16 replies to this topic

[SimonM]

I was thinking about putting some Gaz Gold's onto the car as one of the shocks looks as though it's on the way out. Looking through the forum there seem to be a number of options for replacements, but Gaz seem to be the most reasonable. The actual fitting looks very straightforward, just a couple of bolts from the look of it. But, do I have to then take the car to any kind of specialist to get them adjusted/set right? Or is this something I can do myself? Thanks

[slindborg]

DIY will be fine. get the ride height where you want it, and make sure its even left-right and about 10mm higher at the back. set the damping to suit your likes/dislikes, but a rough rule or thumb is 20ish clicks from soft at the back and 10-15 from soft at the front

[Simply the Best]

You may also require a geo to be done afterwards. I have had Gaz on my tubby for well over a year now and have been happy; but passengers seem to notice more of a difference than myself in the ride. I have mine set 5 from hardest on the rear and 10 from hardest on the front if I remember correctly. She is also one of the lowest VX's around.

[slindborg]

You may also require a geo to be done afterwards.

I have had Gaz on my tubby for well over a year now and have been happy; but passengers seem to notice more of a difference than myself in the ride.

I have mine set 5 from hardest on the rear and 10 from hardest on the front if I remember correctly. She is also one of the lowest VX's around.

must be bone shaking in there!!!!!!!



for the record, my car has never had a "geo" and I've messed about with the rear toe settings by changing joints and not putting them back in the same place. Lowered it a bit etc and the car is still BETTER than me.... so it might not be worth hosing cash up the wall on a geo if you just use it on the road (if your tyres wear evenly that is)

[johnyt]

It's an easy job. Once the car is jacked up there's no pressure on so they come off easily. Mine are set to about 15 off the hardest setting and it's no problem to drive. If you're going to end up with lowering the car I think you should get a geo done, it's probably a good idea in any case. Just take a few measurements of ride height on the car before you start, gap in the arches and front diffuser to the ground etc. Mine was actually uneven on the original bilsteins before i started. Lowering it made a huge difference to the handling of the car.

[SimonM]

Thanks for the views. Although I've replaced a fair number of standard shocks and springs in my time this is the first time for adjustable ones. Presumably the Gaz's come with pretty good instructions about how to actually set the ride heights and damping on them?

[slindborg]

erm, none.... just the same as any other suspension manufacturer I've seen suspension from for all types of cars. you cant possibly write instructions on howto set something up that is a personal and very adjustable thing

[SimonM]

Totally agree but it was more the practicalities I was thinking of - what bits of the Gaz do I have to adjust and how to do this and so on - or is this pretty obvious? I just don't want to risk undoing somethig that I shouldn't and wrecking the thing......

[Ouchie]

There's a knob, you twist it. It even has "+" and "-" so you can twist it the right way.

Edited by Ouchie, 27 February 2009 - 09:00 AM.

[Retset]

Mine already had a decent, if a little unadventurous, geo. It was never right after I fitted Gaz ... not theGaz at fault, but the fact it needed a new geo! Hofmann's sorted me out - see separate thread from a couple of weeks back - and it is transformed. The Gaz work best with stiff springs and relatively soft damping. I have 400F/550R springs and 5 clicks F/11 R (out of 40 from full soft). Add some low ride heights and the chucking away of all camber shims and the car handles unbelievably well and does not understeer Summary: 1) Easy fit - ought to use new nylocks 2) Make sure spring rates match what you want out of the car 3)Get it geo'd by a reputable specialist afterwards.

[colgy]

So if you're careful you can adjust the ride height yourself just by jacking the car up, turning the collar and re-dropping it? Does anybody have any measurements of where to set the spring cups, just as a ballpark figure? And this might be a stupid question(!) but if the car is set up with even side -to side height, does this mean that the weights on each corner are the same? So many questions......

Edited by colgy, 06 May 2009 - 12:25 AM.

[Retset]

Get it so it looks OK and then get a proper geo at somewhere like Hofmann's. It will only handle right when it's set up right!

[MrSimba]

So if you're careful you can adjust the ride height yourself just by jacking the car up, turning the collar and re-dropping it?
Does anybody have any measurements of where to set the spring cups, just as a ballpark figure?

If its the Gaz 'Golds' with 425 / 475 springs on a Tubbie these were 'my' settings for ride height

For the 'standard' 145mm all round set the collars at 40mm below all round (i/e measure a 40mm 'gap' top of collar to top of adjustable collar)

For a 128 F / 133 R set the collars at / 16mm F / 31mm rear - you WILL need a geo afterwards!!!

That looks like this (crappy phone camera pic tho!)

[Duncan VXR]

Can confirm his setup and geo works VERY well on Simons car Looks like the wheels on the astra are getting stolen got to love Birmingham LOL

[colgy]

Sorry -should have said I was looking at the standard Gaz GHA coilovers. I would like to go with pretty stiff springs - after attending a few LOT track days and getting a few rides I'm convinced this is the way to go. I was going to order 400F/550R springs (based on comments here) but if thats for an NA, to get the same benefit, would I have to go even stiffer for a tubby?

[Retset]

TBH, I think you would. I would be guessing at 575 or 600.

[colgy]

Yeah I was thinking around 600 (at a complete guess!) due to the extra weight - to keep the same proportion should I plump for 425 at the front, or do I only need to go stiffer on the back? After reading retset's posts I think I'd like something similar to that.