[Dazzler]

Do you need to look at this another way. Perhaps the left side is not lower than it should be - but the right side is too high.

This is a crazy notion  - but is there any component in the right side that could stop the suspension on that side from going down beyond a certain point.

 

You should have been an engineer in a past life.. oh hang on! 

[mickd]

Do you need to look at this another way. Perhaps the left side is not lower than it should be - but the right side is too high.

This is a crazy notion  - but is there any component in the right side that could stop the suspension on that side from going down beyond a certain point.

Now you've turned it all on it's head   
Might be right there, I can see someone crawling around a lot of cars to get some ideas of how it all sits .

[nzenigma]

Do you need to look at this another way. Perhaps the left side is not lower than it should be - but the right side is too high.

This is a crazy notion  - but is there any component in the right side that could stop the suspension on that side from going down beyond a certain point.

Now you've turned it all on it's head   
Might be right there, I can see someone crawling around a lot of cars to get some ideas of how it all sits .

 
Just back from shed #1 FD =  Left 0.8 cm (8 mm) higher than Right. (measured at centre of rear wheel arch)

[The Gonz]

The only thing that comes to mind without any clues is that perhaps the rear (or even front) right suspension is somehow binding, forcing added pressure on the left rear.

[mickd]

The only thing that comes to mind without any clues is that perhaps the rear (or even front) right suspension is somehow binding, forcing added pressure on the left rear.

Reply #4 , re read post and spotted it earlier.  Would be feeling really weird to drive and at times harsh with a solid thud.
After new springs etc it settled after a few days to be back about where it was. 
Raising usually lets everything relax ,  the settle again  . 

[tw2005]

Where are we heading with this trivia?

[mickd]

Where are we heading with this trivia?

Ahhh, won't be to Denmark to have a look. Just thinking out loud I suppose 

[tw2005]

well, I took my milspec $5 tape measure still in cal and the wagon was even, the 2 hatches had variation, the driveway is slightly sloped and I know the hand brakes on those are not grabbing evenly and affects the rear end.

The heaviest part of the vehicle I suspect would be RHF with the engine on that side , pedals and the steering column.

Left side rear clearnace was higher 10-14 mm

[nzenigma]

 
Just back from shed #1 FD =  Left 0.8 cm (8 mm) higher than Right. (measured at centre of rear wheel arch)

   
 Left #2 FD = 18 mm Lower than Right 

[mickd]

Wow,  looks like we've just entered  "The Twilght Zone". 

[nzenigma]

well, I took my milspec $5 tape measure still in cal and the wagon was even, the 2 hatches had variation, the driveway is slightly sloped and I know the hand brakes on those are not grabbing evenly and affects the rear end.

The heaviest part of the vehicle I suspect would be RHF with the engine on that side , pedals and the steering column.

Left side rear clearnace was higher 10-14 mm

Worthless   

Take all 12 cars down to a level street. The crooked Mayor's one will be perfectly level, and gold plated, wife and children can act as relay team to bring cars  beer and sandwiches.
We await your spreadsheet. and......
 

[crayman]

Does your car have the "twist beam" rear suspension?   A pressed "C" channel and sway bay running side to side with the trailing arms attached?
If so it may have had a hit and changing springs shocks etc won't help. 
If the beam is bent from original specs it's never going to sit level.
This design is the poor mans semi independent suspension where the wheels try to move independently by twisting that beam.   

[nzenigma]

I would suggest it is the same suspension as your i30 which has ????????

As an example, Volkswagen dropped the twist-beam in favour of a true IRS ( independant Rear suspension) for the Volkswagen Golf Mk5, possibly in response to the Ford Focus' Control Blade rear suspension as well as the Hyundai Elantra (HD) or newer and Hyundai i30. General Motors in Europe Vauxhall/Opel have continued to use twist- or torsion- beam suspension. ( Wiki)

irrespective, I agree that past accident damage ( that the owner may not know about) could result in the height difference. I suspect that is the case with my #2.

[crayman]

I think most owners could be excused for thing their car had an independent rear end. 
When they look under and see coils, trailing arms, shocks etc it all looks the goods but in fact it's a compromise.
Does the job OK, ride/handling not too bad but accident damage or perhaps poor quality control ?? that's something else.

[tw2005]

I would suggest it is the same suspension as your i30 which has ????????

As an example, Volkswagen dropped the twist-beam in favour of a true IRS ( independant Rear suspension) for the Volkswagen Golf Mk5, possibly in response to the Ford Focus' Control Blade rear suspension as well as the Hyundai Elantra (HD) or newer and Hyundai i30. General Motors in Europe Vauxhall/Opel have continued to use twist- or torsion- beam suspension. ( Wiki)

irrespective, I agree that past accident damage ( that the owner may not know about) could result in the height difference. I suspect that is the case with my #2.

Sorry to hear about your number #2, would you like me to refer you to a good proctologist 

[nzenigma]

I would suggest it is the same suspension as your i30 which has ????????

As an example, Volkswagen dropped the twist-beam in favour of a true IRS ( independant Rear suspension) for the Volkswagen Golf Mk5, possibly in response to the Ford Focus' Control Blade rear suspension as well as the Hyundai Elantra (HD) or newer and Hyundai i30. General Motors in Europe Vauxhall/Opel have continued to use twist- or torsion- beam suspension. ( Wiki)

irrespective, I agree that past accident damage ( that the owner may not know about) could result in the height difference. I suspect that is the case with my #2.

Sorry to hear about your number #2, would you like me to refer you to a good proctologist 

  I knew you would pick that one up. 
Found the car was parked in a different area, front wheels 30 deg to the right (would expect that to push down on left rear) Not so! Left is now only 7 mm lower than Right.

[nzenigma]

I think most owners could be excused for thing their car had an independent rear end. 
When they look under and see coils, trailing arms, shocks etc it all looks the goods but in fact it's a compromise.
Does the job OK, ride/handling not too bad but accident damage or perhaps poor quality control ?? that's something else.

@crayman  I asked you what was under your i30, but got no answer, so I pulled two out of my cars, took this photo and then put them back in.



The closest suspension is FD (IRS) behind is GD which has a torsion bar.

Having realigned quite a few FDs,  I know when done properly they work fine. Problems with achieving a perfect result have always been due to body / chassis twist. But this type of rear end does allow for quite a deal of adjustment to compensate.

[Soegaard]

Thank you guys for all the great replies since my last post! 


My car has the independent rear, not a torsion beam setup. I believe we get this in Denmark on all the i30 models from FD to the current one.

I don't believe that the car has been in an accident before, as the is no signs of repair or painting.

I have ordered new bushings for the lower control-arm, where it joins with the hub carrier. Maybe this will fix the problem? They are a bit worn, especially on the left side.

[tw2005]

I think most owners could be excused for thing their car had an independent rear end. 
When they look under and see coils, trailing arms, shocks etc it all looks the goods but in fact it's a compromise.
Does the job OK, ride/handling not too bad but accident damage or perhaps poor quality control ?? that's something else.

@crayman  I asked you what was under your i30, but got no answer, so I pulled two out of my cars, took this photo and then put them back in.



The closest suspension is GD (IRS) behind is FD which has a torsion bar.

Having realigned quite a few FDs,  I know when done properly they work fine. Problems with achieving a perfect result have always been due to body / chassis twist. But this type of rear end does allow for quite a deal of adjustment to compensate.

Yeah I think you may have that crossed up.

IRS was across the board for FD series,

That was dropped with the GD with only the tourer and high end models in GD had IRS , base models had torsion.

Seatbelt strapping was not part of the design


I took my FD one out

[CraigB]

Yeah I think you may have that crossed up.

IRS was across the board for FD series,

That was dropped with the GD with only the tourer and high end models in GD had IRS , base models had torsion.

I don't think even the high end GD's (SR) had IRS, only the Czech built tourer and 3dr's like mine

[tw2005]

Yeah I think you may have that crossed up.

IRS was across the board for FD series,

That was dropped with the GD with only the tourer and high end models in GD had IRS , base models had torsion.

I don't think even the high end GD's (SR) had IRS, only the Czech built tourer and 3dr's like mine

I'd have to check more, hard to believe in the several wirte ups by a professional car journalist did not go into that detail.

yes you're right, Tourer and 3 door which could be a sports version was IRS. I may be getting mixed up with PD as I think that too IRS is not standard but in essence the first series was 100% IRS.

You reach a point where you get tired of researching still get the same point across though.

[CraigB]

I know the PD SR models definitely have IRS, lower range don’t but I’m not sure about the other PD top end Elite model

[nzenigma]

Gerard that rear is out of the FD cw at a guess.

The FD one in my pix is 2009 hatch.

[tw2005]

I know the PD SR models definitely have IRS, lower range don’t but I’m not sure about the other PD top end Elite model

I went back into the catalogs and it does appear Czech built 3 dr and Tourer for IRS, everything else was torsion

[tw2005]

Gerard that rear is out of the FD cw at a guess.

The FD one in my pix is 2009 hatch.

And ?

The rear end is identical and can interchange. Only point of difference , springs.

Old CW end is in the tractor with hatch springs.

[CraigB]

I went back into the catalogs and it does appear Czech built 3 dr and Tourer for IRS, everything else was torsion

Yep

[nzenigma]

I guess all this has solved the sagging 

[tw2005]

I guess all this has solved the sagging 

I'm not falling for that smoke grenade

[crayman]

Sorry for late reply, don't frequent this site too often.
Mrs's GD has the arse end in your top photo.  You can clearly see the pressed channel beam and bar up the centre. 
Her car is a 2012   5-door hatch.

[marti30]

Soon after I bought (new) my right hand drive UK specification 2009.5 model year Czech built 1.6 u2 crdi 6 gear manual 5 door comfort hatch I noticed that there was less clearance between the left passenger side rear tyre and wheel arch than on the right driver's side. I did nothing about it and it caused no problems that I was aware of for the 8 years and 288,000 miles that I had the car.