Coil Springs

Lovells Coil Springs are designed as a superior performance replacement part for mass-produced O.E (Original Equipment) coil springs, they exceed original ratings by 10% - 50% (depending on the application), thus handling is dramatically improved  and many ride height variations are available for most makes and models. Lovells coil springs are manufactured to the highest standard in Australian MadeOneSteel micro alloy steel.  Many Lovells coil springs are of progressive rate design. This design enables the spring to increase in spring rate when you need it and decrease when you don't; insuring the ultimate in handling and ride comfort.

All heating and tempering furnaces are electronically controlled to precise temperatures. Each spring is individually hot coiled on a variable speed PLC (Programmable Logic Controlled) coiling machine. After oil quenching and tempering, the springs are rate tested on a sample basis and scragged solid to achieve the maximum fiber stress.

The springs are then shot peened ready for protective surface finishing, prior to powder coating. After final inspection the springs are packaged in protective cardboard boxes (unless specified otherwise) ready for warehousing or dispatch.

5 YEAR/UNLIMITED KM WARRANTY

Installation Tips

  • Measure your vehicle's ride height before installing Lovells' Springs. This will ensure you know the amount of lowering after installation. On a level surface, measure from the upper wheel rim to the highest point of the fender well, before installation and after. And before you measure 'after' dimension, drive the car hard for ten miles to let the springs, spacers, etc. settle properly.
  • Before removing springs from your car, put a sequential number mark on each component, from top to bottom. This will help you reassemble the new and existing parts in correct order.
  • Before disassembling the strut assembly, draw a vertical line with a marker across each component. This will help you reinstall all the OE parts with the original factory orientation.
  • Mark the position of all alignment-related mounting bolts. This allows a good starting point for the post-installation alignment.
  • Work on one corner of the car at a time. Some OE strut assemblies have up to 10 pieces which must be assembled in the exact order in which the factory installed them. Disassemble one corner, and if you make a mistake or lose track of the order of assembly, you can refer to the corresponding assembly as a reference.
  • Reinstall all bolts in the same orientation (up or down) in which the manufacturer installed them.
  • Mark parts to indicate left and right side before removal. Many parts are designed specifically for the left or the right side of your car.
  • Note any protective tubing on the factory springs, and the locations. Lovells' springs are designed to reuse all factory tubing and isolators to prevent noise and premature wear.
  • Many struts on front-wheel-drive cars have a steering bearing located between the chassis and upper strut mount. Note the orientation and be sure not to contaminate or disassemble the bearing. Proper care must be taken to ensure this bearing is installed exactly as the factory installed it to prevent steering noises and premature wear of related steering components.
  • Brake lines and anti-lock brake sensors: Note the routing and mounting positions of all wires, cables and brake lines. Reinstalling the links differently from the factory position can result in damage or brake failure.
  • Support the spindle and brake assemblies with wire, wire coat hangers or welding rod. Failure to support the spindle may allow the inner axle to disengage from the transmission.
  • Do not let the brake caliper or spindle hang on the brake line. This may damage the brake line and cause premature wear or even failure of the line.
  • Always use the proper spring compressor to remove springs from your car, or when disassembling a strut. Springs store an enormous amount of energy and can seriously injure you or someone else if this energy is released unexpectedly.
  • Leave 1/4" to 1/2" space between the end of the coil and the spring seat pocket. This will help prevent spring noise when encountering large bumps.

 

Leaf Springs

Lovells Leaf Springs are designed as a superior replacement part for mass-produced O.E (Original Equipment) leaf springs.

Lovells offer a vast range of semi elliptic leaf springs to satisfy popular ride height variations and load carrying capabilities. Lovells leaf springs have the outstanding characteristics of not only acting as a spring, to resiliently support the vehicle, but also serve to position the axle, dampen vertical deflection and cushion both driving torque and brake reaction. Lovells leaf springs are manufactured to the highest standard from Australian Made OneSteel micro alloy steel.

All Leaf springs are cambered on in-house designed and manufactured machines before being assembled, rate tested and inspected. All leaf springs are enamel dipped in Lovells Navy Blue ready for dispatch.

5 YEAR/UNLIMITED KM WARRANTY

Installation Tips

Check your leaf spring selection to ensure you have the correct spring for your intended application. When fitting, the Military Wrap end of the leaf spring is always fitted to the fixed pin chassis mount point. (exception: Nissan MQ Patrol). Some Lovells leaf springs are marked D/S (Drivers Side) and P/S (Passenger Side). If springs are not marked, a quick way to distinguish between the two is: turn them up and rest on spring eyes along side each other. Push down in the centre of each to settle free camber, and pick the highest of the pair. The higher free camber spring is fitted to the drivers side of the vehicle. This is to offset the weight of the driver in many cases. It is also advisable to check center-bolts on spring before installation. New high tensile Lovells U-Bolts and deep nuts must be used when fitting Lovells leaf springs.

IMPORTANT: U-Bolts must be checked regularly and re-tensioned for maximum leaf spring life. After fitment of Lovells leaf springs, U-bolts must be re-tensioned after 500km with vehicle fully laden. Failure to do so may void Lovells leaf spring warranty. Lovells recommend all U-bolts be checked regularly (at normal service intervals) and re-tensioned if required. Torque settings are available upon request.

 Urethane Suspension

Polyurethane has been commonly accepted as an industrial product for over 40 years, but it wasn't until 1974 that urethane was used as a replacement for rubber in automotive suspension bushing. During the intervening 25 years, the types of urethane used have changed very little. Until 1986 use of the hard grades available restricted urethane to motorsport and heavy-duty applications where ride comfort was a very low priority.

After 1986 the second grade of urethane development occurred.- softer grades evolved that permitted urethanes to be used in general passenger applications. But the key suppliers in the urethane market simply utilized the new grades, and no further research and development took place.

Consequently the common complaints that urethane makes the vehicle ride harsh was never addressed., mainly due to the fact that it was presumed that grades softer than #75 durometer could not survive in a vehicle suspension environment.

Further development in Urethane technology was made to overcome the hard ride, yet still maintain the characteristics associated with soft rubber bushings. These new grades of urethane permit the comfortable ride of rubber but with the crisp handing, geometry control and durability associated with the harder grades of urethane. This totally new technology has revolutionised the suspension industry. #75, #85 and #90 durometers have been replaced with #60, #75 and #85 - (based on the window that #60 is the softest and #90 is the hardest durometer for automotive applications)

2 YEAR / 40,000 km WARRANTY

Installation Tips

Check your urethane bush selection to ensure you have the correct component for your application. Fit the bushes to the spring/chassis mount/component prior to final installation to ensure they are the correct fit, and length. Clean all components thoroughly and remove any rust, old paint and undercoat. Check for worn, pitted or suspect parts and replace before fitting Lovells components. Use lubricant supplied. Grease all bush surfaces designed to pivot, ie. Internal bores and flange faces. DO NOT apply grease to pressed-fit surfaces or the outside surfaces of shackle bushes. When fitting leaf spring eye bushes or shackle/pin bushes it is wise to fit the bush prior to installation of the spring to ensure free movement, thus avoiding spring damage due to the shackle seizing against the bush. This is referred to as ‘shackle lock’. Tighten all bolts and nuts to manufacturers’ specification, with vehicle at normal ride height. This is referred to as ‘normalising

 

 

4x4 Shock Absorbers

GAS LEGEND Twin-Tube Long Travel Performance Gas Charged Struts and Shock Absorbers are developed in Australia for the 4x4 enthusiast and purist who requires an exceptional responsive and robust suspension system. Designed to match Lovells performance Raised and Raised Heavy Duty coil/leaf springs and spring rates, Lovells Gas Legend shock absorber controls are tailor made for each specific vehicle application. With new and improved technology derived from years of research and development, Lovells Gas Legend shock absorbers and complete suspension lift kits offer many unique features for 4x4 vehicles, not often seen in after-market suspension systems:

Manufactured to the highest standard from Australian supplied
valves, shafts and associated parts.

Gas Legend Twin-Tube shock absorbers feature:

  • 36mm bore and huge 60mm expanded body design provides up to twice the oil capacity of Original Equipment shock absorbers to maximise fade resistance, run cooler and allow faster reaction time to road changes.
  • Heavy duty twin tube construction.
  • Bonded sintered iron piston construction with multi stage valving for increased durability and accurate tolerances.
  • Nylon mechanical top out bump stops.
  • Teflon banded steel pistons and Nylon mechanical top out stops.
  • Piston retainer nuts mechanically peened to stop failure at high temperature.
  • Multi stage valving system to allow a progressive dampening effect from slow to fast piston velocity thus automatically adjusting to all conditions.
  • Shafts are manufactured from tough 18mm hardened chrome, precision engineered to withstand the harshest of environments, while reducing friction and wear.
  • Piston rod seals are high quality, high temperature multi-lip design to again reduce friction and provide longer life.
  • Robust 2mm thick external tube walls and 2mm thick internal walls.
  • Gas charged with low pressure nitrogen gas to maximise fade resistance under extreme conditions without harshness while providing more responsive control.
  • All eyes and pin mounts are fully welded for extra strength and long life.
  • Majority of the range are long travel design to allow fitment with all Lovells spring part numbers and ensures maximum wheel contact at all times.
  • Performance valve codes for the ultimate in handling and response.
  • Serviceable and rebuildable.
  • Bonded heavy duty neoprene rubber eye mounting bushings with bonded inner crush tube.
  • Fuchs brand oil outer
  • Every Lovells Gas Legend strut and shock absorber is dyno tested after manufacture.

Lovells Gas Legend struts and shock absorbers are
covered by a 3 YEAR/70,000km WARRANTY

Value added extras

  • Struts come complete with neoprene bellows boots/dust shields.
  • Shock absorbers come complete with neoprene shrouds.
  • Struts and shock absorbers come complete with mounting hardware.
  • Some struts and shock absorbers come with re movable spring platform spacers for incremental height adjustment.

Lovells 4x4 Suspension Kits

Lovells offer complete Raised heavy duty suspension kits for all popular 4x4 vehicles, with properly 'matched' components to ensure vehicle handling and performance characteristics are paramount. This includes a choice of several raised and raised heavy duty ride heights and shock absorber combinations to satisfy the most discerning 4x4 enthusiast.

To achieve this, Lovells initially carry out an evaluation of a vehicle via road testing, component analysis and performance and specification examination. Road testing involves driving a vehicle on several types of road surfaces to assess load carrying, handling, braking performance and ground clearance, before subjective judgment is made on how Lovells could improve all of these attributes.

The performance of the vehicle in terms of ride height, handling, alignment, comfort for road use and load carrying capabilities are all taken into consideration.

Full suspension systems are then designed as a combination to ensure spring rates, shock absorber controls, suspension travel, bushing and alignment components all compliment each other to give the ultimate performance kit for the vehicle in question.

Engineering samples are left on a vehicle for durability testing for periods of up to 12 months.

 Installation Tips

Check your shock absorber selection to ensure you have the correct part number to suit your springs and application. Ensure the shock absorber has the correct amount of travel on both extension and compression strokes. This is very important, as if you fit shock absorbers to a vehicle that has sagged springs/torsion bars or springs with a higher free height/camber (ie. Over 2.5 inches or 65mm) shock absorbers may bottom out (on compression) or top out (on extension) which may cause premature failure of the shock absorber and will void Lovells warranty.

On Lovells Gas Legend Shock Absorbers that are fitted with Lovells Urethane bushes (most part numbers), it is important that the mounting pin (where the urethane has contact) has been cleaned thoroughly and is in good condition. Apply a small amount of grease to the pin and the inside of the bush to allow movement. Do not tighten shock absorber mounts until the vehicle has been lowered and settled to normal ride height (‘normalising’). Failure to do so, may cause bush to lock into a over torsional position, adding pressure to the mounts and stressing the bush.

 Torsion Bars

Lovells heavy duty Torsion Bars are available as an upgrade to enhance the load carrying ability of vehicles which have independent front ends (torsion bar front). Lovells torsion bars are manufactured from larger diameter bar than original equipment which will increase spring rate and maintain ride height when the vehicle is fitted with load bearing accessories (LBA) over the front. Eg. Bull bar, winch. Lovells Torsion bars feature ‘upset’ forged ends which increase strength by improving the steel structure and rolled splines.

2 YEAR / 40,000 km WARRANTY

Installation Tips

Check your torsion bar selection to ensure you have the correct part to suit your application. Most torsion bars are marked which side of the vehicle they are to be fitted to. Please check this before installation. Torsion bars can be used to trim the vehicle after new rear springs have been fitted. The correct adjustment for the torsion bar is approximately one third clearance between the top bump stop rubber and two thirds clearance between the bottom bump stop rubbe

 Greasable Shackles and Greasable Pins

Lovells shackles and pins are manufactured using finest quality and are case hardened to 0.2mm to provide greater resistance to wear, thus increasing pin and bush life.

Machined load bearing surfaces allow for increased dispersion and coverage of grease, which greatly improves performance and reduces shackle and pin deterioration.

All Lovells shackles, plates and pins are manufactured to exceed O.E (Original Equipment) specifications. The majority of Lovells shackles and pins are fully greasable with easily accessible grease nipples and come complete with nuts and washers. (Shackles and pins that are not greasable are marked accordingly in the application listing).

Lovells Anti-Inversion Shackles.

Lovells offer, as an option, triangle style "Anti-Inversion" greasable shackle kits for leaf springs which eliminate the risk of shackle inversion under extreme use and heavy duty/excessive suspension articulation, thus keeping the leaf spring from 'locking'.

All Lovells "Anti-Inversion" greasable shackles are manufactured using the finest quality steel and are case hardened to 0.2mm to provide greater resistance to wear, thus increasing pin and bush life. Machined load bearing surfaces allow for increased dispersion and coverage of grease which greatly improves performance and reduces shackle deterioration. All Lovells "Anti-Inversion" shackles are galvanized and passivated (plated) for maximum life.

2 YEAR / 40,000 km WARRANTY

Installation Tips

Check your shackle and pin selection to ensure you have the correct part to suit your leaf spring and application. Most Lovells Shackles and Pins are greasable. Depending on the conditions the vehicle is subject to, it is wise to constantly grease shackles and pins via the easy access grease nipples. A sign that greasing is necessary is when the suspension bush squeaks. Clean all components thoroughly and remove any rust, old paint and undercoat. Check for worn, pitted or suspect parts before fitting Lovells components. Worn or corroded shackles and pins will prematurely wear bushes.

Use generous amounts of grease when assembling (Lovells suggest a No.2 lithium complex base) on all surfaces designed to pivot. Once assembled, ensure all greasable type shackles and pins are loaded via the grease nipples. Do not apply grease to press-fit surfaces or the outside surfaces of the shackle/pin bushes. Tighten all bolts and nuts to manufacturers’ specification, with vehicle at normal ride height (normalizing).

 

U-Bolts

Lovells U-Bolts are manufactured from high tensile premium quality cold-formed rod, incorporating rolled threads to ensure material structure continuity and increased strength.

U-Bolts are coated with a rust preventative coating and come complete with high tensile (grade 8) deep nuts and springs washers.

2 YEAR / 40,000 km WARRANTY

Installation Tips

Do not re-use old U-bolts on springs. All U-bolts have yield type threads, therefore they have a recommended torque setting, that ‘stretches’ or ‘yields’ the thread to ensure they hold firm. If old (previously torqued) U-bolts are re-torqued there is a risk that the thread will be beyond there yield strength thus weakening and causing them to work loose. Some Lovells U-bolts can have excess thread protruding after the deep nut has been tightened. Please remove to ensure thread is not damaged.

IMPORTANT: U-Bolts must be checked regularly and re-tensioned. For maximum leaf spring life, after fitting of Lovells leaf springs, U-bolts must be re-tensioned after 500km with vehicle fully laden. Failure to do so may void Lovells leaf spring and U-bolt warranty. Lovells recommend all U-bolts be checked regularly (at normal service intervals) and re-tensioned if required. Torque settings are available upon request.