shortening shocks

[LaurenTayla33]

I have just had my car notched and i have coilovers, and they dont go low enough basically, theyre not running on any springs even though the springs are still in them, because they are as low down as they'll go and i need them shortened... Because they're not running on springs its the same kind of ride as having welded or no suspension whatsoever... NOT COMFY.
Ideally, i would be able to somehow shorten the shocks so that i can put my helper springs in so it is actually using some springs and has more travel..
Is there any way of doing this or any advice? If anyone actually understands what im blabbering on about.. pleaaaase.

Thankyou

 

[Fred@BTM]

say that again, i don't understand a word of that!

 

[LiamR172]

You mean the car is sitting on the shocks and the springs are not compressed at all?

You have made it pretty hard to understand

 

[Cup_Phil]

What she means is she's lowered the coilovers as far as they'll go but the shock is bottomed out (sitting on it's internal bump stop probably) so she wants to know if you can have the insert shortened..

I suspect the answer is no

 

[MG cup]

What she means is she's lowered the coilovers as far as they'll go but the shock is bottomed out (sitting on it's internal bump stop probably) so she wants to know if you can have the insert shortened..

I suspect the answer is no

Hats off to you sir, how you got that from it I don't know.

 

[LaurenTayla33]

Oh god, im sorry..
But yeah he's right.

My coilovers have no bumpstops- i took them out.
They have no adjustment left, no helper springs.
But wont go any lower.. which i need them to..
so i need the actual strut shortening?
basically.. better?

 

[Cup_Phil]

I suppose it depends if the strut is solid or not. If it is it could be cut down and re-threaded, but if it's hollow (which I suspect it is) you might be out of luck

You'd have to get some that are designed to go lower

Is this on a clio? My coilovers go so low my front bumper ends up stuck on the floor lol

 

[LaurenTayla33]

yeah... yeah its on a clio..
Mine does not.. my bumper is miles off. irritates me!
and they're that low i needed it notched because my driveshaft was eating my chassis.

 

[Cup_Phil]

Looking at pics of your car it's pretty low - but being a non sport bumper it looks high from the front

It might be easier to get a 1*2 front and rear bumper, and side skirts and make it into a sport replica. Unless that's not the look you're going for

By the time you get the front bumper on the ground you'll rip your sump off on something

 

[ekaJ]

She's got sport bumpers ^

My only suggest is get 16s but that's not what you want to hear ha

 

[LaurenTayla33]

i've got a sport bumper on now .
STILL SO HIGH.
One sec, i'll show you...

 

[Fred@BTM]

what coilovers do you have?

 

[LaurenTayla33]

 

[Cup_Phil]

Oh sorry yeah - just seen latest pics

Hrmmm

What coilovers are you running?

 

[LaurenTayla33]

Anyway im not too bothered about bumper to ground height.. its that archgap! omg

 

[LaurenTayla33]

Bloody god awful TaTechnix ones, which is why i wouldnt be bothered at chopping bits off and cutting them up.. Cant afford new ones yet :/

 

[Adamm.]

Surely if you have already had your chassis notched to go low then you will struggle to go any lower?

That looks pretty damn low to me though! What coilovers you got? Maybe worth just changing the fronts to a different one? My old vmaxx ones would have gone right down till the bumper touched the floor tbh.

 

[LaurenTayla33]

Well.. no theres a fair bit of room left, trust me and i need to fill that damn arch gap..
Yeah i think thats my only option really, gonna have to look out for some cheap second hand ones!

 

[Budgie]

Look back through f0xy's threads. His grey mk2 was as low as they come.

Sounds like you need new coilovers or bags if you want silly low thoigh

 

[LaurenTayla33]

His was on 16's wasnt it?

 

[Budgie]

Both 15's and 16's iirc.

 

[Bluebeard]

.

 

[Tunst]

Bags will solve your problem

 

[Fred@BTM]

mine was on 17's, think it was 120mm drop

 

[LaurenTayla33]

120mm on 17's.. nah.. thats got to be impossible.. mines like 110mm on 15's and its like 5mm off the arch! on the rear anyway -.-

 

[Fred@BTM]

my tyre was IN the arch, you couldn't see it LOL!

 

[LaurenTayla33]

Cant see mine either, yeah that is proper low to the wheel, yet still practical, where as mine rips catseyes out -.-

 

[Tigger]

The rear on mine was like that when I first setup my K-Tec coilovers, and was still only wound about halfway!

 

[Greeny.]

No bumpstops lol, bet that handles like a pile of s**t!

 

[JD]

And fails MOTs... oh no wait...

 

[Cup_Phil]

Except bumpstops aren't testable on MOT's and have absolutely no affect whatsoever on handling

But yeah other than that.... lol

 

[JD]

Except bumpstops aren't testable on MOT's and have absolutely no affect whatsoever on handling

But yeah other than that.... lol

See "MOT bailout" thread for more sarcasm.

 

[Cup_Phil]

No search results found...

 

[LaurenTayla33]

It passed its MOT with no advisories.. second time round! Also alot lower now

 

[_WILL_]

Except bumpstops aren't testable on MOT's and have absolutely no affect whatsoever on handling

But yeah other than that.... lol

​they have a massive effect on handling in some cars.

 

[Heez]

​they have a massive effect on handling in some cars.

If it's hitting them then yes it will... But surely these "some cars" don't actually use them for handling purposes?

 

[LaurenTayla33]

Yeah the bumpstops being hit make it a really harsh ride, which isn't good if you wanna go fast because if you hit a bump in the road it throws you off course, in a 1*2 obviously not a good idea! mine isnt sat on them anymore because i dont have any, and the ride is much better... But i very rarely go over 60 on roads other than dual carriageways so, handling, i dont care too much about

 

[_WILL_]

If it's hitting them then yes it will... But surely these "some cars" don't actually use them for handling purposes?

for some OEM's they are classed as a tuneable item. The way they behave when you contact them is very important. It can lead to sudden changes in handling balance of the vehicle if the change is too abrupt or at the wrong place in the suspension travel. Some cars will run as standard only a few mm from their bump stops. Whether this is a good solution or not is a completely different story.

 

[Cup_Phil]

Ermmmmmm which car runs mm from bump stops?

That's stupid. Bump stops are there to limit the travel of the suspension, hitting them would catapult you off the road.

I don't run any on my Clio - I don't know why you would bother to be honest.

 

[Heez]

I'm with Phil. I know you can adjust how they react but to design them to purposely be used is f**king stupid, the damper/spring would be clearly designed wrong if it was the case.