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scc
26-04-2006, 12:15 AM
I'm becoming more and more dissatisfied with the handling of my v6 sport.
Cornering feels 'rolley', and the steering feels very light.

I've put new gsd3's on and it hasn't made much of a difference to the handling, though it feels more 'confident' as well as reduced road noise.

How can I get the car to have a distint 'nose heavy' feel to it, with the steering feeling 'tight' and controlled?

Cheers,
scc

Kenneth
26-04-2006, 12:19 AM
suspension and tower brace should achieve most of that. At the expense of some ride comfort.

Obviously the general rule that says the more you want, the more you have to spend. I use coilovers and the handling of my Leggy is very good.

bradc
26-04-2006, 12:23 AM
I have also found that wider tyres tend to make the steering heavier, which may be something to consider after you try Kenneths suggestions. You will probably need to buy new mags to do that though.

Kieran
26-04-2006, 07:26 AM
SCC - The absolute best thing you can do to your V6 is to change the shocks and springs. It's one of the TOP recommendations for the V6. I know where you're coming from, as Hordak (my old V6 Sport) was just the same untill I sorted him out. Changing Springs and shocks is probably number 2 (after brakes) in my recommendations for tweaking the V6, as to be fair, the standard setup is pretty compromised.

Need more convincing? Check these threads out:

http://www.clubvr4.com/forum/showthread.php?t=4758

http://www.clubvr4.com/forum/showthread.php?t=11201

http://www.clubvr4.com/forum/showthread.php?t=12788

ghanda
26-04-2006, 04:31 PM
Where do these names come from Kieran?!

scc
27-04-2006, 09:29 PM
Cheers Kieran! I'm convinced. :2thumbsup

So it seems that Eibach springs and Bilstein shocks is the best combo.
What are the part numbers for these?

There's just that question of cash /help

Cheers,
scc

Rikki
04-05-2006, 10:16 AM
i had Koni Adjustable shocks fitted to my GLS with Ventura Springs (i think). both came from motorsportworld.co.uk. I am considering fitting the same set-up on my new V6 Sport but i am looking for other options. Bilstein better than Koni you think?

ritch_w
04-05-2006, 11:09 AM
i had Koni Adjustable shocks fitted to my GLS with Ventura Springs (i think). both came from motorsportworld.co.uk. I am considering fitting the same set-up on my new V6 Sport but i am looking for other options. Bilstein better than Koni you think?


dont know about bilstien being better than Koni - but the Eibachs will be way better (if not more expensive) than the venturas - the eibachs are progress (like the standard springs) unlike the venturas, the eibachs will give a better ride about town than the standard springs and stiffen up progressivly as load them up with speed.

Eibachs made a hell of a difference to my v6 sport.

hope to see your motor at the next mini meet (whenever that is)

Rikki
04-05-2006, 11:14 AM
i will attempt to make it - need to tell me where it is though :p

ritch_w
04-05-2006, 11:16 AM
i will attempt to make it - need to tell me where it is though :p

we havent had one for a while - need to get one organised...

Rikki
04-05-2006, 11:21 AM
we havent had one for a while - need to get one organised...

there is very few Galant owners around the Glasgow area, thats one of my reasons for picking it, grabs the attention. Does Ayr not have a cruise scene? I am heading up to Falkirk tonight, see what the show is like.

scc
10-05-2006, 12:52 AM
Right! I've got my Eibach springs, and my bilstein shocks....but I can't find an article on how to change them?

Any ideas?

Cheers,
scc

Wodjno
10-05-2006, 07:37 AM
Go to 33 A9 for the front suspension. Just jack the car up, and support it. 3 (2)Bolts on the top of the suspension tuuret under bonnet. And 3 bolts on the lower part of the suspension.. (1,3 & 4)! Thats it. ! Bolts in all. Fitting is reverse of removal ;)

Go to 34 13 for rear suspension. This 1 is even easier.. 3 Bolts only. Again raise the car and support it. 2 bolts on the top of the turret (2) and 1 on the lower part(3)
Just 1 thing to be wary of ! The nut that secures the Drop link (1) to the front suspension can be tight. Make sure you have a good fitting spanner on the back nut when undoing it. Also it is a good idea to prep the thread first with a wire brush and some WD40 to ensure that it comes of with minimal force. Or as i found out the rear nut easily rounds off !!

Not the most comprehensive write up, but ! Hey ! HO ! It's still a write up :) ANd I Iz At Work ! Init !:2thumbsup

The Vee
10-05-2006, 08:04 PM
As Wodj says - very easy to remove suspension legs from car, but you will need a decent pair of spring compressors to release springs and shocks once away from the car. Caution required even when assembly is out of car, spring is still under considerable compression. So take care when compressors fitted and undoing top nut. You'll also need suitable spanner/allen key to stop piston turning when doing this. Keep bump stop, spacers and bushes in correct order when removing/replacing.

Wodjno
10-05-2006, 08:25 PM
Would it be possible to fit the Spring compressors while the car is still on the ground to help with the amount they have to be compressed. :thinking: Or would this make it difficult to getthe nut off, the drop linkwould it put load on it ??

The Vee
10-05-2006, 09:10 PM
No, not enough room and you wouldn't be able to get your spanner on the adjusters anyway. Now, many many years ago with a Ford Corsair, two people sat on the front wing, I crawled underneath and tied wire round the coils, and then removed the strut. There was enough compression to then change the spring!!!! But that was then and would be impossible on one of these and certainly not recommended. Never see the risks at that age/pan /pan /pan

mart0398
10-05-2006, 09:19 PM
SCC - What sort Bilstein dampers did you go with, b12, sprintline, OE?

I have read through the links posted above and i think they are saying to use Bilstein OE dampers with Eibach Pro-Kit springs. Is this right?

I have just looked on motorsportworld for dampers for my 02 v6 and only Koni ones come up, at £78.50 for fronts and £69.79 rears. The Eibach 30/30mm spring kit is £170. Thats knockin on for £470 total.:sad3:

Anyone know of anywhere cheaper?

Wodjno
10-05-2006, 09:22 PM
Thats what i was saying to do with the spring compressors.. You wouldn't need a spanner, just put them on and finger tighten them up. Then once you jack the car up they would be held at that point.. :thinking: Sure it would be possible :inquisiti

Wodjno
10-05-2006, 09:25 PM
!DOH ! DOH ! DOH ! DOH ! DOH ! DOH ! DOH ! DOH ! DOH ! DOH ! DOH ! DOH ! DOH ! DOH ! DOH ! DOH ! DOH ! DOH ! DOH ! DOH ! DOH ! DOH ! DOH ! DOH ! DOH ! DOH ! DOH ! DOH ! DOH ! DOH ! DOH ! DOH ! DOH ! DOH ! DOH ! DOH ! DOH ! DOH ! DOH ! DOH ! DOH ! DOH ! DOH ! DOH ! DOH ! DOH ! DOH ! DOH ! DOH ! DOH ! DOH ! DOH ! DOH ! DOH

The Vee
10-05-2006, 09:26 PM
Koni Adjustable/Eibach is the combo I have and got them from Motorsportworld. They were as competetive as anybody to be fair.

ANTHONY
10-05-2006, 10:10 PM
also see here.........
http://www.clubvr4.com/forum/showthread.php?t=3899

Rikki
10-05-2006, 11:50 PM
SCC - What sort Bilstein dampers did you go with, b12, sprintline, OE?

I have read through the links posted above and i think they are saying to use Bilstein OE dampers with Eibach Pro-Kit springs. Is this right?

I have just looked on motorsportworld for dampers for my 02 v6 and only Koni ones come up, at £78.50 for fronts and £69.79 rears. The Eibach 30/30mm spring kit is £170. Thats knockin on for £470 total.:sad3:

Anyone know of anywhere cheaper?

Someone else has got the Bilstein's from motorsportworld but i havent checked myself yet. I had Koni adjustables and whatever springs MSW gave me. expensive yeah but they worked very well. having said that i am looking to buy the Bilsteins to see what the difference is, especially if there is £30 difference per shock! oh and Spax springs are cheaper and also progressive, so might be a good alternative to Eibach. Think that's what ill be going with, unless told otherwise lol.

Kieran
11-05-2006, 01:23 AM
.....you will need a decent pair of spring compressors to release springs and shocks once away from the car. Caution required even when assembly is out of car, spring is still under considerable compression......

I can vouch for that. When myself and a friend changed Hordak's springs, we took the assembly off,got the top bolt off and then I set about unwinding the coils bit by bit. 5 turns on each compressor, backing off nice and gently....

One of the compressors started to slip.... I had just enough time to think "oh sh1t!!!" and then there was a god almighty TWANG as it flirted off somewhere. Fortunately, I somehow managed to avoid any major injury, a chunk of flesh from my thumb being the worst of it. And then you have the added 'fun' of dealing with the now dangerously unstable spring. We dealt with this in the only way we could... picked up the assembly (like handling a feckin' UXB!!!/help ) and lobbed it into our backyard and hid behind the wall! :embarasse Well, it worked! The spring did indeed release, bouncing between the wall of the house and the garage like a demented pogo stick, and flirting the remaining compressor god knows where (never found it!!)./pan

Suffice to say, we went down to machine mart shortly after and purchased a set of heavy duty compressors, with locking jaws that prevent that same problem. Never, EVER want that to happen again!!/help /help /pan

ritch_w
11-05-2006, 07:55 AM
from www.motorsportworld.co.uk

Bilstien BNE-6299 £42.56 (front) BNE-6342 £42.56 (Rear)
Eibach springs E-6028.140 £173.98

thats cheaper when i last looked - and has to be the best combination for less than £400!!!

Rikki
11-05-2006, 08:31 AM
from www.motorsportworld.co.uk

Bilstien BNE-6299 £42.56 (front) BNE-6342 £42.56 (Rear)
Eibach springs E-6028.140 £173.98

thats cheaper when i last looked - and has to be the best combination for less than £400!!!

I believe these are the standard OE replacements? I got in touch with Bilstein direct, and they emailed me back saying they make B4 (OE), B6 (Sports) and B8 (for use with lowering springs) as well as the B12 kits, in fact the B12 uses 4 B8's. I am awaiting the part numbers to see if MSW can get a hold of them for me, then compare the cost with that of the Koni.

BraindG
11-05-2006, 08:34 AM
Right! I've got my Eibach springs, and my bilstein shocks....but I can't find an article on how to change them?

Any ideas?

Cheers,
scc

Check my Sig (unless you already found it)

Rikki
11-05-2006, 03:10 PM
Thank you for your enquiry, please find details below.

B6 – Front BE5-2582 £98.13 + vat each
Rear BE3-2583 £91.32 + vat each

B8 – Front BE5-6746 £101.94 + vat each
Rear BE3-6747 £95.13 + vat each

B12 - SE5-8841 £435.00 + vat

We have the B6 dampers available from stock, the others are normally available within 7-10 working days.

Best Regards

Ryan Serle
Bilstein Distribution(ECP LTD)
Fulton Road
Wembley Industrial Estate
Wembley
Middlesex
HA9 0TF
www.eurocarparts.com


>Looks like Koni's are better priced! for the sport idea anyways

ritch_w
11-05-2006, 04:25 PM
even the OE spec Bilstiens will be a massive improvement over standard, for a start they are gas not oil filled. Its the springs which made the biggest difference to my V6 sport - and they were on OE shocks, so i wouldn't go over board with the shocks - just make sure you buy quality springs - ie Eibachs.

just a thought - if your gls has konis - why not swap them over to the V6? (many manufacturers quote the same part no for the GLS & V6).

Rikki
11-05-2006, 04:30 PM
even the OE spec Bilstiens will be a massive improvement over standard, for a start they are gas not oil filled. Its the springs which made the biggest difference to my V6 sport - and they were on OE shocks, so i wouldn't go over board with the shocks - just make sure you buy quality springs - ie Eibachs.

just a thought - if your gls has konis - why not swap them over to the V6? (many manufacturers quote the same part no for the GLS & V6).

yeah i had been thinking about that for a while, but it would probably be more cost effective to buy a new set, bearing in mind one of my shocks are dead anyways. i find the sport set up not bad the now actually, so i guess any improvement is good. is quite sloppy when i throw it into a corner but it hangs on.

ritch_w
11-05-2006, 04:43 PM
i find the sport set up not bad the now actually, so i guess any improvement is good. is quite sloppy when i throw it into a corner but it hangs on.

thats where u need eibachs!:2thumbsup
thats all i did to my V6 sport and it was totally transformed, more supple about town, firmer at speed and hardly any body roll - over all a sporting ride without sacrificing comfort - infact improving it!

go on - u know u wanna ;)

Rikki
11-05-2006, 06:31 PM
yup that i do, all comes down to money at the end of the day though. pondering on whether to spend £70 less n buy Spax SSX though!

ritch_w
14-05-2006, 01:24 PM
what about these???

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/A-set-of-Sport-Suspension-for-97-01-Mitsubishi-Galant_W0QQitemZ4637689715QQcategoryZ10400QQrdZ1QQ cmdZViewItem
:inquisiti :inquisiti :inquisiti

Kieran
14-05-2006, 04:19 PM
They're Jap-Spec RS*R items..... I think when I looked them up on the 'Leg number one' site (the one done by a japanese dude), they were mega-stiff!/help

Rikki
19-05-2006, 11:02 AM
well its all ordered now. bought the bilstein OE, see how they pan out. also decided against the eibach's and went for the spax - just need to wait n see whether that was a worthwhile compromise.

Rikki
06-06-2006, 10:27 AM
ok. setup has been on the car for over a week now and a very noticeable difference. not as low as my old car but not as hard a ride. shocks seem good really and there is some roll when i chuck it in corners but it holds on.

went for Bilstien BNE-6299 £42.56 (front) BNE-6342 £42.56 (Rear) shocks and the Spax SSX springs which lowered it 40mm n came in at £98. so overall not a bad setup for the money. considering mitsi's shocks are £69 each + VAT i think the Bilsteins are defo worth it!

scc
11-06-2006, 10:15 PM
Hi all,

Thanks for the tips so far to install the springs and shocks.

We've managed to install the front two shocks (Eibachs and bilsteins), but we're having a pig of a time to install the rears. Here are a couple of questions:

1) We've undone the top two bolts for the rear shock, and the bolt holding the shock from the bottom. What next? We've tried hammering the shock out, but to no avail :( Any ideas?

2) Current the car has two front shocks and springs installed, and the old ones on the rear still the same. The car now looks like as if its got its rear in the air and the front kissing the ground. Is this ok to drive around in?

3) Just to confirm that we've installed the front springs to the front and the will be rears to the rear. Are the eibach springs for the front short and thicker than the rears? yikes if not!

Cheers,

Scc

Kieran
11-06-2006, 10:29 PM
HI Scc

Yeah, you've got the front springs correct - they're beefier than the rears.

Once you've undone the top bolts and the single bolt at the bottom of the rear shock, you should be able to remove it. Though I do remember that Hordak's needed some 'persuasion' to come off. Seeing as you're replacing the shocks anyway, it doesn't matter if you damage them. So I'd just use a hammer and bash them out - hit them right on the front of the shock casing and this should push the bottom of the shock off it's mounting.

As regards driving around - well, should be okay. Many years ago a friend of mine had to do that with a Saxo untill he sussed out resetting the torsion bar they have. Anyway - he was okay, but the back of the car was skittish, and the chin of the car was much more prone to damage.

I-S
13-06-2006, 03:02 PM
What would be the impact of putting the Bilstein B4 gas-shocks in the front, and a new set of OEM mitsu shocks in the back? Would it create some horrific imbalance? I don't want to lose the self-levelling function, and no non-OEM shocks appear to offer this. Even though not blown (ie bouncy bouncy), I think at 106k the shocks could probably do with being replaced.... Bushes too if possible!

ritch_w
13-06-2006, 05:11 PM
1) We've undone the top two bolts for the rear shock, and the bolt holding the shock from the bottom. What next? We've tried hammering the shock out, but to no avail :( Any ideas?


with the 17mm bolt off the bottom of the shock (and the 2 x 14mm nuts off the top), with the car jacked up and rear wheel removed it should juts pop off with a good thump from a rubber mallet / hammer & block of wood.

theres a good chance its never been removed before but it will come off with some brute force

then its a case of dropping it down and trying to get it out without scrapping the top of the wheelarch

scc
14-06-2006, 10:49 PM
thanks again gents :) This is a great club! :2thumbsup

I'll give it another go this weekend, this time with a sledge hammer to knock off the rear shocks!

Although the fronts are done with OEM rears still on, I can definitely feel an improvement in the handling of the car. It's not all there yet, but let you know once the rears are on and the car tracked.

Just a couple of questions to put my mind at ease for the front shocks:
1) How far down are you supposed to screw the central bolt that holds together the entire shock assembly? I couldn't screw the bolt all the way down to the level spacer because I couldn't compress the springs enough, but does it matter because you could end up with one spring more compressed than the other ?

2) I found the front suspension link really hard to put back in. When I did eventually poke the suspension link through the hole of the shock absorber clasp, it was going through at an angle, and tightened up as so. Do you need to jack up the whole arm up such that the suspension link pokes through at a perpendicular angle for the bolt to be tightened flush with the clasp's surface?

Cheers,
scc

scc
16-06-2006, 10:02 PM
What an arse!

i've knocked out the lower bushing inner pipe by 4mm which holds in the rear shock absorber. Now i can't get enough swing from behind the arch to knock it back in place.
Anyone had this problem?

Cheers,
scc

ritch_w
18-06-2006, 10:47 AM
What an arse!

i've knocked out the lower bushing inner pipe by 4mm which holds in the rear shock absorber. Now i can't get enough swing from behind the arch to knock it back in place.
Anyone had this problem?

Cheers,
scc

easy - a very big stick or big metal bar - shove it through and use this as a lever to push it down, u may need an extra pair of hands, then pull the bottom f the shock onto the assembly

hope that helps!

scc
19-06-2006, 09:51 PM
Thanks :)

All done now. Got 4 springs and 3.5 shocks spare now - what to do with them?

With just the fronts changed and no tracking, the car felt good.

With the fronts and rears changed and no tracking, the car felt not as good as above.

With the fronts and rears changed and with it 4 wheeled tracked, the car feels not as good as just above.....a bit rolly?

Overall there is an improvement in handling going round corners, but I can't say that it has made a difference to the steering feel/feedback of the car that I was hoping for.

Also it looks 'right' around the arches.

Adding the eibachs don't seem to make a difference to the height at the rear.

Going to get it geometry checked.

Cheers,
scc

The Vee
22-06-2006, 05:30 AM
Glad you got it done, but just to help with your questions further back.
1. If you mean the central nut at the top of the assembly, this must be tightened as it will automatically compress the spring. Now fitted in the car the spring will be compressed anyway (by the weight of the car) so the nut should tighten easily down to the spacer within the rubber bush. No need to raise the car. You may need to stop the piston turning which if memory serves me correctly, a 7mm spanner fits at the top. (some require an allen key)
2. I think the link you mention is the anti roll bar link and to get it in is made a lot easier by raising the suspesion slightly. But you have it in now and should have straightened the pin as you tightened it. If it is still at an angle the move ment of the suspension over bumps would probably cause a clonking which you'd be able to hear.
Hope I've got the right end of the stick with your questions!!!

scc
29-06-2006, 12:10 AM
...
Hope I've got the right end of the stick with your questions!!!

Right on!
Cheers!
scc