Spacers for rear shock absorber supports Lada Vesta
Many owners of the Lada Vesta note the good handling of the sedan, thanks to a more modern chassis design, and the noise insulation, by class B standards, is quite at the level. However, many of them get tired of the knocking noise in the rear suspension over time. Its source is the rear pillars.
It is also worth noting the fact that car owners often do not pay attention to this knocking noise until they read about it on the Internet or learn about such a problem from friends.
The problem of insufficient clearance
A lot of owners of passenger cars during operation are faced with one problem - the low ground clearance of the car, which is why, when overcoming bumps, the car clings to the bottom until it hangs on its belly. This is especially true in winter.
Moreover, the problem with insufficient ground clearance can arise both with new cars, which are structurally designed with low ground clearance (such cars are popularly called “puzoterki”), and with models with ground clearance that is, in general, quite acceptable, but due to shriveled springs suspension, there was a decrease in it.
And anyway, what driver doesn’t want to bring his car at least a little closer to crossovers and SUVs in cross-country ability.
And the easiest way is to increase the ground clearance.
AvtoVAZ's response
To the credit of the Russian manufacturer, it is worth noting that AvtoVAZ recognized the flaw and made recommendations for eliminating it. They consist of installing a suitable size washer under the upper supports of the rear struts. The method has the right to life, but it has certain disadvantages.
The main problem is that the washer does not cover the entire support area, but only part of it. As a result, after installation there remains a gap into which dust, sand and dirt accumulate. Some seal the specified opening with sealant, but this does not really help.
Supports with installed washers.
How they work
There are several types of shock absorber assemblies.
- The first type is oil telescopic shock absorbers; they are the most common due to the fact that they are the simplest in design and more comfortable for the driver and passengers. This shock absorber has one big drawback. The downside is that when moving for a long time on an uneven surface, and even at high speed, the oil inside foams by increasing the piston stroke. Foaming of the oil leads to the fact that the spring properties are lost. Such dampers are best used for traveling on highways with flat surfaces, or in cities with good roads.
- The second type is gas shock absorbers. There is gas and oil inside such a shock-absorbing device. Due to the fact that the device is single-pipe, it can accommodate a larger resource without changing the standard dimensions. A positive feature of this type is that the system has good output, as a result of which the oil does not foam. The disadvantage of this system is that at the slightest damage to the housing it fails, which is why this type has a low resource. This happens due to the fact that the piston cannot move freely in the housing.
- There is another type of telescopic dampers - these are gas-oil shock absorbers. Such racks are designed to frequently move over uneven surfaces. The fact is that they are able to react harshly to road irregularities, as a result of which they have an increased service life.
Despite the fact that there are many types of assembled telescopic shock absorbers, they have the same operating principle and purpose, and there is no difference. All racks are designed the same and have a specific set. The front shock absorber struts, like the rear ones, consist of a spring and a damper. The spring takes on all the main shocks from the road, and also dictates the body clearance. It is made of elastic hard grade steel. Steel is selected based on the weight of the car. The damper is also designed to dampen vibrations from the road, but has a more complex design.
There are also other types of suspensions, the main one being air suspension. This type allows you to adjust the ground clearance due to installed pneumatic devices. This pendant is not a separate type, because the operating principle is taken from other pendants. Today, air suspension is installed on luxury cars. Some manufacturers even change the name.
Naturally, such a suspension is not cheap, but by installing it, you can save yourself from constant repairs of cheaper suspension options. Regardless of whether the right or left rack is faulty, they must be replaced in pairs.
What to do?
Be that as it may, not everyone likes installing washers, and this issue worries many, so it is necessary to choose other solutions. Moreover, as reviews from Vesta owners show, they are not short of ingenuity.
The result was various options for spacers for the supports. But if there are no problems with the dimensions, then opinions differ regarding the material for spacers. Typically, products made from the following materials are used:
Photos of spacers made of different materials
Moreover, each of these options has its own characteristics. For example, metal products are more durable, including due to powder coating. But fluoroplastic has better elasticity, resists compression well and is resistant to chemicals. So each owner of Vesta chooses the method that he considers more appropriate.
Zhezhora › Blog › Lada Vesta SW Cross: a traveler’s dream or a banal marketing ploy?
Oh, these modern trends in the automotive industry... We take a more or less popular car, slightly work with the suspension towards a slight increase in ground clearance, install larger wheels, sculpt a bunch of plastic linings and... voila! The modification for outdoor enthusiasts is ready! And everything seems great, but after a couple of months of operation, when post-purchase euphoria gives way to sober value judgments, a very pertinent question begins to loom in the owners’ heads: “Do I really need this particular car? Or did I get carried away with my choice, buying into advertising gimmicks?”
Lada Vesta is the flagship model of AvtoVAZ. Not only did it generate an unprecedented amount of hype for the Russian auto industry at the start (of course, it was its own development, capable of seriously competing with “foreign” products of a similar class), but during its operation it also received fairly high ratings from car owners. Even talkative bloggers, scattered with comments with or without reason, for the most part admitted that if the car cannot be called excellent, then at least it fully justifies its price.
Of course, many were waiting for Vesta in a station wagon. And Vesta in the “Cross” modification was literally waited for with bated breath. Formally, we waited. However, the queues for these cars are so long that in practice, potential owners will not soon enjoy the delights of using the new product. And so that the wait doesn’t seem so long and painful, it’s time to talk about the pros and cons of VAZ’s next brainchild
