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Styling To lower, or not to lower... -- but with a dodgy neck!

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Styling To lower, or not to lower... -- but with a dodgy neck!

homeward

homeward

Brain stopped play
Parked in the garage Written a guide
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As many of you will know, I am the proud owner of a slightly-customized dark red, Mk2, five-door Punto... :D



Anyhoo: the shocks seem to be fine; but the springs are showing signs of age, and may need to be replaced, when the car is MOT'd, in October. :(

Normally, this would just be a "how much should I lower my car by" thread; but -- as some may know -- I had my neck rebuilt a few years ago (after being the victim of a trio of serious car accidents...), and am therefore concerned about the impact lowering may have on my spine.... :eek:

After talking to wrightyy, at Stanford Hall, and admiring his beautiful Mk2b, parked next to mine in the 'Twenty Years of the Punto' line-up... -- lowered 50 mm at the back, and 35 at the front (I think) -- I'm pretty sure I don't want to go that extreme (if I lower the car at all). :rolleyes:

However, having driven Mrs homeward's Mk3 Panda all week (which has slightly more unsettled suspension than either the Punto, or the Mk2 Panda -- which is new, all-round...), I am tempted to lower the car a little.... :eek:

Thoughts, please...! Ta! (y)

PS: This was going to be a poll -- but I didn't realize you only had five minutes to post it. :bang:

Am considering the Eibach Pro Kit lowering springs (at £178): which would lower the car by 25-30 mm at the front, and 25 mm at the rear.... :confused:
 
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Having owned the hgt with stiffened suspension and a 5 door with its lovely squishy soft ride I can honestly say I would rather stick with the comfy ride any day.

I've got a number of back problems including a couple of prolapsed discs and driving the mini on winding country poorly surfaced roads is far from pleasurable.
 
Most Easterly Pandas said:
In what way are the springs showing signs of wear out of interest?
Click to expand...

Good question...! (y)

The car has started sagging noticeably -- and unevenly (especially across the back end...) -- and I'm not that overweight, honest. :(

Also: a recent pothole (just off the M40, at Banbury) appears to have put a rather nasty crack in the rear, offside spring (although this could just be coincidence, of course...); and, now, I'm just waiting for it to fail.... Ironically, this has evened up the sagging, a little.... :eek:

Apart from that, it's just surface rust: but the crack has made me paranoid; and if I replace one spring, I'll need to do both sides... -- and then I'll wonder why I didn't do the front ones at the same time.... :nutter:
 
knew it wouldnt be too long before you asked this question:p
last thing you wanna do is cause any further problems with your neck, which by the way sounds painful, knew you had problems but never knew it was that serious, sorry:(
while your mk2 would look the dogs wobbly bits and bobs lowered,,,,but ive driven a few lowered cars myself mainly customer cars, and never really liked it, stock suspension ftw! if the suspension now is showing signs of wear and tear then replace the springs/shocks whatever then its done with then, get her back to her old self, if it feels a tad unbalance sort it now before it develops into a bigger problem that may rip your wallet into shreds like the hg did!
if you havent sorted the problems before next meet, ill take a look and see what i think, always nice to have a 2nd opinion these days:) stay safe stay well(y)
 
Here's my broken record. Replacing tired springs transforms a car to it's old self as Benny says. We have a V70 which is lower than the Punto and is more energetic to get in and out of.
 
homeward said:
After talking to wrightyy, at Stanford Hall, and admiring his beautiful Mk2b, parked next to mine in the 'Twenty Years of the Punto' line-up... -- lowered 50 mm at the back, and 35 at the front (I think) -- I'm pretty sure I don't want to go that extreme (if I lower the car at all). :rolleyes:
Click to expand...

Almost right homeward It's 50mm at the front, 35 at the back :) I'm all up for lowering a car slightly, it really improves the looks in my opinion. However the ride comfort on mine has been sacrificed because of this.

Wrightyy
 
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wrightyy said:
Almost right homeward It's 50mm at the front, 35 at the back :)
Click to expand...

Whoops: speed-writing again.... :bang:

overloaded_car_082-592x418.jpg
 
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I lowered my last punto 30mm all round on koni springs at it is awful for comfort. Feel most bumps in the road. I'm sticking with standard suspension on puntos from now on

If you really wanted it lowering the best thing due to neck and back would be airbag suspension i reckon. Probably alot more costly though
 
Thanks to everyone for your help...! (y)

I've decided to go with the majority -- and what seems to me like common sense... -- and go with standard suspension (thereby going against trend, and raising the car...). As the shocks look like the originals, I shall replace these, as well as the springs (hoping that this cures both the sagging and the slightly jittery bouncing) at the same time. :rolleyes:

I've also found a cheap (so I'm slightly paranoid: but they've got to be better than what's already on the car, after nearly 90,000 miles, and 11 years...) wishbone and track rod end package on eBay: so, being my overly-thorough self, will also replace these (or, rather, have the garage do it... -- as I no longer have the dexterity or physical strength to do such things...). :eek:

My aim is to keep this car until retirement age/200,000 miles. Wish me luck! :eek:

PS: I have, yet again, to thank Big Mick, at Eurocarcare. Good prices; perfect service... -- every time...! :worship:
 
atom0007 said:
I was surprised at the cost of wishbones on ebay, I think I paid £60 for the pair and they've been great.
Click to expand...

That's good to know! (y)

atom0007 said:
If you've got them off, you might want to refurb the ARB and bushings too.
Click to expand...

And I already thought I was being thorough.... :bang:

I shall sleep on this, methinks.... :sleep:

PS: As it's late, and I really can't be *rsed, any idea of the cost of parts for doing this...? :confused:

PPS: (Outer) bushes are pretty cheap on eBay. Anything else I need... -- as I believe the inner ones can't be replaced...? :confused:
 
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homeward said:
I shall sleep on this, methinks.... :sleep:

PS: As it's late, and I really can't be *rsed, any idea of the cost of parts for doing this...? :confused:

PPS: (Outer) bushes are pretty cheap on eBay. Anything else I need... -- as I believe the inner ones can't be replaced...? :confused:
Click to expand...

front shocks about £50 each rear shocks about £25 each

springs you can say about £30-40 each

wishbones £30 each?

ARB buses come as part of a replacement anti roll bar and is about £125

I would change things in phases due to cost.

however thinking that to buy a new car on a credit deal would cost about £200 a month it makes it worth while to invest in an older car in my view
 
AndyRKett said:
front shocks about £50 each rear shocks about £25 each

springs you can say about £30-40 each

wishbones £30 each
Click to expand...

So far, front shocks, £43; rear shocks, £35; front springs, £32; rear springs, £37 -- all from Big Mick; arriving Wednesday. :worship:

Wishbone and track rod ends: £60 in total, from eBay; arriving later today. :cool:

AndyRKett said:
ARB buses come as part of a replacement anti roll bar and is about £125
Click to expand...

Outer bushes are about £6 each. Do you think it's worth replacing the whole thing, though...? :confused:

AndyRKett said:
I would change things in phases due to cost.
Click to expand...

I've been trying to do exactly that... -- but the HG going just before Stanford Hall sort of blew my plans to smithereens...! (At this rate, there's not going to be much of the original car left....) :eek:

AndyRKett said:
however thinking that to buy a new car on a credit deal would cost about £200 a month it makes it worth while to invest in an older car in my view
Click to expand...

Exactly...! (y)
 
homeward said:
So far, front shocks, £43; rear shocks, £35; front springs, £32; rear springs, £37 -- all from Big Mick; arriving Wednesday. :worship:
Click to expand...

I have to be honest I don't rate 'big mick's' prices

I used your reg on gsf and got the following prices

Front shock £32.40
Rear shocks £23.58

Front springs £28.56
Rear springs £33.84

Eurocarparts is even cheaper

And there is a GSF or euro car parts in most towns, so you just go pick the bits up

Wishbones from eBay is a good price though they are £40 each most other places.

It seems euro car parts now does the inner anti roll bar bushes separately for £7.08 each and gsf the outer roll bar buses for £6-7 so much cheaper to refurbish the front anti roll bar than it used to be. As you could always buy the outers but the inners only came with a new bar

Seems prices have come down a bit since I last looked. But it means you could basically renew the whole suspension for under £350 obviously not accounting for fitting
 
AndyRKett said:
I have to be honest I don't rate 'big mick's' prices
Click to expand...

One of the reasons I tend to use Big Mick is his reliability... -- both on stock availability and customer service (especially as he's happy to do everything by email: which is a boon, considering my hearing is so cr*p...) -- although I have sourced parts in the past (especially for the Mk2 Pandas: usually from specialists in Italy...) at lower prices than he's quoted. However, his prices are still 10-20% cheaper than for parts supplied through my garage (which, I suppose, is what you'd expect: but, on some things, they can be quite competitive...). :cool:

Also, everything he's supplied so far has been much cheaper than the prices quoted by my local FIAT dealer.... :D

AndyRKett said:
I used your reg on gsf and got the following prices
Click to expand...

I know what you're saying, though; and am extremely grateful to you for taking the time out to do this. Next time I need anything, I shall therefore give GSF a go. (I've had a couple of bad experiences with Eurocarparts, in the dim, distant past... -- so haven't used them for a while....) :worship:

AndyRKett said:
It seems euro car parts now does the inner anti roll bar bushes separately for £7.08 each and gsf the outer roll bar buses for £6-7 so much cheaper to refurbish the front anti roll bar than it used to be. As you could always buy the outers but the inners only came with a new bar
Click to expand...

Thanks! Have ordered some outers, already. Will go and have a look at the inners, though, as well, now. I, too, had believed that you couldn't get them separately.... (y)

Thanks again... -- still (and probably always) learning, when it comes to FIATs.... :rolleyes:
 
I need to change my rear springs soon and most likely the front springs and shocks as they are getting tired. I also think I'll need a clutch at some point so trawling these sites for a bargain is always good fun

In any case the prices for parts on these cars are all pretty good especially having owned cars from other brands in the past where they think of a number and triple it
 
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