ZX suspension

mezuk04 · Post by **mezuk04** » 03 Feb 2007, 21:54

I dont know much about car characteristics but will just mention about my company car, which is the Zetec Climate Fiesta, which apparently has the stiffer suspension....its an uncomfortable drive and just poo to be honest...surely lowering a car would give a similar sort of ride, therefore i recommend against it....its just so uncomfortable.

AndersDK · Post by **AndersDK** » 04 Feb 2007, 00:46

mezuk04 wrote:....its just so uncomfortable.

But looks smart ...

... they think

srx600 · Post by **srx600** » 04 Feb 2007, 07:54

[quote="mezuk04"]..its an uncomfortable drive and just poo to be honest...surely lowering a car would give a similar sort of ride, therefore i recommend against it....its just so uncomfortable.[/quote]

I'm inclined to agree with you I suspect Citroen probably found the best comfort/handling compromise when they built the car.
When I changed the wheels from the standard steel rims to wider alloys the steering was heavier but the improvement in handling by far compensated for this. So I'm happy to trade some comfort for improvements in looks/handling. I suspect if my wife regularly used the car I would probabaly hold off changing it as she would have a diffrent perspective and prefer the comfort.

mezuk04 · Post by **mezuk04** » 04 Feb 2007, 17:53

Everyone is different at the end of the day, my partners brother is really into this lowering sporty cars etc (when i say sporty i mean corsas

) but Im not into it, I much prefer a comfortable drive. But then thats probably because I have been doing the A1 and motorway driving for the last two and a half years so it makes sense.

As I keep telling everyone, when i have a big enough house and drive and money I shall have my company car but a nice big Citroen, perhaps a C6

handyman · Post by **handyman** » 05 Feb 2007, 09:58

All car suspension systems are a compromise. srx600, to think you are going to improve on the factory settings, without knowing all the parameters is a falsehood.

Fitting shorter front springs will tip the car body forward and reduce the castor angle, thereby making the steering more reactive to the road surface and a tendency to oversteer. This will be damped out by the wider rims and tyres you have fitted, which will put additional strain on the drive train, bearings and steering components.

Lowering the rear suspension will redress the balance and also reduce yaw and pitch when cornering as the ride height and centre of gravity will be lowered.

These parts you are changing will reduce the life expectancy of all the components it affects.

As most cars are built to economic standards, with engineering and safety being lesser factors in the eyes of the manufacturers, any changes may add stresses and wear patterns that were not predicted by the designers.

I saw this many times when I built modified road cars for off road and rallying use. Race cars have a very short working life between services and any imminent failures can be seen and avoided, just make sure you bear this in mind and check your suspension, steering and brakes more frequently than the regular service intervals. If you are not sure, leave well alone.

As for aesthetics, I think the ZX must be in the Ugly Betty syndrome and I can say that as we have one as the family hack.

srx600 · Post by **srx600** » 05 Feb 2007, 10:57

[quote="handyman"]All car suspension systems are a compromise. srx600, to think you are going to improve on the factory settings, without knowing all the parameters is a falsehood.
Fitting shorter front springs will tip the car body forward and reduce the castor angle, thereby making the steering more reactive to the road surface and a tendency to oversteer. This will be damped out by the wider rims and tyres you have fitted, which will put additional strain on the drive train, bearings and steering components.
Lowering the rear suspension will redress the balance and also reduce yaw and pitch when cornering as the ride height and centre of gravity will be lowered.
These parts you are changing will reduce the life expectancy of all the components it affects.
As most cars are built to economic standards, with engineering and safety being lesser factors in the eyes of the manufacturers, any changes may add stresses and wear patterns that were not predicted by the designers.
I saw this many times when I built modified road cars for off road and rallying use. Race cars have a very short working life between services and any imminent failures can be seen and avoided, just make sure you bear this in mind and check your suspension, steering and brakes more frequently than the regular service intervals. If you are not sure, leave well alone.
As for aesthetics, I think the ZX must be in the Ugly Betty syndrome and I can say that as we have one as the family hack.[/quote]

Hi, Ive never really said I was going to improve on what Citroen decided on, just strike a different compromise which suits me. I suspect in most people view the compromise is one they wouldnt be happy with.
I would agree that just lowering the front will effect the steering geometry, if it proves to have a significant effect I'll lower the rear to suit. (Not as easy but possible).
The tyres are also the standard size as fitted to the ZX 16v, I suspect this car shares most of its drive train components with the base car, so I dont think the tyres will have any more effect than they do on the 16V.
I used to ride normal road based 'trail' motorbikes in trials competitions so I would agree that a road vehicle is unsuitable for the harsh conditions of offroad competition, however I'm just using as daily transport. Agreed wear rates will be higher, but as you say as longs as it checked it should be ok.
I'd also agree the ZX is not the most attractive of cars, but my guess is thats what makes them so cheap, nobody wants them.

Its quite funny when I started this all I wanted to know was would the tyres still clear the arches. There has been lots of useful input which I shall bear in mind

handyman · Post by **handyman** » 05 Feb 2007, 14:23

Hi srx600, all wide tyres can clear the wheel arches, you just need a large sledgehammer to increase the clearances!

The ride height at the rear is adjustable due to the torsion bar suspension. Check out the BOL as there is a pretty good chapter on correcting/modifying the car's ride height. Not too difficult.

If you do go down the road of lowering the suspension, do not forget to fit a sump bashplate, unless you like rebuilding engines. I went through three sumps with my MG Maestro until I learnt the lesson

.

IKBA, handyman

sooty · Post by **sooty** » 12 Feb 2007, 22:03

Alot of phooo on this topic, from people who have never driven a car with modified suspension or anything else done on a car.

If lowering the suspension is taboo, why is the Volcane or 306 GTI 6 lower than a std. ZX/306.

Citroen and Peugeot like many others try to find a compromise for all types of drivers " Sunday afternoon and Sport" for comfort.

My Son had his 306 lowered some years ago, has/had no problems. Comfort is the same as a std. Corners alot damn better than std.

So whats the fuss, if you like that type drive then enjoy it.

8304 · Post by **8304** » 13 Feb 2007, 12:27

ill second the above, i lowered my zx 40mm at the front and 30mm at the back, fitted a volcane subframe (stiffer suspension and brake discs rather than drums) and fitted 195/50/15 wheels it was fantastic handled soooooo much better and nobody can deny that a lower car looks more attractive even if it is a ZX, which i personally dont thing look too bad anyway.... fair enuf some of the base models look dated (no offence) but aura up look fine in modern traffic.

It gripped real well felt safer and more stable there was no more wear than if you just drove the standard car hard and the suspension bits such as ball joints etc are dirt cheap anyway.

my brother has the car now and still going strong.

Its a personal taste thing at the end of the day, but i suspect that there is an age devide here, older members having less inclination to do this sort of thing. Im 20 so maybe thats got somthing to do with wanting to lower / upgrade (in my opinion)

hey ho ive sold the zx now and drive an E36 BMW 325 coupe which is also lowered, no probs with that either......

mezuk04 · Post by **mezuk04** » 13 Feb 2007, 14:29

I shall have to stand up for the oldies here...im 21 and am just not interested in that side of cars , never really have been. I have found another subject for my time.....fixes for the house....Ah their never ending it seems

f00lzz · Post by **f00lzz** » 13 Feb 2007, 16:11

AndersDK wrote:If you think you know better than the Citroen engineers - then go ahead and do whatever mod you want to your ZX

Nobody here is trying to prevent you doing it - you just wont get advice here, as most of us here believe cars are made as they are - for a reason.

Is this the official stance from Frenchcarforum???

alan s · Post by **alan s** » 13 Feb 2007, 21:32

Personally, I am of the opinion that this kind of topic is more at home in a "Performance" forum rather than this one.
This forum was set up as a resource for owners of French cars requiring advice or assistance in solving problems due in part to the difficulties that can be experienced and at times exhorbitant costs from professional repairers. It was never set up to accomodate performance modifications whereas, performance forums are frequented by those who are interested in those and in many cases experienced with them and in many cases can recommend various suppliers and the like, whereas on here it is more of a casual subject that always seems to create angst amongst the members and as such, I would prefer it was kept off this forum.
Maybe I'm a bit touchy on this subject at present, but last Sunday I arrived at a scene that had just been cleaned up where an 18 year old in a car his mother had bought him 2 weeks ago which had nice new mags, wide rims and lowered suspension, had just dropped a wheel off the tarmac at a bit of speed. The car had bottomed out possibly on the edge of the tarmac, been thrown sideways and hit a Suzuki Feroza head on.
The car then burst into flames. The 18 year old was incinerated in the car and possibly died on impact. The other driver and his wife were taken by Helicopter to the major hospital in the state where he died and his wife is critically injured.
Whether the modifications contributed to the accident, the Police are yet to decide, but as Admin of this forum, I presume you can see why I don't really want this topic pursued any further?

Alan S