GAZ SETUP

[hillclimber]

Hi Chaps

I fitted some gaz coilovers to my PH1 172 last night and to be honest it rides like i'm driving a pogo stick!!

I've got it on the softest damping setting on the rears and I started on softest at the front but it was shocking, so I put 2.5 turns on the fronts and it rode slightly better but not much...

Ride height wise the fronts are 65mm up the threads to the lower platform and on the rears i've left the very crude lowering platforms off all together so the rear will be as low as the springs go, after all this the front end is about 10-15mm lower than the rear to aid turn in

I know they're not the best coilovers in the world and that a little setup time goes a long way so what sort of setups are other people running?!

Help's much appreciated

Simon

 

[Turkish]

No amount of setup will improve them to what I personally call acceptable. I would seriously just take them off and either replace with something better or just put the OE dampers and springs back on.

 

[hillclimber]

lol, I got that impression in the first 10 seconds of driving....

The standard gear's all shot at so it's marginally better, the rear shocks had gone and it made for interesting wet cornering,

I'll pursist for now and it'll no doubt be for sale very shortly....

Thanks

Simon

 

[Plane]

Gaz are VERY hard,
This is a pretty sharp left hand bend at approx 60mph (I dont know I dont look at the speedo)
As you can see the car does not have much roll. Great for track but on a road car :S

 

[hillclimber]

Yeh I knew they were hard and thats not problem, I just want to try balance the bobbing sensation it's got at the moment,

What damping setup do you usually run?

I've just messed with it more this morning
2.5 turns from softest on the fronts
6 clicks from softest or the rears

Cheers Simon

 

[drhowser]

i had a gaz kit for a while, which i quickly replaced i'm afraid to say. but from memory i think i was running 4 front and 7-8 on the rear. what everyone sooms to find is that they are too bouncy set soft, and too crashy set firmer. i don't know if anyone tried changing the poundage of their springs, but even that might be a waste of time as i've heard the dyno graph from a set of gaz described as better suited to a bike pump! and they even admit to having done almost no r&d on the clio kits.
sorry to be so negative, and good luck setting them up.

 

[Turkish]

I'd agree with above tbh. And set either bouncy or crashy I felt while driving hard on an A road commited to a bend if you found any poor surface or a dip in the road the back end would twitch, step out or bounce about dangerously.
Some people have got on OK with them so whether it's my preferences or driving style I'm not sure but TBH I found them totally inappropriate for road use and I can't imagine they would be much better for track.

 

[Diesel_Power]

Set them to hard, you will soon get use to it.

My coilovers (h&r) are terrible for comfort but fun when you have a nice smooth bend, they just encourage me to drive slow on the tricky bumpy bits of road and enable me to push on through the good stuff.

Ive heard the Gaz coilovers are pretty bad but i cant see the problem looking at the snap above, surely you want a firmer ride and the car flat through the corners, can anyone elaborate why there so bad?

 

[drhowser]

i personally thought the ratio between bump and rebound was too much towards the bump. ie. when the bump seemed set nicely, the rebound was too low giving a pogo effect. or when the rebound was nice, they were much too hard for the springs.

 

[Turkish]

My coilovers (h&r) are terrible for comfort

You're kidding right? lol. They ride better than the OE springs and dampers (certainly on a cupped 182)

 

[Gaz_]

I'd agree with above tbh. And set either bouncy or crashy I felt while driving hard on an A road commited to a bend if you found any poor surface or a dip in the road the back end would twitch, step out or bounce about dangerously.
Some people have got on OK with them so whether it's my preferences or driving style I'm not sure but TBH I found them totally inappropriate for road use and I can't imagine they would be much better for track.

100% Agree. Think my GAZ set up lasted 2 months at most. Noisy in operation, and waaay to crashy. H&R are in a different league

 

[Turkish]

Lol, I'd actually forgotten the noise!

"knock, creak, groan, bump" *repeat for entire journey*

 

[Gaz_]

You guided me towards the light that is H&R

 

[Turkish]

I do my best to steer people in the right direction.

 

[Diesel_Power]

My coilovers (h&r) are terrible for comfort

You're kidding right? lol. They ride better than the OE springs and dampers (certainly on a cupped 182)

Sorry mine are on a Saxo, there a very firm ride indeed, i prefer it.

If the h&rs are as soft as the standard OE cup setup then ill probably look elsewhere or at firmer springs because the cup suspension didnt impress me at all, handling wasnt as responsive as i expected neither was the feel through the wheel although that may be down to tyres.

The Gaz for all their doubters initially seem impressive for a track setup.

 

[Turkish]

If the h&rs are as soft as the standard OE cup setup then ill probably look elsewhere or at firmer springs because the cup suspension didnt impress me at all, handling wasnt as responsive as i expected neither was the feel through the wheel although that may be down to tyres.

I didnt use the word soft, they cope better with poor surfaces and are less crashy yet the bodyroll is greatly reduced and the turn in sharpened up. Better in every respect IMO and tbh I'd take the OE set up and sky high ride height over the GAZ with their non existant development.

 

[Diesel_Power]

I think ill probably have a ride in a couple of cars with both setups before i make my decision, i absolutely love my h&rs so it would be wrong to write them off so early. As for ride height i couldnt care less, i only lowered my saxo 25-30mm, i find cars draggining their arses around on the floor a bit off putting, lol. Cheers Loony.

 

[hillclimber]

Thanks for all the feedback

I have to agree with the above

I've played about with them and got them to something just about acceptable
They certainly are too hard for road use, i've played about with them everyday, people at work are wondering what the hells going on when i'm under the back of the car clicking away!

Verdict is not too hard and not too soft on the rebound side of things, i've got 10 clicks up from softest and 4.5 turns on the front, the damn thing skips and bounces like the cup car did when you're making progress but it's lost the pogo stick act it had when I first put them on, i'm sensing a black PH1 172 for sale very soon........

Thanks

Simon

 

[clioleo]

iv got GAZ and to be fair iv actually got used to the ride and squeaks lol, it can take corners nicely with next to no roll, im not sure what setup im on tho its very low

 

[Johnc172]

I've got Gaz and on track they are awesome, on road yeah they are bouncy on the softest and VERY hard if you turn them up, but like all things it's a compromise!

If it's a road car why do you need coilovers anyway as the adjustment is just a waste, if you do both road and track then fair play get a set, like H&R, than can cope with both, but if like mine it's a dedicated track car and only does a few trips on the road then GAZ do the job well!