AU superlow or ultralow ?

[fairmontster91]

I am having the tough decision im sure a lot of you have been through.
Super low springs or Ultra lows?
I currently have tickford sports suspension which i think lowers the car slightly from the stock AU.
One of my mufflers hangs pretty low (no idea why) and i already scrape on some driveways.
I would love to go all the way down to ultra's but scraping could be an issue.
Was wondering if anyone had any advice and if anyone could possibly load up photo's of their super or ultra lows

Cheers.

[Mr Hardware]

I would recommend doing nothing
after having owned an AU with i think SL's on the front and UL's on the rear, i can say it royally sucks.
Yes you scrape on everything, you just need to worry too much about every speedbump or driveway or rock
plus your ride quality just goes out the door -kidney kicker central
if you want a go-kart, an AU is the last car to achieve that

[fairmontster91]

Hmmmm yeah probably the right thing to do
Looks so terrible sitting so high though.

[WannabeXP]

Originally Posted by Mr Hardware

I would recommend doing nothing
after having owned an AU with i think SL's on the front and UL's on the rear, i can say it royally sucks.
Yes you scrape on everything, you just need to worry too much about every speedbump or driveway or rock
plus your ride quality just goes out the door -kidney kicker central
if you want a go-kart, an AU is the last car to achieve that

I'd say it would handle like a boat unless it's even! When i had SL's just in the rear it handled like a Patrol.
I have SL's all round now fronts about 10-20mm from the guard and rears about level with the guard but i have gas and old clapped out springs.
Compared to the tickford suspension its not a whole lot different, maybe a little rougher.
The main thing is that it looks heaps nicer, but all in all i dont think id do it again
Cheers Jason

[Dave_Obsession]

Have a look at the Eibachs....they're halfway between the Tickford stuff you have (equivalent to lows) and super-low....there are a few of us on here that have them, and I don't reckon any of us regret getting them!

http://www.eibachdirect.com/p/523840/pro-kit.html



What series AU do you have anyway? The S1's were about an inch or so higher than S2/3 as stock anyway...

[blueoval]

If you have a live rear axle (non IRS) AU, then consider Eibach Springs Pro Kit. EDIT: Like what Dave said.





Sure it's not mega low, but its a combination of nice height, good handling, semi-comfort and functionality.

[fairmontster91]

Originally Posted by dave93761

What series AU do you have anyway? The S1's were about an inch or so higher than S2/3 as stock anyway...

I've got a series 2 and yeah its got IRS which makes things a little annoying.
Does anyone else have an unusually low hanging muffler? I think ive seen it on a few AU's ive seen

[fairmontster91]

Dave and Blue oval both of your car's sit very well

[blueoval]

Sounds like one of the hangers is broken on your exhaust system. Go to your local exhaust mob and they will re weld on fairly cheap.

Seeing as you have IRS, have a chat with a few of the site sponsors to assist you in what you can get for your car. I recommend Tuff Car Parts. Very good service and delivery times. Prices are very competitive too.

[blueoval]

Originally Posted by fairmontster91

Dave and Blue oval both of your car's sit very well

Cheers mate. Thats because mine and Daves cars have identical springs.

[Beer Baron]

I had king spring superlows in my AU2 and i disliked it so much i went back to stock. Too soft and got sick of the exhaust tip and tow bar all most being removed daily from my driveway.

I wont buy off the shelf king springs again.

[b2tf]

Originally Posted by fairmontster91

I would love to go all the way down to ultra's but scraping could be an issue.

Reckon you might have answered your own question there. My ute is on Superlows at the moment and I plan to stick 1" lowering blocks at the rear and Ultralows in the front, however it is a garage queen and never carries anything so functionality is not as high on my list as it might be on everybody elses.

[KR1STO]

Anybody got pics of ultras on an AU...
I'm thinking of going ultras in the lane..
Mine's also a garage queen, so ride really doesn't bother me.

Cheers

[Uncle_Ken]

My son has one of JC's old car, an AU Fairmont with lows on the front and stock on the rear. The plastic guard scraps every time he reverses out of my driveway. It feels firmer than my stock AU but it does 'hit' everything harder, and whilst I can 'fly' over speed bumps (and we have a lot around me) he has to slow WAY down to stop bottoming out. I agree that looks wise AU's rock when lowered, but for a daily drive, I'm sticking to stock. But thats the way I drive.

UK

[fairmontster91]

yeah i think i might give superlow's a try...if i dont like it ill just switch them back
wouldn't mind seeing a few photo's though
thanks for the help everyone

[robbyj]

What sized wheels do you have? They will also affect the appearance and how low the car is. I have king spring super lows in mine. With 20" rims.
I also have short shocks.

The ride is shithouse but thats what you get with 20's and lowering the car. But the superlows are low enough to look good with the 20's. without ripping a bumper off every speed hump.

However on 15's..... i scrape everywhere. and thats just super lows.

Honestly if you want that lowered stance, the ebiach kit would be the way to go. Like dave and shav. Go for it mate, you'll love the look of it.


On 20's


15's rear

[fairmontster91]

Originally Posted by bobuleh

What sized wheels do you have? They will also affect the appearance and how low the car is. I have king spring super lows in mine. With 20" rims.
I also have short shocks.

Got 17's mate, ill give superlow's a crack shouldn't be too bad
Nice 20's by the way those rims look mad !

[Dave_Obsession]

Originally Posted by fairmontster91

I've got a series 2 and yeah its got IRS which makes things a little annoying.

Well the fact you've got IRS means you can't fit the Eibach's at the rear...they only make them for live axle rears.

Given you're running 17's I reckon you'll be fine on superlow's...don't go any lower though because you won't be able to take it anywhere without scraping everything...also remember if you go super lows, you'll need to get shortened shocks as you'll wear your normal ones out in no time...this is another expense you need to consider.

[347 mont]

I have been in the same delemma, I put a post in suspension section.

The main thing stopping me from the ulta lows is the shortage of choices

of shorbody shocks/struts, I want to go something a bit better than Monroes.

I am leanning towalds Lovells super lows and Koni yellows. However I like the look

of the Lovells Eliminator shocks for the price. The Tickford gear is'nt quite low

enough, especially the rear end, beside at 150000km my bus is very floaty on the road.

Keep us posted. Good luck

[robbyj]

Originally Posted by fairmontster91

Got 17's mate, ill give superlow's a crack shouldn't be too bad
Nice 20's by the way those rims look mad !

thanks mate,
you should have a decent stance with the sl's

and true what dave said about the shocks, mine wore out in no time. so be prepared for that expense too.

[POELWYK]

iv got sl's all round and im about to jack the car back to lows as its a pain in the *** with driveways and stuff and i cant carry anyone in he back as my tail sharft will hit the floor

[Pavey]

Sorry for the blurry pic, it's the only one I could find out level ground. This is mine with ultras in the rear and supers in the front. I regret getting supers for the front and wish I just went with ultras in the first place. Running 17s it only just tucks tyre on ultras. So if you're after some tuck you won't get it with supers. I'm running pedders sports Ryder in the rear and stock up front. Stock shocks with supers is fine and mine have lasted over a year being lowered. defiantly will not be fine for ultras though! You'll have ~1.5 inch of travel.

[blueoval]

On the subject of shock choices, Im running BOGE short shocks to the front and BOGE shocks at the rear. At the time, I paid $440 for the lot. Have had them on for 2 years now and they are still going strong. Handle well and still provide reasonable comfort with my 18s on. BOGE are usually used on Audi's, Merc's and BMW's.

[Day-mow]

king springs SL allround

[AUIIPURSUIT]

This was done by the previous owner...
on factory 17s..
superlows in the front, and lowered leafs in the rear (with an extra leaf added or something for load rating).. obviously just look at the front for your sedan.

it handles really nice and i drive it ALOT. it doesnt get annoying at all.

i can get in and out of anywhere, sure i slow down for speedbumps, thats their purpose. If you know how to drive a lowered vehicle, its no issue.

[TUF-640]

Originally Posted by WannabeXP

I'd say it would handle like a boat unless it's even! When i had SL's just in the rear it handled like a Patrol.
I have SL's all round now fronts about 10-20mm from the guard and rears about level with the guard but i have gas and old clapped out springs.
Compared to the tickford suspension its not a whole lot different, maybe a little rougher.
The main thing is that it looks heaps nicer, but all in all i dont think id do it again
Cheers Jason

Yeah these are my old springs that WannabeXP has in his now (had i known the back ones were stuffed i wouldnt have sold them to you mate, binning them would have been a better option, sorry) that may explain why it use to float and hop with a full car load...if it does that in yours watch yourself, its pretty scary as the front end becomes really light and stopping and handling characteristics are totally different.
having said that, ive seen others with super lows all round and mine use sit on tyre if not tuck a bit...alot of others appear to be about half an inch above the tyre (closer to the 'lows' height if anything) so with my half buggered springs it would have been between SL and SSL in the back

this is where mine use to sit on SLs all round with 17s - bit of a dodgy shot but it gives you an idea

this is where it was on 18s and SLs- looked pretty decent i must say

few shots when it was on 20s with tickford front springs and SL rear


do remember sometimes cars look higher in photos then they do in real life..i know it use to look way better than those photos when it had 20s

but all in all this photo was taken within the first week of me getting the car and at tickford height you can see the disasters already starting..imagine what i went through another inch closer to the ground

honestly SLs may as well stand for Stupid Lows, the AU is shaped (think NA/NC fairlanes were similar) where you put really low springs in it, it looks alright, you tackle a slanted driveway and you leave your exhaust tips in the gutter....everything under the car sits alot lower to the ground than it looks from the body of the vehicle...if i had my time again id be going towards the eibach pro kit...im still thinking about it now just to bring it down a little bit from tickford height (its just so damn high! haha) but SLs are just way too low/impractical for a daily driven street car and they're just a two bob way of getting your car 'fully sick' lowered and they dont think about ride comfort, handling or the overall quality - as you can see from my experience they're barely designed to hold up the weight of the car. my mates got a 33 with tein coilovers in it...set it at about half way of its maximum stiffness and while its pretty stiff on bumps some how its got a comfort factor to it...handles like an absolute go kart

so in simple terms get yourself the pro kit and some good matching shocks and i dont think you'll look back
PS. yes i know ive had alot of different wheels on the car...ssshhh hahah only reason coz i like my comfort over my looks, if you didnt tell already