for all owners of AUII XR8..is your car noticably hard over road rubbish?

i find my car very 'bangy'. handles well, but hard over the bumps. is this normal trait of AU's. it does actually sound like balljoints, as i know these series were prone to premature wear.

what's the difference in the BA series suspension to the AU's with IRS. the BA's undoubtly have a better ride than the AU's, but why. is it in the spring rates.

Whole new design. The AU XR-8 has a double wishbone rear end that is relatively heavy and takes up space.
The BA has the control blade suspesion - dont ask me how it works. But it is more compact and lighter.

With suspension the lighter you make the unsprung mass (wheels suspension etc.) The better control you can get over the wheels. So the BA can get a better handling and a better ride. You can REALLY feel the difference if you take an E-series with a live axle (heavy as crap) and a BA down the same corrugated road.

The front end suspension is very similar.

But there is nothing fundamentally wrong with the AU suspension. Try a whileline kit.

thanks for that.

whats a whilelinekit?

Whiteline are a company that develops suspension packages for cars. Note that I said packages. They are engineered and matched sets of springs, shocks, bushes, swaybars, alignment specs etc. A few ppl have there stuff on here and all rave about results. Me included. My car both handled better AND had a better ride after fitting the kit.
go to www.whiteline.com.au to find out more. try the FAQ section to learn about suspension.

Prices start from about $1200 fitted for shocks and springs up to $2200 For a full kit fitted.

I know my car isnt an AU, but I stress the point that the stock FBT suspension is very firm, and is rough over any bumps, seals, rocks and god forbid small potholes on the road lol!
It handled great, but for a daily driver it was a little too firm for the roads i drive on, this swayed me towards aftermarket suspension setups.
I looked around and after much reading, questions, quotes and sales pitches I put an order in for a Whiteline springs/shocks kit, didnt need the rest as this was the only part of setup which i felt needed to be adressed.
Anyway, after they arrived at the work shop I and the owners discovered the shocks they supply in their kits are infact "Kyb shocks" and this i wasnt too pleased with as have heard a few bad reports on kyb in some cases.
What i did however do wad use the Whiteline Springs (lowered, and awesome quality) which were made for my order, not an off the shelf type of application and paired them wth some Bilstein Shocks!
With Whiteline Springs and Bilstein Shocks all round i can now have the great, and better handling than i was used to, soft ride and a lower ride height without having any "legal Height issues" or bottoming out on speedhumps/driveways!
Very, very reccomended products when paired up, will use Bilstein Shocks in the future for sure.

once again, thanks.

i'll probably live with it as a set of monroe sensatrac were put in not long ago, which ride along quite nice...especially on the highways, really hug the road.

i think the balljoints are gone, and i'll probably replace them. i'll give hightek brakes a call. part from this i'll leave it alone.

i've heard that if you spray a good quality lub (CRC, WD40) on the bushes and components everyonce in a while, that improves smoothness...like driving in the rain i guess, ever noticed the improvement?

Sell it and get an au fairlane Smmmmmmmoooooootttthhh as silk

i'm with u, smoooooth is good. doesn't feel like u've just finished a round with big mike everytime you hop out. if our streets were like racetracks then no worries; i know, and you know, they aren't. it's were our rego dollars DON'T go.