Fulcrum Suspensions has developed three suspension enhancement kits to suit the VE Commodore range, including the newly released VE Commodore Ute. These specially designed, precision tuned suspension kits have managed to transform the handling, ride quality and braking response of these popular high performance road cars.

With such high consumer demand for the new release Holden Utes, Fulcrum has worked in conjunction with Fulcrum Authorised Suspension Specialist, Bendigo Tyre Centre, to fast track the release of the new TEIN performance packages to the automotive aftermarket as quickly as possible. The newly developed TEIN S-Tech Coil Springs and TEIN Super Street kit have already been tested on a number of VE Commodore Utes to ensure performance improvements through more responsive vehicle handling.

TEIN High Performance Suspension is engineered using advanced Japanese technology and is then customised by Fulcrum Suspensions to specifically suit Australian vehicles and local driving conditions. The TEIN S-Tech Coil Springs and the TEIN Super Street kit lower the front of the VE Ute by 35mm and the rear by 50mm, to provide significantly reduced body roll and superior ride comfort and handling. All of this is achieved while maintaining compliance with the Australian legal ride height limits. The TEIN Super Street kit allows for further height adjustment and no fewer than 16 stages of dampening force control so that the VE Commodore Ute’s ride and characteristics can be customised to best suit individual needs and driving conditions.

During detailed testing conducted by Fulcrum Suspensions’ Research and Development team in the developing the Fulcrum VE Commodore TEIN suspension range, the standard form VE SS and VE SV6 models displayed significant understeer. High tyre loads led to noticeable tyre degradation and each model’s stability control system continually cut in due to handling imbalances which resulted in slower speeds. It was quickly concluded that to suit the discerning performance vehicle driver, a suspension upgrade would definitely enhance the handling of these highly desirable cars.

Pre-production suspension prototypes were produced by TEIN in Japan and air freighted to Australia for the final stages of track testing and development. The two test vehicles were then fitted with the TEIN suspension upgrade and the tests were carried out again. The vehicles were also aligned to modified specifications by Fulcrum Suspensions, which included marginally lower ride heights and spring rates, and increased bump clearance due to the shorter bodied TEIN shock absorbers and bump stop kits.

After being fitted with the TEIN suspension upgrade and with the important addition of Fulcrum’s own Super Pro polyurethane bushings to maintain critical alignment angles under load with minimal loss of ride comfort, the vehicles were once again put through the detailed testing regime at Queensland’s Willowbank Raceway.

Each vehicle’s Electronic Stability Control did not come into play as much and both cars could be accelerated through the tests. Both test drivers provided feedback that the cars handled far better, inspiring more confidence in the capabilities of each car. Further testament to this enhanced TEIN VE Commodore suspension package from Fulcrum Suspensions was the fact that tyre degradation was minimal on both cars, despite increased speeds in all of the tests.

Some of the main areas of attention with Fulcrum Suspensions’ SS Commodore suspension upgrade were the Strut bar to chassis mount - Testing recorded this bushing having up to 8mm of rearward and 3mm of forward movement at the wheel. The result of the SuperPro replacement product is less bush deflection and a more positive handling vehicle. This modification would also be an advantage for brake upgrades. Front lower control arm inner bushings and steering rack mounting bushes - Also replaced to maintain alignment angles and provide positive feel. The rack mounting bushes are an often overlooked wearing component that provides much feel to the vehicle. By fitting SuperPro’s Rear Toe Control Arm Kit, a toe setting of 3.0mm evenly spread was set to give greater contact patch of the tyre and positive tracking. The front was adjusted to 2.5mm of toe in. Strut Bar Castor plates are available for vehicles that fall outside the factory adjustability. In this case they were not needed. SuperPro Bushings were also used to positively locate both sway bars.

Through the combination of the TEIN Kit, SuperPro bushings and specialist wheel alignment settings’ Fulcrum Suspensions has totally enhanced the handling of the VE Commodore Ute and the VE Commodore range without sacrificing ride quality at all.

VEHICLE MODIFICATIONS:

• TEIN Super Street kit
• SuperPro polyurethane bushings
• Front sway bar mount bushing (2 x bushings)
• Front strut bar castor plates (1 nut, 2 plates)
• Front steering rack & pinion mount bushing
• Front strut bar to chassis mount bushing (2 x bushings, 2 x inner tubes, 2 x outer shells)
• Front control arm - inner bushing (2 x bushings, 2 x inner tubes)
• Rear subframe to chassis spacer (2 x bushings)
• Rear control arm lower - outer bushing (2 x bushings, 2 x inner tubes)
• Rear control arm lower - inner & outer bushing (4 x bushings, 4 x inner tubes)
• Rear toe control arm - inner bushing (2 x bushings, 2 x inner tubes)
• Rear differential to subframe mount bushings (6 x bushings, 3 x inner tubes)
• Rear control arm upper - inner rear bushing (2 x bushings, 2 x inner tubes, 2 x outer shells)
• Rear subframe void fillers top (4 x bushings)
• Rear subframe void fillers bottom (4 x bushings)
• Rear sway bar mount bushing (2 x bushings)
• Rear control arm lower - inner bushing (2 x bushings, 2 x inner tubes)
• Labour to install Tein Super Street kit, install SuperPro bushings, adjust ride heights, adjust front & rear wheel alignmen

For more information on on a performance enhancement kit for your car, Contact Us