Front Ride Height Radically Different?

[dommorton 0]

Have fitted new Bilstein struts (replacement OEM spec) and Ventura -25mm springs. Grp N top bushes from Baker and new top mount bearings.

 

The car is now sitting with one side approx 30mm higher than the other

 

I've been up the road in it to even it out but to no avail.

 

When on the ground the strut tops show the same amount of thread. The struts are the same length with the seats in the same place. The springs appeared the same length before fitting.

 

The back end is all square with the same gap both sides and the beam is a recently rebuilt item.

 

One thing I have noticed is the bowler hat shaped washer at the top of the strut is tight to the top mount plate on this side and has a slight gap the other. Although this gap difference is no where near as much as the suspension is out by?

 

Any ideas before I rip it to bits?

[dommorton 0]

Don't worry I've sorted it.

 

The top mount bearing wasn't seated correctly on the passenger side and had made the spring cup sit at an angle.

 

Jacked it up and persuaded everything back to where it should be then it was all even stevens.

 

Problem is am I going to have to carefully reseat the top mounts every time I've jacked the car up?

 

Guessing the shorter springs aren't pushing things in place as well as their longer predecessors

[DrSarty 90 1 Cars]

Problem is am I going to have to carefully reseat the top mounts every time I've jacked the car up?

 

Guessing the shorter springs aren't pushing things in place as well as their longer predecessors

 

Even with my -30mm Eibachs, when jacked up this started to happen. Now, I REALLY am no expert on this but my ATS buddy who fitted it said it's usual, but he forgot (?) to put a zip tie pair top and bottom to help the spring seat in the cup and not do this.

 

I'm not sure if that's ok and a cure or not.

 

DrS

Edited December 31, 2006 by DrSarty

[dommorton 0]

I've done that on some other cars in the past but on the 205 I can't see it helping

 

The spring is seated fine both top and bottom, it seems the top mount components pull apart when you jack it up and there is no way I can think of to keep it compressed?

[welshpug 1,657]

Iv'e got the same shock and springs on mine Dom, had a little trouble getting the seated when fitting (my spring pan decide it didnt want to sit on top of the spring ) but ever since its been fine, even when jacked up.

[dommorton 0]

My spring pan seems to sit on the spring fine but pulls off the bearing instead.

 

Hopefully now it's seated it won't happen again. Guess I'll just need to be careful when dropping it back down.

[taylorspug 7]

Should be fine now it is seated, give it a bit of time and the road grime will seal it in good aswell...

[dommorton 0]

That's true! the last ones were bloody welded in!

[Dan57 0]

Evere so slightly off topic but how do you guy's find the Ventura springs?

 

I have a set fitted to my Merc and to honest where pretty good around the track but it is a 1 1/2 ton car and quite a lot of weight transfer to deal with. Just wondering if they make the 205 stiffer and handle any better?

 

And best of all are cheap as chips.

[welshpug 1,657]

no idea if they're any good really as I fitted them at teh same time as New shocks so it was a world apart from original springs and dead dampers.

 

It seems pretty good for a road car, not too stiff and the coating is still intact 2 years on, you do get a little weight transfer but I think a little is good so you know whats happening at the front brakes, and a lot of that is to do with the rear as much as anything.

[dommorton 0]

I've done about 0.3 of a mile so far as the car isn't finished so hard to say

[KRISKARRERA 2 1 Cars]

Dom, Welshypug,

 

I've got the Ventura and black Bilsteins on my 405, it's a right crashy bastid, are your cars not like that then?

[dommorton 0]

Dom, Welshypug,

 

I've got the Ventura and black Bilsteins on my 405, it's a right crashy bastid, are your cars not like that then?

 

My short test drives confirm yes it seems to have no front suspension

[tom_m 0]

i have found crashing is more to do with damping than the springing, unless they are stupidly stiff.

 

i'm running rose jointed top mounts and biltstein tarmac dampers with 180lb springs and i find this set-up less crashy than avo coilovers with the same spring rate and grp-n rubber in standard topmounts!

[welshpug 1,657]

wouldn't say crashy, but then i haven't driven any other 205s bar this one when it had std springs and foobard shocks

[dommorton 0]

Maybe it's the grp N top mounts making mine hardcore?

 

Will report back once I have the thing on the road and have let everything settle in.

[Rippthrough 98]

Maybe it's the grp N top mounts making mine hardcore?

 

Will report back once I have the thing on the road and have let everything settle in.

 

Crashy will be either the dampers or those top mounts.

[GLPoomobile 958]

Group N top mount rubbers have made mine more crashy than before. I'm going back to standard rubbers (road car, and currently not pleasant to drive in London with all the speed humps and potholes).