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Lowered Mk1 Cavalier Questions


Daveyboy20
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Thought I'd make a new thread so as not to get confusing as there are a few issues here!

To cut to the chase, I bought a Cavalier that had been slammed by a previous owner:

7jsp.jpg

It had no travel in the front suspension whatsoever and was so nasty to drive you wouldn't have believed it... I thought it had a tiny 1/8 of an inch of travel or so but I can now only assume it was riding on the stops because.....

I fitted Mini rear shocks to the front and halved the metal cones and it now sits here on the left side:

a5k7.jpg

The right side is low but not this low. I think a spring must be damaged or collapsed slightly? Suffice to say, the ride is now wonderful and i don't clench over every tiny bump or grid - but the clearance is a joke, I struggle to get over the raised PAINTED lines going into the tunnel. To name just one of the ridiculous moments in my 50 mile daily commute!!

I don't want to raise it to standard as I do like a low car but even for me, this is a little extreme! Do any Cavalier lowering springs achieve the height in the first picture? Or will I need to buy standard Cavalier springs and remove some of the coils? Thanks in advance :)

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Could be two very easy ways of doing this, 1, have some metal shims made up (or make them yourself) so they fit on the cone under the rubber spring platform, so to lengthen the spring as such then you can raise, lower to your liking. 2, buy some gte or 1.8 manta springs (gte hard ride, 1.8 softer ride) then cut them down to fit, best would be to give gaz, bilstien ect an email to get a proper set up.

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Looking at my second picture, would you say the 60mm lowering springs up front would match the height of the back? Or would the front be 'up in the air' in comparison? Also, would the 60s work in conjunction with the shorter shocks? Thanks for the replies fellas

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  • 1 month later...

I think they are the same brand a customer bought for his gt/e to lower 40mm and when fitted they lifted the car 2" :wacko:

Quality was ok just they didn't do the ride height as advertised.

Didn't help they listed the same spring set for all Manta B's even though the original ride height differences from an early B1.6/ 1.9 to a late exclusive is more than 40mm anyway!

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Hmm. ..If they raiser a Manta I'm guessing they should be slightly more accurate on a cav? I'm tired I can't work out if what I just said makes any sense whatsoever!

My cav has standard rear dampers as far as I know, and gmax mini rears on the front matey

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Hmm. ..If they raiser a Manta I'm guessing they should be slightly more accurate on a cav? I'm tired I can't work out if what I just said makes any sense whatsoever!

My cav has standard rear dampers as far as I know, and gmax mini rears on the front matey

Swweet does the rear feel really stiff over speedbumps?

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My car is far too low and I definitely wouldn't recommend lowering your cav as much as mine is as I simply can't go any where without scraping the chassis, cross member and exhaust. The tyres hit the outer and arch and the inner arch on numerous occasions on any drive. That's why I've just bought cavalier -55mm lowering springs to raise it to slightly more sensible levels. Currently, with standard rear socks, shorter Mini gmax front socks and chopped manta springs the ride is bearable (with standard shocks and bumpstops it was simply horrendous) but if I'm honest I'm looking forward to some comfort! As far as speed bumps go, there isn't one that I know of in the whole of Merseyside that I can get over by simply driving and not dragging! Once it's raised I have some serious stone chip to reapply! I'll update my thread once I raise it and you can see what the eBay -55mm spring kit looks like and if it fits properly! I'll be doing it in 2 weeks time (easter hols).

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  • 2 weeks later...

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