Mk3 Cavalier Owners Club | Vauxhall Cavalier Dot Com

by cavyman130

Ok as above really, just wondering what kind of set up you run on your cav? post what model cav you have and the set up, whether its standard suspension, uprated springs with standard shocks or uprated shocks and springs and your opinions on them.

heres mine:

Cavalier SRi (SEH), 5DR Hatch

Gmax shocks and Gmax springs (-40mm)

its not the most expensive kit out there but I feel the set up is good as its not to hard but not to soft, eliminates the body roll and still gives you a comfy ride.

Avo Chassis Dynamics, I'd recommend it

94M ecotec SRi
GMax springs -40mm with Monroe Reflex inserts. I've never pretended to be the next BTCC champion and have only really set my cars up for spirited road use; the Reflexes really are excellent cartridges and the combination has made a significant difference to the handling of the car - as indeed would anything over the standard setup. It won't handle like a car dropped on a Bilstein setup but even with the setup that I have you'd be in licence-burning territory if you pushed it to it's limit. All in all, a firm but comfortable ride designed with realistic road-use in mind.

93K redtop SRi
GMax springs -40mm once again but with standard OE inserts. I saw no point in changing them out as they clearly had alot of life left in them. Ride is noticeably firmer than with the ecotec but the redtop is more likely to lose it's composure with sudden flicks of the steering wheel ie swerving to avoid something. Will be replaced with Reflexes in the fullness of time, or whatever has succeeded the Reflex.

91 gsi 4x4 lowered 35mm all round and the bk wheels have been professionally cambered

ive got a 1993 cav turbo that will be running polly bushs, h&R coil overs and uprated anti roll bars.
il let people know what its like as soon as i get my arse in gear and put them on

what id like to know is what setup the btcc cavaliers ran then id copy it

Ive got an 8v sri 130(seh) and have a spax psx adjustable damping kit fitted with 35mm on the rear and 40mm on the front.got the setting on 5 so a bit more comfort than if it was on 20.
Its a good kit coz you can adjust the ride comfort so if you were doing trackdays it wuld be on 25

sounds like a good bit of kit, how much you get that kit for?

Cavyman_130 wrote:sounds like a good bit of kit, how much you get that kit for?

dont.....you drive to slow to get the benefit

set up on my seh is standard woohoo does the trick tho
cesaro has pi springs and shocks 40mm

Nah your SEH just cant keep up to see mine cornering

Rich P wrote:Ive got an 8v sri 130(seh) and have a spax psx adjustable damping kit fitted with 35mm on the rear and 40mm on the front.got the setting on 5 so a bit more comfort than if it was on 20.
Its a good kit coz you can adjust the ride comfort so if you were doing trackdays it wuld be on 25

This kit cost me bout 450 inc vat postage all in all

Cavyman_130 wrote:Nah your SEH just cant keep up to see mine cornering

thats fighting talk....we have to drag dippy bra along as a witness
£450 quid for psx kit think l would rather have gone the koni way

i think konis are meant to be more comfortable than spax?didnt know this before i had spax fitted

like you say you do track days imo a budget suspension is perfectly suitable to the road and theres no need to spend that kind of money

the set up to go for is Eibach springs with Koni dampers, think this is what ill be upgrading to once the Gmax shocks/springs start getting tired.

On my current cav im running the doggs danglies o.e suspension lol. great if u like the feel of driving a tug boat ha ha. on my old seh cav sri i had spax springs and shocks. 50mm front and back, was a nice comfortable ride and when u started to chuck it around it really knuckled down and done the biz. good all round kin in my opinion.

93 sri 8v
lowered 40mm, standard front shocks and gas shocks in the back
i'm lowering the back down another 20mm and i'm going to fit lowering shocks but i'm not sure what brand of shocks to fit, probably koni's and a front strut brace is being fitted

I DRIVE A MK3 CAVVY 5 DOOR ON G MAX -40MM SPRINGS AND SHOCKS.GOOD VALUE FOR MONEY AND COMFORTABLE RIDE

im on the g max 2 and can out handle alot on the road,wouldn't say standard set up is like a tug boat though

I'm not keen on Gmax TBH, as i've driven in cars with them including cavs and they just seam a bit too bangy, My cav Has Courtaney's Priemium package, (60mm and Bilsteins) handles like a dream, low and really smooth ride. Scares ppl how fsat it will change direction or go round a round about with out Rolling, i've teamed this up with Polybushes all round and a front strut brace.
On the Avensis I went for the best I could find as its a everyday car. Eibach springs and Eibach antiroll bars.

I'm tempted to upgrade my courteny springs for Eibachs on the cav, but I think they sit a little higher, and I love they low look of my cav too much.

I 'D save buy the best set up you can afford, I'd rather have a standard car then Gmax or Pi springs, cos I dont think they feel right, but thats just me.

I chatted to a guy at max power back in 2002, his cav was on a stand, he said he had Koni, but wished he's bought spax, cos even on the softest setting he found the koni's too rough, it put me off getting a set.

Does any one know where you can get uprated anti roll bars?

My experiances are
gmax - cheap and cheerfull, not bad not great but good for people on a budget
Spax - good on a perfectly flat road but very hard ride for a daily car dont take bumps well at all
Knoi's - Spot on, overall an ideal setup for the roads its not a harsh ride but firm could live with daily easily

Haribo have you tried whiteline for uprated antiroll bars?
Just checked it doesnt look like they do anything for the cav

I can check epc when i get home if you want to see what oe sized ones are?

Hey Gaz, The standard cavs are 18 and 20 I think, tho the turbos and v6/2.0 ectotechs got the bigger 22mm.

Glad I didnt buy the spax now then lol

Narr the top end spax might be good but ive never used there coilovers, but the mid priced stuff is as i said

The cheap coilovers from belgium on ebay are actually pretty good ive fitted a set for a lad a couple of weekends back, horrible for the first 200miles but once they wear in a bit for £200 they are spot on, but i do love a set of billie yellows, id like to try there coilovers see if they are any good

When the guys fitting them at the garage saw the bilsien shocks they could not believe who thick they were. they said not even the big heavy police spec volvos have ones that quality.