Hi all... just wondering what your thoughts on this quote are: upgrade to DBA4000 slotted rotors (front), bendix ultimates all round (front & rear) plus lowering with king springs: $2500 labour included. Seems pretty rich to me. Suggested it will be $490 for front and $490 for rear (therefore $1K!) for the Kings, which is double what I expected.

I think I'll shop around. What do you think?

Hi all... just wondering what your thoughts on this quote are: upgrade to DBA4000 slotted rotors (front), bendix ultimates all round (front & rear) plus lowering with king springs: $2500 labour included. Seems pretty rich to me. Suggested it will be $490 for front and $490 for rear (therefore $1K!) for the Kings, which is double what I expected.

I think I'll shop around. What do you think?

Rough guess, but here goes...

Front DBA4000 rotors: $500 ($250 each)
Bendix Ultimate all round: $250 (guessing $150 front and $100 rear)
King Springs front and rear: $300 (for all 4)

Labour: 5 hours @ $80/h = $400.

Total: $1450 - give or take a couple hundred.

yea thats crazy expensive. What shop quoted that?

A grand for springs is crazy expensive. I got my car lowered on Kings, and was quoted a $1050 for Lows all round + Monroe Shocks + wheel aligment (ended up paying another $150 for KYB shocks). Mine wasn't cheap either since I got it done out in the sticks. The price didn't include shockies did it?

Disciple's estimate seems pretty accurate.

Mine was 450 for super low pedders plus install.

Go ian diffin!!

Price excluded shocks - springs only. It was a major chain - I'm not going to name names. Thanks for the feedback.

We paid $399 for Super Lows Kings including install. But then again, we paid over 7k for rims and tyres the day before!!

But then again, we paid over 7k for rims and tyres the day before!!

But that was for 2 cars, right?

But that was for 2 cars, right?

:bowrofl:
That'd be 3.5 cars for the price I paid. (But of course mine are only puny 19s).
Very nice 22s though.
Re 380Mitsu, definately shop around for that cheaper price. Good plan though.

But that was for 2 cars, right?
Nah just the one set of 22" rims and one set of rubber bands to match!

Well I obtained a requote minus the slotted rotors, came to $1700. Went elsewhere today and got quoted $850-900 (lowering plus Bendix front and rear). Certainly pays to shop around.

Nah just the one set of 22" rims and one set of rubber bands to match!

YEa but looking at your wheels it was deff worth it.

Well I obtained a requote minus the slotted rotors, came to $1700. Went elsewhere today and got quoted $850-900 (lowering plus Bendix front and rear). Certainly pays to shop around.

That's better mate, and falls in line with my pricing. $250 for pads, $300 for springs = $550 + 4 hours labour @ $80/h = $870. Sounds about bang on. Make sure you get an itemised receipt of all work done and give us a run down when all the work is done if you don't mind.

yeah that sounds more realistic....should name the other place so none of waste our time on them!

Sounds like Mitsu Service Centre prices.

On ya SHOOT!!

Sure, why not, Labour @ 140-160 per hour and plus 30-50% markup on goods.
Not sure if any other company would quote so high unless there was something else on offer, like an intact warranty.

Lol, well it wasn't Mitsubishi. Do they really charge $140-160/hr labour?!

The car is being booked in this Fri for the lowering. For those who have done it: superlows (front) and lows (rear) - is this the preferable choice for the 380? Will I be scraping the front end of the car over speed humps etc? This is my only concern... well, other than a bumpy ride.

Lol, well it wasn't Mitsubishi. Do they really charge $140-160/hr labour?!

The car is being booked in this Fri for the lowering. For those who have done it: superlows (front) and lows (rear) - is this the preferable choice for the 380? Will I be scraping the front end of the car over speed humps etc? This is my only concern... well, other than a bumpy ride.
Yeah that's the combo I did. Blue380 suggested it after having some dramas with the SL'ed rear tyres scraping on his his - although Type40 ran SLs all round on his 380 VRX with no drama (guess it depends on your rims width, tyre profile, etc). With this SL+L combo, the car will sit equally all round, and while the car sits a lot lower there is still enough height that you won't scrape on bumps, driveways, ramps, etc (although my tow hook scrapes if I take a dipping driveway head-on). The ride is firmer, but I wouldn't say bumpy - not on standard shocks (my VS Commodore has SLs all round with Koni adjustables and is very firm).

I've had no problems at all with Kings superlows on the front & lows on the rear.

I had the same combo on my old TE Magna (with 17" wheels & 225/50 & tyres) and it was a problem some times. Bashed the front towing hooks plenty of times on driveways & parking stops, hit the exhaust tip a few times when reversing out of a driveway bad enough to break the muffler mount weld, put a huge dent in the rear extractor downpipe, wore away the extractor flexijoint so much I had to get it replaced, and eventually cracked the extractors at the manifold plates and had to get them welded back up. But did it handle!

No such problems with the 380, seems to ride a fair bit higher than the old TE did.

Mind you on the 380 I'm running 'only' 18" wheels with 235/40 tyres, so I'm maybe a few mm higher than those running 19" wheels with 35 profile.

One thing I have noticed though is that the wheel arch gap is not even, the front gap is still a lot more than the rear gap. Around 40mmm front gap and 20mm rear gap. Makes me wonder sometimes if I really got superlows on the front or they dudded me with just lows.

KJ.

I've had no problems at all with Kings superlows on the front & lows on the rear.

I had the same combo on my old TE Magna (with 17" wheels & 225/50 & tyres) and it was a problem some times. Bashed the front towing hooks plenty of times on driveways & parking stops, hit the exhaust tip a few times when reversing out of a driveway bad enough to break the muffler mount weld, put a huge dent in the rear extractor downpipe, wore away the extractor flexijoint so much I had to get it replaced, and eventually cracked the extractors at the manifold plates and had to get them welded back up. But did it handle!

No such problems with the 380, seems to ride a fair bit higher than the old TE did.

Mind you on the 380 I'm running 'only' 18" wheels with 235/40 tyres, so I'm maybe a few mm higher than those running 19" wheels with 35 profile.

One thing I have noticed though is that the wheel arch gap is not even, the front gap is still a lot more than the rear gap. Around 40mmm front gap and 20mm rear gap. Makes me wonder sometimes if I really got superlows on the front or they dudded me with just lows.

KJ.

That's pretty standard mate. Pretty much all springs are the same. Lower at the back. The HKS Kansai springs I have in my EVO are the same.

One thing I have noticed though is that the wheel arch gap is not even, the front gap is still a lot more than the rear gap. Around 40mmm front gap and 20mm rear gap. Makes me wonder sometimes if I really got superlows on the front or they dudded me with just lows.
KJ.
Yeah I wondered the same thing too. After they were fitted, I kinda expected the front to sit even lower than it did (but as I said it doesn't scrape so that's the trade-off). Fortunately I saw the springs imprint "SL" so I know the right springs went in.

Thanks Grub.

Next time I've got a front wheeel off I'll have a look for the writing on the spring.

And as you say, the lack of scraping & hitting things makes up for the slightly uneven look.

The bottom sill looks flat & level to me, so I reckon it's all down to the massive size of the wheel arches on 380s, and the front wheel arch being a fair bit bigger/higher than the rear arch.

Also, I've seen plenty of posts that talk about the springs 'settling' a bit lower after a couple of weeks, but I haven't noticed any such thing, it still seems the same height & gaps I had when I first fitted the lower springs about six months ago.

KJ.

Thanks Grub.

Next time I've got a front wheeel off I'll have a look for the writing on the spring.

And as you say, the lack of scraping & hitting things makes up for the slightly uneven look.

The bottom sill looks flat & level to me, so I reckon it's all down to the massive size of the wheel arches on 380s, and the front wheel arch being a fair bit bigger/higher than the rear arch.

Also, I've seen plenty of posts that talk about the springs 'settling' a bit lower after a couple of weeks, but I haven't noticed any such thing, it still seems the same height & gaps I had when I first fitted the lower springs about six months ago.

KJ.

Interesting comment re the wheel arches, as I recall reading that when MMAL redesigned the Galant for the Australian market they actually made the front wheel arch smaller than it was. Perhaps not small enough?

Well, looks like I'll go the superlows at the front, and hopefully it will sit reasonably well even if not identical to the rear. From what I've read the spring settling is a bit of a myth.

Thanks for the comments.

Yeah I was told the springs would settle too. Dunno if its a couple of weeks or couple of months... I did mine almost 1.5 years ago and they still look/feel/seem exactly the same. Still... if they settled too much, it'd be scrapesville again (previous Magna scraped all over the place).

We paid $399 for Super Lows Kings including install. But then again, we paid over 7k for rims and tyres the day before!!

:eek2: do they cook dinner for you???

:eek2: do they cook dinner for you???

Nah, unfortunately I only got the base model, all they do is make the car look SWEET!!:badgrin:

im getting brake upgrade this friday. im getting slotted DBA 4000's installed with bendix CT brake pads at the front. Costing $790 all up which isnt too bad....the price did seem to go up and down a bit depending on when u call so not sure if its the best deal. However i did call around to a few places and most tried to sell there own branded stuff or couldnt source the same parts.....strange but anyway. i will let you know how it goes on sat.

That sounds like a good price, far better than what i was getting quoted to begin with. I also discovered - through reading other forums and those who have used this combination - that the Bendix Ultimates do not gell very well with the DBA slotted rotors, and that the GCTs are probably better suited. I've put my brake upgrade on hold for the moment, so will be interested to hear how much better your braking is following the upgrade.

I personally find the 380 brakes (and maybe it's just the pads?) to be a bit slow to respond and squeaky as well. The latter isn't that big a deal, but I'd like a more responsive brake system.

I personally find the 380 brakes (and maybe it's just the pads?) to be a bit slow to respond and squeaky as well. The latter isn't that big a deal, but I'd like a more responsive brake system.

funny cause i find they start okay but quickly overheat then fade. im hoping for something that gives a bit more confidence in an emergency. Currently i would rather swerve as i know my chances are greater.

I replaced my standard front pads with Bendix GCTs about three weeks ago.

The standard pads had good initial bite but were far too squeaky for my liking. For the first few ks, until they warmed up a bit, they squeaked like mad. No brake dust either. So far I haven't needed to emergency brake or give the brakes a work out in any way, so I don't know how the standard pads go with overheating or fade. After some 34,000km they were less than 1/4 worn. According to the dealer they are a very hard pad, and that would explain the squeaking, the lack of dust & the slow wear rate. I also suspect that they chew through the rotors pretty fast.

Anyway, the Bendix GCTs have been a lot better in most ways. No squeaking at all, still no dust, and a much more progressive pedal feel. The only possible downside is that they don't bite quite as hard on initial application as the standard pads, but I'm now getting used to this. Overall I'm very happy with the GCTs.

KJ.

http://users.tpg.com.au/dylans//22052009095.jpg

picture of my new slotted rotors.

just an update....ended up having RDA slotted rotors installed because the dealer could not source dba's quick enough. however they saved me some money. Still got bendix CTs installed and so far they have proved very good. No squeal and no fade. couldnt be happier :D