Improving FE1.5 comfort

[chris_vysv8]

I've done a bit of searching on this topic but obviously most suspension-related advice on this forum relates to lowering, improving handling etc etc. I'm wondering if some of the suspension gurus around here can advise me on whether it's feasible to make some moderate improvements in comfort to the FE1.5 suspension as fitted to the MY09.5 Calais onwards. I live in inner eastern Melbourne so I'm always driving over manhole covers, tram tracks and dodgy surface repairs.

I'm not interested in adjustable damping or ride height. I'd like a more compliant ride, better at absorbing small bumps hopefully without compromising handling. My initial research seems to show that possibly changing to a higher quality damper than stock might achieve this? I should add I'd like to get away with the changes for under $1000 (otherwise the minister of finance won't approve!)

Edit: meant to post this in General Non-powertrain.... sorry :P

[TUFFIE]

I would start with a good shock absorber combo Eg Koni,Bilsteins or something of similar quality.

[chris_vysv8]

I would start with a good shock absorber combo Eg Koni,Bilsteins or something of similar quality.

Possibly the Pedders Comfort Gas shocks might meet the requirements? The Pedders site claims they have VRD similar to some of the high end products.

[Grommz]

Surely the ride of a 9.5 Calais cant be that uncomfy.. :confused:

[chris_vysv8]

Surely the ride of a 9.5 Calais cant be that uncomfy.. :confused:

You are right, the ride under most conditions is very comfortable. But there is always room for improvement on the stock setup (unless you own a high-end European e.g. Merc which are well-known for their smooth ride). I'm really just looking for ways to make near-perfect car perfect :)

[Captin Obvious]

I thought FE2 was drag racing suspension ? or am I confused ?

[Drewie]

What tyre pressures are you running?

[chris_vysv8]

I thought FE2 was drag racing suspension ? or am I confused ?

Quick visit to the search function or even Google will answer that one...


What tyre pressures are you running?

I'm running the recommended 36 PSI all round (original RE050A tyres).

[andrewslr]

Speak to Luke at Wholesale Suspension in Sydney or Nathan at Advantage Suspension in Melbourne (Moorabin to be precise). Good advice and no BS.

As Tuffie suggested, likely a set of Koni's will be the answer, supported by the experts above. Having used Koni's you won't be disappointed.

[pmac]

from my experience in my mates car blistens are a harder/sportier shock

like andrewslr said speak to luke at wholesale suspension, havnt heard nothing but praise for luke on this forum

[RB30-POWER]

i've always found the base model commodores on cheese cutters and stock mushy suspension to offer far better ride and steering on the average road over the fe spec models.

i have a vy with fe2 and 18's and the ride is what i consider harsh.

everytime i drive a base model vt~, i love the ultra comfy ride.

i'm guessing your calais has min 17-18" wheels? straight up you lose some comfort with these and extra tramlining due to the extra width not present with cheese cutter steelie spec rims.

strange that a calais has shitter ride than standard but that's the way it is because the calais gets what is deemed sports suspension.

i doubt any aftermarket damper will improve the ride too much to be honest.

it's combination of tyre size and suspension as a whole that makes the ride from what i have found.

good news is the fe1.5/2 cars will go around the race track far better.

if i didn't track my car from time to time and drive it hard in general i would track down stock 16" calais mags and stock exec spec suspension.

the ve platform should be far far better even with big rims etc as the design is a generation plus ahead of the older models, but if fe spec models get bigger sway bars etc it all adds up after a while to more impacts being transferred to the cab/driver.

[redvxr8clubby]

i've always found the base model commodores on cheese cutters and stock mushy suspension to offer far better ride and steering on the average road over the fe spec models.

i have a vy with fe2 and 18's and the ride is what i consider harsh.

everytime i drive a base model vt~, i love the ultra comfy ride.

i'm guessing your calais has min 17-18" wheels? straight up you lose some comfort with these and extra tramlining due to the extra width not present with cheese cutter steelie spec rims.

strange that a calais has shitter ride than standard but that's the way it is because the calais gets what is deemed sports suspension.

i doubt any aftermarket damper will improve the ride too much to be honest.

it's combination of tyre size and suspension as a whole that makes the ride from what i have found.

good news is the fe1.5/2 cars will go around the race track far better.

if i didn't track my car from time to time and drive it hard in general i would track down stock 16" calais mags and stock exec spec suspension.

the ve platform should be far far better even with big rims etc as the design is a generation plus ahead of the older models, but if fe spec models get bigger sway bars etc it all adds up after a while to more impacts being transferred to the cab/driver.

Basically what I was thinking, I have VX Clubby and an FE2 LS1 VX II Calais, the Calais suspension is pretty hard, it seems harder than the Clubby to me. My VS Exec is more comfortable than either of them. But cornering, the Calais is pretty good, nice and flat, the Exec is all over the place like a dogs breakfast. The VS only has standard 15'' 205 65 tyres. The Calais has 18's. I'm curious what the VS would be like on say 17" wheels say VX SS wheels, but not keen to spend much on it.

[chris_vysv8]

i've always found the base model commodores on cheese cutters and stock mushy suspension to offer far better ride and steering on the average road over the fe spec models.

i have a vy with fe2 and 18's and the ride is what i consider harsh.


My first Calais (2006) had 18s and FE2... and yes it was quite harsh. Although not remotely as harsh as the TS Astra Turbo that I came out of into that car...




everytime i drive a base model vt~, i love the ultra comfy ride.

i'm guessing your calais has min 17-18" wheels? straight up you lose some comfort with these and extra tramlining due to the extra width not present with cheese cutter steelie spec rims.


Yup... standard 18s. And yes they tramline quite a bit




strange that a calais has shitter ride than standard but that's the way it is because the calais gets what is deemed sports suspension.

i doubt any aftermarket damper will improve the ride too much to be honest.

it's combination of tyre size and suspension as a whole that makes the ride from what i have found.

good news is the fe1.5/2 cars will go around the race track far better.


This at least is a benefit - on the recent Vic cruise my Calais easily kept up with the SS and HSV boys in the bends.




if i didn't track my car from time to time and drive it hard in general i would track down stock 16" calais mags and stock exec spec suspension.

the ve platform should be far far better even with big rims etc as the design is a generation plus ahead of the older models, but if fe spec models get bigger sway bars etc it all adds up after a while to more impacts being transferred to the cab/driver.

I guess the VE suspension has to control considerably more bulk than the earlier models. The car does feel very nicely balanced in cornering - always pleasantly surprises me, considering the size of the car.

[v8mumbo]

Chris,

I have a VE Calais V V8 Sportwagon with FE1.5 suspension, and have the same ride issues as you. For a supposed luxury model the ride is uncomfortably firm.

I asked the dealer about changing the springs to the Omega wagon setup. The service advisor didn't have a clue.
Told me my car has FE1 which is rubbish. To confirm I compared the clearance from tyre to guard on my car with a new Omega wagon they had for sale with the same 245/45 18" wheel/tyre combo as mine. The Omega based wagon has about 18mm more clearance, i.e. 18mm higher ride height than my car. Obviously different springs.
In addition, I have driven a Berlina sedan on 245/40 x 19 tyres and it had far better ride than my car even with the lower profile tyres.

My research also indicates most suspension shops like Fulcrum and Pedders have products which stiffen and/or lower the suspension - super-low springs, firmer shocks etc.

I'm not keen on talking to Pedders as my last visit a few years ago resulted in them telling me I needed to spend $800, which was a lot of bull! A simple wheel alignment and camber adjustment was all that was needed and cost bugger all.

Might try Fulcrum and any others I find in my area (North Brisbane) to see if they have any ideas.

[added]

Buy a Mercedes.

[CALDIR]

Hi

Straight to the point.

1) Buy a Mercedes

or

2) Goto Advantage Suspension in Moorabbin and tell them what you want...they can do it. Or goto one of the forum sponsors.

regards,

Richard
HRTSEN

[iloveholden]

Buy a Mercedes.

Just not a 1989 190 haha

[added]

Just not a 1989 190 haha

Aint that a fact.

[Party Pete]

from my experience in my mates car blistens are a harder/sportier shock

like andrewslr said speak to luke at wholesale suspension, havnt heard nothing but praise for luke on this forum

Most people fit the Bilstein sports shocks which are intended for handling over ride and indeed tend to be stiffer than standard shocks, but I have fitted their standard replacement shocks (B2's from memory) with the standard springs on my Monaro and the ride is indeed smoother than the standard Monroe shocks. Not soft, but more controlled and better able to handle bigger bumps with crashing through. The bonus is they improve handling a lot too. The Koni's are very good too but again if ride is what you are focused on make sure you look at the Koni reds rather than the sports.

[exwrx]

As above, bilsteins can be valved to different settings.

Mine are targa tassie monaro spec so are quite stiff, but I am sure that if buying through someone who knows what thy are doing they can custom valve to the owner's requirements.

[Party Pete]

If you buy the standard replacement shocks they are valved much more softly than the sport shocks from the factory. They are considerably cheaper too.

[v8mumbo]

Buy a Mercedes.

Ha. I would if I could afford it.

I do a lot of city driving and I'm now getting tired of not being able to see past the SUVs in front of me, so an ML500 would be nice. LOL.

[v8mumbo]

If you buy the standard replacement shocks they are valved much more softly than the sport shocks from the factory. They are considerably cheaper too.

That sounds like an excellent idea. Will look into it.

[RedDog]

This is how I solved the ride problems on my VE V8 Sportwagon.

Springs: Front - Pedders standard height springs. Rear - Pedders Standard height sedan springs.
Shocks: Pedders Comfort Black Gas all round.

I went for standard height springs because I needed a bit of extra ride-height to fix ground clearance issues at a couple of places I drive to.
Initially, I had Pedders standard height wagon springs fitted on the rear with Gas Sportsrider shocks. This setup was bone jarringly hard and the rear ride height was fairly high. It would only be useful if you were carrying heavy loads all the time.

Someone suggested using sedan springs as the Pedders springs are about 15% stiffer than the original GMH standard springs anyway.
I got the sedan rear springs fitted along with Pedders Comfort Gas shocks (which had recently been released) and now the ride is as smooth as a limo.
The sedan springs dropped the rear ride height back to about halfway between standard and FE1.5.

I thought the higher springs would affect the handling of the car but they really haven't made much difference.:)