Alfaholics tell me they're not lowered but haven't alluded to much more than that.
I currently have Eibach Pro springs with Koni Sport adjustables. I've previously had combinations of Eibachs & Koni STR, Suplex & OEM shocks, Suplex & Koni STR.
No doubt the Suplex were better for comfort but these cars look so good when lowered slightly - but the eibachs are very firm. The B roads of Suffolk are kicking my a$$ so may have to revert to Suplex & Koni adjustables.
I've got the Eibach lowered springs,Q2, Koni sports up front, KYB's on the rear and the Alfaholics uprated ARB's. I'm no driving expert but have experienced far more direct cornering with a reduction in understeer and the rear even stepping out on occasion.
The ride has definitely become harsher on poor surfaces.
You've probably had more experience than most with the combinations you've tried listed there.. Can't help you with the Alfaholics setup as I haven't tried them but most of these combos advertised have been tested on tracks I presume where to a degree it's nice and flat without the bumps.. the only thing I will say is the backend needs to setup good to get the most out of any of the combinations.. I went Suplex / Str out of budget rather than anything else.. it is considered an ok setup but more preferable with the yellow konis.. however, the back wasn't setup right and hitting a bump made the car swivel at the back which was an awful sensation.. still haven't got it sorted yet as the toe adjusters are seized.. I think tyre pressures are a consideration as well.. To be honest I'm not sure that the Alfaholics springs are going to cure whatever you're experiencing on the back roads of Suffolk.. good luck though .. cheers
Suplex with the Koni adjustable set to the softest setting is supposedly one of the best setups, so I would try that as you have the parts. Alfaholics ARB on its own is very good, definitely worth buying; put it with a Q2 or Quiffe if you can.
KW v2 coilovers are said by some to be the best but I've yet to try them, but you would get that lowered look. Laurence Preston at Autolusso in Bournemouth swears by them.
GJR68: My ride sounds the same as yours with the eibachs, it's do-able around town and on the A roads, but I feel it on poorer road surfaces - B roads mainly.
Wictod: Understand what you are saying with the tyre pressures, I have experimented a bit. I was thinking of testing the same setup I have with a set of 16" wheels with a more forgiving 50 profile.
cgc: I have heard of the KW coilovers, would be interesting to know how they compare to eibachs. I have fitted a quaife so all covered there - really enjoying that.
i went to autolusso bournemouth this summer, did a 8500 km trip. got installed a Quaife - Alfaholica kit - Bilstein B6 all around and suplex springs. ive had bilstein with eibach 20mm (TS)- suplex with bilstein (TS and V6) and eibach with oem shocks (v6)
By far the worst was eibach with oem shocks - sure its comfy at crusing speed but any bump becomes an extra hop from the shocks. (Its underdamped)
Suplex with Bilstein makes the car a lot stiffer (15%) but has suspension travel and a lot more body Lean in the corners. only at 8-9ths do i feel the springs rolling under compression. thats at least how it feels.
Eibach and bilstein is the perfect match for places with good roads, germany, belgium, sweden, denmark. sure if you have bad roads... .UK... i would never have it there, i would do softest Konis and suplex probably.
next i will try the KW V2s but since i have equel length downpipes and i daily my GTV in the winter, i have not and wont until i make it my summer car.
with the alfaholics kit i have no body stiffness issues, its all in the springs and it shows in full throttle roundabouts with MPS4 tires, with a nice alighment some positive toe and neg camber both front and rear -1,1 rear and 1,5 front i can easely induce slight oversteer with a stab at the throttle. Very satisfying.
So while yes i believe the eibach and bilstein and probably the KWv2s are the better choice i have to make some compremises to my daily. i do believe bilstein and suplex work quite well up until the michelins start squeeling.
I also contacted alfaholics and i got a email saying that they use a oem spec spring with same ride height, linear spring, so im guessing its similar if not the same as suplex.
Good info WillieNillie, thanks. That's dedication - making the trip across to Autolusso in Bournemouth - good for you.
I have taken a few GTVs to bits and noticed that on two of them they were running eibachs on the rear and standard springs on the front (both V6s), presumably due to the extra weight up front. One car also had a very wide diameter ARB and tiny custom made ARB droplinks.
I think I'll end up refitting my Suplex springs with my Koni adjustables and take it from there. An Alfaholics handling kit will be the next upgrade after that.
i found 2 sets of used ones from greece and norway so i put them on. + my TS had it when i bought it in 2013. rear shocks are interchangeable TS,JTS,TB and V6 but the fronts are different.
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