Ok, so I've finally got the car and driven it around a little. :shock: gotta love the ride quality of the magnas :) That said, while something the size of the wagon is never going to be a corner carver, I wouldn't mind losing _some_ of that floaty feeling and getting the car an inch or so lower to avoid the shocking wheel arch gap..

I'm buying a VRX suspension of a forum member, primarily to get the gap a little lower, but don't mind a slightly firmer ride (I'm still look for the quiet & comfort of a family wagon).It's done about the same kms as my current suspension..

Is there any gotchas in the VRX suspension (when being put in the wagon)?

One thing I find weird in the car is the on-centre feel of the steering wheel is just _DEAD_... It feels like the car is reluctant and ponderous to turn, but I've taken it around a couple of roundabouts and a turn or two, and off-centre, the feel and weight is fine..

Will an alignment help this? Will the car need to be aligned once the VRX suspension is put in?

:) So many questions...

Very big one... Rear springs/shocks are different between wagon/sedan as the sedan is IRS, the wagon is 4 link beam axle.

Yes you'll need an alignment.

Gotcha's - The Front suspension off a sedan will fit, but not the rears.

The Last shape magna shared a better steering rack, introduced from the ralliart, much improved center feeling, an improvement on that is a Front strut brace, Very good for lowered cars with wider rims.
What tyres/rims are you on??

I'm a bit corncerned you're upgrading to what is, at least 6 yo old suspension.

There is a huge "gotcha" the rears will not fit at all, you are wasting your time and money bothering with buying secondhand suspension which will just fit one end.

The best set up for a wagon on a reasonable budged is Boge all around and Dobinsons. My wagon corners very well as many who have seen it drive in the twisties will attest to. I am running Koni but they are significantly more expensive.

You dont have to go to lows, there is an intermediate level around 30mm avail also in Kings if you dont want to go too low.

The wheel, that is strange as the TW has the Ralliart feel rack in it so it should feel good, could be a combination of bad wheel allignment, soft suspension and std size wheels / Tyres

Most things steering in Magnas is nothing less then woollen IMO. (380's are excellent, and I have never driven a Ralliart...) However getting some wider and lower profile rubber (18" with 225 or 235 width and 45 series) does increase the feel and weight through the tiller (thanks to more rubber on the road and less give in the sidewall), although the trade off in doing is the ride of course.

But a dead feel on-centre is just a Magna trait. Im currently looking into the differences between the steering systems on Magnas and 380's at the moment to see if any hard parts on the 380's rack can be adapted onto my TJ to increase both weight and feel. Changing certain bushes in the steering rack and some suspension components to a harder Nolathane bush can also improve the feel slightly, but again with the trade off in ride (with reduction of initial "bump" absorbtion characteristics) and possible rack rattle.

Although overall, I just think that there is too much power assistance from the get go.

After fiddling around with chassis from a few other cars (notably all RWD), after 3 years of owning my J, im looking forward to go down this exact avenue in the next month or two. Finally lol....

PS: Ive got the 30mm "intermediates" that Mad is talking about on my J (sedan). I went down this road so I could fit 18's in the future (and after 18 months the future is yet to come...still...those Yoko A-Drives just keep turning....) without totally trashing the ride and scraping the crap out of the car over every speed hump. And strut brace is a highly recommended upgrade - its the first upgrade I did to mine (even before the drop) and the increased ability to point-and-dart was impressive.

But you will still retain a decent amount of the ride with the 30mm drop, but a significant increase in body control. Doesnt tend to pitch and wollow about anymore. And im still running 15" steelies.

Mitch

@SHOOT - I'm still running the 15" steelies, but going to switch to 16" alloy wheels over the weekend. I think the smaller sidewall on the 16s might help with the float, and if the front strut brace helps turn in and steering feel , I would be happy with the setup for my purposes.

Thanks for the quick replies guys..

The stock suspension rides so well, I might just leave it alone for now..

Deen

VRX suspension is basicly stock anyway, i wouldnt think they drop it more then 10-15mm

16's will give you a better feel, as will 17's but comfort drops quickly after that.
A fifty series Tyre is the best performing Tyre, so a 55 is about as close as you'll get.
If you keep the ride height high, a 17" may just be comfortable enough.
You could always test drive a few variants.

Yeah, i'll give the 16s a go. I think it should be just right. I was really keen on the 17" enkeis, but don't think they're legal + i would have to buy tyres for them.

The 16s would be less fragile too, a consideration since my wife will be driving the car :)

If it works well, i can chase up the 17s at some point. The 4 speed makes it a comfortable cruiser rather than a supersize legnum anyway.. lol

If you're talking about the Ralliart Enkeis, you won't run into any problems legality wise.


I think the smaller sidewall on the 16s might help with the float,
Your tyre choice will play a role in this too. My old tyres (Goodyear Excellence) had a soft sidewall, so while it rode nicely, handling/grip suffered. My next tyres gripped like the proverbial, but (coupled with being on bigger rims) definitely rode firmer. It's a trade-off you'll need to consider.