Does anyone know of better rear coil springs for vauxhall mokka IE same height but coil metal thickness more , can you use vauxhall vivaro van /camper coil springs
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Uprated rear springs
- Thread starter qwertyperkins
- Start date
I have used MAD spring assisters on two cars, a Saab 9000 and Skoda Superb estate. They were the type that sat inside the cars own springs. On both cars there was a slight increase in ride height if about 12mm as the spring assisters give a small increase due to their pre load. If they didn’t have pre load they would rattle. Fir some cars MAD supply replacement springs with a progressive spring rate. On both my cars that had spring assisters there was no discernible difference when driving unloaded solo. But they improved the towing posture and driving with the caravan in tow.
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I fully agree with OC, I have found MAD to be very good. They can be fitted by an enthusiast with the right tools like spring compressors. But any garage should be able to do it.
Match your car here.
upcountry4x4.co.uk
John
Match your car here.
MAD Suspension Systems
MAX CONTROL. MAX COMFORT. MAX SAFETY. You want to drive comfortably and safely in a vehicle that exactly meets your unique needs. Therefore MAD to the max! MAD Suspension Systems are a specialist for helper coil springs, uprated coil springs and various air suspension systems available for your...
upcountry4x4.co.uk
John
I'd vote for MAD springs as well - I fitted a set of their auxilliary springs on my Vauxhall Astra, which was towing at 97% - the springs made it very stable both solo and towing - they're not cheap but the best.
I agree with the others, MADS, I fitted them to my 3 litre Vectra and also to my last Santa Fe. No noticeable change solo but great with the caravan on the back.
It should not be (edit) isn't necessary to fit spring assistor's to any normal tow vehicle. Spring assistor's must never be used to compensate for a faulty vehicle
If you believe the rear of your car is depressed too much when towing, before even considering spring assistor's, check tyre pressures, and that you are not actually overloading the rear axle of the car, All the load limits for the vehicle are stamped on the vehicles data plate, usually on one of the door pillars. Also check for damage to any of the suspension components.
The car manufacturer has done all the necessary testing and calculations, and provided none of their limits are exceeded and there is no damage or wear on the cars tyre or suspension, that car will sit within their designed limits.
Do remember that some manufactures actually derate the load capacity in the rear luggage area of a vehicle if it is towing, so check what you are actually loading the car with, including the trailers nose load.
There are other reasons why its important not to mess with suspension settings, If your car has stability safety systems, it will almost certainly have body sensors which monitor the cars height and ride, and if you fit spring assistor's, you may compromise the vehicles safety systems.
Most people who decide to fit spring assistor's do so for appearance rather than safety.
If you believe the rear of your car is depressed too much when towing, before even considering spring assistor's, check tyre pressures, and that you are not actually overloading the rear axle of the car, All the load limits for the vehicle are stamped on the vehicles data plate, usually on one of the door pillars. Also check for damage to any of the suspension components.
The car manufacturer has done all the necessary testing and calculations, and provided none of their limits are exceeded and there is no damage or wear on the cars tyre or suspension, that car will sit within their designed limits.
Do remember that some manufactures actually derate the load capacity in the rear luggage area of a vehicle if it is towing, so check what you are actually loading the car with, including the trailers nose load.
There are other reasons why its important not to mess with suspension settings, If your car has stability safety systems, it will almost certainly have body sensors which monitor the cars height and ride, and if you fit spring assistor's, you may compromise the vehicles safety systems.
Most people who decide to fit spring assistor's do so for appearance rather than safety.
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Whilst MAD spings are good they are Dutch made so may have increased in price somewhat. However a very similar product that I used on our Octavia Mk1 over a decade ago were UK made by Grayston Engineering and about 25% cheaper. Their web site says they only supply the trade but there's no harm in giving them a call - they may even point you at a retailer.
They are an absolute doddle to fit. The first one took me over an hour as I could't work out how to get the secondary spring in place - my thanks to GE for good support. The second took me 25 minutes including jacking the car up and down! They made a huge difference to the ride even solo - most noticeable through your bum when driving!
They are an absolute doddle to fit. The first one took me over an hour as I could't work out how to get the secondary spring in place - my thanks to GE for good support. The second took me 25 minutes including jacking the car up and down! They made a huge difference to the ride even solo - most noticeable through your bum when driving!
My Skoda Superb had ESP and fitting the MAD springs did not prejudice its performance as Skoda offered uprated springs that would have been imported to UK from Eastern Europe but availability and price were lacking. But one common factor with both cars that I fitted them to was that both cars had long rear overhangs, and grounded on the drive to road slope and certain types of speed ramp. Obviously I checked all the things advised by you, even having both into dealerships to check suspension. Our Skoda dealer said it wasn’t uncommon for those who had horse boxes or caravans.
I could take offence to your comment about doing it for appearance. Whilst some will fit lowering springs etc for appearance, few fit springs that give about 12 mm ride height increase when unloaded for appearance. I’m one who goes for “ function over form”.
I could take offence to your comment about doing it for appearance. Whilst some will fit lowering springs etc for appearance, few fit springs that give about 12 mm ride height increase when unloaded for appearance. I’m one who goes for “ function over form”.
Thank you all , looking at link to mad link & think the auxiliary extra springs look like what looking for ,
I think the pertinent word you used is “should”.
The reality IMHO and experience is they are not necessarily ideal for towing. Take my Peugeot 4007 (Mitsibushi Outlander). Awful tow car at first. Low profile tyres on my model made it too harsh and non compliant. I managed to change these for a set of standard wheels. But, despite this being a 7 seater with high load ratings, the caravan dropped the rear and it bounced around.
Fitting progressive springs improved thing massively and turned it into a very capable tow car. These springs which fit inside the originals, do not come into use until under higher loads.
I think that manufacturers design for everyday users and most do not tow. However, My current Volvo V70 needs no modification, it just does the job.
John
Don’t forget to notify your insurers. Mine just noted it and no additional charges.
I have used Grayston assisters(rubber doughnuts between the coils) on my last 4 tow cars (all same make model) with just over a 1m overhang they are pretty much essential due to the leverage imposed by the distance between tyre contact and towball.
Reviewed in PC
Grayston Rubber Coil Spring Assister - Practical Caravan
GRAYSTON SPRING ASSISTERS are not a new product by any stretch of the imagination but they just about the simplest way to reinforce sagging suspension on your towcar.
www.practicalcaravan.com
Interesting that they say they had a 25mm increase in ride height, on each of the 4 Mazda 6 estates I have fitted them to my ride height increased by about 5mm max with the car unladen, I havent looked at the difference when hitched up, but I woukd imagine 25mm is about right. They certainly reduced the incidence of my car suspension "bottoming out" in addition to the towhitch no longer hitting French speed humps! I do have a long overhang from tyre contact to towhitch
For the cost they are a worthwhile investment in my view.
For the cost they are a worthwhile investment in my view.
Grayston rubber spring assisters imo should be treated with great caution. Understanding their principle of operation scares me.
In effect they halt about 20% of the coil spring movement . Yes they stiffen the suspension but increase the load movement on the remaining spring which can cause premature spring failure. The shock absorber obviously doesn’t function as normal due to the restricted movement. This can add unknown stresses to the suspension mountings etc.
The MAD approach is reasonable but maybe replacing the shocks too with “self levelling” ones may be beneficial. But as the Prof said be sure the on board cars sensors are not affected.
In effect they halt about 20% of the coil spring movement . Yes they stiffen the suspension but increase the load movement on the remaining spring which can cause premature spring failure. The shock absorber obviously doesn’t function as normal due to the restricted movement. This can add unknown stresses to the suspension mountings etc.
The MAD approach is reasonable but maybe replacing the shocks too with “self levelling” ones may be beneficial. But as the Prof said be sure the on board cars sensors are not affected.
The maximum permissible rear axle load applies whether towing or solo. It’s no higher when towing.
4 cars all fitted with Grayston's, each run for at least 3 years without any incident.
If there was an "issue" with such things I think they would have been made illegal by now. Each car has passed numerous MOT'S with them fitted, so the tester was clearly happy with them.,
As for the dampers because that's what they are, they do not "absorb" any shock they damp out spring oscillation. They function over the entire movement range from an inch to the total range.
If there was an "issue" with such things I think they would have been made illegal by now. Each car has passed numerous MOT'S with them fitted, so the tester was clearly happy with them.,
As for the dampers because that's what they are, they do not "absorb" any shock they damp out spring oscillation. They function over the entire movement range from an inch to the total range.
Clearly. But what I meant is that I believe some manufacturers aim to get their drivability sweet spot at ‘normal loadings’.
John
I agree, but I think you are referring to donuts as opposed to progressive or updated springs which are far superior. (And more expensive). But I used the donuts many years ago and found them fine.
John
When my Forester had a rear spring failure I fitted Pedders (Australian) replacement coil over springs. These are custom designed springs encircling shock absorbers. They were different from the OEM fitting as the Pedders had progressive springs able to take full vehicle loading and shock absorbers whose only function was to damp movement. The OEM arrangement shared the vehicle load between the springs and shock absorbers. As the latter had a hydraulic pump function that took part of the load and self levelled the car. So effectively by fitting Pedders units I sacrificed the self levelling function. It didn’t cause any issues as the springs were superior to OEM ones, and tge HID headlights still took their self levelling inputs from transducers on the rear suspension arms. My gen 1 Sorento had a similar self levelling system by Sachs, but that stood the test of time and caravans.
Reading this it seems air suspension has its advantages. I never felt the need to fit additional springs to any of my previous vehicles which never had air suspension, but MAD springs do have advantages.
I had a Discovery 2 with supplementary air suspension which along with repeated cylinder head issues led me to say to my wife as I left fir Melbourne “ get rid of that heap of ****”. Bought a generation 1 Kia Sorento and didn’t look back. 😃
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