Perodua Viva : Installing AMT Spring Buffer

After a failed "promise" that I will post new content every fortnight, I'm back with a new post today, and it is about cars. Again. Since I'll be embarking on a long journey soon using my Perodua Viva, and considering the condition of the Pan Borneo Highway which is atrocious (for the fact that Peninsular highways are far better than us here, but then we don't have any tolls, which is a good thing), and paired with a set of lowered springs, mashed up together with a full load, I decided to install AMT spring buffers or also known as POWER cushion buffers.

AMT Spring Buffer / Power Cushion Buffer

Red in colour, it comes in pairs.

The spring buffer costs RM35 and was bought from Bing Shu LED Wholesaler, and you can look him up on Facebook. I bought a pair for my rear springs as the car always scrapes when it goes up a bump at Kuching Sentral, and everytime the car scrapes, a little part of me died inside. The advantages of this AMT Spring Buffer, as copied from a seller from Lowyat :

AMT POWER CUSHION BUFFER
ADVANTAGE OF USING POWER CUSHION BUFFER
1. Rubber buffer can effectively solve the problem of springs weakness and recover the performance of the shock absorber.
2. Shock absorption effects felt in a mercedes benz car.
3. Protect shock absorber and suspension system to avoid oil leak.
4. The life of a normal shock absorber will be extended to more than 2 times.
5. Improve driving comfort and more stable during curve corner.
6. Improve braking efficiency.
7. Reduce noise and vibration during travelling.
8. Size for all type of car including lowered spring.

Honestly, number 2 was a bit far-fetched. If your car is a Kancil or a Nissan Sunny, even if you put 10 of these spring buffers, you won't feel like driving a Mercedes-Benz. The tools required are simple. You'll just need a car jack, some dishwashing liquid diluted with water, and some cable ties, and not forgetting the buffer itself. Do note that these buffers come in different sizes, and please refer to your seller if you're planning on getting one. I bought a D-sized buffer for the rear springs, and it is also applicable to Kenari, Kelisa, Kancil, and Myvi. I'm currently using Myvi rear springs for that extra strength and load.

Tools used and the item itself. The car jack is still shiny!

First and foremost, jack up the car. I read in some blogs that states that the car doesn't necessarily need to be jacked until the tyre is lifted up from the floor, but jack up high enough so that the springs are stretched a bit.

The car being jacked up

Being me, I seldom listen to instructions, and as the car was really, really low, I had to jack up the car up to the point where the tyre is lifted up from the ground.

The spring without the buffer

As the car was lifted with the jack, and the spring was a lowered spring, I pulled the spring out to install the buffer. It was an easy task, I wiggled the spring a little bit and it went out easily.

Fitting the buffer to the spring

Don't worry if it doesn't seem to fit, as you can secure it with cable ties if you want to.

Securing the buffer using cable ties, 2 on each hole

Fitting the spring back to its original location

The process is the same for the other side, and when everything is done, you will notice that the car would be a bit high than before installing the buffers. After a few days driving around with the bumper, I notice that the scraping was lesser, and the rear of the car feels more solid. The whole installation process took me half an hour, and I saved some cash rather than sending it to a workshop and be slaughtered.