Caddy pickup suspension options

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Zoltan2222
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Caddy pickup suspension options

Post by Zoltan2222 »

Hi all

I want to recon and upgrade my caddy's suspension, first bit of advise I was given was to go for Bilstein shocks and H&R springs (this I am busy with and awaiting replies from suppliers). But in the meantime I would like to gather more opinions and options and have a greater amount of knowledge before I buy.

I dont want to drop the bakkie to much as the rear will be a headache to drop and also too much of a drop will result in cv issues again. I was thinking only a slight 20mm drop or somer no drop at all.
Also the bakkie is not a track car only and I use it for normal commuting and loading from time to time, so I want a comfortable soft drive overall but with good control when I run down the quarter-mile or chase a Bugatti on the R59 LOL.

Are these expensive shocks and springs worth the money or is there a good priced alternative available?

Please give your opinions and experiences.
Also where to buy.

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Re: Caddy pickup suspension options

Post by Rudi46 »

To drop caddy at the back you would have to do a Axle flip. Nogals a Job. Doing mine this weekend.
Or het Drop plates made the moves just the hub. Much easier.

When Going new springs and shocks in front I would look into a set of Coil overs rather.
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Re: Caddy pickup suspension options

Post by panic-mechanic »

coil overs for comfort? uhm - no.
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Zoltan2222
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Re: Caddy pickup suspension options

Post by Zoltan2222 »

Here is a tip from my side, if you want to start a project car, move to jhb first, cause you get fokol in the Vaal.

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Re: Caddy pickup suspension options

Post by Killerwatt »

panic-mechanic wrote: Fri May 10, 2019 7:13 pm coil overs for comfort? uhm - no.
Have to disagree, really depends on the coilover.
With the high spring rate track orientated coilovers you will rattle your teeth out. But some of the softer street versions ride very well. Especially on the newer R or S cars where the stock suspension lives on the bump-stop.
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Re: Caddy pickup suspension options

Post by panic-mechanic »

I'm old. I have not felt a single comfortable coil over in 25 years. And I have lots of customer cars with them in. From expensive to dirt cheap.
Dislike them all.
By design a smaller circumference spring that is also generally shorter that has to carry the same weight as a bigger one will be made from thicker material and have the coils closer to each other. Simple science will tell you that it will be harder from a driving point of view.
But again - people differ - what is damn uncomfortable for me is acceptable for others. Personally - I have not driven a coil over car on the road I drive often that I liked in terms of comfort.
Race track is a different story. Come out to where I live and convince me. :-)
But as everything that you find in the world - It's an opinion from one person based on his experience. If you like it - awesome.
So if you have a known brand that work on a caddy give the OP the make and name. Better would be if he can maybe feel a car that has them in?.
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Re: Caddy pickup suspension options

Post by Zoltan2222 »

Okay, thank you for the inputs allready given.
I have also done some reading and searching as I dont except the answers to just fall in my lap.
It seems the big advantage of coil overs is the fact that they can adjust where-as lowering springs are "preset", on that note I am no expert at "setting" a suspension and dont see the need to adjust the height of my car every nkw and again and also when on the road (or at the robot etc) a challenger will not wait while I adjust my shocks, its a heat of the moment thing.
Another VERY IMPORTANT aspect that I have picked up on and that people do not always consider is that with raising and lowering a vehicle you change the angle of you side shafts, and this causes your cvs to not run in their optimally designed "track", also adjustment means wheel alignment needs to be corrected etc.
And for these reasons I have decided against coil overs.

At this stage Eibach springs seems to be in the lead for me as they offer the least amount of drop and rumored to be the softest among the good brands.

Deciding on shocks is now the main focus (unless someone comes with some good reason to look into other options again), Bilstein seems to be the leaders with Koni just behind them. But will these expensive shock really be worth it for the small amount I want to drop or will a KYB Excel-G shock work good? And how do I know which length shock to match with the Eibach springs, or where do I buy a spring/shock set?


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Re: Caddy pickup suspension options

Post by panic-mechanic »

Just remember in the long run - a good bilstein is rebuildable for a fraction of buying anything new.
They also outlast just about any of the other brands.
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Re: Caddy pickup suspension options

Post by Killerwatt »

panic-mechanic wrote: Fri May 17, 2019 8:29 am Snip
I understand what you are saying, at the end it is a very subjective thing. A higher spring rate will always be firmer but not necessarily harsher in my opinion. But it also comes down to the coilover design. It also does not help if coilovers are slammed to the point that they sit on the bumpstops.
Zoltan2222 wrote: Fri May 17, 2019 11:16 am Snip
The side shaft angle applies for all methods of lowering but typically it won't be an issue unless you lower a crazy amount, say 100mm.

A shock is very important, the direct replacements will typically be valved to match the oem shock. Between the two "sporty" brands they favour different valving profiles that give them different feels. The bilsteins are digressive where are the konis are usually linear. The difference is the amount of damping on the low speed operation of the shock. So they do feel different on the road.

From your original post I would think that the Eibachs up front and a set of Bilstein B6s all round would be what you want. But honestly this would not help on the 1/4 mile much. Maybe look into some anti roll bars as well as this would help with cornering without sacrificing ride quality.
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Re: Caddy pickup suspension options

Post by Zoltan2222 »

Thanks again, now that Bilstein "B6" is mentioned, what is the big difference between the B6 and 8 etc?
And regarding the 1/4 mile thing, I am currently only making 161hp and aiming towards 200hp max. Thereafter I would rather consider buying something that is 4wheel driven and playing with that, as I dont not feel investing that much in such an old vehicle.
So ja this is also why a comfortable suspension is more important to me than a "race" suspension. Dont think I need too much "suspension" to gooi 200hp down a 400 or 800m straight.

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Re: Caddy pickup suspension options

Post by panic-mechanic »

caddy with it's leaf sprung rear does not squat that much at all when you launch it what is what you want for 1/4 mile. What you want then is a shock that has fairly hard rebound in the front and fairly hard bound in the back to stop the front form coming up and the rear form going down.
So an adjustable shock that you can then set to comfort once you leave the strip is ideal. Both koni and bilstein makes adjustable shocks but they are also more expensive. honestly if you are not going to the drga strip every weekend you are wasting money to even cater for it.
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Re: Caddy pickup suspension options

Post by Zoltan2222 »

Okay, so still struggling to get prices (or at least have some from Koni now).
Considering I'm not on the strip every weekend, how good would the Koni STRT shocks be lets say vs OEM Bilstein B4?
I am either going H&R or Eibach 40mm drop depending on price and availability.


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Re: Caddy pickup suspension options

Post by panic-mechanic »

They compare almost directly quality wise. So go for the one that is available and cheaper.
Goldwagen should be able to give you prices on bilstein and be able to source.
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Re: Caddy pickup suspension options

Post by Zoltan2222 »

Hi to all

I have not posted for quite some time, but now finally got to the suspension.
After taking all the above into account and also considering what was available, and all the help I received from CRS.
I settled on H&R springs with Koni STR.T shocks in the front.
At the back I did the leave flip thing and that I combined with Gabriel Thecnomatic shocks that are 25mm shorter then the original ones.
My CV's no run completely quiet, putting me at ease that the angle is now good.

But now my front wheel arches are 580mm from the ground and the rear is 660mm from the ground, making the back 80mm higher then the from and its clearly visible as the front wheel arches almost touches the tyre and at the back there is a gap.
I have driven the bakkie like this a bit now, and it feels okay (although wheel allignment must still be done). The rear is not bouncy as I was worried it will be, and in the front the wheels dont touch the arches even when driving on a gravel road or turning or anything.
But I dont know if I should have the rear leaves tampered and lowered to the same height as the front?
Was the caddy not originally higher at the back as it was intended to load?

1. From a technical point of view, would it be better to drop the rear more or leave as is?

2. And then from a "looks" point of view, does it really look bad if the rear is a bit higher? for me it starting to look good (original).
I am already kind off disappointed in the drop as it doesn't give that sleeper look I wanted.


Inputs please, if possible and work allows it, I would like to finish the suspension this coming week and do the wheel alignment.
Current rides:
530D E60 LCI
Polo 1.9TDi 9N3
A3 8L 2.0L 20VT (project)

Previous rides:
Caddy MK1 1.8L 20VT
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Re: Caddy pickup suspension options

Post by Supervan II »

Zoltan2222 wrote: Sat Sep 28, 2019 9:17 pm 1. From a technical point of view, would it be better to drop the rear more or leave as is?

2. And then from a "looks" point of view, does it really look bad if the rear is a bit higher? for me it starting to look good (original).
I am already kind off disappointed in the drop as it doesn't give that sleeper look I wanted.


Inputs please, if possible and work allows it, I would like to finish the suspension this coming week and do the wheel alignment.
1. Leave as is, just in case you might need to load something someday;
2. No, but does it look that obvious?

IMHO, of course.
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