Cti Suspension

[notamondayfan 44]

hey guys,

my dad needs some advice, his cti suspension is shagged and he wants to upgrade instead of replacing for standard struts and springs.

are the cti and gti suspension the same? the cti sits higher yea, due to the extra thick sills, but he also wants to lower it slightly.

any recomendations? any one done simular things?

 

cheers, dean

[Guest smokinslim]

CTI suspension is the same setup as the XS has, not the same as GTI.

You can fit the GTI setup bu tit means changing the subframe and you have to move the brakepipe brackets on the inner front wings.

If you don't want quite so much work, you can uprate your springs, shocks, bushes, rear beam, antirollbar, and fit a strut brace.

 

My CJ currently has CTI front shocks, JRsports lower/stiffer front springs, poly bushes all round, diesel rear beam with 19mm GTI ARB fitted, JR sports rear shocks.

[Anthony 1,003]

You can put GTi shocks/springs on just fine and that will help, but to get the full benefit you'd want to fit the complete GTi style front suspension setup.

 

Same goes for the rear beam, as a GTi one has stiffer torsion and anti-roll bars compared to a CTi. Again, GTi shocks would probably be a good improvement on their own.

[steve@cornwall 100]

You can put GTi shocks/springs on just fine and that will help, but to get the full benefit you'd want to fit the complete GTi style front suspension setup.

 

Same goes for the rear beam, as a GTi one has stiffer torsion and anti-roll bars compared to a CTi. Again, GTi shocks would probably be a good improvement on their own.

 

I have two ctis, one with complete 1.9 front subframe, suspension etc and the other on standard cti suspension but lowered about 60mm. I'm not usually a fan of lowered susp. but this one corners like a go-cart! It was properly done (dealer) by a previous owner about 5 years ago, I have the bill, with spax lowering springs. It has signs of SERIOUS wheel rubbing, but there is also an invoice around the same time for 16" rims. I have run it on 1.9 speedlines (15") and 306 xsi 5 spokes (15") with no rubbing until I tried 205 rear tyres! Not as harsh a ride as I was expecting and in my opinion better than the gti equipped.

[notamondayfan 44]

umm interesting stuff. if he doesnt have to fork out for a new gti set up, then i might perswade him into getting coilovers, that way he can set it up how ever he likes. idealy hes after comfort and style (well atleast when my mums in the car with him) but he also knows how to flog it around our country roads, so im thinkin coilies would be ideal.

[Kev-G 1]

umm interesting stuff. if he doesnt have to fork out for a new gti set up, then i might perswade him into getting coilovers, that way he can set it up how ever he likes. idealy hes after comfort and style (well atleast when my mums in the car with him) but he also knows how to flog it around our country roads, so im thinkin coilies would be ideal.

 

 

GTi set-up is the way to go on a CTi - MUCH better location of the front wheels.

 

Why go to the expense of coilovers? Is he REALLY likely to change the ride-height esp. when the rear will still be torsion bar?

[Henry Yorke 269 3 Cars]

My CTI came with Peugeot shocks fitted with the mounting point for the anti roll bar drop links so I just swopped the subframe and wishbones and hey presto, GTI set up at the front! I then treated it to some Eibach springs as from experience these give you a lot of handling whilst retaining the ride comfort.

 

Looking at the parts catalogue, the CTI seemed to have bespoke shocks up front here

[Guest smokinslim]

By bespoke do you mean vehicle specific (in this case)?

 

They are a part in their own. I've fitted brand new ones a few months back, replacing gti shocks as one had minor damage. They're better than base model shocks but a bit softer than gti ones, and seemed to raise the front end a little (5-10mm). The height difference may just have been down to the age of the old shocks perhaps.

[notamondayfan 44]

in the end he went with just some uprated shocks and lowering springs on the front. think its a drop of something near 50mm on the front. on the rear hes gone for some really stiff shocks, and lowered it about 40mm.

it handles like a dream now, couldnt believe how much grippier it was, and i was driving it on damp roads.

 

the only prob is i think its maybe too low. currently hes got the plastic arch covers off (respray soon) and it looks low, so its gonna look even lower when they are bk on. also the ride height from the bottom of the sill is really low. oh well, only time will tell. will look ace when hes finished it. will post some pickys when im home next.

[Henry Yorke 269 3 Cars]

By bespoke do you mean vehicle specific (in this case)?

Yes