I had KYB Excel-G and Lovell's lows installed on all four corners yesterday by a local suspension shop.

First - the disappointment:
I took proper eyebrow height measurements before I dropped the car off. I got a 20mm drop at the front and the zero drop at the back which was a bit of a surprise.

I've heard that it may take some time for new suspension to settle in. Is that right?

I have a suspicion that the Lovell's lows for 2nd gen wagons are in fact a standard height spring. I did check the part numbers, by the way.

Has anyone with a 2nd gen wagon had a similar experience?

Here's a pic:
http://i15.tinypic.com/67fqrl4.jpg


Second - the good stuff:
The handling and overall ride has been greatly improved. The car corners beautifully flat now, is easier to drive smoothly, and hardly dives at all under brakes or acceleration.

I suspect the ride has improved because the old springs may have been heavy duty ones installed by the previous owner (there's huge towbar on the back too). It's less jiggly now and definitely smoother over bumps.

Conclusion
Overall the car is driving great but I'm not satisfied with the ride height at the back. I plan to wait to see if they settle a bit and if things are not better in a few weeks have the springs reset at the back at least.

Does anyone have any thoughts or reassurances for me?

see how it goes over the next couple of weeks
the springs still need to settle in
should look good after that :D

i put king lows in last weekend, sits much lower than that, just above the tyre, did settle a bit more over a few days

Bit dissapointing for the ride height, im planning the same set up on the same car, hopefully it settles in, because I dont want to sarifice the comfort or performance of super lows or anything to get it lower.

Yeah it is a bit disappointing. Like I said if I have to get the reset I will. I believe that you can actually get a lot of control over height that way.

I wouldn't be surprised to find that there isn't a great consistency with springs as they come from the factory. Lower for some than others.

Then again I have new springs AND new dampers that may need more time to settle down. I don't know.



Bit dissapointing for the ride height, im planning the same set up on the same car, hopefully it settles in, because I dont want to sarifice the comfort or performance of super lows or anything to get it lower.

I got king sps in and the front dropped 20 and the back 15mm... i was spewing... they settled to 30mm pretty quick and have sagged to 35mm all around since.

same i drove off with superlows all round and kybs, a lil disappointed at the height, now theyve settled it looks hot :D

just check back in 2 weeks (take a measurement now)

I got king sps in and the front dropped 20 and the back 15mm... i was spewing... they settled to 30mm pretty quick and have sagged to 35mm all around since.

Sorry to go off topic, but I see it all the time, what does SP or SPS mean???

Sorry to go off topic, but I see it all the time, what does SP or SPS mean???

SP=King Sport, i think about as low as lows, but a bit stiffer? :confused:

not quite as low but stiffer yes, from what i hear

I had my car weight lowered. I noticed yesterday that the gas tank makes it look like the back is lowered and the front sticks up. Which does look odd.

Hrmm, doesn't look as low as I'd have thought, I know mine's a 3rd gen, so it's prob a bit different, but i've only got lows on the back, and i can only just get my fingers between the wheel and body..

Sorry to go off topic, but I see it all the time, what does SP or SPS mean???

They're quoted to drop 30mm instead of the 45mm that lows do and they're much harder, pretty sure they handle better too.

I can fill my boot with suitcases/grog and 3 mates in the back and my back tyre won't tuck under the guard.

get a ruler out, measure exactly how much lower you want to go all round, then send the car off to get all 4 springs compressed to the height you want. probably 300-400 bucks to get that job done

I spoke to the suspension guy. He said he'd queried the height with the Lovells agent who rekoned time was needed to let them drop. He said though that a few hundered ks would be enough. If it doesn't go down over the weekend (I doubt it and think he does too) we're going to swap a lower set in. I suggested re-setting but he want to try a lower spring first which is fair enough.

Failing that I might have to try a different brand or getting these re-set at my specified height.

All I want is a nice (not too low) ride height and improved handling. I'm a bit disapointed because I understood Lovells were the quality spring manufacturer.





get a ruler out, measure exactly how much lower you want to go all round, then send the car off to get all 4 springs compressed to the height you want. probably 300-400 bucks to get that job done

well mine definitely settled more in the front over the past weeks (visually noticable)
so need to give it more than a weekend... and u'd hate to put superlows on, and then have them sit way too low in a months time

We're just focusing on the back at the moment. Like you say there's plenty of anecdotal evidence that they will drop a little more with time, and I'm reasonably happy with the front right now. Like I said I never wanted to go very low because, while it looks great, it doesn't make a lot of sense from driving perspective.

He told me they do a super-low for the back now and he wants to try it. Says it's an extra 20mm drop over the lows which sounds good. However I'm suspicious that the supplier has sent out regular height springs mis-marked as lows. I checked my measurements and the back on average went up by 10mm which I think is consistent with new regular height springs.

So we'll see. The mechanic is pretty good about it all and I think we'll get it right in the end. Sooner or later I'll have it perfect and as I said it's driving beautifully at the moment.



well mine definitely settled more in the front over the past weeks (visually noticable)
so need to give it more than a weekend... and u'd hate to put superlows on, and then have them sit way too low in a months time

oh, and for the record, i got mine done at a popular mitsu mechanic here *cough* and they hadnt heard of them 'settling in' :doubt: funny how it happens, and everyone says it does!

and yeah seems odd that the back is doing that... see if you can get more lows ordered in, or ask if you get rear superlows, and it sits too low, if he could change it to lows again

I've just had a call from the suspension guy. He says he's fitted another set of springs (Lovells super-lows) in the back and it has come down by 30mm.

So now I have sport-lows at the front and super-lows at the back which is the reverse of what people with sedans have but necessary for wagons. Go figure...

I can hardly wait to get home this afternoon and see how it turned out.

I feel your pain, I had the same problem when lowering my 2nd gen wagon recently.

First I went Lovells super lows all round and yeah it sat so low at the front the wheels wouldnt turn :bowrofl:

Then I changed to lovells lows at the front, still lower than the back and it was still rubbing :rant:

So I rang the suplier and said why is the front sitting lower with lows?
The back had superlows in it didn't it?

Well turned out there was no superlow spring for the wagon so I had a lovells low spring (well thats what we all think anyway ha ha, still confused)

Anyways now im running king lows in the front and lovells lows (I think) in the back.
It's not that low but atleast its sitting level, well as level as I could get it any how.

So I join you in your frustration, I got so over it I think im just going to live with this ride height for now, it's is a wagon after all.

If I ever can be bothered I think I'm going to put the low lovells back in (roll the guards) and get a custom spring built for the rear, but at the moment I just can't be bothered.
That sarga cost me hundreds, now the shed has 3 sets of springs in there and I got so frustrated with it all I'd like to write exactly how I feel :rant:

Anyways I'll take a pic of my wagon this weekend and post it up and compare if you like....

A pic would be good. I'll have another one of mine up soon.

I think what happens with Lovells is this:

The sport-low rear spring is in fact the same height as the standard height spring, though it is stiffer. My ride height at the back did not change when they were put in. I think Lovells took the view a wagon is prone to being used to carry loads so they made their sport spring higher that they other wise would. I note that the product code for the sport low is CRS-41(a). The Lovells catalogue states that the S code = standard height.

Their super-low rear spring for wagons is about where you'd expect the sport-low to be (a 30mm drop); once again because wagons are designed to carry loads. The product code for the super-low rear sring is CRL-41(a) (L = low) and does not carry the SL suffix that the front superlow spring does (CFL-31SL(a)).

I note that Lovells don't make a super-low for sedans but do make one for wagons...

So, to get a good looking ride heigh I've had to go low at the front and super-low at the back. (at least i hope it looks good - I havn't seen it yet)

OK here's a pic of how it is now.
http://i19.tinypic.com/4ud1agl.jpg
Obviously I need to get some wheels next, but I'm happy with this modest lowering job. It's about what i expected. Not happy with the fish-eye effect my cheapo camera is giving though. Anyhow If you're looking to lower your wagon with Lovells springs you need lows at the front and super lows at the back!

Oooh that looks perfect for me, thanks for doin all the experimenting, now Ill get what I want first off! :bowrofl:

EDIT: PS - by the way did the suspension settle at all after you drove it for a while??? Just looked back at the first pic, looks like the front may be a tad lower?

I can't honestly say that I've seen any evidence of settling at the front over the last week. I'll keep taking measurements and report back.

I think the drop that get in each car is different. I think mine was a little lower at the fronmt than others I've seen to start with. So I measured a drop of about 20mm but was coming of a low base. The drop that I have got suits me well because I do drive fast on some pretty rough roads at times and want some sort of ground clearance.

It's really worth doing btw for the handling benefits. Even around town taking corners and going through roundabouts you notice how flat the car stays. I can carry third where previously I went down to second. Cool.

http://i17.tinypic.com/4t5lqv8.jpg

http://i15.tinypic.com/6apfb6d.jpg

I note that Lovells don't make a super-low for sedans but do make one for wagons...

ur either thinking kings or ur misinformed... lovells are the only choice for superlows all round :) (on sedans)

No super-lows for 2nd gen sedans in the latest Lovells catalogue:

http://www.lovells.com.au/catalogue/2006-10_lovells_catalogue_passenger_and_commercial_spri ng_version_2.pdf

You're thinking of 3rd gens.


ur either thinking kings or ur misinformed... lovells are the only choice for superlows all round :) (on sedans)

No super-lows for 2nd gen sedans in the latest Lovells catalogue:

http://www.lovells.com.au/catalogue/2006-10_lovells_catalogue_passenger_and_commercial_spri ng_version_2.pdf

You're thinking of 3rd gens.

sorry u didnt specify :P so there :P