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[RustyTig]

Hello fair members of OOF, I've just found myself a 2001 2.6 Estate and am doing some light recommissioning on it.

One of the items on the list is suspension, specifically coilovers. Options for these are predictably limited but I have found some fairly good options for Saloon applications (this is front struts specifically) less so for Estate.

I've had a search through the forum but can't seem to find an answer to whether the front units differ between otherwise identical spec Estate or Saloon.

I.e. would front struts listed for a 2001 Omega 2.6 Saloon (in theory) be the same as the front struts listed for a 2001 Omega 2.6 Estate.

My recent background has all been BMW - where I'd just look up parts numbers/cross fitment on RealOEM but I've not been involved in Vauxhalls for over 10 years so not sure on similar resources.

Anyway - thanks for any help and I'll get some pictures up in the Newbie section once I've done my fettling with it.

[Doctor Gollum]

Fronts are, for the purpose of the argument, the same.

That said why would you? It will totally ruin the way the car drives.

If it's to lower it then there are options... Bilstein B4/B6 with Eibach springs. Although these will impact front camber and tyre wear.

[Nick W]

Body type makes no difference to any of the front suspension components. That isn't true for the rear.


What are you hoping to achieve by fitting coilovers?

[cam.in.head]

hi . as mentioned above it depends on what you are trying to achieve . the fronts are coilovers anyway ( coil over shock absorber ) or strictly  coil above ( mcpherson  strut) but you get the basic idea  . changing to a different type of design will have mixed results  and you certainly can't fit them to the rear ( not that you mentioned that ) because the upper mounting is not designed for the cars weight on it !

[TheBoy]

The only real advantage of coilovers is easy ride height adjustment.  Things are not so straightforward on the front of an Omega (or most McPh strut cars), as the ride height affects camber, and camber destroys front tyres quickly.

But to answer your question, no difference between saloon and estate on the front.  But there were options (for both), including lowered sports chassis, standard, and heavy duty.

[biggriffin]

Depending on what your trying to do, for general road use and improving the handling, I'd go Bilstiens B6, Eibach springs, and poly front bushes, and then replaced all the old rubber bushes for new ones,.  If your thinking Track based then your only restriction is Money.

[RustyTig]

Thanks for the replies all, incredibly helpful.

I always tend to lean towards coilovers where possible for adjustability (both of height and spring rate if needed) and quality of ride. I do want to go a tad lower sometimes than the preset 30mm that most spring kits will allow and also am aware that the front shocks could do with changing being original items - so this is a handy way to achieve both. The Bilstein/Eibach combo is usually my favoured for non coilover applications but Eibach don't list the Sportline kits for Omegas so that seems a no go.

I'm not so fussed on rear as I'll just source shocks to measure to match a pair of rear springs that achieve the ride height I'm after.

Again, thanks for the help and I'll get some pics in the Newbie section once it all comes together

[Nick W]

That's  the first time I've ever seen good ride quality linked to coil overs


They tend to take a 2.25" spring that is much smaller than the stock one actually intended for a big heavy car.


If you're going to take the front suspension apart, budget to replace every wear part: struts, springs, top mounts, strut bearings, bump stops, wishbones with poly front bushes, drop links and track rods. Careful shopping will make that around £200 per side for stock replacement parts. These cars require 4 wheel alignment, by someone who knows what they're doing, every time the struts are disturbed. Not doing that will give a car that eats tyres and drives abominably

[biggriffin]

Use Bilstien springs. They do a complete package.
  https://www.bilstein-shocks.co.uk/products/46-192813