Hey guys, I have a friend with a 99' 3.5 V6 Executive. He is looking at lowering it a little bit and just stiffening it up.

Just wondering whether any of you guys are running "KYB Excel G Shocks with King Spring Lows" and how much of an improvement it made to the characteristics of the handling.

Any replies would be great.

Cheers, Micky.

I had this exact setup for sometime and was happy with it.

On the street I thought it was the right compromise - noticeably better control than a stock setup when fanging it, but only marginally harsher in ride quality for when you're just cruising normaly 90% of the time.

Also not a bad setup for a beginner to circuit racing, very forgiving and progressive. Bang-for-buck I the rate KYB Excel-Gs and King Lows combo highly. No it won't make your barge handle like a sports car, but it's a noticeable improvement, especially when combined with some stiffer swaybars.

In contrast the setup I have now is hugely better on the track and mirror-smooth roads, but in comparison terribly harsh over poorer quality roads (i.e most of Sydney). E.g I don't even like fanging it in the national park anymore, cos the rear wants to skip and let go over bumps I practically would'nt even feel with the King Lows/KYB setup :p

IMO unless you live around really good quality roads and/or like to track your car somewhat regularly and seriously, The king Lows and Kybs will be the best compromise for just about everyone.

Totally agree with everything that has been said, i had the same set-up for a while until i got SL's on the front. Its defenetly noticeable in firmness as u feel most things on the ride lol but still quiet comfortable and looks a tone better that stock ride hight. Got starting point for sure. JM

I've got the Lows and KYBs and love it. Made an incredible difference to handling - can fang it much faster, and body roll is noticably less. I have a VR-X too which meant I had slightly stiffer springs to begin with.

The ride is noticably stiffer - especially over speedbumps etc, but when you're cruising, it's very comfortable. At speed it's firm, but I reckon the better quality shockies means that it's never harsh. You notice the little imperfections more, but the bigger bumps (ie where bitumen has been resealed, dips in road) aren't as noticable.

I have this setup with a whiteline rear swaybar. Good difference over stock, less roll and easier to point through corners for sure. Also i find it is comfortable on sydney roads which is a big +!

got that setup put on last week

upgraded from stock

its like floting on air

might be just me but the front still looks to sit a bit high but i have lpg in the rear also

add a strut brace to the front and a rear sway bar and your laughing SO GOOD !!

im running the kybs with kings superlows and are fairly competent for running around wakefield

I have this exact set up on mine but with a sway bar and strut brace. It is an excellent set up, handles great, smooth ride around city and freeway and while its low I still clear mosts things with out having to do the diagional drive most VL owners do around my area.

While it is a great setup it does have its limits and which you'll eventually find at an inconvenient time. Like Chisholm said it wont get you up to sports car levels but its far better than the family taxi spec and better than VRX. Highly recommend!

got that setup put on last week

upgraded from stock

its like floting on air

might be just me but the front still looks to sit a bit high but i have lpg in the rear also

add a strut brace to the front and a rear sway bar and your laughing SO GOOD !!

Yea I find that too sometimes. One days it looks perfect, another day the front is too high, another the rear is too high, then again the car looks great.

I have KYBs but Pedders springs. I'd prefer Monroe GT Gas, bit firmer than KYB - but it's bit too late now.

I have this exact set up on mine but with a sway bar and strut brace. It is an excellent set up, handles great, smooth ride around city and freeway and while its low I still clear mosts things with out having to do the diagional drive most VL owners do around my area.

While it is a great setup it does have its limits and which you'll eventually find at an inconvenient time. Like Chisholm said it wont get you up to sports car levels but its far better than the family taxi spec and better than VRX. Highly recommend!

Anyone got a ballpark cost to change from stock to this setup?

I just recently bought some Osaka Racing Wheels(rims) and some 235/45/17's, then had my `99 Altera lowered with some Superlow kings, but had it lowered more at the front so the ride height above the tyre to arch was approx. even in ride height. BTW had remove all mudguards as they were scraping all the time(i know this aint legal)

I asked my mechanic about front strut braces and rear sway bar...his opinion was "dont bother with that ****, if u r chasing for a 10th of a second on a quarter mile, yeh they r worth it. BUT if u want a better ride allround, spend more on front shocks and get a pair of Koni shocks....u wont bother spending the money on the strut braces and sway bar.."

Just what i have been told...hope it may help. (currently saving for koni's)

J

oh yeh...the lowering cost me $600 installed....The Konis will cost me $600 too

Anyone got a ballpark cost to change from stock to this setup?

No idea, the car came as is. But the guy who owned it before me got all his stuff off RPW so check out their site.

No idea, the car came as is. But the guy who owned it before me got all his stuff off RPW so check out their site.

Cheers JarRah. Will do.

Anyone got a ballpark cost to change from stock to this setup?
I paid $1200 for KYBs + King Lows + installation + wheel alignment. Price was on the high side, but I live in a regional area, and my old man's gone there for 15 years without complaint, so I was happy to pay it. $1000 would be a pretty good price IMO.


I asked my mechanic about front strut braces and rear sway bar...his opinion was "dont bother with that ****
While the verdict is out on the strut brace, have a dig around on the forums regarding the rear sway bar - heaps of members have added rear sway bars and have been very positive about their experiences. Many have compared the difference to that of the lowered springs and upgraded shocks. The rear sway bar would make a bigger difference than changing your front shocks IMO.


then had my `99 Altera lowered with some Superlow kings, but had it lowered more at the front so the ride height above the tyre to arch was approx. even in ride height
If you want to get the 100% most out of your handling, change the Superlows for Lows, as the Lows have more travel, and are actually a stiffer spring. Or if you're not fussed about right height, the Low SPs (30mm drop, compared to the 45mm of Lows) are slightly stiffer once again.

came on my car, but mines a TR and i have superlow/low combo
bottoms out a fair bit, but i definately like the ride quality apart from that

Red...have u tried koni or bilstein?

Not in my car JarodEd. The KYBs were expensive enough for me so I didn't bother investigating Konis.

While I don't have Konis in my car, my dad's used them a bit. He's got a set of Konis all round in his VE SS Commodore. They're pretty fancy **** - he paid $1700 for the shocks and installation. Ride is better, particularly over bigger bumps and handling is noticably better, especially at higher speeds. He's also replaced the stock shockies in the back of his FPV F6X (FPV Territory) with Koni Reds, and he's noticed a much better ride without sacrificing the sharp handling.

In hindsight I might have been better off to pay the extra for the Konis in my car. Mind you, the Lows+KYBs still offers a *massive* handling increase, even compared to the stock VR-X suspension (which is slightly lower/stiffer than the base Exec suspension).

Can't comment about Bilsteins. I'm not sure if you can even get Bilsteins on Magnas - the only member I know of with Bilsteins in their car is Chisholm, but they were part of a custom-made coilover setup.