Shocks, springs and things......
Discussion
Hi Guys,
Have finally decided to sort out the dodgy ride height on my S2. Currently I have a gap of about 11" from floor to sill at the rear of the car, and whilst this looks naff, it helps with the ground clearance.
I have discovered that my S2 has been fitted with the rear trailing arms from an S3, but due to different mounting points I am left with this big gap.
I am looking to run the car on roads only, and I don't want anything too hard as I am not likely to go track racing with it, so to my questions.......
Question 1 - Do I need to replace the springs as well as the shock absorbers?
Question 2 - What is the most reasonable, cost efficient brand to go with for new kit, preferably adjustable?
Question 3 - What is the exact spec / model numbers and where do I get them from.
Question 4 - Is it worth fitting polyurenthane bushes at the same time?
Thanks for the help.
Ian
Have finally decided to sort out the dodgy ride height on my S2. Currently I have a gap of about 11" from floor to sill at the rear of the car, and whilst this looks naff, it helps with the ground clearance.
I have discovered that my S2 has been fitted with the rear trailing arms from an S3, but due to different mounting points I am left with this big gap.
I am looking to run the car on roads only, and I don't want anything too hard as I am not likely to go track racing with it, so to my questions.......
Question 1 - Do I need to replace the springs as well as the shock absorbers?
Question 2 - What is the most reasonable, cost efficient brand to go with for new kit, preferably adjustable?
Question 3 - What is the exact spec / model numbers and where do I get them from.
Question 4 - Is it worth fitting polyurenthane bushes at the same time?
Thanks for the help.
Ian
You have answered your own question on whether to go for shocks and springs because if you want to have control of your ride height, you will have to put adjustable shocks on the car and they generally run on 9" springs.
With regard to springing, I have recently done some spring testing on the S3 and found that 250/300lb on the back and 350/400lb on the front works well.
Your choices boil down to Avo or Gaz for shocks IMHO and somebody will doubtless give you their view on this.
Polybushes are well worth a look and the new revised Powerflex ones look good but Superflex have also been around a long time.
>> Edited by bugsy on Tuesday 26th July 22:40
With regard to springing, I have recently done some spring testing on the S3 and found that 250/300lb on the back and 350/400lb on the front works well.
Your choices boil down to Avo or Gaz for shocks IMHO and somebody will doubtless give you their view on this.
Polybushes are well worth a look and the new revised Powerflex ones look good but Superflex have also been around a long time.
>> Edited by bugsy on Tuesday 26th July 22:40
Bugsy! From what I understand GAZ have been developed by an ex LEDA man, and they made some great shocks.
I have fitted Gaz shocks and new springs all round and it has made a huge difference. Ride height is adjustable and handling is much improved. For a budget set I would recomend these. Nitrons may be better but are a touch pricey for road use.
If you have no intention of track days, I would suggest that the hassle/price on poly bushes may outway and benefits.
Have a look at Busgy's profile and give him a call, he will fix you up with a set-up to suit your requirements.
As I forgot to call you back Derek,
the least I could do was give you a free plug!! I got taken in by the sights at Wentworth.
I have meeting tomorrow morning but will chase a price and call you around lunch!!
I have fitted Gaz shocks and new springs all round and it has made a huge difference. Ride height is adjustable and handling is much improved. For a budget set I would recomend these. Nitrons may be better but are a touch pricey for road use.
If you have no intention of track days, I would suggest that the hassle/price on poly bushes may outway and benefits.
Have a look at Busgy's profile and give him a call, he will fix you up with a set-up to suit your requirements.
As I forgot to call you back Derek,
the least I could do was give you a free plug!! I got taken in by the sights at Wentworth. I have meeting tomorrow morning but will chase a price and call you around lunch!!
bugsy said:
Your choices boil down to Avo or Gaz for shocks IMHO and somebody will doubtless give you their view on this.
They seem to come out at similar prices, but when I compared them I didn't get on at all with the AVOs, the GAZ were OK though. This was a couple of years ago and both brands may have moved on since then so you may feel like giving AVOs the benefit of the doubt, my money would be on GAZ though. If you're shopping around the main alternatives to these two would be Protech (Joospeed), Leda, Nitron (
but £££). Yep
I can sell whatever I like and I prefer Gaz as a budget adjustable shock.
It is of course subjective but an easy answer is to get your ass up or down to S Club Heaven and have a drive in my S and see what you think.
I will also be showing the new Powerflex bushes, so again you can check them out.
End of commercial.
I can sell whatever I like and I prefer Gaz as a budget adjustable shock.
It is of course subjective but an easy answer is to get your ass up or down to S Club Heaven and have a drive in my S and see what you think.
I will also be showing the new Powerflex bushes, so again you can check them out.
End of commercial.
heyiga said:
Question 4 - Is it worth fitting polyurenthane bushes at the same time?
Time wise that's a big extra so I wouldn't bother unless the old ones are no good. If you still have the original ones then they'll be approaching 20 years old and will need to be replaced. Usual to shot blast and epoxy coat the arms as well.
19560 said:
Question 4 - Is it worth fitting polyurenthane bushes at the same time?
Time wise that's a big extra so I wouldn't bother unless the old ones are no good. If you still have the original ones then they'll be approaching 20 years old and will need to be replaced. Usual to shot blast and epoxy coat the arms as well.
I must admit that I expect more interest in these products in the winter months
bugsy said:
heyiga said:
Question 4 - Is it worth fitting polyurenthane bushes at the same time?
Time wise that's a big extra so I wouldn't bother unless the old ones are no good. If you still have the original ones then they'll be approaching 20 years old and will need to be replaced. Usual to shot blast and epoxy coat the arms as well.
I must admit that I expect more interest in these products in the winter months
Don't sell more than me or I'll not be happy
bugsy said:
I see Nitron on their listings, I wonder what else they sell.
I don't really see the point in buying Nitron off them when you can get a specialist to supply and fit them.
>> Edited by bugsy on Wednesday 27th July 17:10
There's lots of people selling nitrons mail order, i won't do it and insist on fitting and setting up or i tell the customer to buy elsewhere. I reckon 1 in 4 nitron equipped cars are underperforming because of bad set-ups from people who don't know or don't care.
One other problem i have is doing lots of development work on stuff like dampers and other sales oputfits getting the benefit of it, grrrr!
However in the case of tvr car parts i don't mind 'cos Peninsula did the early chim/griff work, and neil's a bloody nice chap
so good luck to him i say 
trackcar said:
I reckon 1 in 4 nitron equipped cars are underperforming because of bad set-ups from people who don't know or don't care.
I suspect its even higher than that. No doubt some people do take it seriously, but I get the impression that many people view big brake upgrades / suspension upgrades as a way to personalize their car, just like fitting alloy interior trim or changing the headlamp styling.
bugsy said:
Yes, the're all except me
At least I do my own testing.
Mind you I'm trying to figure out who you are talking about, unless Ron Avon is doing his old tricks and selling to everybody and his dog direct, using your development.
lol I'm talking about Nitron ... you can buy them anywhere now .. forytunately i have so many different specs on their files of my own that anyone else trying to recreate my packages would have a hard time .. but a lot of the development I do has gone into the std off the shelf kit.. sometimes i think about *selling a dummy* so teh latest std kit is actually a big backwards step .. I wonder how many fitters would actually notice though?
Very straight forward to fit. 19mm Socket, 19mm spanner, Penetrating oil and about an hour.
Don't forget the C spanner for adjusting the spring platforms.
You will need to set the ride heights on each corner at least (and you can do this providing you have a level, very level area of ground).
Ideally you should get the corner weights set afterwards for maximum benefit.
To find your preferred set up you may wish to play with shock absorber settings for a while. This again is very straightforward.
Don't forget the C spanner for adjusting the spring platforms.
You will need to set the ride heights on each corner at least (and you can do this providing you have a level, very level area of ground).
Ideally you should get the corner weights set afterwards for maximum benefit.
To find your preferred set up you may wish to play with shock absorber settings for a while. This again is very straightforward.
gefopsman said:
You will need to set the ride heights on each corner at least (and you can do this providing you have a level, very level area of ground).
Strongly disagree, I suggest that before you fit the dampers you estimate the spring seat position to give you your required ride height, and set both sides to the same. If the ride height isn't quite right when fitted then adjust both sides up or down by the same amount to ensure the car stays level. Trying to 'level' the car by eye is a very bad idea and likely to end up with the corner weights miles out.
Absolutely. Even if you have a polished slab of marble in your shed, no ground is more accurately level than TVR's chassis assembly jigs - despite the rumours of many Porky owners.
You can set the lengths equal using cheap vernier calipers or fabricate a guage to check between the moving spring seat and the base of the shock body (not the other spring seat, because that's intentionally a moving target). Or you can make a jig of your own with 2 shock mounting bolts with a fixed separation, to equalise the spring seat separations for sure - have to remove the shocks for this though.
Despite my best intentions to keep a count of the turns from the presumably accuratly equal set-up when fitted, I lost count when the c-spanner slipped and I smashed my knuckle on the wishbone on at about 13 turns - or was it 14?
?
When I've got the height I want (compromise between track use and a particular speed bump I can't avoid) it will be professionally geometry checked, because the changed ride height affects the camber. That's more likely to be benefical than corner weighting if the shocks are set equally.
You can set the lengths equal using cheap vernier calipers or fabricate a guage to check between the moving spring seat and the base of the shock body (not the other spring seat, because that's intentionally a moving target). Or you can make a jig of your own with 2 shock mounting bolts with a fixed separation, to equalise the spring seat separations for sure - have to remove the shocks for this though.
Despite my best intentions to keep a count of the turns from the presumably accuratly equal set-up when fitted, I lost count when the c-spanner slipped and I smashed my knuckle on the wishbone on at about 13 turns - or was it 14?
? When I've got the height I want (compromise between track use and a particular speed bump I can't avoid) it will be professionally geometry checked, because the changed ride height affects the camber. That's more likely to be benefical than corner weighting if the shocks are set equally.
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