[Doggie 1]

That's just not good enough. 

I absolutely agree. In retaliation I'm refusing to buy Monroe shocks for my i30.

Count me in.
I'll join that protest. 
So, that's Monroe - banned. Qantas - banned. AAMI - banned.

[Surferdude]

That's just not good enough. 

I absolutely agree. In retaliation I'm refusing to buy Monroe shocks for my i30.

Count me in.
I'll join that protest. 
So, that's Monroe - banned. Qantas - banned. AAMI - banned.

We'll save a lot of money this way.
But have nothing to spend it on....

[Dazzler]

You guys crack me up Trevor is not even paying for his power 

[Doggie 1]

I was thinking that perhaps I could fly over to the Monroe headquarters to pick up my new shocks but then I'd have to use Qantas so I can't do that, so maybe get them posted over, but they'd need insurance, and I can't do that, but now that Monroe is on the banned list, it solves all my problems.   
I'll stay home, do nothing, buy nothing, spend nothing, lose nothing, have nothing, change nothing.

[2i30s]

You guys crack me up Trevor is not even paying for his power 

so he's hooked up to his neighbours power. 

[Surferdude]

You guys crack me up Trevor is not even paying for his power 

so he's hooked up to his neighbours power. 

Sshhh!

[2i30s]

i had my wheels off to rotate them and looked for a manufactures name on the struts and shocks,nothing other than made in Korea.    I'm not sure if the strut has a replaceable insert,or the strut is a sealed unit.    its highly possible that the sway bar diameter and coil spring rates on the oz i30 suspension are the only difference,compared to the UK sold i30.      the more i look into this,the more confused i get.   

It would be really good to know what suspension changes were actually made to (mk 1) Oz cars. So far all I know is that the rear sway bar was reduced from 17mm to 14mm which without knowing what else, seems counter productive WRT greater than desirable understeer (personal opinion).

What else was changed is unknown but I can't believe that this was the only change so conject that the front bar was also lightened (to rebalance the promoted understeer from the skinnier rear bar) and perhaps the spring rates were altered (stiffened) to compensate.

While not a suspension tuning expert (far from it) if this is even close then the amount of body roll will have increased because stiffer springs are much less effective than roll bars in arresting roll.

Once you accept significant roll then you are also accepting that the wheels will not be held (as) perpendicular to the ground and when push comes to shove something will let go. In a FWD it will be the front that lets go first.

If this is true then I'm not sure what they had in mind because I really think the dynamics are marginal if not downright ordinary, compared to my last car (which was 15 years old) and possibly worse than the original i30 design.

I pose a question: why is the USA car sporting a 21mm rear bar while the Oz car has a 14mm bar? This is a huge difference.

In the absense of other information re what else might (or might not) have been done this alone will significantly reduce understeer and sounds to me like something Oz cars needed.

I might offer a possible reason: The USA has grown up with (naturally oversteering) rear wheel drive cars and so strong understeer is simply not acceptable to them. 

[Phil №❶]

I pose a question: why is the USA car sporting a 21mm rear bar while the Oz car has a 14mm bar? This is a huge difference.

Mc Donalds, KFC, Burger King, Pizza Hut, Dominoes,,,,,,,,, 

[rustynutz]

I pose a question: why is the USA car sporting a 21mm rear bar while the Oz car has a 14mm bar? This is a huge difference.

Mc Donalds, KFC, Burger King, Pizza Hut, Dominoes,,,,,,,,, 

 

Pip, what I find interesting is that no one else really seems to have an issue with the i30's handling....

[Surferdude]

I pose a question: why is the USA car sporting a 21mm rear bar while the Oz car has a 14mm bar? This is a huge difference.

Mc Donalds, KFC, Burger King, Pizza Hut, Dominoes,,,,,,,,, 

 

Pip, what I find interesting is that no one else really seems to have an issue with the i30's handling....

I'm with you here Rusty. As I've said before, my i30 handles as well as my previous car, a Subaru Impreza. Understeer CAN be induced but generally only by approaching the car wrongly. I find the i30 (a Hatch), precise and firm and I really can't fault it. It's true. A stiffer rear bar will reduce the tendency to understeer but I don't feel the need for it.
However, I seem to recall a couple of people on here having fitted heavier rear bars. It might be interesting to hear from them as to the effects.

On the subject of shockabsorbers, I suspect they have been beefed up and that's why Monroe aren't in a hurry to make any. Unlike the Getz with a worldwide market, thay would be having to turn out something just for the Australian cars, thus increasing their costs versus returns.

Pip, what I find interesting is that no one else really seems to have an issue with the i30's handling....

I'm with you here Rusty. As I've said before, my i30 handles as well as my previous car, a Subaru Impreza. Understeer CAN be induced but generally only by approaching the car wrongly. I find the i30 (a Hatch), precise and firm and I really can't fault it. It's true. A stiffer rear bar will reduce the tendency to understeer but I don't feel the need for it.
However, I seem to recall a couple of people on here having fitted heavier rear bars. It might be interesting to hear from them as to the effects.

I really expect the extra weight of the diesel engine has a negative effect WRT understeer. I know Rusty has one but Surfer's is not and as I said before each driver will detect/prefer a different balance anyway.

I can say that as a direct comparison, I've been driving the missus's Getz a lot lately and seriously, it corners much, much better and it's not sporty by any measure. 

[Surferdude]

^^^
You should try my wife's Corolla.
Or the one I test drove before I bought the i30.
I agree the diesel engine is heavier but I'd be interested to hear from some of the other diesel engined drivers.

[Phil №❶]

I've never driven a petrol i30 so it's a bit like communism vs democracy, if you haven't experienced both, it's hard to make a fair comparison. Are we absolutely certain that there is no difference in Oz suspension components between petrol / diesel. I'm not a sporty driver but I have no complaints about the handling or understeer of our cars. Living in the hills does give the suspension quite a workout too.  Tomorrow, I'll measure the roll bar to make sure it's 14mm, too cold to do it now. 

[2i30s]

both my cars [cw and hatch] are petrol i30s,front and rear bars are the same diameter. 

[Karizmatik]

So .... Did anything come up? Wanting to get better outfits for my front and rear, also. Did anyone come across anything better at a reasonable price or not really? :-}

[Aussie Keith]

Tires gentlemen. Ditch the Korean donuts and get a decent set of tires. I would bet that the problem substantially then goes away. Cars known for good handling characteristics are not fitted with Korean eco rubber as a rule. Once I need to replace the tires I'll be looking to put on some Michelins and I can't wait. I'll be retiring the pipe and hat at the same time.

On shocks, we used Konis on our Alfas, red (oil) on the 105's, yellow (gas) on the 33's. Konis are adjustable so there's no issue with getting a decent ride. Despite their many alleged flaws, Alfas ride and handle properly out of the box but that's what I put on them nonetheless.

I wonder what our hotrodding Korean cohorts are using?

http://www.hyundaiperformance.com/forums/accent-excel-s-coupe/55291-koni-shocks.html

[rustynutz]

I wonder what our hotrodding Korean cohorts are using?

http://www.hyundaiperformance.com/forums/accent-excel-s-coupe/55291-koni-shocks.html

You do realise that links to stuff nearly 8 years old, Keith? 

[komaterpillar]

 

[Aussie Keith]

I wonder what our hotrodding Korean cohorts are using?

http://www.hyundaiperformance.com/forums/accent-excel-s-coupe/55291-koni-shocks.html

You do realise that links to stuff nearly 8 years old, Keith? 

Sure, information is still valid in terms of improvements over stock as a comparison although I'm guessing Hyundai suspensions might have benefited more from the addition of decent dampers way back then. Had I spent another 30 seconds and gone to the Koni website I might have discovered they don't seem to do them for i30. Cest la vie.

http://www.koni.com/car-racing/finder/

Interestingly enough it states this: for original Sachs struts Ø 49 mm only   I wonder if the euro built cars have sachs dampers. That's not a bad thing.

I'm still wondering what the hotrodding Koreans use. They would know whats available. And I still think better tires would help more than new dampers.

[Aussie Keith]

Here you go:

Hyundai, like sister company Kia, undertakes extensive Australian suspension calibration – to the extent of having its own in-house shock absorber dynamometer and getting Sachs shock absorber engineers to wing-in from Germany. And in the testing, winding conditions no doubt both our Hyundai i30 test cars (Elite petrol manual and Premium diesel automatic) were impressive with noticeable firmness in the shock absorber and spring rates for a flat, connected ride (in the European way).

http://www.carshowroom.com.au/newcars/reviews/3021/2012_Hyundai_i30_First_Drive_

http://www.zf.com/corporate/en/products/replacement_parts/shock_absorbers_replacement_parts/shockabsorbers.jsp

On tires, lets have a look at what other say for a similar size Euro cars:

http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Tyres_For/Peugeot/307.htm
http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Tyres_For/Volkswagen/Golf-1.9-Tdi.htm

And now the i30:

http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Tyres_For/Hyundai/i30-CRDi.htm

Did I mention that I'm guessing its the tires and not the shocks. And for those wondering about bad handling in the snow, check out the winter tire comments. They rate pretty well. And I'm also guessing that anyone who puts a tire called Linglong on the car deserves all they get.

[Dazzler]

Good info thanks Keith 

[rustynutz]

You might also find this previous discussion on shockers interesting, Keith...

https://www.i30ownersclub.com/forum/index.php?topic=14288.0

[Aussie Keith]

You might also find this previous discussion on shockers interesting, Keith...

https://www.i30ownersclub.com/forum/index.php?topic=14288.0

Thats the link to this same thread. And apologies for resurrecting an old topic.

[Dazzler]

You might also find this previous discussion on shockers interesting, Keith...

https://www.i30ownersclub.com/forum/index.php?topic=14288.0

Thats the link to this same thread. Does that mean it has to go in the HOS?

Just Rusty TRYING to be funny 

[Aussie Keith]

Oh, OK. I missed that. Nice try though. 

[rustynutz]

You're mean, Daz...as if I'd do something like that.... 

[Surferdude]

Keith, whilst I agree that putting better tyres on will improve things immensely, I have to point out that, no matter how good the tyre is, unless the suspension is capable of keeping the footprint in optimum contact with the road, the effect will be lost.
So, shocks and springs should be considered in tandem with tyre choices.

[Aussie Keith]

Agree entirely with that sentiment. I've upgraded shockies and tires on a number of my cars over the years, both road cars and track toys and best bang for buck in my experience for cars where the suspension is in reasonable shape is always tires. Given the snippet regarding the origins of the engineering of the dampers and suspension tuning, I think replacing the Hankook eco rubber with something more salubrious on a new i30 is likely the most cost effective option for improving the handling. Even on cars that do handle well like Peugeots, sticking a decent set of Michelins on them and giving them a proper wheel alignment can transform the handling.

On a car with flogged out suspension, replacing worn components such as shock absorbers and a proper alignment  is likely the best remedy - along with some decent tires. 

[Surferdude]

t-y-r-e-s, Keith. tYres.