eek, this is expensive! I've got a worn drivers wishbone and rear corroded springs and i've got no history of the dampers ever being replaced. so ..

New wishbones, drop-links currently being fitted locally.

Phoned up my insurance company to ask if there was a premium in getting lowered suspension, Mr Adrian Flux said no, so I said great and put the phone down I made sure they'll send me a letter confirming the lower suspension as part of the car policy.

Rang up AA, I'll have some Eibach springs, Billies (on the group buy), new top mounts and bearing kits and some rear bump stops (although I don't think I really need them with the eibachs?).

I'm not sure whether i'm going to like the ride/handling but i'll give it a go as it's a well tested option. On standard wheels i've thought the car does need lowering to look good especially as the plus model has got the body kit on it and strut brace, so IMO they should have been on lowered springs to begin with.

I guess if I don't like it then I can always keep the Billies, buy standard springs and sell off the Eibachs. Hoping i'll like it especially as the European Fiat Coupe catalogue did show Eibach springs as an option.

I haven't added the cost of that little lot up but seeing as the originals are corroding and have been on the car for 10 years, i've justified it to myself

its going to feel like a new car mate!

money wel spent if you ask me!

I had new wishbones and drop-links done last year and it was such a great improvment.

Three weeks until I get my Billies, Eibachs, top brace and camber bolts fitted.

shit, Camber Bolts, do I need these as well lol?!

didnt you buy set on my GB???

no you didnt...

...i need to lay of the drugs...

call these guys, they can help you out mate!

erm, can't see a phone number Marco ?!

so what do these bolts do for an aftermarket suspension setup?

You will notice the difference.

I had my suspension completely overhauled two weeks ago. Fiat OE Springs, Shocks, Track Rod Ends, Wishbones, Droplinks and Top Mounts.

It is like a new car now.

I had mine in with JBT Replacing just about everything.
I had droplinks,wishbones,strut mounts, eibach springs and the non-adjustable osravs as an alternative to the billies, The impression I got from talking to JBT is that he didn't rate them as good as the billys but the car feels so much more planted at speed, round fast bends and even changing direction. One thing i did notice though is that the rear end can be a bit bouncy if the road is a bit rough.

I have no trouble driving over any speed bumps all except the sleeping policemen type which ground my car between the front and back wheels which means I can no longer drive the missus to the door of her works and I have to drop her off at the main entrance instead.

It was expensive but definitely worth it.

Is your exhaust hanging really low or something?

Sounds like something that can be fixed as it shouldnt be grounding out like that.

I don't think so I Will check tomorrow just to be safe, One of the speed bumps I am referring to, catches almost all cars that drive over it apparently and the coupe before it got lowered, it now catches on everyone. The time I drove over them pedestrians were wincing as the grinding noise was emanating from underneath

That's the thing that worries me the most about putting the Eibach's on, not being able to get into car parks, grinding over speed bumps etc

Sounds like the next step for me.. Trouble is no one is letting on about the cost!!! Guess one's bank balance will take a little hit...

A rough cost:

Wishbones 70 -120
Arb drop links - 20
Track rod ends - 30
Top mounts - 100
Billies - 400
Eibachs - 200
Fitting - ???

I had a full suspension refresh done about a year ago. I forget how low it is until I see the Coop parked along other cars. It's low very low, but, taking your time over speed bumps etc you will be fine. I have among other things, top & bottom braces & camber bolts. Now without going into too much detail, done properly this set up works really well. Its like a different car if you go from a tired old suspension to this.

I'm still considering uprated ARB's, but that can wait for the moment.

just to add to this, ive just had loads of work done by johnybravoturbo, all for a really good price, didnt do the actual shocks or springs because that would have been too expensive, but my car feels completely different, it goes where i point it and i actually have confidence in pushing it round corners now.

Phase 1 complete and what a difference so far, after a round trip of 360 miles to an old mate over motorway and A & B Roads.

Going over bumps in the road has been (in most of my one year of ownership) quite noisy and I actually thought this was normal!

Since doing phase 1 this has quietened up a lot and the steering feels tighter and more focussed (if that makes any sense?!). Also it's worth mentioning that the old wishbones that came off my car, 1 was a Fiat OE and the other an aftermarket one.


Phase 1:

new wishbones
new trackrod ends
new drop-links
new bushes


Hoping Phase 2 will take it to being a new car! :

- Eibach springs
- Bilstein Shocks
- Top Mounts and Bearings


Prices were pretty much as Gunzi quoted. The labour was £100 for phase 1 but I had a nearly burst brake pipe replaced for that as well.

Don't forget that in a suspension refresh you should also consider the rear subframe and swing-arm bushes.

is doing the rear subframe mounts a tough/expensive job?

mine are looking a little worse for wear.....

...I assume its a specialist type job.

erm, is that also known as the 'rear radius arm' ?

Yeah. Did I miss a mention of them in your posts? I don't see it...

Not much point sorting out the up'n'down if the back end lets it move sideways...

Many pictures here: http://s156.photobucket.com/albums/t31/nailed_barnacle/coupe%20suspension%20rebuild/ - the 20vt is very similar.

I thought it was the same thing.

The near side arm has been replaced (and that was only because the bearing had completely seized and couldn't be removed), not done the off-side.

more things to do!!

Eibachs drop 30-35 mm - You'll have no problem with grounding but you need to be more careful riding over bumps/sleeping policemen etc. It will be stiffer (matron)

Is the drop mainly over the rear wheels? I've read but can't find any definite posts here, that the rear drops more than the front when on the Eibachs.

When I go to my MOT garage, just like many driveways with a steep ramp, I don't ground the front splitter when going up but get two banging noises on exiting. One I think is the transportation eye hook which hangs down and the other is the front splitter. God knows what that will be like on the Eibachs, think I may have to try reversing out

I always take extra care when going over the speedbumps but my new paranoia now is going up/down driveway ramps!

Try going up and down the ramp at an angle eg close to 45 to the entrance. That works for me with my, albeit, standard ride height, otherwise I used to scrape on the way out. It's a complete arse as the ramps quite high over a short distance.

, Will try that next time

Or bring your own wood to create a nice slope in front of their ramp

Duncan the drop to me is over all 4 corners so the car sits uniformly lower..... To me its the 'must have' option on the Coupe as the stance looks so much better.

there's only one way to deal with lumps humps and speed bumps and thats one wheel on, one off, even if it means going over to the gutter i never scrape mine and mines been lowered and with h and s which sat low..
theres only one way to deal with sleeping policemen... but thats another story

One week to go until my parts get fitted.

Well, I've got the Eibachs and Bilsteins on (along with the new top mounts and bearings).

Picked up the car from the garage, the shocks must have been originals as they looked to be pretty knackered, compressing one of them and it failed to bounce back, the other did but over some period of time!

Driving back from the garage in town, yes this feels different, definetly firmer ride with a lot of feedback from the road.. I was thinking I can live with this, there are a lot of pot holes and manhole covers in portsmouth and it certainly didn't feel worse than before.

So I decide to take it up on the A27 and A3, awesome feedback when on the smooth bits of the road but then there are 'lines' that run across the road (i'm not sure exactly what they are, but guessing where they've resurfaced or something). On my original suspension I hardly noticed them but as I went over them in my new suspension it felt like the car actually had a hard jolt.

I went home thinking what a terrible mistake I have made by going for aftermarket parts because I use the car as a GT car, tending to go for long distance drives on A roads and Motorways and I thought I can't live with this level of harsh ride.

Next day I go to Tescos but this time with the GF in the car, only 6 miles but around town and a small section of motorway but she couldn't tell a difference and said the coop has always been a firm ride.

today, I've done the same thing on my own, up and down A and motorways, and it wasn't as crashy going over the same road 'lines/bumps'.

I don't know if that's normal and the springs/shocks just need bedding in but if i'm honest and I could go back in time, I would have just stuck with the standard springs and shocks. Sure, the car looks better lowered and i'm not paying an insurance premium for the privilage but I personally don't think the handling is *way* better than the standard components and now i've got a 'modified' coop, which could be a potential hassle if I change insurance company etc etc

clearly I must be getting old if i'm complaining about a too firm ride

I'm not expert but the principle of things being under that much load etc needing to bed in sounds reasonable to me.

Give it a few weeks before deciding?

Yeah give it a chance, give yourself a few hundred miles.

yeah, i'm hoping it will bed in and loosen up a bit.

Just goes to prove you can read as much as you want on people's opinions but everyone's got a different opinion of a firm/crashy ride!

I really thought there would be a big difference between bilsteins/eibachs and standard suspension (apart from the looks), personally I don't think there is that much of a difference.

Bilsteins are a fair bit harder than standard shocks, with a must faster rebound.

You should have gone for new standard shocks for a less crashy ride.

Worse case scenario, you can sell them on here pretty quickly, still good as new, and do what rog has suggested and get some new OE shocks.

Guess so!

I've got three options then ..

1. man up and accept the hard ride
2. Keep the bilsteins and put standard springs on
3. Put standard shocks/springs on

I think in future I won't be modifying cars, ever! way too expensive (when you change your mind) and too much hassle.


at least the Bilsteins and Eibachs hold their value well .. how much are second hand sets going for these days ??

Do you want to buy some Eibachs/Bilsteins Rog ?

I got my suspension done on the same day as Duncan but wanted to put a few miles on it before making any real judgment. So after 1k miles (incl. 360 miles each way to the Lakes this weekend) I'll give you my opinion...

Firstly, after the first week of pottering around the A27 and my 12 mile country lane blast over Portsdown Hill, I was far from impressed. Like Duncan I was really worried I'd gone and buggered the coupé right up. The roads round here are poor at best, I cycle my route to work sometime and the coupe now felt as rough as the ride on my bike. I’m going to check my tyre pressures and see if I can take a few bar out to help soften the blow but one things for sure I’M NOT GOING TO BE PUTTING LARGE WHEELS ON NOW.

On a positive note, and one that I hadn't expected, the coupé now pulls away far smother. I put this down to the chassis not rocking back as much when I push the go pedal. And of course I do now have a better 'feel' of the road and this is giving me a lot more confidence when pulling the car into and pulling out of the bends.


So that was the first 300 miles and now it's time for the real test. This is the first time the Mrs has been in the coupe since getting the work done and we're off to Keswick in the Lake District...

10 miles down the road and on to the A27/M27 and a notice that she's got that same look across her face that she had a few weeks after we first meet ("Is this normal, it doesn't feel right, I think I want to stop") . Anyway she plods on, with some fake reassurance from myself, up the M3-A34-M40 and onto the M6 and things still aren't much better but then we past Lancaster and the motorway not only clears but feels as smooth as silk. So I decide to squeeze the go pedal and before I know it I'm gliding round some lovely long sweeping bends doing the wrong side of an instant ban. Time to back off.

The next day we decide to take a trip down to Ullswater and I find myself with an open road (A5091). It's only a few miles long and I didn't need to bend any speed limits but I found myself having one of the best drives in the coupé I can remember. Again the road was smooth, some ups and down but with the added bonus of some tightish corners. That was 4 minutes of driving that will not be forgotten.



So in conclusion if you have nice smooth roads around your area Billies and Eibach will really make your driving feel special. However if you live in an area where the roads are heavily used and poorly maintained (and you're no longer under 21 years old) you may find yourself wishing you had gone for the Osravs.

Nice review Chris.

The more I've driven the car, the more I've got use to the ride however.....
one of the things that annoys me is the rattling of the interior with this harder setup when driving on our local roads ... Especially having been a passenger in a Civic Type R.

To echo Chris' comments, if you're on smooth roads it's a v.nice ride but my god you feel it when they're anything other!

I'll see how I feel in a years time when my insurance runs out as to whether I stick with them or change to fresh standard suspension