On the way home last night I decided to take a route I'd not been on since changing from my MK4 Astra SRi.

Ordinarily I'm very pleased with the handling but on this particular road it felt like a '69 VW Beetle :(

The problem seems to be that whilst the car is very happy on most roads it got very upset at the thought of going over a bump, at speed, on a gentle corner. The whole car seems to dig itself into the dips then come back up again far higher than it really should. This results in a sudden loss of confidence as you feel the body is still going up when the road has flattened out.

It could possibly be down to knackered shocks but I'm not sure.

I'm not up for lowering it by silly amounts so was thinking of sticking someone's old standard VRS setup on it - but will it be worth it? Should I just get sme new standard shocks and some anti-roll bars/strut braces ?

Ideas please.

Roll bars transformed my RS handling. It's far flatter into the turns reducing the angle and grip changes.

as your not on an RS (If memory serves me right) then the ARB's should do similar. The whole "springs and coilver" gts exepensive and you will still have body roll.

The rs at present feels far better than my 4x4 ever did on coilovers.

So an old rs setup or arb's I know thats what you said, just giving some backup...coilvers are last suspension mod imho, not first, found that out now.

If I could keep the standard Elegance ride height it would be the best option, not only to preserve my sump and already battle scared bumper but also to keep the "stealth look"

Under damped......change to uprated dampers and you will be able to keep the standard ride height.

ARB will improve the handling but I don't think this is what you're after.

It might be worth getting your shocks checked. My car is on standard suspension (apart from the rear ARB, which isn't relevant here), but I can't say that I've ever noticed the sort of instability you describe. It always feels reasonably "planted" even on some pretty uneven local roads (around St Bride's, if anyone's interested). Perhaps I'm not going fast enough

...as your not on an RS (If memory serves me right) then the ARB's should do similar. The whole "springs and coilver" gts exepensive and you will still have body roll.

How will coilovers, which include adjustable dampers and stiff springs, not make a difference to body roll??? Now I'm kinda lost, because it makes sense that lowering stiff springs reduces body roll. I mean that's what the lowering springs are therefore, to improve handling, which includes lowering the centre of gravity and removing the comfort fact for the ability to make turns with minimised bodyroll.

:orb_cool_

I like the expression "... handles like a frog on acid"

I like the expression "... handles like a frog on acid"

Strange but my elegance was exactly the same it had done 40,000 miles and it sort of lurched from one bump/corner to the next....seemed like all four wheels were pointing in different directions at times.....but I solved it ......bought a Vrs