Hi everyone, this is my first post, I have recently bought a TJ Sportwagon and I have found this site to be a great help in learning about the car and potential mod's. On the strength of the positive comments I have put in a K&N Panel filter and Barry has been kind enough to install his 3 kits for me, which I am very happy with.
Next up I would like to enhance the handling by removing some of the understeer and sharpening up the steering a bit, I am happy with the ride and don't want to lower the car, (although I do agree they look better lowered).

It seems that most people agree Whiteline products are the go, I have been to their site (no articles on Magna's unfortunately) and emailed them for info but no response as yet, no doubt due to the Xmas break so thought I would get some comment on what I think I need to do from you guy's.

On what I have read on this site I was thinking I would go for the:
Swaybar Heavy Duty Wagon with 5 link rear end (22mm) BMR 67
Front Brace Strut Tower Alloy KSB 592
Front Camber ADJ Bolt Kit 12mm KCA412 (will this improve the steering feel?)

From what has been said I will stick with the OE front swaybar as going heavier will probably just add more understeer but I am happy to be corrected on this.
I would be happy to hear from anyone who has done these mod's or knows something about suspension and if you think they will get me the results I am after.
Cheers,

Glenn.

if your looking at better handling then i would do the following
upgrade your springs and shocks
king springs superlows/lows or lovells superlows
kyb shocks
this will stop your car bouncing around over every bump hence the reason why you'll feel everything in the road, also makes your car handle abit better while corning too
you might also need the camber pins once you have lowered your car when it comes for the wheel alignment as the standard one cant cope once you have lowered your car
also be good to check all you bump stops etc while your car is getting lowered

want to take it abit further?
if you wanted to stiffen your car to improve body roll then i would get the following
whiteline strut brace to stiffen up the front end
whiteline adj rear sway bar to stiffen the rear
you can get a front one to but i dont think you'll need it

these mods should stop axle tramp if you get it, well not stop it but minimise it happening

If you want to improve handling don't mix kings superlows/lows, they're not matched together and superlows are only for looks. Get lows all around if you want it to handle properly. New shocks will improve handling too, most people get the KYB. The rear sway bar is arguably the best thing you can do to improve a magnas handling, even more so than lowering/new shocks combined. Don't worry about camber or a front strut brace.

If you want to improve handling don't mix kings superlows/lows, they're not matched together and superlows are only for looks. Get lows all around if you want it to handle properly. New shocks will improve handling too, most people get the KYB. The rear sway bar is arguably the best thing you can do to improve a magnas handling, even more so than lowering/new shocks combined. Don't worry about camber or a front strut brace.

umm are u serious? super lows are only for looks?

lows are softer and boat around way more than suoer lows will .... i have custom super lows that are another few inches lower again and they handle even better so i dont quite get what u mean there bud

umm are u serious? super lows are only for looks?

lows are softer and boat around way more than suoer lows will .... i have custom super lows that are another few inches lower again and they handle even better so i dont quite get what u mean there bud
You got it the wrong way around. Superlows have a very bouncy spring rate compared to lows. Lows with good shocks will handle a lot better than superlows with the same shocks, sorry dude.

so that ur trying to say is lows will handle better on a **** road cos there is less bounce,

but on any kind of normal road super lows will sit much better and turn into a corner better than lows would... so its really horses for courses, which i do agree with u there! but in generally id have to say super lows out handle lows easy,



id much rather super lows, i have driven both so i know, and the bounce in the super lows really is not bad at all

prime example, look how low jason VRX's car sat when he was racing it at mallala ( being a better surface helped yes) but yea i find super lows nice and stiff and handle very well but are not to bouncey at all..

my compressed super lows handle even better ... like really well but yes i do need to be aware of the bumps so i agree there, but u really need to know ur road anyways b4 u take corners hard so yeah thats my thoughts

I have kings super low front and low back. As for that 'mix' handling bad, meh. If you drive to the point where THAT handling makes a difference (eg noticable), you shouldn't be driving on the roads. And if your driving that hard and expect razor handling, you should really get some coil-overs to really dial the car in.

Anywho you said you don't want to lower your car so we'll put that baby to rest.

I don't have a sway bar at the rear but i've only heard good things.
I wouldn't worry about the camber kit.
I would get the strut brace. Some say they're not worth it but for mine they would be in a wagon where there is more body flex.
The BIGGEST thing you can do to improve the handling is to get some wider, grippier low profile tyres and rims.

so that ur trying to say is lows will handle better on a **** road cos there is less bounce,

but on any kind of normal road super lows will sit much better and turn into a corner better than lows would... so its really horses for courses, which i do agree with u there! but in generally id have to say super lows out handle lows easy,
Actually I was saying that super lows are a "softer" spring than lows. Lows aren't as bouncy and so don't allow as much body roll, hence stiffer ride, hence stiffer handling, hence better handling. But what would I know, I use standard Ralliart springs and Koni shocks. lol

Basically as you guessed (Rear Sway bar & front strut brace would be a good move).
Add as others have said, New shocks & springs.
(IMO I'd go superlows in front but that's for looks - not sure about handling).

Whiteline & some shocks etc. can also be ordered through an AMC sponsor... Phillcom Rally
http://www.aussiemagna.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=28
Drop him a PM for availability & price.

Oh, and Welcome to the club. :D
...and I'm so jealous of you having a Sports Wagon. They are hot! :badgrin:

If you are after a progressive change so you can monitor what each change does to your car's handling, just get the rear swaybar. I have a Magna sedan with stock suspension ( no swaybar as standard ) and the swaybar stopped the front dipping into corners and made the steering much more direct - in other words, got rid of the understeer. :D

i wouldnt bother with the springs at all in your case, all they will do is bugger your ride quality and reduce your bump travel,sure you will lower your centre of gravity a little but there is always a trade off,if you must,go lows which are best for handling,superlows are always listed for cosmetic reasons only, NOT handling,ask whiteline or any other reputable spring maker if you dont think this is the case.And from what i have seen ,superlows are the same if not softer in rate than the "low" counterparts, which cannot be good for load handling or bump travel

Maybe upgrade the shocks to some koni or KYb`s (do these sportwagons run the konis already?)

But my first choice would be to get the front suspension looked over and replace any worn bushes,components etc first then get a decent wheel alignment done at a suspension specialist,NOT a tyre place! and as you suggested get a rear swaybar first,you will feel the most improvement for the least outlay and will improve your steering feel to a degree but will certainly help keep the front end from ploughing round corners,and maybe even get the rear trailing arm bushes done in harder material .

Steve

Welcome aboard mate.. Hey, what colour is your wagon..???

I have superlows all round in a 01 TJ with KYB's ... and there is nothing soft about my ride.

As stonesour said if you want lower, but still some comfort go lows.

i just got Tein springs installed on my Diamante, it lowered it 50mm front and 40mm at the back (they measured the gap between guard and rim before and after) and i am very impressed.

there is no harshness, certain bumps make me cringe, but they did before also and the bodyroll has reduced heaps. much less change in ride quality than i was expecting, i am now expecting worse when i get my 18's

If you are after a progressive change so you can monitor what each change does to your car's handling, just get the rear swaybar.
Just what I was going to say ;-)

If you make multiple changes at the same time, you'll never know what impact each of the individual items would have made....hence the suggestion to just change one thing at a time.

I'll be getting a whiteline rear swaybar for my TJ wagon in the next couple of weeks too.
I have low King springs in it, but want to address the understeer, and the rear sway bar should certainly do that.

Cheers,
Martin.

Thanks for all the responses guys, I think I will take the advise to change one thing at a time and see how that goes. I will order the rear sway bar and get that done first as I have a mate with a pit which will make fitting a lot easier. The front strut brace I can fit later if I think I need it. I will definitely get a wheel alignment done as well and that should tell me more about the condition of the suspension components. For those that know Sydney it was apparently a Glenmore Park car which is notorious for scrubbing out tyres and being hard on suspension.
I am moving to Darwin soon which is one of the reasons I don't want to change the ride height, it may come in handy at some stage. Really not too many interesting roads up there now they have lowered the speed limit (Doh) and I want to keep it reasonably stock for the rego changeover as well.
For Dr Ego, the wagon is black. It wasn't my first choice of colour, I really only went to have a look at it to check them out but the dealer offered a good changeover and I took the bait. There doesn't seem to be too many of them around so I didn't think I could be too choosey on colour. It has 62k on the clock and I think looks pretty neat since I tinted the windows, for that couple of days it is clean at least!

Thanks again for the input and I will let you know what I think of the rear swaybar down the track,
cheers,

Glenn.

Sounds real nice - any pics ?