Austarion

I will be going to Malaysia at the end of the year and given the head office is in Malaysia I can try and find some time to drop by there and find out more about what is offerred for the starion. The aim is to take some pics of what they offer and get someone there to be a contact if you wanted to buy it. I can't promise that I can find the time to go there but if there is interest I will try my best.

yeah i'd be keen if my local option doesnt come together

The problem that will be hard to overcome is the fact that the Staz uses mk 1 mac struts. That is the spindle is cast as one with the strut leg making aftermarket support difficult. Most manufacturers won't want to go to the expense of casting and machining dedicated spindles (especially for low volume Starion) nor the complication of exchange units.

The small diameter spring with adjustable height is an easy retro-fit with weld on threaded sleeves. The real benefit of hot-bits (or others) would be cheap adjustable shocks that can be grafted in.

MrBishi wrote:The problem that will be hard to overcome is the fact that the Staz uses mk 1 mac struts. That is the spindle is cast as one with the strut leg making aftermarket support difficult..

yep they're called chapman struts :)

early commodores have chapmans aswell

Mrbishi, what hotbits probably have will be some sort of kit where the shock insert goes into the stock strut and it will come with some threaded sleaves that will need to be welded on. I would assume the kit will have a bolt on option for the rear. Im basing this on the fact this is how coilover kits for the AE86 come, as they have the same strut style as the starion.

Why hotbits you ask? They have the starion listed in their catelog. Aim is to see if theres enough interest, if so I will try to take away from my holidays and go in person and find out the facts.

It would be great to find out once and for all if these guys can provide an easy solution to what seems a common problem between starion owners.

I wasn't actually planning on any sort of custom coilover strut conversion, but if a product with a known result at the right price was available I would sure consider it.

Just a thought, if there is enough interest, I will modify ( cut off old spring seat, weld new coil seat on) on an exchange basis, as I have 4 complete strut sets I could modify, if all goes well & not to expensive, I will have 1-2 sets on shelf ready to go, please note, this is for the spring coil over only, not shock inserts. :beer

Just got a quote from the Aussie distributor for a Galant VR4...

$2590 incl GST for the set.

Just to give you a pricing point to think about.

fark thats not cheap LOL

Yep I pussied out and bought BC's instead.

Two friends have them and love them so figured it can't be all bad. Got the spring rates softened to 8/6 tho. instead of 10/8

based on the prices on hotbits malaysian website, they would cost half that to purchase over there. A more reasonable price, but I wonder what customs fees/tax, import duties, shipping costs, etc would do to the price...

thrash wrote:based on the prices on hotbits malaysian website, they would cost half that to purchase over there. A more reasonable price, but I wonder what customs fees/tax, import duties, shipping costs, etc would do to the price...

Add 30%

HB.SS 90-229**-ADJ HB Coil-Over Height Adjustable Shocks and 60mm Coil Springs Kit RM 2,800 for all 4 corners.

RM 2800 = 900AUD according to XE. For safety's sake let's say it's 1k.

add 30% = AUD 1300.. that's still half of what enteran got quoted for the vr4 ones.

Since the distributors here have already stated that they do not stock/sell the starion ones (i remember this being said on the forum), they have no right to be upset about us grey-importing some eh?

if hotbits in malaysia really DO make them, and they are "bolt on", then this is really a bargain. What do people reckon?

on a side note, i thought 2800rm would be 1400 aud

time to go phone shopping in malaysia....

I'd be interested in a set of these, particularly for that sort of money.
nal
You will need to check which shocks you get with them, Hotbits do everything from little adjustment to external canister shocks.

I spoke to Hotbits Aust last year after they emailed me to say they do not do Starions struts. When I rang them they said they can do Starion struts, but you need to send them front struts to use the spindle off. They quoted around $2,500 for coilovers with a single adjuster that does both rebound and compression damping.

Hotbits claim they can not make the external canister struts for Starions as there is not enough room for the canister.