Suspension Set Up For Uneven Surfaces, Gravel , Dirt Tracks

[johnnyboy666 195 1 Cars]

Looking for a few pointers on a decent (but budget friendly) suspension set up for extremely poor road surfaces including gravel, mud, farm tracks, and potentially flooding and snow.

I'm used to fast road set ups and that's pretty much the opposite of what I need here.

Presumably a rally style setup might be the way forward.

Current setup:

Base model subframe

306 gti6 front shocks (drooling tabs cut off)

Unknown lowering springs (too low)

309 gti rear beam

No rear arb, but have a 24mm one that needs shortening

Gaz adjustable rear shocks

Solid rear beam mounts

14" 106 rallye steels, ph2.

Budget 185/60/14 but will probably get some falken ZE914s soon.

 

I don't mind a high ride height but don't want the associated body roll, needs to be normal road, motorway and roundabout friendly!

 

Cheers

[Tom Fenton 1,536]

Yellow challenge bilsteins with Peter Lloyd gravel springs, gti lower arm setup, rose jointed wishbones, bomb proof, but not budget.

[welshpug 1,646]

stick to a 205 beam if you want decent wheel travel, on the rougher stuff a smaller arb is bette.

[johnnyboy666 195 1 Cars]

If I could find some good used billies perhaps, but just can't afford new unfortunately.

How do you think the gravel springs would handle with the gti6 shocks?

I have a gti subframe destined for the car and could probably pinch the 309 wishbones of the other 205 that's in bits at the moment. So that's a start.

 

Unfortunately the 309 beam wasn't by choice. The last owner must've fitted it. It will be coming off at a later date, but it'll have to stay on for the moment.

 

Standard rear arb the way to go for the rear then?

[allanallen 528 2 Cars]

The PLR springs might be a bit much for the gti6 shocks, they'll give you a higher than standard ride height too I'd imagine.

 

18 or 19mm arb in the back.

 

I'd go with some standard gti springs at the front and a gti subframe. Spend all your money (and more) on rear dampers.

[johnnyboy666 195 1 Cars]

I should've probably mentioned it's a derv boat anchor in the front, so presumably that would result in being slightly lower when on gti springs than standard.

[camgti 56]

Put the gti6 springs in it?

[welshpug 1,646]

far too long!

 

standard diesel springs are probably the best bet given budget constraints, they'll be the stiffest standard 205 spring given the engine.

[allanallen 528 2 Cars]

Fit a sump guard

[johnnyboy666 195 1 Cars]

Think I chucked the gti6 springs. The Derv springs were very rolly, any way to counteract that slightly?

Sump guards a good shout, considering some of the potholes round here have their own postcode.

I'm also going to weld on some strut top plates after one strut tried to escape...

[Batfink 201]

Whats wrong with the current setup? Personally I'd look at just changing the springs and the rear dampers and see how you get on. Match the dampers to the front, then maybe some Eibach pro-kit springs. That will sit you higher and will be a softer ride. You could always consider moving to the 13" steel wheel as its lighter and you can run a higher profile tyre.

[johnnyboy666 195 1 Cars]

It's too low, crashy, and generally a terrible ride on anything mildly uneven.

Presumably the lowering springs I have on there can't cope with the weight of the XUD.

I'm inclined to stay with the gaz shocks at the rear, I know they aren't the best but I noticed an improvement over the standard shocks, and the adjustability comes in handy.

Front springs definitely will be getting changed, I might try the original xud ones on some gti shocks, with gti subframe and wishbones.

13"s would normally be my go-to choice, but I've got 266mm brakes on the front of this car so they won't fit unfortunately.

[johnnyboy666 195 1 Cars]

Turns out I didnt chuck out the 306 springs, as I dug some out earlier. Thinking about it, it's possible that they are xsara vts ones, I cant remember. So I compared them with the 205 xud springs, and the 205 ones are about an inch and a half longer, but the 306/xsara ones are stiffer (13mm coil vs 11mm coil), so I'm wondering if these might be a good fit, they are about 11.5inch free length, which is similar to the gravel springs mentioned above.

 

I would of chucked everything together today and give it a shot, but my new top mount rubbers are sat in a DPD depot somewhere over the weekend :/

[welshpug 1,646]

ive tried xsara springs, they didn't compress at all when we lowered the car down

[johnnyboy666 195 1 Cars]

what engine was in it?

[welshpug 1,646]

1.9 8v.

[johnnyboy666 195 1 Cars]

Hmm I suppose the XUD is a bit heavier. I think I'll just have to try a few different combinations till I find something that works