Going For Gaz Gha Coilovers, Advice Needed!

[MerlinGTI 3]

Hello

 

Ive decided on a GAZ GHA Coilover kit + Eccentric top mounts for my 1.6 '88 205 gti After seeing it in the group buy section.

 

I would like some advice please:

 

Spring choice. Its for fast road use and the rare dtrackday, I will be droping the car by about -30mm (maybe -40). The cars not stripped out and running the std 8v lump. It has jamex tortion bars on the rear which are quite stiff (sorry I dont know exact figures). The car is my daily drive and I dont want it to be a bone shaker, but Id like it a wee bit stiffer than standard suspension (yet not as harsh and stiff as the current jamex) Im guessing im going to get a choice of length and rate?

 

Mods? Am I going to have to modify anything to make these fit? will any other parts be needed? worth renewing anything while im at it?

 

Settings? For those with these, do you have any damper settings that are a good starting point?

 

Misc advice? Any help\advice\opinion on the topic at all apprecited,

 

Cheers

Edited April 19, 2008 by MerlinGTI

[MerlinGTI 3]

Im thinking 225lb 9" free length springs. Sound suitable?

 

Anyone know if I still need to specify longer threads on the shafts to use the GAZ top mounts?

[cybernck 402 1 Cars]

you just have to check "modify for eccentric top mounts" option and they will know what to do .

[Rom 0]

I found the 200lb 8 inch that came with mine way to hard for road use. Ive dropped down to 150lb 10.5 inch iirc. And the front still doesnt move much if u try and bounce it. But it rides comfortably enough,id liek to play around more. But without getting on a track to actually time the changes. Not to mention buying random sets of springs aitn cheap !

 

I tried looking for figures when i got mine. But didnt find much, everyone seems to prefer different things. I will say, im running standard bars in mine. So that will make some differance to your choice.

 

Im running an Mi with rebuilt beam, group a rear mounts,new arb bushes, poly wishbone bushes,and group n top mounts.

[MerlinGTI 3]

150! blimey. Like I said it is a daily drive so I would like it to be comfotable. Im running standard bars as well. (ARB's that is, uprated tortion bars tho)

 

Anyone know the spring rate of the standard setup?

Edited April 20, 2008 by MerlinGTI

[welshpug 1,657]

around the 100 Lb mark

[MerlinGTI 3]

100, cheers welsh pug Im going for 150 9" then. If its to soft I'll get some 200's at a later date.

 

Thanks very much everyone

[Rom 0]

Ive got some 200lb kickign about if you ever want to try them.

I got a bit worried with mine, choosing 150lb. Everyone seemed to be using 200lb minimum,but ive not tracked mine yet. And i think a lot of the guys on coilovers are running Uprated bars etc and tracking.

[MerlinGTI 3]

Ive got some 200lb kickign about if you ever want to try them.

I got a bit worried with mine, choosing 150lb. Everyone seemed to be using 200lb minimum,but ive not tracked mine yet. And i think a lot of the guys on coilovers are running Uprated bars etc and tracking.

 

Seems im in the same boat as you mate. Again everyone seems to be running 200 + ! Im confident seeing as the standard rate is round the 100 mark.. 150's will suit my neads Thats a very kind offer and I may take you up on it if im not happy with the 150's ta

 

May I ask how much you have droped your car by RKKRom? 10.5" seems quite long??

[Rom 0]

I got the 10.5 purely to have some extra adjustment, incase i wanted / needed it a bit higher at some. Plus with a longer spring, i dotn need to run helpers to keep the spring seated when unsprung.

 

I dont know how low it is, but as a rough idea its about 2 fingers between arch and tyre on 195/50. I just set it up to suit the rear, nose slightly lower than than the rear. There was a thread ages ago about the benefits to handling.

 

The choices are endless. My pockets arent I was going to try 175lb, but decided id chance the 150lb as i didnt think 25lb would make a huge change. And didnt want to waste money on a set and find there not much better.

It rides quite hard, but it doesnt crash around. The dampening etc is nice and useable.

[James_R 3]

start the damping off fully soft and slowly add it in a click at a time till it just stops nodding. They have so much adjustment you can almost cancel the spring rate out the dampers will move so slowly :s

[Matt Holley 11]

I got the 10.5 purely to have some extra adjustment, incase i wanted / needed it a bit higher at some. Plus with a longer spring, i dotn need to run helpers to keep the spring seated when unsprung.

 

I dont know how low it is, but as a rough idea its about 2 fingers between arch and tyre on 195/50. I just set it up to suit the rear, nose slightly lower than than the rear. There was a thread ages ago about the benefits to handling.

 

The choices are endless. My pockets arent I was going to try 175lb, but decided id chance the 150lb as i didnt think 25lb would make a huge change. And didnt want to waste money on a set and find there not much better.

It rides quite hard, but it doesnt crash around. The dampening etc is nice and useable.

 

Ive got some 10inch 185lb if you ever want to stiffen it up a bit

[Rom 0]

Coilover spring swap shop \o/

 

Ill keep that in mind..thx

 

I cant remember how far from soft my damping is..ill have to check when its back together. Pretty sure its closer to soft than hard.