the ride height by about 3cms. I started off with the damnpers set at 20 clicks out of 40, i.e. at 50% hard. The result was a very firm ride which I decided was a bit too much for road use so I backed them off to 10 clicks, giving a ride that is well damped but comfortable. Since then I've added another 2 clicks all round and I think that, for road use, I'll leave them at that. It rides the bumps without bouncing around but you can really chuck it into a corner or brake hard and feel that the chassis is right with you. I've not yet tried different settings front to back - perhaps I'll try that in due course but right now there doesn't seem to be any need!
So far I've done one track day with the Gaz units fitted but it was peeing down so I left the damper settings where they were and it seemed to work well. Changing the settings is a doddle: providing you don't mind lying down on the tarmac, it takes literally 60 secs to adjust all four units - no need to take the wheels off to get at the adjusters.
So overall I'm very happy with them. I think the spring rates are marginally softer than they are when you buy the height adjustable units but they're still much firmer than the standard set up and I rate them as a very good compromise for someone like me, who wants something that works on both road and track.
Conor D said:
Sorry, I meant any pictures of the car with them fitted?
I'm definitely tempted to act and order a set, but I want to see how low it will actually sit.
Doh! I wondered why you were so keen on pictures of the installation! Still, I was changing the clutch slave this afternoon so it was no problem to take some pics. Here's what you were actually asking for:I'm definitely tempted to act and order a set, but I want to see how low it will actually sit.
Front measures at 325mm, rear 345mm. That's me measuring with a tape measure in the gathering gloom and the car is parked on slightly uneven ground at the moment with a little bit of lock on, so there's plenty of room for error!. However, when WiM set the geometry last Jan they measured it at 326mm/344mm so that would suggest that it's not settled since then. That said, WiM reckoned it was sitting slightly lower on the driver's side, whereas I measured it just now as pretty well even side to side. Whatever, it drives as it should so no worries!
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