Discussion
Hi all
Well after getting my 280i back to roadworthy condition and mot'd back in march (after owning it for over a year!) i finally got to give it an outing,
a combination of miserable weather and work commitments keeping me out of the car for the last couple of months. Being new to wedge ownership i didnt know what to expect but WHAT A BLAST!
Did about 40 miles in an hour and a half,top down, sun shining, small children (and some not so small) pointing eyes wide mouthing the words - look at that!
Despite being only a 280 the exhaust note gets really hard edged over 3500rpm , possibly due to the stainless exhaust? Car didnt miss a beat I took my teenage son with me & he loved it- a great afternoon. A couple of issues though,
1. Car seems a bit "skippy" over rough surfaces and wanders quie a bit at higher speeds. A previous owner did some work on the front suspension i wonder if it needs setting up properly? Can anyone recommend a place to get it done in the Thurrock Essex area ? What should need doing? and what are the recommended settings?
2. Speedo seems miles out - is this normal? Heading down the A13 toward 5 bells Roundabout Basildon most traffic does 60-65 mph I was overtaking- felt like i was going a "little" faster than that but the speedo was only showing a touch over 50! think ill take my sat nav out next time might give an indication of how far out the speedo reads. Anyone else have this issue?
Happy Wedging
Rockettvr
Well after getting my 280i back to roadworthy condition and mot'd back in march (after owning it for over a year!) i finally got to give it an outing,
a combination of miserable weather and work commitments keeping me out of the car for the last couple of months. Being new to wedge ownership i didnt know what to expect but WHAT A BLAST! Did about 40 miles in an hour and a half,top down, sun shining, small children (and some not so small) pointing eyes wide mouthing the words - look at that! Despite being only a 280 the exhaust note gets really hard edged over 3500rpm , possibly due to the stainless exhaust? Car didnt miss a beat I took my teenage son with me & he loved it- a great afternoon. A couple of issues though,1. Car seems a bit "skippy" over rough surfaces and wanders quie a bit at higher speeds. A previous owner did some work on the front suspension i wonder if it needs setting up properly? Can anyone recommend a place to get it done in the Thurrock Essex area ? What should need doing? and what are the recommended settings?
2. Speedo seems miles out - is this normal? Heading down the A13 toward 5 bells Roundabout Basildon most traffic does 60-65 mph I was overtaking- felt like i was going a "little" faster than that but the speedo was only showing a touch over 50! think ill take my sat nav out next time might give an indication of how far out the speedo reads. Anyone else have this issue?
Happy Wedging
Rockettvr
Rockettvr said:
Despite being only a 280 the exhaust note gets really hard edged over 3500rpm , possibly due to the stainless exhaust?
Hi Mate..Theres no despite about it...I had my rear silencers removed and i drown out 350s and 390s..Its been proven..The 280 is a good fun car and yes the V8 rumble sends shivers up my spine but i still love my wee beauty..Also get the skippy sensation checked out..It could just need a four wheel alignment or the ujs might need checking..I put mine into Dan taylors in maidstone, Some say he is too expensive but just tell him you are on a budget..Happy wedging in this fantastic weather..Heres a snippet of my 280 exhaust note..Cheers..Zigahttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L2VuD4wtI8w
JMF894 said:
I had my rear silencers removed and i drown out 350s and 390s
Ahem
Jimbo
Yours is a 450 jimbo!...And its very loud..Plus i was only trying to give some big up to the 280 as everyone looks down on them..There only a step up wedge or should i say "Step on"..Thanks a bunch..You spoil sport...Ahem
Jimbo
...Only messing....PS: Can we have some pics of the beast please Ron..We love piccies we do!!
Edited by mrzigazaga on Sunday 27th May 22:07
mrzigazaga said:
pwd95 said:
The sound comp at BBWF should be interesting then.
...Thats just reminded me..
..I have invested in 50 push in silencers to ensure mine WILL be the loudest wedge at the fest..
ho hummm, I blame lack of sleep!york33 said:
mrzigazaga said:
pwd95 said:
The sound comp at BBWF should be interesting then.
...Thats just reminded me....I have invested in 50 push in silencers to ensure mine WILL be the loudest wedge at the fest.. ho hummm, I blame lack of sleep!It's that or he has been on the rusties early
Andy
Mr Tank said:
york33 said:
mrzigazaga said:
pwd95 said:
The sound comp at BBWF should be interesting then.
...Thats just reminded me....I have invested in 50 push in silencers to ensure mine WILL be the loudest wedge at the fest.. ho hummm, I blame lack of sleep!It's that or he has been on the rusties early
Andy
...mmmm.....You must remember the secret lemonade drinker..Well its kinda like that but i wont be sneaking downstairs to drink lemonade..I will be sneaking out to the car park on friday night to place the silencers into the exhausts of the wedges that have arrived and then as im manning the control point and people are arriving then i will hatch a cunning plan where i get the chance to place silencers into the exhausts of the wedges turning up on the saturday..Or i might just wait until its time for the loudest wedge comp and detonate an EMP grenade...Bye bye ECUs...Hi all
Think my speedo prob may be down to the wheel/tyre combo im running. Ive currently got 205/60r15's on Excuse the ignorance but didnt my 84' 280i come with 14" rims as standard? maybe this is causing my speedo to under-read (70 true mph only reads 55 on speedo!) Your motor sounds great Zig all i can say is you must have very tolerant nieghbours, dont think mine would be too keen on me taking the back boxes off
Think my speedo prob may be down to the wheel/tyre combo im running. Ive currently got 205/60r15's on Excuse the ignorance but didnt my 84' 280i come with 14" rims as standard? maybe this is causing my speedo to under-read (70 true mph only reads 55 on speedo!) Your motor sounds great Zig all i can say is you must have very tolerant nieghbours, dont think mine would be too keen on me taking the back boxes off
Rockettvr said:
70 true mph only reads 55 on speedo
Hi mate..As said the difference in rim and tyre size does change the speedometer readings but it shouldnt be as high as you have recorded..3-7% decrease in the reading should be applicable depending on tyre wall size..You have quite a big difference, What gauges do you have fitted,,Perhaps they need calibrating?..Im not sure if it would be a worn drive gear in the gearbox or a worn cable?...Im not familiar with anyone in your area as regards to 4-wheel alignment but here are the settings that were passed on to me by a fellow wedger..Hope this helps...Ziga
Here are the generic settings for all Wedges:
The tracking should be set at 3.2mm toe-in +/- 1.5mm
Caster: 3.5 - 4.0 deg. pos.
Camber (F) 1.0 deg. neg.
Camber (R) 1.0 - 1.5 deg. neg.
Toe (in) (F) 0.50 deg.
Toe (in) (R) 2MM - don't know why MM not deg!
2mm on 15inch rims = 0.30 degrees = 18 minutes
2mm on 17inch rims = 0.27 degrees = 16 minutes
Either way it's just a smidge toe in.
15 inch rims 3.2mm toe gives 0.24 degrees wheel to vehicle center-line or 0.48 degrees wheel to wheel.
14 inch rims 3.2mm toe gives 0.26 degrees wheel to vehicle center-line or 0.52 degrees wheel to wheel.
For the front
toe is 3.2 +/- 1.5mm
camber is 0 +/- 1.2 degres (not adjustable anyway is it?)
caster is 31.2 +/- 0.5 degrees
KPI 6 degrees (Not sure what this is?
For the rear
toe is 4.5mm
camber is 0.5 +/- 0.5 degrees (this seems small as the wheels have a visible camber)
Agree....
I reckon most likely is a 'sticky' speedo. They can get gummed up inside when old. I've seen that a few times. A clean and some WD40 works well (Yes, I know you're not supposed to...but..)
It could be it's not the original gearbox, and its speedo gears are calibrated for a different vehicle (YES - Ford gearboxes DO have speedo calibration options !).
I reckon most likely is a 'sticky' speedo. They can get gummed up inside when old. I've seen that a few times. A clean and some WD40 works well (Yes, I know you're not supposed to...but..)
It could be it's not the original gearbox, and its speedo gears are calibrated for a different vehicle (YES - Ford gearboxes DO have speedo calibration options !).
Thanks for the suspension settings Zig
may come in useful for when i find a 4 wheel laser tracking operater a bit nearer to home (Dan Taylors would mean an 80 mile round trip!)
As regards the speedo issue you and RCK974X may be right about it being "sticky" as the trip meter doesnt really work properly either - it turns but very slowly then stops then restarts for a bit....etc. As the cars been standing for a few years im hoping a bit of regular use will free it up a bit otherwise ill have to take it out and clean it up with a bit of WD40.
As for the pics ill have to take her somewhere nice and get some decent shots of her to upload if the weather holds ill try to sort it out this weekend
Thanks Guys
Rockettvr
may come in useful for when i find a 4 wheel laser tracking operater a bit nearer to home (Dan Taylors would mean an 80 mile round trip!)As regards the speedo issue you and RCK974X may be right about it being "sticky" as the trip meter doesnt really work properly either - it turns but very slowly then stops then restarts for a bit....etc. As the cars been standing for a few years im hoping a bit of regular use will free it up a bit otherwise ill have to take it out and clean it up with a bit of WD40.
As for the pics ill have to take her somewhere nice and get some decent shots of her to upload if the weather holds ill try to sort it out this weekend
Thanks Guys
Rockettvr
I have stuart warner gauges and they are a little out..My rev counter is around 300rpm out and my speedometer is out by about 3mph..I did read that they can be calibrated but it might just be a bad earth..Sounds like you could have a sticky cable..WD will free it up but it might be better lubed with some spray grease..It might be a bit of a pig to get to it at the gauge end though...Ziga
Evening All
Been looking at the suspension on the wedge, now would I be right in thinking that the rear suspension (trailing arm) is fixed with no degree of adjustment and the front has only 2 points of adjustment, the track rod ends and the tie bar.
Obviously the track rod ends do the toe-in but what does the tie bar adjust?
castor, camber or both? It looks as if you shorten up the length of the bar it will pull the bottom of the hub in AND forward altering both castor AND camber. As mentioned earlier in the thread my handling doesnt feel right and I know a previous owner did some work on the front suspension.I have found a couple of local companies that do the 4 wheel laser tracking - but to be honest im not sure they can do a proper job. How much would i expect to pay for this work to be done - the companies Ive contacted all seem to want a fortune- the cheapest was £60+vat to do an initial examination PLUS there would be additional costs according to what needs adjusting!So i'm just looking for a local company (i'm very near Lakeside shopping centre in Essex) that will set up the car properly without ripping me off - can anyone help with a recommendation?
Been looking at the suspension on the wedge, now would I be right in thinking that the rear suspension (trailing arm) is fixed with no degree of adjustment and the front has only 2 points of adjustment, the track rod ends and the tie bar.
Obviously the track rod ends do the toe-in but what does the tie bar adjust?
castor, camber or both? It looks as if you shorten up the length of the bar it will pull the bottom of the hub in AND forward altering both castor AND camber. As mentioned earlier in the thread my handling doesnt feel right and I know a previous owner did some work on the front suspension.I have found a couple of local companies that do the 4 wheel laser tracking - but to be honest im not sure they can do a proper job. How much would i expect to pay for this work to be done - the companies Ive contacted all seem to want a fortune- the cheapest was £60+vat to do an initial examination PLUS there would be additional costs according to what needs adjusting!So i'm just looking for a local company (i'm very near Lakeside shopping centre in Essex) that will set up the car properly without ripping me off - can anyone help with a recommendation? No, the rear on the standard trailing arm has the following adjustments:
- the front rubber on the trailing arm is packed out with washers. This adjusts the toe-in.
- there are shims at the inboard ends of the driveshafts. This adjusts the camber (probably).
- the rear springs can have packing inserted where they seat at the top - to adjust the ride height/corner weight.
Have I missed anything?
- the front rubber on the trailing arm is packed out with washers. This adjusts the toe-in.
- there are shims at the inboard ends of the driveshafts. This adjusts the camber (probably).
- the rear springs can have packing inserted where they seat at the top - to adjust the ride height/corner weight.
Have I missed anything?
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