Springs and shocks are coming off and Collies are going on at the weekend. Just wondered if any of you maintain them and what you actually do because i would like to keep them in good condition and have no problems. Any advice would be great!

Thanks

David

Edited 19 December, 200718 yr by vdubdav

just give them a good wash quite regular and move the rings now and again so they dont sieze maybe copper slip on the thread? I'm thinking of getting coilover socks but I'm not sure if they are any good?

copper slip will just make more crap stick to them. i just WD40 mine down everytime i wash the car

I just use WD40 to keep them nice and free though to be honest the best thing to do to maintain them is not to buy cheap ones and to invest in good quality coilovers.

I bought Phil J ones a year ago off here and am now having to replace them already as one of the front ones has slow damping and both front ones have uneven amounts of thread (common problem I believe!)

Bec

I assume that means you could make one corner lower than another or is the pitch of the thread wrong making it harder to get the same height on eac corner? Am i even making any sense?

I just use WD40 to keep them nice and free though to be honest the best thing to do to maintain them is not to buy cheap ones and to invest in good quality coilovers.

I bought Phil J ones a year ago off here and am now having to replace them already as one of the front ones has slow damping and both front ones have uneven amounts of thread (common problem I believe!)

Bec

I've always been a believer of you get what you pay for.

Bec

I've always been a believer of you get what you pay for.

Yeah i was gonna do it on the cheap but posted a topic similar to this and was told to save up a bit longer so i did and got silverline FK's for my 9N. Apparently DO NOT GET THE ZINC PLATED as it only ends in tears a few months down the line... when you can't unwind them anymore cos they've seized up and corroded! Save up do it properly and hopefully enjoy the ride!!! Haha if thats possible on coilies!!!

or just look after your coilovers properly. mine are mild steel and fully open to the conditions yet they aren't seized.

i covered the threads of my fk's in grease..... been running them for getting on 30k and they still adjust up and down perfectly.... with covering them in grease the shit does stick to it but nothing gets into the threads so they stay perfect so adjusting is no problem....

I bought Phil J ones a year ago off here and am now having to replace them already as one of the front ones has slow damping and both front ones have uneven amounts of thread (common problem I believe!)

so phil j ones are not good quality. i was gonna purchase some in the new year :(

mine are seized as a bitch but that's because i was not maintaining them!

to be honest it i set on its lowest setting and it wont be going higher so seized they will remain :p

I bought Phil J ones a year ago off here and am now having to replace them already as one of the front ones has slow damping and both front ones have uneven amounts of thread (common problem I believe!)

so phil j ones are not good quality. i was gonna purchase some in the new year :(

I don't believe its a case of they are bad quality. Its just if they can be made, sold to a supplier who put there cut on and sold again and still be around £200 then you can't expect top of the line stuff. You have to expect the life of the parts to be less and the quality to be lower than the other brands.

Its all a case of you get what you pay for as I said before.

so anyone else had any problems with the 200 pound phil j collies ??

so anyone else had any problems with the 200 pound phil j collies ??

i have a set on my golf, and the only problem i have is phils gangster attitude..

Me and a mate (who has his own aftermarket vw parts company who has been running it successfully now for 10 years) were talking about these coilovers the other week. He gets offered them all the time and sold a batch once only for all of them to come back after serious complaints of them seizing up, not having the same amount of threads on the adjustment, going soft etc etc. We worked it out he was selling them at £200 he was getting the kits from a wholesaler for £80 who was making money on the price that they paid so it worked out in the end that they only cost like £8 a corner to make. Would you want to fit £8 suspension to your car?! Its just a question you have to ask yourself.

Stay classy

Rob

Copper Slip, a hose down/degrease every now and again and a regreasing.

Ooo k, coilies obviously budget kit, the Shock/Spring lowering kits...any feedback on them?? Gonna be upgrading my dub this time next year so want a year/year & half hammering possible.

Is this the same however much you pay cos i've got some FK silverlines going on next week and just wondered if they still need quite a lot of maintaining?

its like any other mechanical part on a car they do need maintaining as they are exposed to the elements. The point i made in the earlier post was about the coilovers breaking due to being chea[p not due to bad maintenance.

Rob

With more expensive coilover kits from brands like FK, you can expect a much better product overall imho. A mate has FK Konigsports on a mk5, and they ride hard and stiff, but never crashy. The ride is very supple and although it handles much better than a friends decent spring/shock setup, it also feels much more comfortable to be in. But then they cost around £500 once you factor in delivery and VAT.

However i think you're better off splashing out a fair bit more in the first place, rather than spending circa £200 and then spending twice that a year later replacing them with the kit you should have bought in the first place.

@1.6 Beastie: I have no personal experience, but i know of 2 people who had a spring/shock kit from jackson tuning, both of whom had to replace the kit as it was shagged after a year. I'm sure he's a decent guy, but i would much rather buy kit that i know will be of a high quality. Its worth waiting and saving the extra if need be, rather than buying twice.

Edited 30 December, 200718 yr by skatty_01

On a brighter note.... I have PhilJ kit on my Mk2 and its perfect. I'm changing them now but only because I need stiffer springs and want coilovers :)

am i missing something? don't the phil J kit's have 2 year's warranty? obviously seizing can't be claimed on but a fooked shock I would expect to be replaced

i covered the threads of my fk's in grease..... been running them for getting on 30k and they still adjust up and down perfectly.... with covering them in grease the shit does stick to it but nothing gets into the threads so they stay perfect so adjusting is no problem....

Copper Slip, a hose down/degrease every now and again and a regreasing.

this is what iw ill be doing copper slipping them up and buying some coilover socks from deamon tweeks to cover them up all together and every winter take the covers off and give them a full clean