UK Vauxhall Astra Coupe 2.2 ? Need info on rear sway bar.

[JasonM]

I live in UK and have an Astra Coupe 2.2, I believe the closed car to you is the Holden Astra Convertible. My car is this but with the solid roof.

I?m a member on www.astra-sport.co.uk and we have a few Austrian members who mentioned WhiteLine on the forum.

Currently I?m running ?30mm Eibach pro kit springs, and Koni sports dampers, the rest of the car is standard. This car does not come supplied with a rear sway bar, and I feel there is still a lot of roll at the rear. The turn-in on the car is good, but I feel the rear roll is contributing to understeer.

I?m looking for information about your rear sway bar?s, with the possibility of ordering directly from you. Also if you have any other information/ways of improving the handling on this car I would be grateful to hear them.

Many Thanks
JasonM

[Wojtek]

Hi Jason,
Thank you for your interest.

The rear suspension on Astra TS 99-04 uses a torsion beam axle design, which in itself provides for some roll resistance. However, as with almost all cars, factory engineers have tuned the suspension for understeer handling behaviour. This can be improved with a Whiteline rear full kit additional sway bar;
BHR78 - 22mm non-adjustable
BHR78Z - 22mm adjustable

Also recommend a front camber adjusting kit;
KCA412 - front camber kit, +/- 1.5 degree adjustment range
to allow for appropriate wheel alignment settings.

If you can provide some more information on your springs;
spring rates - front/rear
ride height - front/rear (centre of wheel to guard)
Whiteline Control springs (soon to be released) may offer further handling improvement for you.

Regards,
Wojtek.

[JasonM]

Thanks for your reply.

I?ve not had time tonight to measure the distance from the wheels, I will do and post again, however according to Eibach the springs lower 30mm front 35mm rear. Again I don?t know the poundage of them.

When I fitted the springs the steering went lighter at the front, I suspect because the rear is now 5mm lower. To counter rear body roll I have set the rear koni?s to 1.5/2 turns, then to balance the car set the front dampers full. I know I should not use dampers to combat body roll, but there is no skipping on bumpy roads so I kept them at this setting. Incidentally I?m running the standard 205/50/16 tyres.

Balance is ?ok?, however I find with a light fuel tank the rear of the car rolls more, causing understeer when pulling out of sharp corners. To be honest the car is not as connected as it should be.

Regarding camber. Currently I have the geometry set to factory standard by my Vauxhall dealer. I?m told this is correct but don?t know for sure. If this is not correct what camber settings should I be running, I would be very interested in a camber kit if my camber is wrong. As a side note I use to drive a modified Vectra A (Vauxhall Cavalier Mk3), this has more negative camber then my Astra, and I felt the car had more front grip.

Regarding rear sway bar, I?m very interested in this. How easy is the bar to fit, does the rear chassis have to modified, or does it fit around/onto what?s already there. Could you please give me a price for adjustable, and non-adjustable bars? Is there a WhiteLine distributor in the UK, or should I order direct from yourselves.

Many thanks for your help and information.

JasonM

[Wojtek]

Hi Jason,

Thanks for your reply.
I'm very interested to know more about your springs.
As for the shocks, I'll suggest that you have them set much too stiff. Having Koni Sports set to the stiffest, or near to, and using street spec springs, would normally cause jacking down. When driving over bumps, and the rebound valving is too stiff, the suspension takes too long to return to its normal ride height, and after a few bumps the car will start to lower itself. Alternatively, your suspension may be too stiff or too low which in effect will be too stiff (sitting on the bump stops). It just doesn't seem right that you would need so much rebound. During testing of our prototype Whiteline Control springs, we have used up to 1 turn (approx half adjustment).
For street use, we would recommend around 1.0 > 1.25 degree of front camber, sports setting of around 1.5 degree and race 1.5<.
Rear sway bar is relatively easy to install. 2 holes need to be enlarged, no other mods and otherwise it is a straight forward fitment. Instructions are included.
You can check pricing in our online web store, by simply typing in the part numbers you require. We do have UK distributors, please refer our web site. Please note, this is a technical forum and we do not discuss pricing or other sales related questions. Alternatively, you are welcome to email our sales team.

Regards,
Wojtek.

[JasonM]

Wojtek,

The springs are Eibach Pro springs. I?ll email Eibach and ask about the poundage of them, also this weekend I?ll measure from the centre of wheel-to-wheel arch, and post the height. I don?t know if you know but in UK there was a limited production run Astra Coupe Turbo 888. These had Eibach springs and dampers, and far as I can tell my car sits identical to this car.

Regarding jacking I was already aware of this, once on the move the front of the car would sit lower than at stationary. I?ve not had the suspension that long, I think at first I set the balance up on a roundabout, but roundabouts are not the real world. Anyway tonight I set the front dampers 1 turn only, and the car felt as if the suspension was working better, with no jacking down. This weekend I?ll probably set the rears at 1 turn also, and then tweak the front dampers to match.

Thanks for your information on camber kits. I?m fairly sure I?m running the factory setting of 1 degree. If I had the kit and increased camber, what sort of real road gain would I expect.

Regarding sway bar, would you recommend the adjustable type or the standard one? I found a UK supplier, but they are known to be very expensive. Dependent on carriage it might be best to order via your on-line store.

Thanks
JasonM

[Wojtek]

Hi Jason,
Our AUS spec Astra TS SRi turbo is also factory lowered by approximately 20-25mm from base models.
Good to hear that your shocks are working better now.
If you currently have -1.0 degree front camber, then that's fine. You can try a little more for increased front turn-in, grip and reduced understeer.
Adjustable sway bars allow for suspension tuning to maximise performance and personnal driving style, so they are always recommended.

Regards,
Wojtek.

[JasonM]

Wojek, thanks again for all your help. I'll order an adjustable sway-bar from you; I?ll email your sales team regarding cost.

Is the front camber kit easy to fit, am I correct these are simply adjustable bolts that replace the existing bolts. If so I?ll order these also.

Thanks
Jason

[Wojtek]

Hi Jason,
Yes, front camber kit is relatively easy to fit, however we recommend that as for all suspension parts and especially alignment products to be fitted by a mechanic/workshop. Fitting instruction are included.

Products available now;
- Control springs
- adjustable sports shocks
- front camber kit
- rear sway bars

Currently in development for Astra TS are;
- front strut brace
- front and rear bushes
- Group'4 kit
- rear camber/toe kit

Regards,
Wojtek.

[JasonM]

Wojtek,

I received the sway bar and camber kit a couple of days ago. The problem is the box was very damaged. I have the bar, bag of bits for bar, and the bag with camber bolts. The problem is I don't have any fitting instructions. I presume they were inside the box, but have been lost.

Could you email me, or post up a link for the fitting instructions.

Many Thanks
Jason

[JasonM]

Update on this.

I found a fitting guide on whiteline site for an Astra SRi Turbo. Problem, i've checked the parts and I have some missing. It lists 6 bolts, I only have 4. Also the brackets that fit under the damper plates, I don't have. Were these in a seperate bag, like I say the box was split open.

Anyway i've taken a picture of the bits I have so you can see.

http://www.boomer.plus.com/pictures/swaybar2.jpg

What happens now? Can you resend these.

Thanks
Jason

[Wojtek]

Hi Jason,
That's not good. Looks like you're missing some parts, which may have been lost in freight.
Please call or email us direct, with the exact part number and invoice number, and we will go from there.

Wojtek.

[Wojtek]

Hi Jason,

You've got mail.
Wojtek.

[JasonM]

Email replied to.

Thanks
Jason

[JasonM]

Hi Wojtek

Did you receive the last email I sent yesterday with car details and pictures?

Thanks
Jason

[Wojtek]

Hi Jason,

I've got your email, and have replied.

thanks,
Wojtek.