New springs questions

New springs questions

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Discussion

Chrisk123

Original Poster:

7 posts

115 months

Sunday 16th November 2014
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Have been looking at the suspension Wiki and various posts and decided I need to change the springs on my V8S for something softer. It came with 450 front/375 rears and Gaz Pro's. As I drive mainly bumpy B roads and backroads I am finding it very harsh.

Are the front and rear springs swappable - i.e. can I just put the 375's on to the front, and buy new (300's) for the rear?

I believe the springs I have are 2.25inch x 8 inch size. Do I just by a spring of the same size from any well known supplier (such as Burton Power) and bung them on, or should they be TVR specific? Any advice gratefully received.

The geometry/alignment was set up by the previous owner, but will this all need to be re-set if I just change spring rates but not ride heights etc?

Cheers chris

LawrieS

338 posts

115 months

Sunday 16th November 2014
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Hi Chris,

I have the same spring rate and find them quite comfortable compared to what was on her before.

Have you tried adjusting the dampers?

if you change the springs then the ride height will need adjustment but geometry should stay the same.

Lawrie

Chrisk123

Original Poster:

7 posts

115 months

Sunday 16th November 2014
quotequote all
Thanks Lawrie, maybe I should have a go at that first then, if it makes a significant difference. I really want the car to be comfy for touring trips more than track days and it seems the 450 springs are more track inclined. I'll try winding the shocks back to the lowest setting before I change anything else.

I think the original springs on S's were much softer at less than 300 so was aiming for something in the middle.





glenrobbo

35,077 posts

149 months

Monday 17th November 2014
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Hi Chris,
I agree completely with Lawrie, I have the same spring rates as both of you, and here around Stockport are probably some of the worst roads in the country for potholes & speed bumps, but I'm very happy with my set-up ( also Gaz ).

It sounds like yours is set way too hard. Even on track you need some compliance.
Just a couple of clicks on the dampers makes quite a difference, try turning the adjusters anti-clockwise 10 clicks from fully hard and see how that feels. I think you'll be amazed ar the difference.

Good luck
Glen smile

Oldred_V8S

3,714 posts

237 months

Monday 17th November 2014
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Same settings on my V8S and not noticed it is excessively hard; it seems you may have the settings set too hard.

v8s4me

7,234 posts

218 months

Monday 17th November 2014
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glenrobbo said:
.... Just a couple of clicks on the dampers makes quite a difference, try turning the adjusters anti-clockwise 10 clicks from fully hard and see how that feels. ...
I thought the adjustment on GGP's was just on rebound. Is that not the case then?

Chrisk123

Original Poster:

7 posts

115 months

Monday 17th November 2014
quotequote all
Thanks - maybe I am being to hasty then in thinking the springs need to go. As it turns out I need to drag the TVR out of its nice cosy garage tomorrow as my Landrover has just chewed up it's transfer box - great timing. At least having a 'spare' car will come in handy.

Will adjust all the shocks and then have a few days to test out the new settings - just hope it doesn't rain too much this week now. Bit ironic that the 21 year 'why did you buy that unreliable thing' TVR is coming to the rescue of the 4 year old 'go-on forever don't they' - Defender!

greymrj

3,316 posts

203 months

Tuesday 18th November 2014
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Sorry to hear about the Defender...but if you must buy these modern things!

Yes, as supplied the Gas shocks were set with the damping much too hard. Try as Glenrobbo suggested but be prepared to mess around quite a bit to find the ride which best suits you as it will depend to some extent on how you drive it and what weight you are and how often you carry a passenger. The downside of having fully adjustable suspension is that you will have a lot of adjusting to do.

Set the ride height as per the 'book' but be prepared to change it. I doubt if anybody has the outriggers exact in relation to the suspension mountings so the outriggers are really not a good datum for the suspension. If you can get it on a garage ramp, go underneath and examine the angles of the lower wishbones and trailing arms. It is more important that they are the same than the outriggers being the same. Dont forget that it is no use setting to either datum without an appropriate weight in the car, you must have at least your body weight in there.


Chrisk123

Original Poster:

7 posts

115 months

Wednesday 19th November 2014
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Cheers for the advice - I have wound the shocks back to the stops and it seems to have softened the ride quite noticeably and compliance is now much better on bumpy roads. I will try for a bit and probably a couple of clicks will do the job.

DamianS3

1,803 posts

181 months

Thursday 20th November 2014
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Gonna give a counter view to above. I also had the td spec on my ggp and it was still not ideal even after softening shocks. Main prob was IMHO the front was too high and motorway runs at high speed didn't inspire confidence. To drop front on gaz springs meant adding preload which just makes matters worse. Also the ggp springs looked awful after a couple of years on.
So swaped springs for shorter and lower poundage ones and in the brief time I had to test it was way better again IMHO with the nose down more weight is on front helping cornering confidence and also the high speed stability is again much better I will check spec but iirc fronts are now 375 or so and a little shorter.

Anyways just my personal experiance 450 were ok but it feels so much better now.

It's possible the weight saving in the engine department has helped too perhaps allowing my use of lower rates springs ?

Cheers

Damian S3 duratech

LawrieS

338 posts

115 months

Friday 21st November 2014
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Chrisk123 said:
Cheers for the advice - I have wound the shocks back to the stops and it seems to have softened the ride quite noticeably and compliance is now much better on bumpy roads. I will try for a bit and probably a couple of clicks will do the job.
Are you referring to damper adjustment here? The little knob?

Completely anti clockwise will be the softest setting and definitely too soft.

Wind them all the way back and then turn clockwise by 8 clicks, thats how I set mine when fitting and it's quite comfortable and drivable. Any softer I found the back end was a bit bouncy.

LawrieS

338 posts

115 months

Friday 21st November 2014
quotequote all
Chrisk123 said:
Cheers for the advice - I have wound the shocks back to the stops and it seems to have softened the ride quite noticeably and compliance is now much better on bumpy roads. I will try for a bit and probably a couple of clicks will do the job.
Are you referring to damper adjustment here? The little knob?

Completely anti clockwise will be the softest setting and definitely too soft.

Wind them all the way back and then turn clockwise by 8 clicks, thats how I set mine when fitting and it's quite comfortable and drivable. Any softer I found the back end was a bit bouncy.