Eibach Springs - how to improve the ride

rsbspt · 22-07-2005, 08:47

OK, here's a tip for anyone thinking of fitting Eibach springs. But first a bit of background...

I've had Eibachs on my Furby vRS for over a year, initially with standard dampers and later with Koni adjustables. From day one I was delighted with the improvement to the pitch, dive and roll, but less than impressed with the effect on ride which, at high speed on poorly surfaced M/ways I would best describe as 'jarring'.

When others who'd fitted Eibachs reported on Briskoda that they found the ride as good, if not better than standard, I began to wonder if my springs were faulty. So I made arrangements to take them to Eibach UK to be compression tested. They were found to be within spec. Eibach's design and test engineer agreed to road test the car over a public road test route he uses for setting up the suspension on cars as varied as Prodrive WRC Subarus and Tony Blair's 3.5 tonne armour-plated Jaguar! He concluded the poor ride was either due to a damping problem or the need for more progressive bump stops.

His mention of bump stops got me thinking about the effect of lowering springs on the standard bump stops. He said that some cars are designed to have the bump stops in constant contact between dampers and body mounts (Rover 75 and Golf Mk5 for example). But when I examined the Furby, it was clear the stops are only there to act as a buffer when the springs are in maximum compression.

Fitting Eibachs lowers the ride height by 25mm and this reduces the amount of free movement in the suspension before hitting the bump stops to about 0.5" at the rear and virtually nil at the front. In other words, the suspension is constantly bumping against the stops. Could this be the cause of the jarring ride?

I decided to shorten the bump stops to restore the amount of free suspension travel to standard. The rear stops are quite long (110mm) so I shortened these by 30mm. The front stops are rather shorter (55mm) so these were reduced by 20mm. To allow the re-fitting of the damper dust covers at the rear, I decided not to chop all the length off one end but to take a section out of the middle of the stop, re-joining the two ends together with Araldite Rapid.

And the result? Eureka! Problem solved. OK, the ride is still firm - Eibachs are 25% stiffer than standard after all. But the ride is so much more compliant (smoother) and the jarring at high speed has completely gone.

So my advice if you're fitting Eibachs is:

1) Well beforehand, order a new set of bump stops - part Nos:

Front 6Q0412301A - £4.95 each + VAT
Rear 6Q0512131B - £7.24 each + VAT

2) Cut and, in the case of the rears, re-join as suggested above.

3) When the suspension is dismantled to fit your Eibachs, fit the new bump stops at the same time.

4) Enjoy!

Hope this is useful.

eatsoot04 · 22-07-2005, 09:09

Thats brilliant thankyou very much.

Could someone please explain "bump Stops" though or post a piccy of where i should look?

Alex

rsbspt · 22-07-2005, 09:14

Quote:

Originally Posted by eatsoot04

Thats brilliant thankyou very much.

Could someone please explain "bump Stops" though or post a piccy of where i should look?

Alex

There's a pic of a rear bump stop in this thread:

http://www.briskoda.net/forums/showt...ghlight=Eibach

see the section on Rear Springs and Dampers Step 1.

Goodas · 22-07-2005, 10:30

Thanks for posting that, very useful information

I am having my springs fitted tommorow by JBS, i just checked with them and they are shortening the bump stops.

faboka vrs · 22-07-2005, 11:19

Hmm sounds interesting.

for the research.

HellFire · 22-07-2005, 11:31

Mine is fine

but a good tip for anyone who is having the above problem.

Goodas · 22-07-2005, 11:38

Quote:

Originally Posted by HellFire

Mine is fine

but a good tip for anyone who is having the above problem.

Didnt you get yours fitted at JBS?

I think they would have shortened your bump stops for you then

HellFire · 22-07-2005, 11:42

Yes I did

. If they have done that already that's brilliant, didn't know they knew about this issue already

eatsoot04 · 22-07-2005, 11:50

So the bump stop is inside the damper?

rsbspt · 22-07-2005, 11:55

Quote:

Originally Posted by eatsoot04

So the bump stop is inside the damper?

No. It sits between the top of the damper body and the mounting point for the damper (or strut) on the car.

***Neo_VR*** · 22-07-2005, 12:01

Would this affect all suspension setups.. ie would coilovers have the same problem?

ScoobyChris · 22-07-2005, 12:27

Wonder if the Elegance Fabia is different then as the ride quality on mine hardly changed at all when I had my Eibachs fitted. My mate did them and I'm pretty sure he didn't monkey about with the bumpstops!

Chris

**VRStu** · 22-07-2005, 12:32

Some good advice there mate. In my days of messing with the Saxo etc it wasn't uncommon to shorten the Bump Stops for exactly that reason.

With lowering shocks you normally have a shorter shaft and therefore less travel so proportionately the Bump Stop should be shorter.

Powerflex do some nice Polyurethane Bump stops

faboka vrs · 22-07-2005, 14:00

Quote:

Originally Posted by Neo_VR

Would this affect all suspension setups.. ie would coilovers have the same problem?

I would have thought you'd get new bump stops with coilovers. Could be wrong.

***Neo_VR*** · 22-07-2005, 17:10

Quote:

Originally Posted by faboka vrs

I would have thought you'd get new bump stops with coilovers. Could be wrong.

Im just thinking to myself.. if i was going to do this.. and taking the suspension off, i might as well put coilovers back on.. oh and poly bushes

Neo_VR - victim of "the slippery slope"

**VRStu** · 22-07-2005, 17:58

Powerflex

http://www.powerflex.co.uk/bumpstop.asp

faboka vrs · 24-07-2005, 12:13

Quote:

Originally Posted by Neo_VR

Im just thinking to myself.. if i was going to do this.. and taking the suspension off, i might as well put coilovers back on.. oh and poly bushes

Neo_VR - victim of "the slippery slope"

could know someone who'll take your springs off your hand

FabiaTDi · 24-07-2005, 15:43

Quote:

Originally Posted by rsbspt

OK, here's a tip for anyone thinking of fitting Eibach springs. But first a bit of background...

I've had Eibachs on my Furby vRS for over a year, initially with standard dampers and later with Koni adjustables. From day one I was delighted with the improvement to the pitch, dive and roll, but less than impressed with the effect on ride which, at high speed on poorly surfaced M/ways I would best describe as 'jarring'.

When others who'd fitted Eibachs reported on Briskoda that they found the ride as good, if not better than standard, I began to wonder if my springs were faulty. So I made arrangements to take them to Eibach UK to be compression tested. They were found to be within spec. Eibach's design and test engineer agreed to road test the car over a public road test route he uses for setting up the suspension on cars as varied as Prodrive WRC Subarus and Tony Blair's 3.5 tonne armour-plated Jaguar! He concluded the poor ride was either due to a damping problem or the need for more progressive bump stops.

His mention of bump stops got me thinking about the effect of lowering springs on the standard bump stops. He said that some cars are designed to have the bump stops in constant contact between dampers and body mounts (Rover 75 and Golf Mk5 for example). But when I examined the Furby, it was clear the stops are only there to act as a buffer when the springs are in maximum compression.

Fitting Eibachs lowers the ride height by 25mm and this reduces the amount of free movement in the suspension before hitting the bump stops to about 0.5" at the rear and virtually nil at the front. In other words, the suspension is constantly bumping against the stops. Could this be the cause of the jarring ride?

I decided to shorten the bump stops to restore the amount of free suspension travel to standard. The rear stops are quite long (550mm) so I shortened these by 30mm. The front stops are rather shorter (110mm) so these were reduced by 20mm. To allow the re-fitting of the damper dust covers at the rear, I decided not to chop all the length off one end but to take a section out of the middle of the stop, re-joining the two ends together with Araldite Rapid.

And the result? Eureka! Problem solved. OK, the ride is still firm - Eibachs are 25% stiffer than standard after all. But the ride is so much more compliant (smoother) and the jarring at high speed has completely gone.

So my advice if you're fitting Eibachs is:

1) Well beforehand, order a new set of bump stops - part Nos:

Front 6Q0412301A - £4.95 each + VAT
Rear 6Q0512131B - £7.24 each + VAT

2) Cut and, in the case of the rears, re-join as suggested above.

3) When the suspension is dismantled to fit your Eibachs, fit the new bump stops at the same time.

4) Enjoy!

Hope this is useful.

I did exactly this on my last fabia (fitted with Koni adjustables and Eibach springs)

Was a pain before on faster roads and motorways with dips - car much better after trimming them.

It does improve the ride quality, although it is still firmer than standard.

I trimmed the rears and the fronts. It makes an improvement and reduces the bounciness and allows the springs to work without the bumpstops interfering..

You can actually do this mod without removing the dampers, if you are really determined...

Mike Austin · 25-07-2005, 00:31

Quote:

Originally Posted by ScoobyChris

Wonder if the Elegance Fabia is different then as the ride quality on mine hardly changed at all when I had my Eibachs fitted.

Was this the 2.0 Elegance? I would like to drop mine a bit (while retaining the ride quality) so the spring rate you chose would suit me if the engine block is the same weight. What was the part number of the Eibachs, and how far did the suspension drop? Did you change the dampers as well?

Mil · 25-07-2005, 06:24

Dude, you will not be able to retain the same ride quality with lower springs. Bumps will be harsher, you'll have moved out of the comfort zone.

I don't know what coilovers would do for you, but I do know they help since they have adjustable dampers, so you can set it so that maximum shock absorption happens at the right time...

22-07-2005, 08:47	#1
rsbspt Briskodian Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: South East England Posts: 555 Thanks: 5 Thanked 15 Times in 14 Posts	Eibach Springs - how to improve the ride OK, here's a tip for anyone thinking of fitting Eibach springs. But first a bit of background... I've had Eibachs on my Furby vRS for over a year, initially with standard dampers and later with Koni adjustables. From day one I was delighted with the improvement to the pitch, dive and roll, but less than impressed with the effect on ride which, at high speed on poorly surfaced M/ways I would best describe as 'jarring'. When others who'd fitted Eibachs reported on Briskoda that they found the ride as good, if not better than standard, I began to wonder if my springs were faulty. So I made arrangements to take them to Eibach UK to be compression tested. They were found to be within spec. Eibach's design and test engineer agreed to road test the car over a public road test route he uses for setting up the suspension on cars as varied as Prodrive WRC Subarus and Tony Blair's 3.5 tonne armour-plated Jaguar! He concluded the poor ride was either due to a damping problem or the need for more progressive bump stops. His mention of bump stops got me thinking about the effect of lowering springs on the standard bump stops. He said that some cars are designed to have the bump stops in constant contact between dampers and body mounts (Rover 75 and Golf Mk5 for example). But when I examined the Furby, it was clear the stops are only there to act as a buffer when the springs are in maximum compression. Fitting Eibachs lowers the ride height by 25mm and this reduces the amount of free movement in the suspension before hitting the bump stops to about 0.5" at the rear and virtually nil at the front. In other words, the suspension is constantly bumping against the stops. Could this be the cause of the jarring ride? I decided to shorten the bump stops to restore the amount of free suspension travel to standard. The rear stops are quite long (110mm) so I shortened these by 30mm. The front stops are rather shorter (55mm) so these were reduced by 20mm. To allow the re-fitting of the damper dust covers at the rear, I decided not to chop all the length off one end but to take a section out of the middle of the stop, re-joining the two ends together with Araldite Rapid. And the result? Eureka! Problem solved. OK, the ride is still firm - Eibachs are 25% stiffer than standard after all. But the ride is so much more compliant (smoother) and the jarring at high speed has completely gone. So my advice if you're fitting Eibachs is: 1) Well beforehand, order a new set of bump stops - part Nos: Front 6Q0412301A - £4.95 each + VAT Rear 6Q0512131B - £7.24 each + VAT 2) Cut and, in the case of the rears, re-join as suggested above. 3) When the suspension is dismantled to fit your Eibachs, fit the new bump stops at the same time. 4) Enjoy! Hope this is useful. __________________ Phil Thomas Then: Red Fabia vRS: Not quite standard. Now: White Octavia vRS: Eibachs/FSDs - Milotec B pillars - Neuspeed shifter (thanx Stu!). Last edited by rsbspt; 02-06-2006 at 12:36.

22-07-2005, 09:09	#2
eatsoot04 Briskodian Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: nr Manchester Posts: 835 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Thats brilliant thankyou very much. Could someone please explain "bump Stops" though or post a piccy of where i should look? Alex __________________ Alex Revo Chilly Alpine ICE Cupra Intake Green Cotton Filter RS6 wheels 184 BHP

22-07-2005, 10:30	#4
Goodas Briskodian Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: North West UK Posts: 727 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Thanks for posting that, very useful information I am having my springs fitted tommorow by JBS, i just checked with them and they are shortening the bump stops. __________________ Corrida Red Fabia Vrs...now sold...new car...Blue Fiesta ST150

22-07-2005, 11:19	#5
faboka vrs Briskodian Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Merseyside Posts: 5,948 Thanks: 11 Thanked 35 Times in 35 Posts	Hmm sounds interesting. for the research. __________________ John Take away the poor damping, inadequate bushes, heavy diesel lump and spongy brakes its not a bad warm hatch

22-07-2005, 11:31	#6
HellFire Briskodian Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Leeds, West Yorkshire Posts: 3,174 Thanks: 0 Thanked 3 Times in 2 Posts	Mine is fine but a good tip for anyone who is having the above problem. __________________ Metro Blue '06' 5 Door Astra 1.8 SRi

22-07-2005, 11:42	#8
HellFire Briskodian Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Leeds, West Yorkshire Posts: 3,174 Thanks: 0 Thanked 3 Times in 2 Posts	Yes I did . If they have done that already that's brilliant, didn't know they knew about this issue already __________________ Metro Blue '06' 5 Door Astra 1.8 SRi

22-07-2005, 11:50	#9
eatsoot04 Briskodian Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: nr Manchester Posts: 835 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	So the bump stop is inside the damper? __________________ Alex Revo Chilly Alpine ICE Cupra Intake Green Cotton Filter RS6 wheels 184 BHP

22-07-2005, 12:01	#11
*Neo_VR* UberMod™ Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Manchester Posts: 12,083 Thanks: 66 Thanked 162 Times in 113 Posts	Would this affect all suspension setups.. ie would coilovers have the same problem? __________________ ColGod the UberMod VXR, Gti, ST, Type-R, vRS, Cupra, Shifty... An MPS fears not these things...

22-07-2005, 12:27	#12
ScoobyChris Briskodian Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Andover Posts: 18,123 Thanks: 15 Thanked 327 Times in 285 Posts	Wonder if the Elegance Fabia is different then as the ride quality on mine hardly changed at all when I had my Eibachs fitted. My mate did them and I'm pretty sure he didn't monkey about with the bumpstops! Chris __________________ Holding up the traffic in a little Italian..........

22-07-2005, 12:32	#13
VRStu Briskoda Staff Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Hampshire Posts: 20,435 Thanks: 114 Thanked 925 Times in 830 Posts	Some good advice there mate. In my days of messing with the Saxo etc it wasn't uncommon to shorten the Bump Stops for exactly that reason. With lowering shocks you normally have a shorter shaft and therefore less travel so proportionately the Bump Stop should be shorter. Powerflex do some nice Polyurethane Bump stops __________________ Stu - Freedom Pimp Stu's Websites - http://www.fabia-vrs.com & http://www.octavia-vrs.com Stu's Car - Hmm, Have a guess...... SWMBO's Car - 2008 Seat LEON TDi Stylance, Black Magic, Sports Pack, Rear Parking Sensors. Something for Weekend - A Patio

22-07-2005, 17:58	#16
VRStu Briskoda Staff Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Hampshire Posts: 20,435 Thanks: 114 Thanked 925 Times in 830 Posts	Powerflex http://www.powerflex.co.uk/bumpstop.asp __________________ Stu - Freedom Pimp Stu's Websites - http://www.fabia-vrs.com & http://www.octavia-vrs.com Stu's Car - Hmm, Have a guess...... SWMBO's Car - 2008 Seat LEON TDi Stylance, Black Magic, Sports Pack, Rear Parking Sensors. Something for Weekend - A Patio

25-07-2005, 06:24	#20
Mil Briskodian Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: United Arab Emirates Posts: 3,801 Thanks: 0 Thanked 5 Times in 5 Posts	Dude, you will not be able to retain the same ride quality with lower springs. Bumps will be harsher, you'll have moved out of the comfort zone. I don't know what coilovers would do for you, but I do know they help since they have adjustable dampers, so you can set it so that maximum shock absorption happens at the right time... __________________ Milton Kyvernitis Private Government

Thread Tools
Show Printable Version Email this Page
Display Modes
Linear Mode Switch to Hybrid Mode Switch to Threaded Mode