I've been running Eibach springs with standard shocks for a couple of years. I like the look of the car on these lowered springs but the ride is terrible. This is mainly due to the large number of pot holes, man-hole covers and bad patch repairs on the roads in my area, although I'm sure the standard shocks are also well past their best which isn't helping. Encountering speed bumps is also a challenge, and unfortunately there are loads around where I live.

I've decided the car is just too low on the Eibachs - particularly at the front. Like most folks on here, I had to trim the bump stops to give the suspension a tiny bit of travel!

I know there have been loads of threads on here discussing various spring and shock combinations, but it seems all the lowering springs drop the car by 35-40mm which is more than I'd like.

Are there any springs which drop the car a little less? I'm thinking maybe 20mm or so. That way I could still have a slightly lowered "look" but wouldn't have to suffer quite as much on the speed bumps and potholed roads around here.

Am I asking too much? I don't really want to go back to standard ride height as it gives the car a ridiculous 4x4 appearance (in my opinion!).

Any comments or suggestions?

As mentioned in a recent thread the Eibachs run the car too low for my liking. I have Billies and Eibachs on my Scottie along with 17" alloys, 205 x 40 Toyos and my dentures/buttocks are constantly in trouble over the myriad of potholes and road repairs in sunny Kent (although the cornering is brilliant). On my Moon VT6 I have standard shocks with Joe's lowering springs and standard 16" Plus wheels and the ride is soooo much better.

Too many handling threads on here to handle so you should be able to make an informed decision - the FCSS springs are great, but stick to standard wheels IMHO.

Thanks Tim. I've done some searching and there was a fair bit of discussion on here back in 06-07 about fitting 16VT Eibachs on a 20VT. Apparently they only drop the front by 20-25mm and offer a slightly softer ride. Sounds like just the ticket.

In a similar position...I wanted to lower my coop but didn't want to have to suffer poor ride conditions. Have another car that already does that.

After a lot of reading on the forum I chose Joes FCSS springs. You can probably still get a set from the current group buy. Hopefully being sent out next week.

Springs settle with age, so I'd think carefully about spending the money. They may start at an inch drop but it wouldn't be long before they're down to 35-40mm.

Unless you find a spring that offers an advertised 20mm drop you'll end up as low.

If you think your dampers are past it you could try changing those first along with the top mounts. You'll be surprised that you'll gain some height doing that.

To be honest I'm so fed up with the terrible ride quality I think I'll just end up going back to standard springs and shocks (Are they even available anymore from Fiat??)

It wasn't really a problem when I only drove the car occasionally, but as I'm now driving it every day I really need a more comfortable ride. Also, a suspension refresh is needed before my trip to Italy at the end of May!

Have you though about a set of spring assistors? Seconds to fit and remove and come in different thicknesses.

Std shocks would be in full-load-mode so no wonder they're stiff.
Billies have a wider range, made for lowered springs so they are more comfy. (Given you cut the bumpstops accordingly)
If that's an option for you.

If I recall, the b6 units have the same bottom spring seat location as standard items. The damping is just a little firmer, which controls the stiffer spring better.

The ride is crashy now because the damping isn't sufficient to hold the spring.

I'd be blaming the presumably original shocks with the newer springs. Change them out for some original type units (Monroe get a good write up) or B6 Billies if you want to improve the handling further.

would monroes and kyb springs be a good match? I think the kybs are standard ride height?

Thanks for the comments! I agree the shocks are probably a major factor but I can't help feeling a little hesitant about blowing a small fortune on new bilsteins if the crashy ride will remain. I mean the front suspension probably only has about 1cm or so of travel (about the amount I cut off the bump stops) with the eibachs! Will new billies (or monroe??) Shocks be a huge improvement?

Why only cut 1cm off the front bumpstops? You can fit a much shorter bumpstop to the front without issues.
Eibachs do have a crashy ride, there's not much you can do about it apart from ensuring you have enough travel and a good damper to match the increased spring rate.

Bilsteins are slightly shorter if I remember correctly and ever so slightly increased damping so will work better with the springs, it won't be a miracle transformation but it will be an improvement.

Has anybody tried Bravo top mounts with Eibach/Bilstein combo?

It won't work, two completely different top mounts.

Thanks for the response Jimbo. The 1cm I mentioned above was just a guess, it was probably a bit more than that now I think about it. Basically, I cut the bottom "doughnut" off the bump stop, so whatever that translates to.

Billies would be nice but they cost a small fortune these days. Do you have any opinions on Monroe shocks and whether these are likely to work OK with Eibachs?

There's a thread on here talking about the Monroes, it may have been Kayjey in his suspension refresh thread.

I run billies and eibachs but drive 99% city and motorway. The last recent time I took it on a B road blast I was surprised how hard the ride was! Something I don't really notice on the flat city streets.

Boosted, I never tried the Monroe's but I imagine them to be similar to fitting a fresh set of standard dampers?

After reading pages and pages on here about shocks and springs, i have original alloys and just fitted kyb shocks, i would like to lower the car with some spax springs, but am worried the ride might get even harsher especially as i drive in town/cities mainly and am sick of humps and sunken manhole covers. I am tempted just to use the kyb springs even though they keep the car at the original height. The car has the usual 15 inch alloys , being a 16v, would these spax springs make life difficult , anyone ever tried them with standard alloys...ps , not convinced about the kyb shocks yet ! I know everyone like the billies and eibachs etc, but most seem to agree they dont help the ride either.
To lower or not to lower, that is the question !
Anyone used spax springs ??

Chrissy on here fitted spax a couple of weeks ago seemed happy with them.

i heard that sparco springs lower around 2cm
but i can't guarantee if that's true or not

me too i'm worried about the car too low

Well in the end I decided to stick with the Eibach springs and spent this morning fitting new monroe shocks. Definitely a major improvement over my worn out standard shocks. Very pleased, and a bit of a bargain compared with billies. Result!

Glad it worked out, where did you get the Monroe shocks from?

Thanks Spyke, I ordered the Monroe shocks from Steve at Alternative Autos