I'm a Newbie - and I want to do my suspension
 

Hi All :cool:

I finally signed up here after almost a month of ownership of my BG Astina SP. I have been browsing for a while, but I wanted to ask questions.

My boyfriend and I are looking at doing the suspension on my SP. It handles OK, but has way too much body roll, and my shocks are gone. I think after 16 years, it also needs some new bushes. My mechanic was a little concerned. I am really unhappy coz I just paid $5500 for it less than 1 month ago :(

I looked at doing upgrades, but the costs are fairly high.

My BF got all his suspension on a forum group buy (it is a Skyline) and saved heaps. He asked the guy who did his group buy if he would do one for Mazda Astinas, and he said YES! We just need a group buy...

I couldn't see any traders here, nor a group buy or a person to ask after browsing, so I thought I should ask...

Is anyone interested in joining the group buy with me?
I was looking at using Whiteline stuff because it is cheap, locally made... and in Sydney.

I looked on their website, and they do lots of stuff -
Springs front and back
Shocks front and back
Sway bars front and back
Strut braces front and back
Caster and antilift kit (dunno what that does) front only
Camber kits (no clue there either) front and back
Poly bushing kits

I think we need to get numbers on what we are interested in.
I will get prices when I have an idea of the size of group buy I guess.

Hope I get some interest, I wanna save me some money!
Kisses
Chicki
XOXO

Just thought i'd point out this post:

http://www.astinagt.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2292

Should answer some of your questions as to what those things do.

hi and welcome to AstinaGT.com

you don't need half the stuff you list straight away. i'd start simple with lowered springs, harder shocks and a rear sway bar. so save yourself some initial big $$$ and only do the essentials 1st.

lows/superlows king springs $230.00 (cheapest prices from eBay)
sports kyb shocks $600.00 (cheaper than purchasing from whiteline themselves)
no-brand camber bolts $30 (can get them anywhere, eg: autobahn, supercheap)
whiteline rear sway bar $160.00 (only people that make it sorry)

now if the car in your avatar is yours, then i'm assuming that it already has lower springs/shocks and camber bolts. if not, then stop confusing people!!! :D

if you are serious about a group buy. you need to do some running around before hand also. find out what r.r.p. is and then what discount you can get with the group buy. sometimes postage kills any savings so a group buy in your state only sometime might be best.

Yee gads.. how you could figure that it was lowered from a predominately black picture is anyone's guess! You must have the peepers from an eagle.

Welcome Astina Chicki.. Whiteline manufactures some great stuff for our cars.. there are a number of people on this forum who have their product in our cars, myself included. I'm not sure if www.autospeed.com still have whiteline products listed in their webstore as that's where i purchased mine from.

Hope you have fun whilst you're here..
Cheers
Ad's

A big welcoming hello to Astina Chicki

It's fabulous to see more females joining and interested in doing things to their cars.
Kudos! Do you know about the mega cruise we are organising for next year?
Hope you and your BF can join us for a trip up north over the Easter break.
Checkout the Australia wide section when you get a chance, and feel free to post ideas and anything that might be helpful.

As to your suspension dilemma, the members of AGT have a lot of experience and are a great place to ask questions and find out information before making changes to your BG.

The Whiteline rear swaybar was the very first mod I did to my BA Astina some years back.
It cost me about $90 to get a local company to order it for me.
Tony put it in for me and it made a big difference immediately.
It will certainly keep your car straight on the bendy bits.

The swaybar can be done at any stage as you do not need to take off wheels or anything to exchange it.

It is a fast, easy and cheap instant mod and I highly recommend it.

With my new car, Missy has King Springs and Koni shocks.
A fantastic package that worked really well on my stock 16" wheels and also works a treat on my 18" Lenso's currently on the car.

Best wishes and hope to see you on the forum more in the future.

Cheers,
^..^

"Do you know about the mega cruise we are organising for next year?
Hope you and your BF can join us for a trip up north over the Easter break.
Checkout the Australia wide section when you get a chance, and feel free to post ideas and anything that might be helpful."

hey kitty um u r from canberra u interested in heading up together so i can follow u????

i know it aint for months and months but hey no harm in asking...

Thanks for the replies

My BF will put all the stuff on, he and his dad are suspension-a-holics, so Labour is easy...

I am doing it through Sydneykid on SkylinesAustralia. He seems reputable, and his prices are heaps below retail. I will start doing all the hard work now.

I did know about the cruise, but I'll likely be going to uni in Qld... But, you never know..

Thanks for that suspension link BTW - I understand some of it... not all, but some lol

Anyways, for what cars should I arrange this for

BG Astina and 323
BA Astina and 323
BJ Astina and 323
BG GTX/GTR?

Also - should I include Ford Laser variants? My BF tells me they are all exactly the same suspension and mechanical wise.

Kisses
Chicki
XOXO

BTW - my car yes, lowered it is not

OK, here's the first reply from Sydneykid
He said that it's pretty much right, maybe neg. on a few things

Shipping - Toll Priority - for orders over $600, he said he will do it free to east coast, or $15 for first item, $5 item there after. Still think he is the cheapest, most reliable

Astina GT Group Buy

BG 323
Front Springs - $175 RRP - $135 in bulk
Rear Springs - $175 RRP - $135 in bulk
Front strut brace - $200 RRP - $165 in bulk
Rear strut brace - $220 RRP - $185 in bulk
Front sway bar solid - $190 RRP - $160 in bulk
Rear sway bar solid – $190 RRP - $160 in bulk
Rear Sway X heavy duty - $190 RRP - $160 in bulk
Front camber kit - $80 RRP - $60 in bulk
Rear camber kit - $80 RRP - $60 in bulk
Front caster kit - $165 RRP - $135 in bulk
Front caster/anti lift kit - $225 RRP - $185 in bulk

Koni REDS – $800 RRP - $600?? a set in bulk
KYB Excel Gs - $690 set in bulk

BA 323
Front springs - $175 RRP - $135 in bulk
Rear Springs - $175 RP - $135 in bulk
Front Strut Brace - $230 RRP - $190 in bulk
Rear Strut Brace - $205 RRP - $170 in bulk
Front Camber kit - $80 RRP - $65 in bulk
Rear camber kit - $80 RRP - $65 in bulk
Front caster kit - $170 RRP - $145 in bulk
Rear Sway Bar solid - $190 RRP - $160 in bulk

Koni Reds - $900 RRP - $600??? in bulk
Koni Yellows – $1150 RRP - $920 a set in bulk
KYB Excel Gs - $690 set in bulk

BJ 323
Front Springs - $175 RRP - $135 in bulk
Rear Springs - $175 RRP - $135 in bulk
Front strut Brace - $250 RRP - $200 in bulk
Front camber kit - $80 RRP - $65 in bulk
Rear camber kit - $80 RRP - $65 in bulk
Front sway bar (01 on only) - $190 RRP - $160 in bulk
Rear sway bar - $190 RRP - $160 in bulk

Koni Yellows – $1150 RRP - $920 a set in bulk
KYB Excel Gs - $690 set in bulk

All reasonably good! ;)

EXCEPT FOR THIS!?!?!
WTF?!?! Has anybody bought these before... surely they can't be that different to a Charade/Impreza/Lada...

Never priced astina ones before, but that's ridiculous....

Not too bad, but I'm not sure how you'll go with shipping. I've found that Whiteline dealers will get the products in for RRP or just under RRP. By the time you add shipping to those prices it may not be worth it.

good luck anyways..

I shall chase up on that...
Maybe it was a mistake, I'll check.

Shipping - said he would make sure every single item worked out cheaper including delivery. He uses Toll Ipec Priority on a very good deal, so he guarantees cheap delivery

wot are u saying greggles? that this is too $$$$ or cheap? cos i can get 4x excels for the BJ for $640 from autobarn. so it's a bit pricey, but not by much. astina chicki, maybe ur mate can do a better price considering we can get the KYBs retail for cheaper than that?
the rear swaybar is a good price for a group buy.
front strut brace......that's pretty pricey? mayb not, as i got mine 2nd hand off rod's sp20. and damn i'm glad i got 2nd hand kings off zed!!! i payed a fraction of that cost for all 4!! gotta love 2nd hand.

and in regards to the ford varients, no need to post those as ppl who are on here w/ lasers know which parts they need. i've got a laser KN, which is exactly the same as a BJ1.

good work on organising this!!! we haven't had a group buy like this in ages!! just a shame i don't really need nething at the moment. well i do need shocks, but that's in debate atm ;) lol

well i wanna drop my BA Astina.. so what will i need? if what i need is in this.. then ill be in with it :)

TOM -
YES. You need (apparently - lol), if you want to do it properly, springs, shocks (stock shocks HATE lowered springs, and they are likely old anyways) and camber kit. Everything else is performance suspension bits.


I will work hard on the KYBs. I will push for $600 delivered on them, but I will see what I can do.

Sydneykid said if anyone does these things cheaper, let him know, he'll work out a price.

I really wanna get the word out there now! This seems like such a cool idea, I really hope it works for our sake (as well as Sydneykid who has been more than helpful, I must say - answers all emails/PMs so quickly, and got the prices done for me so quickly).

I went for a drive in a BG with Konis and all the whiteline gear tonight, and WOW are they impressive! Even a n00b like me noticed a HUGE difference, everything felt so tight and precise!

Kisses
Astina Chicki
XOXO

^^^ i kno exactly wot u mean about how tight and precise a car handles after the suspension has been upgraded. after my camber or castors were realigned (can neva remember), rear swaybar was installed along w/ front strut and it being lowered, the car just hugs all corners. that's y i LURVE my twisties! esp. the comenarra pwky now that it's been resurfaced. oh and how could i forget, the old pacific hwy :D lol and wider tyres w/ good tread help enormously :D lol

hey tom, really all you need is the 4x low springs. you can upgrade the shocks so they match the springs, but it's not necessary. depends how old the shocks are. mite need replacing neways. gavaboo bought sum awesome shocks for lowered cars called Tokico (http://www.tokicogasshocks.com/) on ebay for a great price. AND if you install them urself then u need to get a wheel alignment as u mess this up when u move the struts around - wish i'd known this when sum1 installed my springs, then my tyres would have lasted longer than 12mths! :p lol oh well we all learn from our mistakes.....

asti-chicki, i'd b interested at this stage if u could get the KYBs posted out for $600!! that'd be pretty awesome!

How about Koni Red?

Just checked email, BGs and 4cyl BAs have Koni Reds available - Might be able to do them for $600, and everywhere I read says Koni > KYB easily...

Yeah, I am a big fan of nice suspesnion now...

i'm in for the BJ ones.

I'd better get prices confirmed then lol :p

Well I have to say welcome and enjoy the view

What I think we need clarity on is when you say his bulk price...... does that mean for a bulk order of parts even if its 20 items for example but only one of each or does this mean bulk orders of same items
About the only part (okay the only part untouched :D ) missing from my arsenal is the rear strut brace for the BA so I will be interested in that if this goes ahead

This would be nice :)