Suspension set-up

[Bodger bedge]

Hi all
Please can you help. Just had AVO's fitted to the cerb but I fear they are not set up correctly. I appear to ground out far too easily. I generally drive back roads and general A roads but I cruse not race....how sad am I? There is generally 2 adults and 2 young kids in the car so I am looking for a fairly soft and comfortable ride....time to go and get my tartan slippers I think!
I have tonight adjusted the ride height so that the top of the wheel arch is 675mm from the ground at the front and approx 600mm at the front with no load. I run on 16" wheels. I am not convinced this is right although the clearance under the car is much better. I also appear to have quite a bit of bounce at the rear. I guess this is what the dampening adjuster is for. I have a choice of clicking softer or harder but I don't know which way will reduce bounce and stiffen the suspension. Logic would lead me to believe it needs to be harder.
Does anyone have experience of these suspension units and more sadly drive like a whus? If so, what is your optimum ride height and damper settings? I know every car set-up is different but some basic guide lines will help. Its a ball ache job jacking-up the car every time it needs adjusting so I would like to reduce this as much as possible.
I look forward to your toughts.

[cerber450]

Bodger bedge said:

Hi all Please can you help. Just had AVO's fitted to the cerb but I fear they are not set up correctly. I appear to ground out far too easily. I generally drive back roads and general A roads but I cruse not race....how sad am I? There is generally 2 adults and 2 young kids in the car so I am looking for a fairly soft and comfortable ride....time to go and get my tartan slippers I think! I have tonight adjusted the ride height so that the top of the wheel arch is 675mm from the ground at the front and approx 600mm at the front with no load. I run on 16" wheels. I am not convinced this is right although the clearance under the car is much better. I also appear to have quite a bit of bounce at the rear. I guess this is what the dampening adjuster is for. I have a choice of clicking softer or harder but I don't know which way will reduce bounce and stiffen the suspension. Logic would lead me to believe it needs to be harder. Does anyone have experience of these suspension units and more sadly drive like a whus? If so, what is your optimum ride height and damper settings? I know every car set-up is different but some basic guide lines will help. Its a ball ache job jacking-up the car every time it needs adjusting so I would like to reduce this as much as possible. I look forward to your toughts.

What are your spring rates and what are the shocks set at?

I usually sell the kits with 375lb front and 325lb rear. I suggest a starting point of 14 clicks from soft to hard front and 12 clicks for the rear.

[Bodger bedge]

I believe the springs are the originals supplied by TVR but I can't be sure. What I do know is that the new shocks are AVO's PH1063's "Classics" on the rear.
How do I know where the starting point of the damper clicks is? Do they stop when I wind them fully out?
The springs are dark green in colour. I don't know whether this gives any indication to the type of spring fitted.
Thanks for your help.

[longbow]

I went through this a few months back when fitting a set of Nitron NTX and custom springs..... When I took the old standard stuff off it appeared the springs were quite soft, but the damping was very firm, particulary on the rear. So I guess the standard setup is largely overdamped giving the skitish behaviour everyone talks about on the standard kit. I fitted 450lb fronts and 375lb rears with moderate damper settings, which gives a much better ride quality - it now glides over bumps. I think on standard springs you are fighting a losing battle - go firmer and then set the damping up to get the right feel.......... Still don't like the body roll on high speed corners - does anyone know if the Red Rose 4.5 roll bars are worth sourcing to help in this respect??

[cerber450]

The green springs sound like the standard ones. Change them and you'll notice a big difference again.

The turn the adjustment anti-clockwise till it stops then to increase the effect turn it clockwise.

To be honest I've only ever set them to the ratings I mensioned above with the spring rates I stated.
With the standard springs I wouldn't know what the best setting is.

[alderley]

I agree with the comments about the over soft TVR springs. I changed to 400 front and 350 rear which is over twice the stiffness of my original springs. I use the cheap AVOs you have and use 11 clicks (from soft to hard) front and 9 clicks rear, in competition use. On a fast smooth race track I use 12 and 10. On the roads, I change this to 9 and 7 so springs can move easily on bumpy roads and give a comfortable ride.
It is important to allow the springs to work and AVO technical people said to me that people make the mistake of setting dampers too stiff when they really need stiffer springs. I found that stiffer springs actually gave a more comfortable ride on the road, stopped springs becoming coil-bound and stopped the underside grounding out.