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[laney101]

Wanting to improve feel and drive of omegas suspension. i have a 2.6 elite on a 52 plate 74k on clock.

currently got brand new bilstein b4 dampers all around but knackered mv6 springs.

looking at getting eibach springs to compliment the b4s  but as i know they lower car to much for geometry im wondering if anyone has a link or knows where i can buy a spring pad spacer 10mm to make it only a 20mm drop?

Also i can see front wishbone bushes can be replaced for poly and arb bushes .. anyone got any dealings with this?? recommendations?
and is there anywhere that sells the rear wishbone bush in poly..


For rear of car im after poly bushing the doughnut bushes and diff mount bush? anyone know where to buy heard monkfish sell monaro ones which fit ?

also tempted by hubcentric spacers to increase track for stability ? again anyone ever used

any help be greatly apreciated

[Lazydocker]

Hi there. Pretty much all covered here in various threads.

30mm drop is fine on front.

For the rear, get an extra set of the rubber spring pads to space it a bit.

Wishbone front bush in poly is good. Rear is not available and some trials of making them have resulted in catastrophic wishbone failure!! Therefore genuine GM is advised.

Rear donut bushes are fine for rear subframe, again many people have them.

Diff mounts are no longer available... There are various trials being undertaken at present.

As for hub centric spacers, not a lot of experience as far as I know. I don't really trust them and prefer to fit the correct offset (ET) wheels for the car.

As said, it's pretty much all been covered. Just use the search function

[Diamond Black Geezer]

Can offer my experiences, and the 'OOF recommended' mods

I run B4s with MV6 springs, with rebuilt front suspension (if you're going to spend the money on eibach etc springs and various poly things, then the extra bits required to completely replace for brand new your front suspension is chickenfeed in comparison, so worth doing)

The list is as follows...

Bilstein B4s
MV6 springs
ATP track rods
ATP droplinks
Noname wishbones with-
   -Vx ball joints (any quality make will do)
   -Polybushes - Powerflex iirc
   -Vx rear bushes (only use genuine Vx)
repainted other original parts like steering knuckle, discs, calipers etc
Strut top mounts (very low mileage ones, better than the 180k ones they replaced!)

further mods....

-as you say, Monaro Poly rear doughnut bushes, around £100-120, sorry don't know the link as I bought mine off a fellow OOFer who never used them, but may on here will know where they can be bought. Recommended, tightens up the rear, stops the wandering/disconnected feel at the back.
-Poly ARB bushes come in the front Poly Kit, however, personally think they're pointless. But you get them in the kit, so no extra expense.
-To fit other Poly on the rear suspension is suggested this makes the rear a little too harsh, however personal taste etc.
Hub spacers not generally recommended, due to excessive wear on the hubs, however, not sure how many have tried to use them, and with what results. Feel free to fit, and give us a long term test, as I personally like the idea of tweaking the wheels out by a few mm. Be aware it is easier to replace the whole rear wishbone assembly, than it is the rear bearings, though! 

Can't say for other springs, be it eibach and so on, however -  you're right, over a 30mm drop at the rear is too much, 30mm at the front is within tolerance.   

Hope that's helped a bit! 


EDIT: Lazydocker beat me to it! 

[Lazydocker]

Yay!!!

One correction... Over 20mm on rear makes the rear suspension setup too much of a compromise (it is anyway) on setup and will result in uneven rear tyre wear.

[Diamond Black Geezer]

Yes, meant 20mm... must have been a typo  I'm never wrong. 



As Shakespeare once said - "Don't believe everything you read on the internet"

[laney101]

cheers guys ..

cant replace all suspension with new components as not all avaliable. ie front mv6 springs NLA.
hense the reason for eibach springs..


so plan of action is ....

eibach springs 10mm spring pad on rear to create only a -20mm drop. (already got brand new b4 shocks fitted)
front poly kit and new rear wishbone bush from vx

rear poly doughnuts from monkfish leave arms std as dont want to harsh.
hubcentric spacers

should make omega handle a lot better as chassis is good ..

once all done new set of tyres and full alignment.

[Diamond Black Geezer]

Have you got your track rods sorted? Only reason I ask is once you've done all that, and you get your full geo setup... then possibly a month later if you start getting a knocking from one of the balljoints on the track rods, you replace them, and you've knackered up your settings, and need to go and spend another £50-70 on a geo setup again 

Sounds like you've got a good setup planned. Will be very interested to hear how you get on with the hub spacers, too. 

[laney101]

good point be worth changing track rod ends at same time wasnt going to as only done 74k my car

[TheBoy]

I am wary of any spacers.  If they are for use with standard Omega wheels, the front will foul the strut or wheelarch, or you have a huge compromise on camber (which will bugger handling). If its for non standard wheels, use standard wheels.

The Omega has pretty good all round stability, but is fussy on tyres and setup for straight line stability - your only option is to properly set up and use known stable (on Omega) tyres.

[laney101]

spacers are ok as long as not stupidly big . yes they put marginal extra strain on components but if a bearing should do over 100k it may do 80k with spacers on ..

front wheels wont foul strut fitting spacers yes may catch wheel arch but then spacers are to big.

would only really need on rear not front to widen rear track for stability of rear end

I am wary of any spacers.  If they are for use with standard Omega wheels, the front will foul the strut or wheelarch, or you have a huge compromise on camber (which will bugger handling). If its for non standard wheels, use standard wheels.

The Omega has pretty good all round stability, but is fussy on tyres and setup for straight line stability - your only option is to properly set up and use known stable (on Omega) tyres.

[lee4206]

I've had 20mm hubscentric spacers on the rear of mine for the last 5 years with no issues.  I originally fitted them to my previous omega for cosmetic purposes but I believe it improved the handling making it feel more stable on cornering.  (they were on my previous one for 3years so 8 years in total).
Lee