Gaz coilovers -what's the differences-

[IRISH_MI16 2]

Evening! 

This is probably a bit if an odd question.

But what is the difference between the gold series and the Gha's, physically that is. Is there any difference in dimension between them

Edited March 1, 2018 by IRISH_MI16

[Andy 105 1 Cars]

I have never done a back to back comparison with GHA and GOLDS on the same car, but I have had a set of GHA’s on my 205 and, some time ago, a set of Golds on my Integrale . Right. GHA . Half the price of Golds ,  more or less. Very poor quality finishing that really does not stand up to oxygen and water for more that about a month . O.k spring platform adjustment and GAZ are happy to supply a spring top for either o.e top mounts or solid camber adjustable ones . The GHA top adjuster is conveniently situated but , in my view, rather flimsy . Damping? Bluntly. Not good . At low settings the damper struggles to control the spring rebound and if one tries to fix that by increasing the damper setting, all that happens is that the bounce damping increases, making the ride quite’ crashy’, with still poor rebound control . I had a set on my car for about two months before selling them on and replacing with some B6 Bilsteins , which are far superior .

 GAZ Golds. A much more substantial damper. Adjustment is low down on the strut via a 15 ( I think) position rotary control that feels much more robust. The finish on mine was not bad, but still not up to more than infrequent use in the winter months . The spring platform was good with a substantial lock ring . I used some  Eibach springs coupled with progressive tender springs which certainly helped both ride and suspension travel. The damping was much more effective and could control the spring rebound without resorting to very high damper rates . However, I am still not sure I would use them on my road car , given what I have now. I suspect that something like AST would be an improvement but at nearly £1800, probably not worth it. 

Summary. If you can get a set cheaply, then perhaps worth a try. Bear in mind that if your car is for road use, suspension travel will be an issue . GAZ seem to fix this with high spring rates (250lb/in) I managed acceptable travel with 140lb/in springs but they were 12” long and even then, only gave just over 3” overall  travel, so not stunning. Lots of others on here will suggest Bilsteins and Eibach 7001 springs for road use . With possible change to 7003 springs, I am in full agreement with them, but in the end, most of the above , whilst based on what I have done, is opinion, and nothing more 

[allanallen 528 2 Cars]

Physically the golds have a bigger diameter body and run 2.5” springs rather than the 2.25” that the ghas run. I believe the lengths are about the same.

 

To echo what Andy says unless you want to run high spring rates (which without considerably upping the rear spring rate will ruin the handling) you’d be far better with an inverted Bilstein and eibach springs. 

If you just want the kudos and scene points of coilovers just buy a cheapo eBay set, without serious consideration to the whole set up when fitting coil overs it will handle equally as bad regardless of which damper you buy.