I’ve just fitted a set of Gaz coilovers, the adjustable-height, zinc-plated ones from Absolutely Shocks but not the Gold Pros. Spring rates are the usual 350lb/in front, 250 rear. I’ve searched on here for suitable settings to achieve a reasonably supple ride along with sharp handling and no wheel patter over corrugations but have had little success. The Gaz FAQ topic suggests 28 clicks on the back which is ludicrously firm; it took 200 yards to discover it was completely wrong. Wheels in Motion have suggested 12 to 15 clicks front, 14 to 18 rear, but these settings also seem excessively jittery over bumps. The ride height is 325mm arch lip-to-wheel centre front and rear, and I’ve not been aware of any bump-stop contact.
A friend has the same kit on his similar Mk1 1.6, fitted a year or two ago, and it was after driving his taut but supple car that I decided to fit the same kit. Unfortunately he can’t remember the settings his garage used, and he lives some distance away so I can’t just crawl underneath his car and count the clicks. Nor do I want to ask him to grovel under his car for my benefit. At the moment I can’t seem to find the damper settings’ sweet spot, so can anyone tell me what they have used and what they think of the result?
I have the Gaz Gold Pros on mine and had the same question.
There is a long discussion about them on this thread. The best description of the settings is here. I found mine were on 5 clicks front and 7 rear when I started, and this was underdamped, too soft and bouncy. I now have them at 7 front and 9 rear which is much better, still confortable but more controlled. I am sure they could go stiffer without getting too jittery.
I don’t know if yours have the same number of clicks on the adjusters.
Thanks for your reply. The GGPs seem to require fewer clicks to achieve what I assume is broadly the same result, judging by the Wheels in Motion recommendation of 7 front, 9 rear given on the thread you mentioned and which you adopted. That thread, incidentally, was started by CJ aka ir_427 who sold his car to the brother of the owner of the Gaz-equipped car I tried. Small world.
So if WIM are aiming to achieve a particular blend of ride and handling, I guess their 12-15 front, 14-18 rear suggestion for my damper type will give a similar result. Currently my car is 10F, 12R so I shall go up a few more clicks beyond the 12/14 I’ve already tried and see what happens. Maybe something curious happens with wheel-bounce frequencies that means a stiffer damper doesn’t automatically mean a stiffer ride.
AFAIK, the internals of the GG and GGP are the same, but the ‘click’ system is reduced from 8 clicks per 360 degrees to 4 clicks. So, your 7F/9R on GGP is 14F and 18R on GG.
Phil, it does help, thanks. After considerable experimentation current settings are 13F, 15R and seem so far to be about right, but that may change. Meanwhile there’s also your frame rail reinforcement kit to think about - I think my car would benefit from it quite a lot.
I see this is a really old post now but I’m also about to fit GAZ classic coilovers so some indication of whether 13f / 15r clicks is still considered about right would be useful to ascertain a good starting point. Also, is it advisable to use protective boots with these shocks?