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Heavy duty springs

T

Towsejames

Active Newbie
E51 Owner
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Location
Hull
First Name
James
Elgrand
E51
I recently fitted heavy duty rear springs to my Elgrand and it made a lot of difference. It’s much better. However I left the standard shockers since they looked fine and standard front springs.

Does anyone have any advice for if these need doing aswell?
 
Everyone has a different opinion.
How much you spend on upgrades, is up to you.
Some put air bags all round, big bucks.
Some go tein's a few quid.
Some just add a bit at a time to see how it goes.
Me HD all round, rear has air ride 1000 also to stop the bouncing, the big help on windy days is Polly d bushes on the anti roll bar.
Enjoy
 
I've previously replaced the rears with new shocks and HD springs on my 2008 HWS 3.5 as the arse was a bit saggy, and nobody wants a saggy arse... but since then the handling seems a bit off, pitches and rolls in the corners and my wife grumbles at me about it... guess I will have no choice but to fit the HD fronts and new shocks too!

FWIW there are discount codes on ebay at the moment for JDM Car Parts to get the price down to under £200 for a front pair of shocks and HD springs. Be rude not to, I guess... garage can fit those whilst also doing my braided brake hoses...
 
Mine seems exactly the same, 2008 HWS, new rear HD springs and new shocks plus airbags at 10psi, it does seem to have a little more roll in the corners, please let me know if front HD springs and shocks makes a difference, I thought it was my imagination!
 
-Lummox- said:
I've previously replaced the rears with new shocks and HD springs on my 2008 HWS 3.5 as the arse was a bit saggy, and nobody wants a saggy arse... but since then the handling seems a bit off, pitches and rolls in the corners and my wife grumbles at me about it... guess I will have no choice but to fit the HD fronts and new shocks too!

FWIW there are discount codes on ebay at the moment for JDM Car Parts to get the price down to under £200 for a front pair of shocks and HD springs. Be rude not to, I guess... garage can fit those whilst also doing my braided brake hoses...
Click to expand...

BrianH said:
Mine seems exactly the same, 2008 HWS, new rear HD springs and new shocks plus airbags at 10psi, it does seem to have a little more roll in the corners, please let me know if front HD springs and shocks makes a difference, I thought it was my imagination!
Click to expand...
I find that mine drives better on HKS Coilover set up if I have the rear slightly softer than the front.
Maybe you should add more weight in the rear lol
 
BrianH said:
Mine seems exactly the same, 2008 HWS, new rear HD springs and new shocks plus airbags at 10psi, it does seem to have a little more roll in the corners, please let me know if front HD springs and shocks makes a difference, I thought it was my imagination!
Click to expand...


The higher the vehicle of the ground, the more the roll, it has too! Front nose drop on corners would be hard to remove, as most of, if not all the weight is on the nose ( my opinion)

I reduced the hight on the rear by cutting down the bump stop, so I have like 5 mm rubber in-between the spring and the mount. ( Normal rubber is about 40mm ISH gust a guess)
So the damper is still about in its working range.
The rear air bags help stop the rear bouncing (I had the air bags already so why get expensive adjustable dampers)
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PXL 20260909 083233539 RAW 01 COVER hosted at ImgBB

Image PXL 20260909 083233539 RAW 01 COVER hosted on ImgBB
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Edited nothing in the rear

Putting hd front springs, lifts the front.
So mine is lower at the rear than the front ( yes hd fronts)
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PXL 20260909 083244803 RAW 01 COVER hosted at ImgBB

Image PXL 20260909 083244803 RAW 01 COVER hosted on ImgBB
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A bit higher than I'd like, more air lifting so reducing mpg, this would be marginally!!
But with the rear lower at the back than the front it helps the handling ( that's the way I like it)
I also put in Polly d bushes front and rear this greatly reduces the cross wind ( when the wind pushes you across the lanes) that was the best thing I did, I have all confidence in driving on very windy conditions.
Edited, just my opinion,
 
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I cut down the rear bump stops to fit the open HD springs, I also glued a plastic piece over the bump stops to help with the airbag seating. The stance is pretty good with the rear slightly higher than the front. The handling isn't bad, it just seems to have slightly more roll than previously, but as I drive it as a bus and not a sports car its okay. I have not driven another Elgrand so I have nothing to compare it to. I don't fancy polly bushes as I like the comfort of the original rubbers.
 
Brian, what you put on your bus is your business.
All the bushes in mine are standard, rubber.
But, on a few windy days, I found the cross winds, especially on motorways, were very challenging, I put poly D bushes on the front sway bar, found this helped, so I put them in the rear, D bushes, the rubbers in the rear had disintegrated, the difference on a windy day was night and day
I believe there are 3 different sizes so if you decide to replace, please measure first, as said what you put on your motor is your business
 
The thing with suspension is it's not just about springs. If you only change the springs for HD items the original dampers, which will already be worn, will have extra work and not be sat in their intended operation range. If you really want to improve thing it's necessary to consider the suspension as a whole including ARB's, shocks and springs, otherwise you will just end up with an imbalance.
 
When i replaced the rear springs I did the shocks as well but as yet not touched ARBs drop links etc. The handling is okay on motorways in crosswinds it just seems to roll a little more on corners, maybe due to the slight increase in height. I'm not after sports handling just a nice but secure ride, I thought polly bushes made the ride harsher but it probably would benefit from new rubbers, they are probably the originals. Are polly D bushes different to normal polly bushes?
 
I agree poly makes the ride harsh, but different colours give different results, think black is the softest ( could be wrong)
Not that I have any, apart from d bushes on the sway bars.

The d bushes are for the sway bar ( anti roll bar)
Do nothing to the bounce, just stiffens the SWAY on the sway bar ( roll bar whatever you call it)

If rubber no grease, you clean, so hopefully the rubber sticks to the bar through time giving a twist grip!!! So it losses strength through time.

Poly, you grease, allowing the bar to turn/ twist, but the poly doesn't move ( depends on colour), so it should give better strength
My take!!!

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Screenshot 20260910 151955 hosted at ImgBB

Image Screenshot 20260910 151955 hosted on ImgBB
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Screenshot 20260910 151808 hosted at ImgBB

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I agree with your take, what threw me was your second line "All the bushes in mine are standard, rubber.) I assume you meant "were" standard rubber. I do get the occasional "clunk" on rough (potholed) roads at the nearside rear, I looked at the droplinks and bushes and they seemed tight enough but it looks like I probably need new bushes, I'll look into the softer polly bushes, I thought they were all the same just different colours due to manufacturers. is the ride a lot harsher?, quite a few of the forum members seem to change them back to rubber if their Elgrand had polly bushes on when they bought it.
 
Once more, to be Cristal
All the bushes on mine are standard.


I decided to try poly on the sway bar ( d bush) only the sway bar d bushes.
because one time I got blown across the lanes on an extremely windy day.
I wish I did it sooner, but far the best thing I have done.
Edited, d bushes on the sway bar does nothing to the ride, it helps the sway.
I have no other experience with Polly on an Elgrand other than han the d bushes on the sway bars
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Screenshot 20260910 163256 hosted at ImgBB

Image Screenshot 20260910 163256 hosted on ImgBB
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Edited last time.
I've not got much hair left, but I'm sure I've got less now
 
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You should seek out a pair of HD ARB's which reduce body roll significantly. I have the Nismo ones with poly bushes at the front and standard bushes at the rear. All my other suspension bushes are standard, wheels are 17 inch. With the Tein suspension it's the perfect balance between handling and comfort for me, but we all have different requirements so depends on what you are trying to achieve.
 
LeStempy said:
You should seek out a pair of HD ARB's which reduce body roll significantly. I have the Nismo ones with poly bushes at the front and standard bushes at the rear. All my other suspension bushes are standard, wheels are 17 inch. With the Tein suspension it's the perfect balance between handling and comfort for me, but we all have different requirements so depends on what you are trying to achieve.
Click to expand...
I would just like mine not to feel like I've driven into a patch of wet concrete when I turn sharply...
 
LeStempy said:
You should seek out a pair of HD ARB's which reduce body roll significantly. I have the Nismo ones with poly bushes at the front and standard bushes at the rear.


Sometimes you just wish, you never started!!!???
I'm sure Brian is just having a laugh, I'm moving with the sway! Ha ha
I'm more than happy with what I have.
I did look at bigger bars but once I put in the poly's all the thoughts were gone.
The biggest problem with an Elgrand is to many uses, some are camper, some are just people carrying, the list goes on, we all know there's lots and lots of variables, starting with round black stuff, normal, XL, 4 ply, 6ply, but I'm not going on a long long long road.
Enjoy.
Click to expand...
 
I can live with it for the time being, but may try HD ARB's or poly bushes as suggested in the future. As stated there are many variables, not least the supposedly smoother roads in France, we appear to be getting more potholes than tarmac. Sorry for any hair loss, I know what its like, I haven't got any, but shaving your head and forgetting about the receding bit is, I find, very liberating.
 
Roads are certainly much better here, in fact the chantiers were out today repainting the white lines in our little village and we don't even have to pay road tax, it's all paid for via the péage tolls.

I share your coiffeur method. 👍
 
Don't mention tolls in Britain and give them any ideas, they would just add it on to the charges we already pay and still not mend the roads.
 
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