XYZ. XR-XF Falcon Front Coilovers

[RAWDEAL 222]

Yep a set of bilstiens with a coil over conversion on the standard saddle with a new top mount which you can make for next to nothing will out perform those things, day in day out.  King springs are about $100 each.  Bilsteins can be bought cheap if you look around and the coil over piece can be had from speedway suppliers.  All up you would be about $200 better off and have super handling. 

 

Mind you for those that cant DIY these would be a fair option.

How can you speculate without actually trying the coilovers though? 

 

I am not having a go , just curious because 99% sure im gonna end up buying the coilovers

[RAWDEAL 222]

 

The install was pretty painless. For once, bolt in actually meant bolt in.

 

Hopefully should get to properly test them out soon.

Would this setup allow a bigger wider front wheel ? looks like it does 

[Nath 1,975]

Think I might stick to rubber from now on... urethane just makes it ride like shit, so I reckon for everything bar steering/sway bars I will keep rubber.

 

Wheel wise I'm not going any larger than 15s, anything bigger just looks like shit on an old car. Always get good tyres though.

 

All I'm looking for handling wise is a car that points in straight away, doesn't break the rear loose too easily around corners and rides reasonably nicely. The XR8 ticked most of the boxes except the rear because of how fucked and soft the rear suspension was.

 

Having said that it was pretty funny how easily it would go sideways and fishtail but probably not the safest setup and was kind of annoying when you wanted to actually take a corner.

 

 

 

 

I think there's a bit of truth to what Ando is saying - At the end of the day it's still a 35 year old tank with like 60 year old suspension design, there's a limit to how well it will handle and there's probably not much to be gained over a good standard setup because other factors (leaf springs etc) will limit the handling anyway.

 

Not that I've had a chance to thoroughly test it out but I reckon you're gonna buy these the adjustability is what makes it worth the extra money, not the performance (although it's certainly not bad).

[Nath 1,975]

Would this setup allow a bigger wider front wheel ? looks like it does 

Not sure, I don't think so. The stock springs don't stick out further than the control arm does anyway I'm pretty sure.

 

Unless the contact point for the bigger wheels was on the spring or saddle I can't see why it would.

[RAWDEAL 222]

im running 17s on mine , will prolly end up with 18s anyways, it clears the mount and if i went to big hits the spring

 

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[wagoon 2,429]

How can you speculate without actually trying the coilovers though? 

 

I am not having a go , just curious because 99% sure im gonna end up buying the coilovers

I speculate that for a car setup for handling the coilovers Ando put up will out perform the xyz coilovers everyday of the week. How can I comfortably make that statement? It comes down to specifications just like in an engine. If you look at all the people that use their falcons to turn corners at speed (speedway, circuit, drift etc) they all run at least an 850LB front spring along with a top quality shock absorber. The result is a falcon that doesn't suffer from understeer, which allows for a much higher corner speed and therefore a much faster lap time. The xyz coilovers run a softer front spring (600lbs) so that when you want to drop your car into the weeds it won't be like driving with concrete shocks. As Nath has described the ride is a little soft when up a little higher. If Nath adjusted the shocks on his coilover to the firmer side it would control the body roll a little more and would make the car roll less. But it depends on the valving inside the shock as to whether you can actually adjust it to get a good handling setup. This has always been my concern with this sort of setup, you can never have the best of both worlds whether is be suspension or engine you always have to give up something.

The XYZ coilover are perfect for the person that wants to lower their car and get the "perfect" look or just want to lower their car so it doesn't look like a 4x4. The person lowering their car for handling purpose would best look else where. Most people that drive their car on the street and lower their car would not reach a level of cornering performance that they would see the advantage of the Ando coilovers, you really need to be doing track work to see benefit of these coilover. The XYZ coilover are a good thing compared to buying super low king springs and short stroke shocks as the XYZ coilovers as Nath has said has the extra adjustability over the basic king spring and short stroke shock.

[Panko 2,481]

Drive a x series ute or wagon if you want to know how they go with no rear sway bar and leaf sprung rear.

 

haha Chris, very sideways very easy....in the wet  

Think I might stick to rubber from now on... urethane just makes it ride like shit, so I reckon for everything bar steering/sway bars I will keep rubber.

 

 

I agree Nath. I rebuilt the front end in my XF wagon when i was 21, a few years ago, and decided to go full nolathane front end. made a massive difference, especially when i paired it up with king springs Lows. it handles pretty good for what it is, a fully optioned wagon. but, now that i dont drive the car all that often, i sometimes wonder if thats why i sometimes i get out of it, resenting the car, because it rides too harsh. however, if the coil overs are softer than the kings, its even more of a selling point for me to buy a set for the wagon, plus damper control means in theory, i should be able to get my wagon just the way i want it, or pretty dam close. 

[Nath 1,975]

im running 17s on mine , will prolly end up with 18s anyways, it clears the mount and if i went to big hits the spring

 

Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk

The coilies are definitely thinner, I'll compare them next time I have it up. You might be able to fit some extra wheel in there but not a lot.

 

haha Chris, very sideways very easy....in the wet

I agree Nath. I rebuilt the front end in my XF wagon when i was 21, a few years ago, and decided to go full nolathane front end. made a massive difference, especially when i paired it up with king springs Lows. it handles pretty good for what it is, a fully optioned wagon. but, now that i dont drive the car all that often, i sometimes wonder if thats why i sometimes i get out of it, resenting the car, because it rides too harsh. however, if the coil overs are softer than the kings, its even more of a selling point for me to buy a set for the wagon, plus damper control means in theory, i should be able to get my wagon just the way i want it, or pretty dam close. 

 

Yeah I have noticed that a bit on my car lately, especially since it has a couple of things wrong with it, I kind of enjoy driving it a lot less since I'm worried about something breaking, and every time I hit a pothole or speed hump I'm hating life.

 

The AU was a dog to drive with the rooted clutch/dff but at least it was comfortable and just kind of glided across the road.

thinner, you might be able to squeeze in some extra wheel but not much. Next time I have it up I'll measure it for you and compare it to the normal King Springs.

[ando76 4,354]

There is nothing wrong with a twin A arm suspension set up.  Yes is it old tech but remember a few years ago in V8's when the crapadores wanted the ford Twin A set up (and got it).  They wouldn't be screaming for it if it didn't work.

 

The xf is a seriously good car to punt around at speed when set up for it.  One of the fastest cars in Mod Prods atm is an XF Falcon.  He is up against all the modern IRS big HP cars, but the big XF keeps on winning.  And I am talking Big $$$ shows - not country track feature wins.

 

Many years ago I spent 6 weeks at a driver training facility in Brisbane (Mt.Cotton).  We had an old XF, a VL turbo, first series EA and VN commodore - yes it was that long ago.  The easiest car to control around the skid pad was the XF. Everyone agreed, there were 26 students and 4 instructors.   Even when they fitted the bald tyres, put down the diesel and turned the sprinklers onto the track - the only car everyone could punt around in a continuous slide was the XF.

 

That day was one of the best days I have spent in a car and the memory of how the bog stock XF drove stayed with me for a long time. How long.  Well 18 years later when I wanted to go speedway racing - my weapon of choice - the trusty old XF.

 

I would be giving the dampening a tweak to the firmer side just to see if it takes out a fraction of the roll and improves the feel, but really with a 650lb spring it is never going to corner like a race car.  It will however be a very good compromise for a spirited road car.

[Nath 1,975]

If it corners like a race car it probably has to ride like one too which I'm not too excited about

 

Once everything else is sorted (and I'm not running urethane contol arm bushes anymore...) I might see if they do heavier springs - surely they would if you asked.

 

 

 

Hey Falcons went around bathurst, leaf springs and all so they can't be that bad at the end of the day.

[NZXD 2,328]

If it corners like a race car it probably has to ride like one too which I'm not too excited about

 

Once everything else is sorted (and I'm not running urethane contol arm bushes anymore...) I might see if they do heavier springs - surely they would if you asked.

 

 

 

Hey Falcons went around bathurst, leaf springs and all so they can't be that bad at the end of the day.

 

Leafs aren't all bad, still on the last of the falcon Utes.

[ando76 4,354]

When I last raced Mod Prods up here there was a 63 year old racer who raced an XD falcon.  He was as fast - if not faster than the fastest young bloke up here is a $90,000 plus VZ IRS commy.  I mean it used to come down to who got pole as to who would win the feature between them two.

 

Okay the old bloke had been racing speedway continuously since his late teens, but man that cart spring XD was fast.  Nice bloke - even if it was him that put my car into the wall and wrote off the original 76 racer......

[gerg 10,871]

Dick Johnson always said that his tru-blu XD was a very nicely balanced car, easier to sort than the watts-link XE.

 

Nath have you thought about doing the Shelby drop? I'd like to do mine one day.

[Nath 1,975]

Dick Johnson always said that his tru-blu XD was a very nicely balanced car, easier to sort than the watts-link XE.

 

Nath have you thought about doing the Shelby drop? I'd like to do mine one day.

Yeah I'm definitely going to give it a go at some stage.

 

I'd like to get  everything else 100% sorted before I do something irreversible though, so it's gonna have to wait.

[gerg 10,871]

The Shelby drop is reversible... Just leaves a couple of "speed holes" is all.

[wagoon 2,429]

If either of you blokes are interested I made up a drilling jig for doing the shelby drop. Its on my long list of things to do but after I have finished with it if you pay post (its 1 plate with 2 bolts will fit in post bag) its yours.

[Nath 1,975]

That'd be awesome I reckon a few of the Sydney guys would be interested.

[Panko 2,481]

Send it to melbourne too haha. Im sure there are a few down here that would use it

[NZXD 2,328]

Does the area where the two new holes are need to be strengthened?

[wagoon 2,429]

Well consider it the ozfalcon shelby drop template. I will pull my finger out ( clean my finger before touching template) and get the job done so I can pass it on. Have to thank Crazy for his accurate drawing that I made my template from. Will take a pic of template when I get home and put a couple of pics.

[wagoon 2,429]

Does the area where the two new holes are need to be strengthened?

Going off Crazy's experience he had to make a spacer for the washer to sit flat on but he did not strenghten anything.

[Panko 2,481]

I mean. Im happy to make my own lol. Haha.

 

There are so many mods like that i want to do to my wagon, but the critism from my old man what holds me back. If he didnt have such an attachment to the car, it wouldnt matter so much

[wagoon 2,429]

Would he really notice the shelby drop? It doesnt lower the car that much but really helps with wheel position. Its just 2 extra holes each side, nothing more.

 

As for the template I only need it once so seems silly for it to just sit in my shed. Just use a 3mm drill bit through the jig, remove the jig and drill to size. That way the jig stays accurate and then pass it on, then we all can have shelby goodness.

[Panko 2,481]

Haha well he would know if ive been doing something on it. Because he will wonder why it had been out in a while. Id have to chat with him, he might also turn around and angree with it lol. Considering he bought the car in 1992, i get why he can be pretty critical of me modifying it too much.

[NZXD 2,328]

Does the area where the two new holes are need to be strengthened?

Going off Crazy's experience he had to make a spacer for the washer to sit flat on but he did not strenghten anything.

 

Sounds like something I'll consider doing too.