Lifting a third gen

[leadfoot6]

The ride BEFORE installing Sachs shocks @170,000km was what I would describe as "comfortable".

Slightly under controlled, but comfortable nonetheless.

That was on the original standard height/rate springs still running standard size 16" factory wheels and reasonably grippy Bridgestone Potenza 003 216/60/16 tyres.

The ride AFTER installing lowered Dobinson VRX style f&r springs, new front lower control arms, new Mackay strut top mounts and Sachs shocks f&r was not much less comfortable, except that the front gets "caught out" sometimes by short sharp bumps like when a partial section of road has been resurfaced.

The front end "bottoms out" momentarily due to the abrupt change in road surface.

This is because:

1: the springs are lower, so the ride height/suspension travel is reduced compared to factory standard ride height;

2: the Sachs shocks are not valved correctly(IMO) to work with the lowered springs;
and
3:I am running on 215/55/17 Michelin Pilot Sport 4 tyres, which are slightly lower in profile than what I had before, thus decreasing the amount of the depth of tire sidewall compared with the factory 16" wheels - ergo, slightly increasing the effective spring rate.

Once again, IMO, Sachs shocks would be fine for a Magna with standard height/rate springs, but I am doubtful as to their suitability for a car with lowered suspension IN SOME CIRCUMSTANCES.

In addition, I run higher tyre pressures than many would - 38/36 f/r, which makes the ride slightly firmer.

The ride, in most circumstances on average roads is acceptable, but I probably could have got that from Monroe shocks.

The handling, on the other hand, is getting to the point of what I would call "adequate" or "acceptable" rather than "brilliant".

(Acceptable, but falling short of, yardsticks such as luminaries like MY 1999 models of even standard Imprezza WRX's - but, I suspect, these felt to be very lightly built cars so I suspect that they would not age well, and probably would not have the seemingly bulletproof drivelines of the Mitsubishi rally warriors of which the Magna AWD is related to)

No matter how much is spent on a car that is approaching 1700kg, it is difficult to overcome the physics involved in carrying that much weight.

The driver is not helping in this aspect either, with much exercise and dieting needed.

I am not a great fan of Sachs shocks.

There is the small possibility, however, that the set that I got was defective, but I have no way of proving that, short of having them removed from the car/strut,and tested on a shock absorber "dyno".

Instead, I have had the rears replaced with Koni Reds - better - and sometime before mid year hopefully I will have the fronts replaced with either Koni Yellows or Bilstein.

The rears now seem much less likely to "bottom out" on short sharp bumps that still certainly cause the front to misbehave.

I should have just had the fronts replaced with Koni Yellows or Bilsteins right from the word go 2 years ago and saved a lot of mucking around.

It would have been cheaper in the long run, but I relied on positive opinions about Sachs which I have found not fulfilled on a car with lowered springs .