Hi Guys,
I just got my car back after having some work done on it. New Monroe GT Gas struts were put in, and they feel quite good, but my car still squeaks going over bumps etc. I'm fairly sure the springs are in need of an upgrade. Is it a bad idea to put something like the King super low/low combo onto new GT Gas struts? Should I stick to OEM springs to extend the life of the struts?

Thanks.

The GT range of monroe shocks are sporty driving, so some springs will be no drama for them at all.

Go as low as you feel practical, and work out what you want out of the car. If its for a bit of subtle style, then probably your "Low" spring will be nice and help out handling a little aswell. Go "Super Low" if your chasing that dumped on its guts look, but it will still only handle about the same as the regular "Low" springs due to spring rates and geometery of the suspension.

I would go the "Low" springs, so the car can still be practical and have a subtle look about it :cool:

EDIT: the squeek is going to be a rubber bush somewhere. Can I suggest you go and grab a tin of spray on lanolin (sheep wool oil) and smash it all over the lower control arm bushes, strut top bush/bearing(depending on setup) aswell as your swaybar linkage bushes and swaybar pivot bushes. With any luck 20 minutes and $10 bucks might save you a headache of installing new springs and still haveing the squeek. Spray the strut shafts and bump stops aswell it could be them.

There are different sized gas struts for different applications, if you go superlows you're best bet is to get the shortened gas strut. The normal sized gas strut will handle lows/super lows, but the life of the struts will decrease.

I always thought that the shortened struts were to allow REALLY stiff low springs, instead of the sloppy king superlows which are as good as cut springs.

I always thought that the shortened struts were to allow REALLY stiff low springs, instead of the sloppy king superlows which are as good as cut springs.
Maybe both?
I was told by a suspension place that sp lows and lows were ok on stock struts, but superlows didn't like stock struts and shortened struts were the way to go. I even had one guy tell me that my sp lows should have shortened shocks, but dunno about that lol.

I suppose the short shafts couldn't hurt, but with low springs you should be right without them.

Thanks for that guys... So the King super lows are sloppy? I'll probably go the lows then or the Lovell spring sets from Phillcom as they seem quite cheap at the moment. I'm not after anything too dramatic, I just figured that if I had to get new springs I might as well get something a little lower.

Thanks again. Which is better between the King and Lovell springs? I'm talking a 3l TE auto.

Well they arn't sloppy, but consider having a long spring which is stiff. When the cars weight is put on to it, the spring doesn't compress much because it is stiff, and because it is long, the car sits high.

To lower a car you need to have a shorter or softer spring. A shorter spring still has to be longer than the struts travel so that it stays captive, or it can come loose at full extention. The spring also has to be soft enough to compress to a decient ride height, which is the problem.

I run springs which are probably twice the spring rate of your superlow springs, but to do this they have to be very short, and in fact shorter than the length of the struts travel, causing them to be uncaptive on full extention.

So the king springs to remain legal have to be captive (so they have to be long) but they have to drop to a low or superlow level (so they have to drop a lot so they are soft). Lows and Superlows are the same length, so the superlow is a softer spring.

For a car to handle well and aviod body roll, it needs stiff springs. Sacaraficing a bit of ride height for function is a must if you primarily want the car to be practical and drivable on rough road and or handle better.

i think i made the mistake of going sport lows for my 99TH sports, which is a 30mm drop for my magna, but 45mm for an exec.

i wish i had gone the normal lows (30mm drop), as then its subtle, with the harder spring peroformance.

im not personally a fan of really low cars. i dont actually mind stock height :redface:

will seee what happens when they are installed on wednesday if i dont like them i can always pawn them off to someone and get normal lows instead :D

i think i made the mistake of going sport lows for my 99TH sports, which is a 30mm drop for my magna, but 45mm for an exec.

i wish i had gone the normal lows (30mm drop), as then its subtle, with the harder spring peroformance.

im not personally a fan of really low cars. i dont actually mind stock height :redface:

will seee what happens when they are installed on wednesday if i dont like them i can always pawn them off to someone and get normal lows instead :D
you've got the springs around the wrong way, sport lows (what i have) lower exec 30mm, "normal" lows lower 45mm. Well i'm assuming the SP stands for sport? (i have SP lows.)

SP=Superlow i thought?

SP=Superlow i thought?
lol nope definitely not.

youd think sport lows would be for the 'sport' models which are already lower :nuts: