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novah108gly
01-11-09, 09:47 PM
< Back | Forward > (http://www.novabug.co.uk/Modifications.html#Top)Modificationsempty
SUSPENSION
Lowered Suspension Back to Top (http://www.novabug.co.uk/Modifications.html#TOP)
Lowering the suspension lowers the cars centre of gravity, and with the aid of more complicated physics stuff, means that you get reduced body roll, and a safer, more level cornering behavior. You also end up with a car which looks much more perposful, and no longer like an off-roader - which is my only dislike with standard Novas.
This can be done very cheeply, depending what you want. Just fitting lowering springs makes a massive difference, and some would say, better than having a full kit, as the up-rated dampers are sometimes too stiff for normal road use. I personally only have lowering springs, and am very very happy with the result, but having not driven one with a full kit, I don't know the difference - e-mail (rich.dale@virginnet.co.uk) me with your thoughts on this, and I'll include it on here.
As always, it depends on your buget, and what your willing to spend. A full kit can be your for around £200 more or less, and lowering springs for around £50. You can get full coil-over kits with adjustable ride height and pre-load, and you can get adjustable top-mounts for the front - to adjust camber to allow for alterations made as a result of lowering. Again, if you've got the money....do i
In the past, I read that anything below 60mm lowering was dangerous with the Nova, as the drive shaft can pop out with this amount of lowering, because the steering geometry is well out of GM's recomended settings. If any one can conferm this, again, e-mail me and I'll put things right.

mowgli
01-11-09, 09:52 PM
i don't know about the cv joints popping out, cos the std suspension will go up & down by more than 60mm on bumpy ground anyway....if you over lower a car without making suitable adjustments to camber, caster, etc. it will simply make the handling crap, also putting way too stiff springs under it will also make the handling crap...

on the plus side, this is the reason that soo many saxo's hit lampposts near roundabouts

brainsnova
01-11-09, 09:55 PM
i don't know about the cv joints popping out, cos the std suspension will go up & down by more than 60mm on bumpy ground anyway....if you over lower a car without making suitable adjustments to camber, caster, etc. it will simply make the handling crap, also putting way too stiff springs under it will also make the handling crap...

on the plus side, this is the reason that soo many saxo's hit lampposts near roundabouts

:thumb: we need less saxo's

novah108gly
01-11-09, 09:55 PM
[quote=mowgli]i don't know about the cv joints popping out, cos the std suspension will go up & down by more than 60mm on bumpy ground
at least theres thatlol

Jon_nova1
01-11-09, 10:00 PM
Isn't it the big block engines that suffer driveshafts popping as the diff sits lower meaning the inside of the cv joints would sit lower than a small block?

brainsnova
01-11-09, 10:02 PM
i had a 1.3sr lowered 60mm and after 3 years of abuse nothing went wrong only new tyres lol

novah108gly
01-11-09, 10:04 PM
i had a 1.3sr lowered 60mm and after 3 years of abuse nothing went wrong only new tyres lol

what from rubbing

Jon_nova1
01-11-09, 10:06 PM
no lol

I had -60MM on a 1.4 with astra alloys, nothing wrong with it

Benn
01-11-09, 10:41 PM
As std the shafts will point down, make it really low and they point up, but the shaft still moves in the same way. So no.

vaughanmc
01-11-09, 10:47 PM
I've driven a Nova with -60mm springs and standard shocks and also one with -60mm springs and 'uprated' shocks and tbh the Nova with standard shocks handles much better but the ride in the one with 'uprated' shocks seems a lot smoother and a lot less choppy...

brainsnova
02-11-09, 12:41 AM
what from rubbing

from serious driving lol didnt rub on the car

Welsh Dan
02-11-09, 08:22 AM
I've driven a Nova with -60mm springs and standard shocks and also one with -60mm springs and 'uprated' shocks and tbh the Nova with standard shocks handles much better but the ride in the one with 'uprated' shocks seems a lot smoother and a lot less choppy...

What lb rating were the springs, and what make/model were the shocks though? ;)

vaughanmc
02-11-09, 05:51 PM
No idea about the LB rating...Mine are GMAX (I know there utter crap) Gas Supersprint or something...and the other one was on standard shocks (Merit+ 1.2i)