Any advice about changing shocks? My car is too low.

[DrJHK]

Hello list

I am a new Legnum VR4 owner and my only gripe about the car is that the front is very low, only a few inches off the ground. I did come across another Legnum in a car park in Hong Kong and measured the clearance that was nearly double my car.

I often ground the front of the car when driving on roads that are less than perfect and I cannot drive up the kerb etc. The result is my front underskirt is looking very battered and tatty.

I took it to my local Mitsubishi garage to get it sprayed up. He has told me that my car has the original Japanese 'hard' shocks on the car (it was privately exported from Japan) and he can replace it with soft shocks that will raise the car up a few inches.

Couple of questions -

1. Did the VR4 ship with different shocks and different ride heights?

2. Should I go ahead and get the new shocks or would it have a detrimental effect on handling and maybe some other issues I haven't considered.

Thanks!

[Gly]

it came with KYBs or Ralliart shocks,
ralli art are the lower ones but not buy much, nothing like what you discribe

sounds like yours has lowering springs fitted and maybe shorter shocks or coil over adjustable suspension,

coil overs can just be would up to raise the car,

if its lowering springs you can just get factory springs,
if its got shortend shocks you will also need new shocks to allow for the higher springs

[DrJHK]

Thanks Gly for that.

Please excuse my total ignorance but I am new to this car and new to modern cars (my last car was first produced in 1949!), can you suggest where do I go from here?

My mechanic doesn't speak a word of English and my Cantonese isn't up to the job. He has suggested putting a VRM skirt on the front of the car or putting these 'softer' shocks. Would this be very detrimental to the handling and ride - such that I would regret it?

I will measure the clearance today. Any stats I can compare this against to see if my car is standard or not? Again today I grounded the front of the car and the flap in the middle of the skirt fell off. Only a matter of time until I lose it. What is it for anyway? I am guessing it must be to allow access to bolts or some such.

Thanks again.

[Gly]

its the tow hook cover access panel,

if you could take a wheel off and take a picture of the suspension,
i can make a sujestion then,

a softer shock will not make the car higher,
it would be lower and more sloppy,

i would not touch a factory setup either...

i would be looking for a set of coil overs,
(adjustable height, and damper)

have search for tein, D2, ksport, cusco, koni,

all make good suspension setups,
which can be fine tuned to you needs....

one of the UK suppliers may send you the stuff you need?

[KHK]

VRM skirt on the front??? u mean front bumper? Don't!! Doesn't look good

if u need to go up and down hills all the time, u may need to consider a not too low suspension