Astra suspension/oversteer tendancy

[jonlint]

We race and rally a mk2 Astra GTE with a 2.0-XE engine. We have played with suspension settings for a long time, and find that the car is very oversteerish, especially on lift-off or braking. Our current settings are 300lb front springs and std. 16V rear springs. Our rear beam is the 8V, so it does not have the auxillary anti roll bar. Could anyone share their experiences on suspension setups for the Astra? Does anyone else find the Astra is oversteerish? Any suggestions?

Jonathan Linton

[Rob_S]

not surprised with those settings to be honest
i get quite nice handling with 400lb fronts and 475 rears, but thats tarmac only lmao
its all in the standard rear springs IMO, not good enough when on the limit & braking (i had standard suspension all round for a bit - hilarious, but not exactly the fastest or safest setup )

[Allen Mead]

The works teams used a rear beam from a mk2 cavalier estate, hmmm, I wonder who's got one of those?

Also, some of the works set ups used rear beams made by Pilbeam.

[jonlint]

The works teams used a rear beam from a mk2 cavalier estate, hmmm, I wonder who's got one of those?

Who pray tell?

Whats the advantage of the mk2 cavalier estate rear beam? Does it just bolt on?

[_SBD16v]

The works teams used a rear beam from a mk2 cavalier estate, hmmm, I wonder who's got one of those?

Also, some of the works set ups used rear beams made by Pilbeam.

not telling you hehe

[jonlint]

Whats the advantage of the mk2 cavalier estate rear beam? Does it just bolt on?

Ok, so the owner is a secret - but could you tell me "Whats the advantage of the mk2 cavalier estate rear beam? Does it just bolt on?"

[Allen Mead]

Hi Jon, it bolts straight on and uses the same bushes as the 16v beam. It does however, push the wheels out a little further than the 16v item. Everything is a straight swap.

Only thing is, there is no auxilary ARB but the beam is reputedly stronger than a 16v one.

[jonlint]

Hi Jon, it bolts straight on and uses the same bushes as the 16v beam. It does however, push the wheels out a little further than the 16v item. Everything is a straight swap.

Only thing is, there is no auxilary ARB but the beam is reputedly stronger than a 16v one.

Thanks for the tips, mate. One last question - can you convert the beam to disc brakes? I know the 8V does not have removable hub spindles so you can't convert it, and the 16V does. What about the Cavalier Estate rear beam?

[Allen Mead]

Yes, you can change the hubs. I have a stripped one in the garage. If I remember, I'll take some pics over the weekend.

[kickastra]

not surprised with those settings to be honest
i get quite nice handling with 400lb fronts and 475 rears, but thats tarmac only lmao
its all in the standard rear springs IMO, not good enough when on the limit & braking (i had standard suspension all round for a bit - hilarious, but not exactly the fastest or safest setup )

Your rear springs-are you using barrel type springs as per the standard pattern, or regular 2.25 or 2.5 ID springs? I have tried using regular 2.25 ID springs on the rear, but our tarmac is FAR from smooth and we got coilbinding,hence why we kept the standard springs to maintain wheel travel.

[Brett]

ohh, theres a MK2 Cavalier Estate in a field near me. been there at least 10 years. Wounder if the rear beam is still solid.....

are they all the same as IIRC its an early one on an A plate.

[CraigGreen]

The cav estates only went to about 87 or 88 anyway. ASn A plater is prolly an 85. The same I would have thought.

[Brett]

83/4 I think for A plates? no worries, Im going to knock on the door of the house and see if they know who the car belongs to. As I said its been parked up in the hedge for year and years, you have to know its there to know its there if you know what I mean!!lol!

how much wider is it than the standard GTE one? Im going to have to hold onto it unitll it gets round arches.

[Rob_S]

10mm wider

[Brett]

enough to make a difference then. TBH after I stripped it out the back has become so nervous and twitchy anything will improve it.