156 GTA Coilovers!!

Looking for info on the best Coilovers for my GTA. i seen around that the KW V2 and V3's come up alot. is it worth spending the extra on the V3's over the V2's? Can someone also tell me if the KW's are stainless steel?

I want some new coilovers before my superleggeras arrive. hopefully improve the suspension. cus the dampers on the std gta seem shocking, and getting worse

Also what about the offerings from Autodelta or Novitec.

TIA Cheers

Novitech are re-branded KW V2's

IMO the bisteins are the best of the bunch

Anyone know what the two Autodelta offerings are??

I have used both of the AD coilovers.

The Autodelta Sportline corse adjustable height and bound/rebound ones with external valve resevoirs are really excellent and would be my top choice.
You can get advice on a range of spring rates when ordering depending on the type of driving you most want to optimize fior.

Not sure if they lower much more than 10mm over standard for a 156 GTA though at the rear if that was a consideration.
The standard autodelta Sportline coilovers do allow more lowering
at the rear, but are galvanized and have non adjustable dampers.

How much are the KW2's?

Myself and Peter K should get a chance to directly compare them at the ring , since he has Kw2s I believe.

We will report back next month!

Cheers,
TB

Originally Posted by Trailbraker

How much are the KW2's?

KW Var 2 - £925.00
KW Var 3 - £1090.00

http://www.europerformance.co.uk/pag...mhtml?id=41816

Novitecs are 1,199.00 Euro

http://shophost.net/shop_n/catalog/p...2854b34bed91e1

Originally Posted by Trailbraker

I have used both of the AD coilovers.

The Autodelta Sportline corse adjustable height and bound/rebound ones with external valve resevoirs are really excellent and would be my top choice.
You can get advice on a range of spring rates when ordering depending on the type of driving you most want to optimize fior.

Not sure if they lower much more than 10mm over standard for a 156 GTA though at the rear if that was a consideration.
The standard autodelta Sportline coilovers do allow more lowering
at the rear, but are galvanized and have non adjustable dampers.

How much are the KW2's?

Myself and Peter K should get a chance to directly compare them at the ring , since he has Kw2s I believe.

We will report back next month!

Cheers,
TB

So TB,
U Got the Autodelta bound/rebound and adjust height ones?

Yup, have the Sportline Corse's, am over the moon with them.

http://www.autodelta.co.uk/catalog/p...roducts_id=576

You can see the external valves in the picture.
Actaully if somebody can tell me why external valve reservoirs are good I would be armed with another pub fact
I know they are often used in racecars.
I think it is something to do with more constant damping as fluid expands when the damper is under load but not sure how that works!

BTW the bound/rebound adjustments are coupled together, you can;t adjust rebound independently - possibly a good thing

If it turns out that you are seriously considering them I can advise on my experiences with their spring rates so you know what to order.

I can't really comment Vs the KWs since I have never used them, but Peter K was very happy with them I believe.

Cheers,
TB

Originally Posted by Trailbraker

Yup, have the Sportline Corse's, am over the moon with them.

http://www.autodelta.co.uk/catalog/p...roducts_id=576

If it turns out that you are seriously considering them I can advise on my experiences with their spring rates so you know what to order.

yea im seriously interested TB. what ratings etc are the springs? and what options have u had experience ?

many thx m8

Well I had extended experience of the standard Sportline coilovers initially and by default they come with linear front springs denoted "200-80".

80 represents the spring rate in terms of how much force is needed to compress the spring by 1mm.
200 is the spring length, this would probably be the same for all appropriate AD springs.

So "200-100" would have a spring rate of 100N/mm which would be 25% stiffer than the "200-80" ones.


The default Autodelta spring rate of 80N/mm was really oriented towords fast road use and actually also improved comfort over standard with hiugely improved body control.
If you don't plan on making any concessions to comfort for track days this could be a good option. The car will not bottom out with these and the handling is way better than standard.

I then tried the much stiffer 200N/mm springs with the non adjustable coilovers and while the car was much stiffer, the rebound damping in particular unsuprisingly wasn't able to match the stiffer springs optimally.
Its not that noticeable except when you blast through a large dip, the car instantly resumes full suspension travel at the bottom of the dip which can hit you in the stomach a bit!
Hugely reduced roll on cornering though.
I'm sure the basic Ssporline coilovers could have been valved to match the stiffer springs when I was buying them intially, but once you buy non adjustable dampers you have made your bed and have to lie in it.
If you subsequently change springs the dampers are not exactly optimized for them without the serious hassle of having them revalved.

You can pay Autodelta to revalve them again, but I don't know how much that is.

Then I had some mods made to my car and needed to revalve the dampers to cope - so went for broke and got the adjustable Sportline Corse kit installed, so I could freely select from a library of springs and be able to change the damping to match.
The stiffer 100N/mm springs are absolutely awesome with this setup, stunning on track and pleasantly firm for road use.

If you only wanted to do the odd track day perhaps the 90N/mm ones would be a good compromise.
I have 3 sets of springs myself (80,90,100) but have not tried the 90N/mm ones personally.

I definitely would not buy the 80N/mm springs with the adjustable damper kit since you can maintain very good ride quality by softening the dampers for day to day use.


(BTW More examples of "spring denotation" are at :http://www.hrsprings.com/site/motorsport/60mm.html)


Lots of info - hope some of it helped and I haven't confused you.

Just in case - my one-line summary would be to buy the adjustable damper sportline corse kit with "200-100" springs and you will kick some ass!

Cheers,
TB

ahh TB ure the Daddies!!! thx for the input!!! im serious thinkin of ordering these like 2mora!!! will give AD a little call.

im hoping to have the suspension 'issues' sorted before my 19' supperleggera-III's arrive in a week or 2. im hoping that the much improved suspension that u have suggested will give a nice clean ride even with the 19's on!!!

so it sounds like option is the 200-100. im sold mate!!!

ill be ordering them to be fitted by a garage of my choice. what shud i be looking at for fitting times approximately? about 4-5 hrs or so? and ill prob need some guidance on adjustment etc. but ill hassle u when the time comes for that info hehe!

one final thing!! are they stainless steel, i dont want em rusting!!! wot condition are ures?

many thanks again TB ur the daddies!

The Sportline Corse's are stainles steel.

From memory the fitting time was somewhere between 5 and 7 hours approx, so there is no point economizing too much on very slightly cheaper coilovers.

What profile are you getting (35?).
19's are quite extreme so you may yet be advised to get the 200-90 option, Jano would defintely have a helpful opinion here - he is very contactable by phone.

Best of luck with it!
TB

Forgive my ignorance but what do coilovers actually do? I would like to improve the handling on my GTA and stop the bottoming out, but not that keen on lowering the ride hight, and I dont use it on the track, so what would be the best solution for this? Thanks

All we are talking about is a higher-specification damper unit, really, possibly with differently rated springs to standard.

I'm not sure where the "coil-over" expression came from, sometimes people take it to mean dampers with adjustable spring platforms, sometimes not. If the spring platform is adjustable you can easily adjust the ride height of your car, and can also "cornerweight" it with a set of scales which will balance the load on each wheel and aid stability under extreme (track) conditions.

The standard Alfa damper units are poor and non-adjustable. Personally I find my GTA pretty good compared to the older cars I've had before, but the shocks aren't great. I've heard a lot of good things about the cheaper of the two Autodelta kits for normal road/occasional track use - more comfortable and better handling, apparently. There are more advanced setups with adjustable damping, external reservoirs and all the rest of it, but these seem excessive unless tracking the car.

What I really want to know is why Alfa didn't fit better dampers and an LSD as standard, and save us from all the rubbish magazine reviews we have to put up with

Originally Posted by Trailbraker

I'm sure the basic Ssporline coilovers could have been valved to match the stiffer springs when I was buying them intially, but once you buy non adjustable dampers you have made your bed and have to lie in it.

Good point, well made I have the non adjustable dampers, its the cheaper kit AD do for the GT and while its mostly very good I am sure rear damping could be better as the way its setup at the moment not all rear end oscilation is cut out as it should be.

Originally Posted by PR

Forgive my ignorance but what do coilovers actually do? I would like to improve the handling on my GTA and stop the bottoming out, but not that keen on lowering the ride hight, and I dont use it on the track, so what would be the best solution for this? Thanks

Like your self I didn't really want any large lowering which was the reason I went for AD coilovers and have a set of Eiback springs unopened in the garage, basically what you get is improved dampers and stiffer springs firming up the ride a bit but still maintaining ride hieght as the after market coilovers have adjustable bases you can set hieght as you wish and reap the benefits of better damping over OE.

Originally Posted by jwyatt

What I really want to know is why Alfa didn't fit better dampers and an LSD as standard, and save us from all the rubbish magazine reviews we have to put up with

Indeed, my GTA was in desperate need of better rear damping and a stiffer rear ARB, it may not have needed much after that to sort it out, of course the LSD would be nice.

Originally Posted by Trailbraker

What profile are you getting (35?).
19's are quite extreme so you may yet be advised to get the 200-90 option
TB

yea its the 35 profile. im guessing the coilovers will more than compensate for the switch between the 45 to the 35 profile tiles.

thanks tho ill go mail or call him now!!! cheers again!!

Oh, and TB, external oil reservoirs in dampers basically allow more oil to be in the system which according to Ohlins means "better cooling, performance, and durability".

I know some people who fettle trackday specials and race cars a lot who swear by scandinavian shock manufacturers...

I seriously doubt you will be able to obtain any semblance of a decent ride on 19's with 35 profile regardless of the dampers..... It will however look the nuts

Originally Posted by ukoldschool

I seriously doubt you will be able to obtain any semblance of a decent ride on 19's with 35 profile regardless of the dampers..... It will however look the nuts

im quietly confident, and thinking the glass is half full

For the record I generally run with 45 profile 17's generally so I definitely can't comment on ride quality with such a low profile tyre as yours.
I noticed my 18" pilot sport cups with a 40 profile were a bit harsher, but some of that is due to the more focused nature of the tyre (road legal semi-competion tyre).

100N/mm springs with ultra low 35 profile 19's is probably veering towords the extreme side of things.
It would defintely be much firmer than standard, albeit better controlled.

You have more room for manouvere in stiffening shocks than softening them because you can only soften the shocks so much before the stiff springs dominate.
It might be best to play slightly on the safe side especially if you won't be tracking the car much.
If Jano hints at the 90N/mm option I would take his advice

Oh and I do want to see pictures of your alloys on the "show us your allloys thread" when you get them

Cheers,
TB

Originally Posted by Trailbraker

100N/mm springs with ultra low 35 profile 19's is probably veering towords the extreme side of things.
It would defintely be much firmer than standard, albeit better controlled.


Oh and I do want to see pictures of your alloys on the "show us your allloys thread" when you get them

Cheers,
TB

So ive just calld Jano, theve been ordered!! Sportline Corse with 220-80. the slightly longer springs and a nice easy spring for the 19's!!!

I will defo post the pix after the coilovers and the wheels arrive. also got a alu engine guard to go on too.

Cheers again TB!!!