Gaz spring rates and heights

I know one or two have looked at this issue and replaced with new springs so I'd welcome any views / experience.....

Basic issue is that I have one of the Gaz sets as supplied by David Gentleman fitted. I know David always maintained that they were bespoke design, but interestingly I'm at the max height at the rear and can't get any extra clearance, compared with the front which has plenty of adjustment in ride height left.

Ideally I want to get new springs from Gaz with two things in mind:

Getting extra height at the rear (not much but it seems odd that the settings to get the car riding totally flat are maxed out at the back yet have lots to play with at the front)

Secondly I want to get the spring rates reduced so they're much more akin to standard GTA rates. I personally think that they're just too stiff and that means that to get a decent ride the damper settings need to be set too soft. Over-sprung and under-damped as it were.

I was chatting to a few people at the Ace who had similar issues so it seems I'm not alone. So does anyone know of any good off the shelf options from Gaz to sort this. Dampers are fine, so it's really just the springs that would be the ideal change to get a good set-up.


I've asked the same question to Pauly610 (gaz reseller) but since the PM is just sitting in the Outbox doing nowt I thought it worth raising here.

Pauly can get any spec you want these days so worth just pestering .
I've just put a set on Richards and Andrews 610s and the adjustment is a lot better ,both opting for road use .Dampers are std across GTA and 610 with a lot of clicks .....spring rate and height to suit any .

Have sent you a PM bud.

The company that makes coil springs for a lot of the big boys is Coil Springs in Sheffield. Any size and stiffness. Around £25 per spring last time i ordered...

I've just had these knocked up for the Spax coilovers 2.25" id .
They have turned out pretty damn BLING

I know one or two have looked at this issue and replaced with new springs so I'd welcome any views / experience.....

Basic issue is that I have one of the Gaz sets as supplied by David Gentleman fitted. I know David always maintained that they were bespoke design, but interestingly I'm at the max height at the rear and can't get any extra clearance, compared with the front which has plenty of adjustment in ride height left.

Ideally I want to get new springs from Gaz with two things in mind:

Getting extra height at the rear (not much but it seems odd that the settings to get the car riding totally flat are maxed out at the back yet have lots to play with at the front)

Secondly I want to get the spring rates reduced so they're much more akin to standard GTA rates. I personally think that they're just too stiff and that means that to get a decent ride the damper settings need to be set too soft. Over-sprung and under-damped as it were.

I was chatting to a few people at the Ace who had similar issues so it seems I'm not alone. So does anyone know of any good off the shelf options from Gaz to sort this. Dampers are fine, so it's really just the springs that would be the ideal change to get a good set-up.


I've asked the same question to Pauly610 (gaz reseller) but since the PM is just sitting in the Outbox doing nowt I thought it worth raising here.

Bit of a weird reply here, but the point of the kit is to lower the car. If you want oem height (which is possible at max wound height), and oem ride rate, just fit your original GTA springs to the coil overs.

The reason I designed the rears like this so the spring cup is high with a short spring, is because if people wanted to fit wider wheels, having a low level spring platform would hit the wheel obviously, but the front isnt an issue as you can't go wider than 8.5" so clearing the spring platform is no issue.

In fact a few people on the first sets wanted the fronts lowered, so subsequent kits had shorter springs.

Could you get a mild (say 20-30mm) drop in ride height with standard springs? I completely agree that the spring rates are too stiff and that to get a reasonable ride the damper adjustment leaves the car feeling er squishy would be a good word :0). The Spax kit is definitely better in this regard, not sure what the spring rates are though.

I will get some longer springs for the rear and get the rates adjusted down at some point via Pauly610 from GAZ. Not intending to go exactly the same as factory spec, but not too far off.

The rear is at max height at the moment and lower than standard (but probably not by much), I just want to be able to adjust it to get it spot on and find the best compromise - keeping in mind the geometry changes this brings about unless you get adjustable upper wishbones.

I will get some longer springs for the rear and get the rates adjusted down at some point via Pauly610 from GAZ. Not intending to go exactly the same as factory spec, but not too far off.

The rear is at max height at the moment and lower than standard (but probably not by much), I just want to be able to adjust it to get it spot on and find the best compromise - keeping in mind the geometry changes this brings about unless you get adjustable upper wishbones.

As I said above, just fit your original rear springs, voila standard ride, and standard height if you wish.

There is more to spring design than you think. The current spec on the GAZ was chosen from customer feedback, as the first sets had 'standard' GTA rates, but were found to be softer than standard.

The reason for this is you can't compare one design of spring at say 300lbs, to another at 300lbs. The original GTA springs are coilbound when the car is on the road, ie the spring coils touch. This means that a '300lb' spring (when compressed) more than an inch will be more than 300lbs when the coils touch, as its almost a solid tube of metal so to speak. The first GAZ springs at 300lbs would never coil bind, so would actually feel softer than the original GTA springs.

So if the oem springs are 250lbs, you can't simply go to a spring manufacture and think 300lb will be necessarily stiffer. It won't be. Also a softer spring will drop the car more, so you would also need the spring made into a longer coil length.

Hmmmm. So original spec springs (sourced from Lee) are back on and the ride height at the front is now too high - again no travel left to wind on.

All I can conclude is that the lower platform sits higher on the adjustable dampers due to the adjustment dial etc. It's certainly too high though by a good few cm. This matches what I saw with one car up at the Ace. Back to the drawing board it seems .

ahh yes ,I found this out the other day on the red turbo .Put a set of secondhand Gaz on the front and std springs and it all got a bit Paris Dakar .......I had the bumper off at the time ...about 2cm difference in overall built height I think .
Now on a set of OE dampers and still looks a bit high to me but is totally std with about 4" clearance .

I'm scratching my head over what to do next with this Lee. Get revised springs from Pauly610 or look at other options.

You're not funny you know that




Calling Mr Skedge! I hear on the grapevine that you managed to get a set that worked.... any info on specifications before we all go mental? Dave Miles is on a quest too.

Someone must have come up with a working solution or are the Gaz sets just not consistent?

It's all very subjective .....I've had the new owner on the blower and he's after tweaking the setupTrevor tweaked after I fitted the original kit ....Wheel size ,rubber and use all make a difference ....
I've got about 4 sets of springs for GAZ on the shelf .......
I could always sell you a set of sexyspax coilovers and springs with bling tops innity