Citroen C3 Heavy Duty Rear Springs

[T1Cybernetic]

I do a lot of fishing and since changing car's to my current C3 I am almost touching the inside arches when me and my friend goes fishing.

 

I have found a couple of places that sell C3 Heavy Duty rear Springs so I wondered if any of you had them fitted and is it worth the change? Will it cure my problem...

[paul.h]

I have tried heavy duty springs and also Grayston spring assistors (rubber inserts which stop the spring compressing as much) on a Saab used for towing a caravan so the rear end did not drop too far. However, this was not that successful and affected normal driving and raised the rear end a bit. I did not bother again on replacement cars and now use a C5 with self levelling suspension. You can also get spring inserts like an additional spring which goes inside the existing one and these are meant to be more progressive in their effect. There is a short review of MAD suspension spring inserts here - http://www.ukcampsite.co.uk/articles/view.asp?id=165.

 

How much weight are you adding to the car since I would have thought if it is within the allowed load (about 400 to 500 kg inc people, depending on engine type) the car should be ok - unless the existing springs are broken or maybe need replacement.

[T1Cybernetic]

Total weight with 2 people + fishing tackle is around about 5 rotund people ;) 70 Stone :D Not great for such a small car.

 

To be fair when we do our regular shopping I have 4 people plus shopping (Half a boot full) and I get the same drop on the back end (Speed bumps aren't great) So the current springs are probably past their sell by date, They aren't broken though luckily. The car has done 164000 miles and I don't know how old the springs are so just new ones could make life better.

 

I just figured I would kill two birds with one stone, Buy some new springs and have them be Heavy Duty ones to be absolutely sure!

[paul.h]

Before spending any money, why not try everyone in another C3 at a dealer/car supermarket since it could be fitting new springs might not make any difference. The MAD inserts are £166 for the C3 so not cheap either. 70 stone is 445 kg so that would be the car fully laden + any fish you catch.

[T1Cybernetic]

I didn't think of that ;) I might be able to get someone to loan me their C3 for a test as it happens but I think it's a petrol model, If that fails I can get a pair of springs easily enough. Although those MAD coils are pretty expensive.

 

Anschler Coil Springs = Part Number: 627545541

 

For a whopping £32.86 Or some heavy duty ones.
 

Sachs Coil Springs = Part Number: 627546000

 

Which come in at £54.90 which isn't so bad...

Edited March 17, 2014 by T1Cybernetic

[paul.h]

If these prices are for one spring it is more than on the eurocarparts site, but if for 2 then they are a lot less. (£21.91 and £36.60 for one Anschler or Sachs spring from Eurocarparts). If the paint is still on your existing springs, Citroen use a colour code on them with up to 3 paint bands which can be used so you get the right ones. Citroen do them for normal and for heavy duty suspension - but whether this means the car will not sink as much under the same weight I do not know. To get the part nos. for your car you can look at the Citroen parts diagrams as a free service on the service.citroen site by registering as another professional, member of the Citroen Owners Club.  Then you can get the Citroen price obtained by getting the part no. from service.citroen and then using it in the citroencarparts.net site. - example £54.63 for a 5102G5 heavy duty spring .

 

A call to these people may give you relevant advice http://www.springcoil.co.uk/suspension_springs.html

[T1Cybernetic]

Ah sorry I forgot to say, My prices are with a 25% discount ;) (UKCN25) There are lots of discount codes available through many of the car forums around the internet,

 

I will take a look tomorrow and if possible check the paint on my springs and see what it comes up with!

 

Thanks for the service.citroen info, That's great to look into, From looking at that site it really does have everything, Good info and leads me in the right direction for anything Citroen C3 related.