hello.
i talk too much

today i went to a place in brookvale called A & B Automotive Service Center
and asked about lowering my magna.

the guy gave me two options

1) short springs - $700-800 inc. install for the whole car (dunno what brand springs)
GOOD PRICE OR RIP OFF?

2) some sort of spring/shock assembly. all in one thing - $2000 inc install for whole car
he said that they are adjustable height
the are called K-sport
see here http://www.aandbmotorsports.com/Suspension.html

HAS ANYONE HEARD OF / KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT PRICING AND TECHNICAL INFO
REGARDING THESE

my questions are in capitals.
info please thanks!

sounds like maybe the second option are fully adjustable coil overs...

get them for shizzle!!

correct me if im wrong someone?

ok,

1) 700-800 is wayyyyyy to much for a just a set of springs for lowering the best tried and proved method (way im running) is a set of kingsprings superlow for the front and low for the rear a set of 4 usually sets you back 320-330 or so and around 100-150 for fitment and 50 bucks for a wheel alignment earlier. Hell if you were in the newy area id come and fit them for a six pack :cool:

2) from what the price is id say they would be a set of adjustable coilovers 2k is about the norm for those and are by far the best way of lowering your car however they are very stiff and not usually worth it unless you are planning trackwork in the near future.

My suggestion is a set of KYB shocks front and rear with kingsprings with installation and a wheel alignment you would get change out of 900 espically if you shop around.

sounds like maybe the second option are fully adjustable coil overs...

get them for shizzle!!

correct me if im wrong someone?


yeah that sounds about right. now that you mention it that is prob what they are.

have u heard of the brand? any good or bad? pricing good?

yeh the $2k is for adjustable coilovers, basically only handy if you plan on changing the height often. for $2k you could easily get much better shocks/springs for your money (some Kings/Lovells springs, and Koni shocks... similar to the ralliart setup, if not better)

how many k's on ur car? If near 100,000k's or over, replace the shocks at the same time... shocks and spings replaced should be around $1k, with KYB shocks and Kings/Lovells springs, otherwise if you have $2k to blow, buy some better shocks :)

car is nearly 80 000 (78 something)

so you are saying that for $700-800 he is either ripping me off or has really expensive gear? i thought it sounded a bit expensive


the best tried and proved method (way im running) is a set of kingsprings superlow for the front and low for the rear a set of 4 usually sets you back 320-330 or so and around 100-150 for fitment and 50 bucks for a wheel alignment earlier. Hell if you were in the newy area id come and fit them for a six pack

My suggestion is a set of KYB shocks front and rear with kingsprings with installation and a wheel alignment you would get change out of 900 espically if you shop around.

- is the superlow/low combination legal? how come not just lows all around or superlows all around?
- where do u recommend i get the from / fitted?
- unfortunately im in sydney (as u may have deduced), otherwise id take you up on your beer offer :)
- are kyb and king good brand(s)
- know any good places to get em fitted?

car is nearly 80 000 (78 something)

so you are saying that for $700-800 he is either ripping me off or has really expensive gear? i thought it sounded a bit expensive



- is the superlow/low combination legal? how come not just lows all around or superlows all around?
- where do u recommend i get the from / fitted?
- unfortunately im in sydney (as u may have deduced), otherwise id take you up on your beer offer :)
- are kyb and king good brand(s)
- know any good places to get em fitted?

id say ripping you off on the installation

-no they are legal because they measure ride height from the center of the wheel cap to the arch as long its over 100mm your safe. and they dont make superlows for the rear however it really depends on your drop kingspring make 3 types of spring for the magna, a 30mm sport spring, 40-45mm lowered and a superlow (front only).

-Any suspension place with some rep so ask your mates/parents etc of anyone they reccomend or wait till a sydney sider to come along and post a place to go.

-hell yes there great brands im using kings and about to upgrade to kyb from my POS standard stocks hehe. I sell them to 90% of my customers and i get quite a bit of feedback saying how well there car rides on the road now.

having 78k on the car id reccomend doing both the shocks and the springs as the originals would be close to worn out.

-hell yes there great brands im using kings and about to upgrade to kyb from my POS standard stocks hehe. I sell them to 90% of my customers and i get quite a bit of feedback saying how well there car rides on the road now.

having 78k on the car id reccomend doing both the shocks and the springs as the originals would be close to worn out.

- wheres your shop? im on the way through newy in the next couple of weeks (lol for a hol). what sorta deal could you do (pm me?)

- yeah was thinking i should replace shocks, i dobut theyve been done before. and its gettin on in k's

EDIT: thanks for your help so far everyone!

-
- yeah was thinking i should replace shocks, i dobut theyve been done before. and its gettin on in k's

EDIT: thanks for your help so far everyone!

yeah 60-80k is the proper life span of a shock anything over that and you can end up with incorrectly wearing tyres, decreased braking performance, barge like handling (similar to a vt commo :bowrofl: :bowrofl: ) and steering shakes etc.

$700 for springs and installation is a rip-off. I paid $1200 for King Lows and KYB Shocks fitted to my VR-X, and I know that wasn't a cheap price (guy did a top notch job though, and there's not much competition out here in the sticks).

Not only will buying new shocks save you replacing them later, but they'll improve your handling too. Fellow AMC member element gave me a hand when I was choosing my suspension, and he commented that he noticed a further increase in handling when upgrading the shocks alone.


how come not just lows all around or superlows all around?

Like magna00 said, Superlows are only for the front (in the Kings range anyway). The wheel arch at the front of the Magna is higher than the one at the back. When you install Superlows at the front and Lows at the back, the distance between the tyre and the top of the arch is roughly the same.

I went for Lows all around and I don't regret it in the slightest. It'll handle better (Superlows, while good, aren't quite as good as Lows). I also think that going any lower at the front would affect drivability - I get plenty of "oh shi..." moments while driving (it rarely scrapes though), so I think any lower and it would be scraping. The final thing is that the Magna bodyline does slope upwards, and having a higher-sitting back end wouldn't help this - the Lows all around gives it a very squat look IMO.

If you're interested, I took a whole heap of before and after photos and posted them here (http://www.aussiemagna.com/forums/showthread.php?t=49982).

Ive got Kings Supalows on the front and Lows on the back of mine

saweet thanks heaps to all for the advice

you would need to double check to see that the first price didn't include shocks as well. a few years ago i lowered my old falcon and it cost me $680 for all new springs and all new shocks and fitting.

you would need to double check to see that the first price didn't include shocks as well. a few years ago i lowered my old falcon and it cost me $680 for all new springs and all new shocks and fitting.

as far as i could work out (he was a bit hard to understand lol) it was a spring and install only price. a bit expensive lol from what i can tell.

As you have a fair mileage up on the car you will find that the stock shock absorbers are now going off.

Fit lower, stronger, springs by themselves and the ride will be very choppy.

The advice given by other members is really good.

Contact Philcom rally and get a spring and shock absorber deal.

It isn't hard to change springs and shocks if you have the basic tools.
A pair of spring compressors is not very expensive from one of the auto stores - about $40 from memory.

Gerry

As you have a fair mileage up on the car you will find that the stock shock absorbers are now going off.

Fit lower, stronger, springs by themselves and the ride will be very choppy.

The advice given by other members is really good.

Contact Philcom rally and get a spring and shock absorber deal.

It isn't hard to change springs and shocks if you have the basic tools.
A pair of spring compressors is not very expensive from one of the auto stores - about $40 from memory.

Gerry

My spring compressors weren't even $30 on sale, round the $20 mark.

I read once that shocks start to tucker out after even 60,000k's depending on the use of course so upgrading them at the same time as springs will in-fact make the install that little bit easier for those who DIY like myself.

It took me a whole day (8 start 5 finish) and I'd never read a book on it or seen how to do it before, it's rather easy when you just take your time to look at how things are before-hand, even take a pic of certain things before and then you have backup (not that it really counts for suspension, about 10 nuts for the whole car).

its easy to do took me and a cluey mate 2 hours on a 2nd gen, phillcom rally have cheap packages for springs and shocks, talk to them

If you are going to lower your car, use the same height springs all around, otherwise it will sit on an angle and look crappy.

yeah i had superlows in the front and lows in the back. it sat even, until i discovered it was sitting on the bump stops in the front. cut them down so it wasn't sitting on them and then it looked like crap. now i have lows in the front and it looks much better (and rides much better too)