:redface: i got my car lowered last week and me dad pointed out to me today that the front right hand side is sitting half an inch higher than the left! I thought it was just a bad wheel alignment at first because my car was pulling to the left heaps but now it makes sense! How bad is this? I want someone else's opinion before i ring back and complain. Ozzytyres did it and i know they are going to be dodgey when i ring back so i need some solid arguements!!

cheers hedgie

Alignment has nothing to do with the ride height. It sounds like they put the wrong spring in one side.

Take it back.

Alignment has nothing to do with the ride height. It sounds like they put the wrong spring in one side.

Yeah sorry i meant before i found out it was the suspension i thought it i had a bad wheelalignment. Now i know its more then that and yeah it does look like they put the wrong spring in. Is their anyother reason that it would higher? Is there anything they couldve done wrong for this to happen? :doubt:

dont call them, go to the shop and ask them to look at it, and then tell them to guess where you got it lowered.

The left and right front springs should be rated differently because of the difference in weight from the gearbox on one side and motor on the other. Maybe they put the same rated spings on both sides?

The left and right front springs should be rated differently because of the difference in weight from the gearbox on one side and motor on the other. Maybe they put the same rated spings on both sides?...or the wrong way around (left spring in right side / right spring in left side) maybe? (I don't know)
Take it back - something's wrong - then let us know the outcome.

haha will do. Think ill head out there this afternoon before they close. And save me clogging the forum with a new thread has anyone had problems with their fuel gauage after lowering? I noticed the needle went down alot quicker than normal judging by the k's and when i filled up my tank last night the needle only went just above half way? i had a search couldnt find anything. maybe i spelt it wrong but anyway if you know of a thread can you post me the link please!:D

The left and right front springs should be rated differently because of the difference in weight from the gearbox on one side and motor on the other. Maybe they put the same rated spings on both sides?

ah say what? there is no difference in spring rates either side... there is no left hand or right hand spring... they are interchangeable

as for your fuel gauge, lowering the car will have no affect...

...as for your fuel gauge, lowering the car will have no affect... Except it looks hotter, feels more sporty and he may be pressing the accelerator harder :badgrin: That'll make the fuel gauge drop quicker. :bowrofl:

ah say what? there is no difference in spring rates either side... there is no left hand or right hand spring... they are interchangeable

as for your fuel gauge, lowering the car will have no affect...

From the factory they are rated differently, working in the design department on these things tends to give you a little insight. I worked with the engineer on the suspension package for the Ralliarts and the Limited Editions. They are different.

Could it have popped out a bit maybe?

From the factory they are rated differently, working in the design department on these things tends to give you a little insight. I worked with the engineer on the suspension package for the Ralliarts and the Limited Editions. They are different.

Stock factory front springs are slightly higher/longer on the drivers side. (to accomodate the driver perhaps) I compared standard front springs to VRX ones and to my shock, they were made from the same steel bar. The VRX springs are just 10-15mm shorter. The rear factory VRX springs were much stiffer and shorter than standard though.

Aftermarket Springs are the same height on the front. (Well my Lovells are anyway)

Stock factory front springs are slightly higher/longer on the drivers side. (to accomodate the driver perhaps) I compared standard front springs to VRX ones and to my shock, they were made from the same steel bar. The VRX springs are just 10-15mm shorter. The rear factory VRX springs were much stiffer and shorter than standard though.

Aftermarket Springs are the same height on the front. (Well my Lovells are anyway)
The stiffer part is what I mean by the rating. Not length or bar thickness. Its how they are heat treated to give different "stiffness" Just because the bar looks the same, doesn't mean they are the same. :D

seriously dude take it back... theres no reason why one side should be higher then the other

yeah i called em up. They still have my rear spring which they want to make moulds off(kinda scarey, where did they get the mould for my springs!) so when i go to pick it up im getting it checked out then. he said that maybe it couldve popped out a lil bit?

i had my EL falcon lowered professionally and my front right sat a tad higher then the rest and they told me the reason for this is to balance the car out when the driver is in the car.

so when i get in or anyone else the car levels out

but in my magna the fronts are both at even height

im betting on one of the springs not being seated correctly...

im familiar with that problem as on my ef i cut the springs in half and every time i jacked the car it would be unlevel as one spring would be sitting wrong... so i had to tweak it :badgrin:

The problem with different ratings only occurs in FWD because of the weight of the gearbox biasing towards one side of the car. RWD dont have the problem as the motor is pretty well balanced in the centre of the car. Its got nothing to do with the weight of the driver, if it did then when someone sat in the passenger seat the car would be out of balance again...plus the springs would need to be reversed for LHD cars, since the driver is on the other side. The difference in spring ratings side to side is the same for LHD and RHD magnas.

From the factory they are rated differently, working in the design department on these things tends to give you a little insight. I worked with the engineer on the suspension package for the Ralliarts and the Limited Editions. They are different.

fair enough if you worked at mitsu.... for this reason you should no that the springs fitted to the ralliart and limited edition (presume we are talking LE VRX) are the exact same springs that are fitted to standard vrx's and sports TJ's... so im not sure what you mean by you were involved with the development of suspension (in particular spring rates) for the LE's and ralliarts as there was no new springs developed for these vehicles...


i find it very hard to beleive that the weight distribution at the front of a magna is so bad that it requires each side to have different spring rates.. if this were the case the car would be a poor handler... and quite unpredictable...

further to that ive removed and refitted standard springs to a handful of magnas over the past few years and never worried about which side the springs went back into.. and ive never had a problem with ride or height differences what so ever... sorry to be doubting you i just dont see how what your saying can be true... hope im not offending you with my doubt..

I dont take offence from anything said on here, everyone is entitled to an opinion, but all front springs are rated differently on all Magnas. And the springs for the Ralliarts and the Limited Editions are different to the Sports and VR-Xs. Not sure where you get your info from Gremlin, but I work in the design department, not the production line where people may assume they know what goes into the cars. I worked with the engineer who developed the correct ratings for the springs based on weight, wheel size, shocker pressures etc. Its not a one size fits all part.

I dont take offence from anything said on here, everyone is entitled to an opinion, but all front springs are rated differently on all Magnas. And the springs for the Ralliarts and the Limited Editions are different to the Sports and VR-Xs. Not sure where you get your info from Gremlin, but I work in the design department, not the production line where people may assume they know what goes into the cars. I worked with the engineer who developed the correct ratings for the springs based on weight, wheel size, shocker pressures etc. Its not a one size fits all part.

well it has always been common knowledge here that sports/vrx/ralliart springs are the same part.. even verified by another mitsu employee who is a member here... im actually running TJ Sports springs in my ralliart at the moment...

what is the difference between the ralliart and sports springs then? and are you suggesting the vrx and sports run different springs also?

also, why would they change the springs in the limited edition vrx? there is no need whatsoever .. that cannot be true....

there was a doco around at one point speaking on the techincal side of the ralliart written from an interview with one of the ppl high in charge of the ralliart magna project..... in the suspension talk the only change was the shocks to koni red parts... the rest of the suspension is as per TJ Sports/VRX.. including springs, front and rear sway bars.. all the same gear...

1) The springs are different side to side as they are wound in opposite directions.
2) Look at the King's spring catalogue. Different LH to RH springs.

3) I worked at Ford in the UK. Senior technical postion in the best UK manufacturing plant.
There are many parts that are different by model by design. E.g springs and shock abosrbers. We had a mind boggling number of possible combinations for assembly on new vehicles. However the parts catalogue showed a much more restricted list.
This can mean that both sides of the argument about different springs can be correct.
i.e. standard, wagon, verada, sports/vrx and ralliart would logically be different spring rates.
How many are listed as different in the Mitsubishi parts catalogue.
How many are listed as different in the assembly plant Bill of Material?
Gerry

1) The springs are different side to side as they are wound in opposite directions.


no there not! ive got a set of springs sitting here from a TJ Sports.. there wound the same way and are the same height with no obvious markings to tell Left from Right. the springs would phyically fit on either side of the vehicle (which i have done many of time)

well it has always been common knowledge here that sports/vrx/ralliart springs are the same part.. even verified by another mitsu employee who is a member here... im actually running TJ Sports springs in my ralliart at the moment...

what is the difference between the ralliart and sports springs then? and are you suggesting the vrx and sports run different springs also?

also, why would they change the springs in the limited edition vrx? there is no need whatsoever .. that cannot be true....

there was a doco around at one point speaking on the techincal side of the ralliart written from an interview with one of the ppl high in charge of the ralliart magna project..... in the suspension talk the only change was the shocks to koni red parts... the rest of the suspension is as per TJ Sports/VRX.. including springs, front and rear sway bars.. all the same gear...

I'm not going to bother argueing with you Gremlin, you obviously have your mind set on what you believe. People can choose to believe whoever they like on this subject. My base of knowledge is not "common knowledge" but what is actually in the parts lists/bill of materials for the cars built at Mitsi's, and my own experience working on the designs.

I'm not going to bother argueing with you Gremlin, you obviously have your mind set on what you believe. People can choose to believe whoever they like on this subject. My base of knowledge is not "common knowledge" but what is actually in the parts lists/bill of materials for the cars built at Mitsi's, and my own experience working on the designs.

well if thats the case give us some technical detail... and some reason why things were changed... working on the designs you must no a HELL of alot about magna suspension.. so..

1. Why did they use different springs in the ralliart (and whats different about them)
2. Why did the use different springs in the limited edition vrx (and whats different about them)
3. How can you tell the difference between front Left and front Right spring (there HAS to be a way otherwise they would be constantly being misfitted at the factory and at workshops later on in the cars life)...
4. We know exec springs differ to the higher spec models (vrx etc) . What makes them different.. (ride height and/or springs rate)

also, have you ever pulled apart magna suspension on any model (particulary ralliarts) or not?

Why dont I just print you out all the specs and all the springs and suspension setups? Oh thats right, its intellectual property and I would lose my job. What I can tell you is all springs are identified by a 20mm strip of paint, 3/4 turn from the tang end of the spring. Thats how they know what spring to fit in the plant. And just to add a bit more to the debate, manuals have different springs to auto's due to the difference in weight. Its the LH spring that varies due to the difference in weight. Spring wire diameters vary by 0.5mm and the number of coils per spring can vary by 0.8 of a coil. Springs heights unladen can vary by up to 50mm as well. The list of variations is huge, and they are all designed and tested to meet the requirements of each vehicle.

Not sure what else I can give you to make it clearer, but as I said, believe what you want. At the end of the day everyone will make up their own mind. In the words of the Joker "Go with a smile"

when i went into the shop again it got all measured up and it is 10mm higher on the drivers side.. Now he told me that this is how it is meant to be, to allow for me being in the drivers side and that all the car's he does are the same?? Is anybody elses car like that? I sat on my bonnet drivers side and no way did it go down 10mm?:doubt:

...Now he told me that this is how it is meant to be, to allow for me being in the drivers side and that all the car's he does are the same...That sounds very dodgey!

1. None of us have noticed this height difference before.
2. Doubt the car would go down 10mm just from a driver sitting in the driver's seat.
3. What happens when the car has a passenger in it? Is it unbalanced again?

If this is a chain/franchise type shop like Tyrepower, Bob Jane, etc. - I'd call / write in to the head office.

If it's a sole/single operator - own business - type place... Maybe ask him to put his thoughts / reasons down on paper (written) - then take a walk into a RACV or similar place. or even Mitsubishi maybe.

well i can explain it all with one word "ozzytyers" (two words combined)
I been told they were dodgey so many times and i still went there, i had my reasons but. Yeah enzactly what i thought about the passengers and stuff argh.. i been back 3 times and they wont admit that anythign is wrong and talk theyre way out of it so maybe ill have to take it pedders and get them to compress that spring or something..:cry:

well i can explain it all with one word "ozzytyers" (two words combined)
I been told they were dodgey so many times and i still went there, i had my reasons but. Yeah enzactly what i thought about the passengers and stuff argh.. i been back 3 times and they wont admit that anythign is wrong and talk theyre way out of it so maybe ill have to take it pedders and get them to compress that spring or something..:cry:


consumer affairs

Agree (Consumer Affairs).
Go back to them and ask them to fix it or place their reasons in writing.

If they fix it - yeah!

If they refuse to fix it & refuse to place anything in writing... Go to another tyre place (check your facts) then... Consumer Affairs
If they put it in writing... Do the above anyway - you'll just have more proof. lol

Wouldn't hurt to go to another place like pedders, etc. - ask for their opinion.

Agree (Consumer Affairs).
Go back to them and ask them to fix it or place their reasons in writing.

If they fix it - yeah!

If they refuse to fix it & refuse to place anything in writing... Go to another tyre place (check your facts) then... Consumer Affairs
If they put it in writing... Do the above anyway - you'll just have more proof. lol

Wouldn't hurt to go to another place like pedders, etc. - ask for their opinion.
100% agree except for the get advice/opinions from peddars, even if you had brand new suspension they'd tell you it was rooted :P.

maybe ill have to take it pedders and get them to compress that spring or something..:cry:

Bad plan. That would change the spring rates of that one spring, then you would have an unbalanced car that doesn't handle correctly.

What they're telling you is correct. No point going to Consumer Affairs or anything, but a second opinion is always warranted.

I wish the other mitsu employee would show his face here and add his weight to the argument

I bought a set of front sports springs from this "other member who works/ed at Mistsu, same deal, on the Ralliart R&D Team and many other areas

After fitting the springs i bought from him, i found the driver side to be sitting 10mm higher.....he said it was normal - for the same reasons mentioned earlier, that being, weight distro between gearbox and motor ALSO, now i cant explain this just right, but the forces from the engine under load can also have an effect.....

not understanding this ride height at all, I started to measure up every 3rd gen magna's front ride heights I could find - and low and behold - with one exception, they were ALL roughly 8-10mm heigher on the driver side - heck, I even had a mate measure up his 2005 AWD Magna, which he had only owned from brand new for a couple of weeks, and even that was 8mm higher on the driver side....the car that was an exception i cannot explain - it was bought as an ex-demo - it was 10mm higher on the passenger side......something dodgy there