[JeremyG]

For the past year or so I've been recommissioning a '99 Phase 2 GTV V6 that had been off the road for several years before I got hold of it.

It's now running and driving, has an MoT, and everything works. It has had many new parts, and is properly quick.

The only thing is, I'm not sure I enjoy driving it!!! Let me explain...

The car came to me with Eibach springs and Koni yellow dampers with the rear suspension Powerflex-ed. It also has a Q2 diff, a CDA airbox and a Ragazzon cat back exhaust.

Result: it looks aggressive, sounds aggressive - and is virtually undriveable on regular, non-motorway roads - which is where, of course, this car should excel.

When I say "undriveable", I don't really mean that - I just mean it's too uncomfortable on uneven roads, and I have to spend too much time looking out for potholes to enjoy driving it on twisty roads.

To sort the ride will mean replacing the springs, at least - a fairly major piece of work. And if I get it more comfortable, will the Ragazzon then be out of place?

I'm starting to think there is no middle ground here - the car should either be standard, or I should just embrace the full boy racer spec of this particular car and leave it alone.

I really can't see the point of returning this car to standard spec - it will cost too much, and isn't really a good enough example to stand out.

What do you think, guys?

And if I do decide to sell - is anyone out there interested?

 

[Phase3dude]

What tyres are on it? Tha tyres do make a big difference.... 🍀

 

[Naffy]

I am about to go through the same sort of dilemma, I am about to strip the rear suspension on my GTV in order to get the parts all blasted and powder coated, so will replace original springs and all bushes. I too want to ensure the ride does not get harder so will go for standard (suplex) springs and Koni Strt shocks, but I have been quoted for powerflex poly bushes, so can anyone comment on if that will affect the ride at all, or if there are alternative of good quality that can maintain the same ride as original ?

 

[Nellytheroc]

I’ve got Eibachs, powerflex and 18” wheels on my Twinnie and love the way it handles but I ca now see how it wouldn’t be to everyone’s taste. You can pick up a full set of used OEM springs quite cheaply and swapping them is relatively straight forward for starters. OEM rear shocks are quite cheap. I’m not sure what your options are for the front on a V6 but you’ll get a decent amount for your Konis and Eibachs. The Eibachs only lower the car by 20mm so its not a massive difference. Likewise, swapping out the Ragga can be done fairly cheaply.

 

[acidco916]

I am about to go through the same sort of dilemma, I am about to strip the rear suspension on my GTV in order to get the parts all blasted and powder coated, so will replace original springs and all bushes. I too want to ensure the ride does not get harder so will go for standard (suplex) springs and Koni Strt shocks, but I have been quoted for powerflex poly bushes, so can anyone comment on if that will affect the ride at all, or if there are alternative of good quality that can maintain the same ride as original ?

I’m just doing the same on my Gtv got koni strt shocks, suplex springs for front and rear. I’m removing the old bushes before getting the rear suspension powder coated and strongflex poly bushes. I’ve gone with suplex and strt’s as want a good quality ride

I’ve got yellow konis and eibach lowering springs on my 156 Gta it’s ok but the ride is a bit hard

 

[WantAGTA]

The car should ride really nicely with that setup, maybe something is buggered? Avoiding potholes is a given in any GTV, it's no SUV. If you would like to sell I am interested

 

[acidco916]

Have you tried putting softer settings on the konis?

 

[GavinH]

Have you tried putting softer settings on the konis?

I would try this first, I have the exact same set up and I would say it is pretty good even on rough roads. If you could describe the symptoms it may help figure out what is wrong?
Regarding actual settings, I found that I needed to turn up the Koni's stiffness setting slightly from the softest to eliminate excessive "bounciness" . Fronts should be about 1/2 turn away from fully soft and rears should be 1 click stiffer ... so 2nd of 3 (or was it 4??) settings.

 

[JeremyG]

What tyres are on it? Tha tyres do make a big difference.... 🍀

Full set of new Toyo Proxes!

 

[JeremyG]

I too want to ensure the ride does not get harder so will go for standard (suplex) springs and Koni Strt shocks, but I have been quoted for powerflex poly bushes, so can anyone comment on if that will affect the ride at all, or if there are alternative of good quality that can maintain the same ride as original ?

I don't think poly bushes affect ride much. They might affect the passive rear wheel steer on the GTV, though - it seems virtually absent from mine, which I actually quite like.

 

[JeremyG]

The car should ride really nicely with that setup, maybe something is buggered? Avoiding potholes is a given in any GTV, it's no SUV. If you would like to sell I am interested

The suspension is perfectly quiet with no knocks or bangs so I think it's all OK. I'll PM you re. a possible sale, though.

 

[JeremyG]

Have you tried putting softer settings on the konis?

I'm on the softest settings on the fronts (I think - might check this again). The rear Konis are not adjustable.

 

[JeremyG]

I found that I needed to turn up the Koni's stiffness setting slightly from the softest to eliminate excessive "bounciness" . Fronts should be about 1/2 turn away from fully soft and rears should be 1 click stiffer ... so 2nd of 3 (or was it 4??) settings.

That's a good shout - I might try that. Thanks!

 

[Matt GTV]

I don't think poly bushes affect ride much. They might affect the passive rear wheel steer on the GTV, though - it seems virtually absent from mine, which I actually quite like.

I agree - but, the tightening torque you apply can greatly affect the movement of that polybush, you can effectively ‘lock out’ your suspension by applying too high a torque figure. It took me a while to realise that the service manual torque figure, designed for the standard metal rose joints etc, was just too high for my polybushes. I also think that rear subframes have different tolerances - and what may work for one car, does not necessarily apply to another.
You could check this movement by just pushing down on a rear corner?

 

[Matt GTV]

It also looks like you have quite a bit of negative camber on the rear wheels, although it might just be the angle of the photo. An increase to the negative camber is normal if you have eibachs fitted, I get round it (with eibachs fitted) by using the twinny bottom bolt as opposed to the longer V6 bolt i.e. I remove the V6 spacer, which has sorted the camber out.

I’m not suggesting that the negative camber is the reason why you have a crashy ride btw.

 

[mikesalfa]

Maybe some smaller wheels with larger tyre sidewalls would help a little. Make it a little more spongy.

 

[cARloTB]

I am about to go through the same sort of dilemma, I am about to strip the rear suspension on my GTV in order to get the parts all blasted and powder coated, so will replace original springs and all bushes. I too want to ensure the ride does not get harder so will go for standard (suplex) springs and Koni Strt shocks, but I have been quoted for powerflex poly bushes, so can anyone comment on if that will affect the ride at all, or if there are alternative of good quality that can maintain the same ride as original ?

I have fitted full Powerflex at the rear and noticed only that it feld more firm but for sure not less comfortable.

 

[cARloTB]

Eibach springs are not 20mm lower They are in fact 30mm lower on a V6.
And the Eibachs are not that stiff so they don't compensate for the lower ride height. That makes you are hitting the bumpstops much more easily than with a standard setup.

I have Koni Yellow all around with standard rear springs and Eibach front springs for EARLY cars in combination with 24V struts. That combination gives me 15mm lower ride height instead of 30mm! All measured and comfirmed. 😉

 

[JeremyG]

Eibach springs are not 20mm lower They are in fact 30mm lower on a V6.
And the Eibachs are not that stiff so they don't compensate for the lower ride height. That makes you are hitting the bumpstops much more easily than with a standard setup.

I have Koni Yellow all around with standard rear springs and Eibach front springs for EARLY cars in combination with 24V struts. That combination gives me 15mm lower ride height instead of 30mm! All measured and comfirmed. 😉

Yeah, I was surprised to see that the Eibachs are only -20mm... my car looks lower than that.

Here's a side view:

 

[JeremyG]

I would try this first, I have the exact same set up and I would say it is pretty good even on rough roads. If you could describe the symptoms it may help figure out what is wrong?
Regarding actual settings, I found that I needed to turn up the Koni's stiffness setting slightly from the softest to eliminate excessive "bounciness" . Fronts should be about 1/2 turn away from fully soft and rears should be 1 click stiffer ... so 2nd of 3 (or was it 4??) settings.

That's a good shout - I might try that. Thanks!

I've tried this and you're right, it has helped! Less bouncy and crashy, so definitely better.

1/2 turn harder than fully soft - out of a total of about 2.5 turns to fully hard.

Are the rear Koni Sports adjustable? There's no mention of this on their website...