Springs
Author
Discussion

eel330

Original Poster:

42 posts

263 months

Thursday 25th August 2005
quotequote all
Just a quick one. Where is the best place to get springs from? I need to replace the rear springs on my 400HC and have been quoted £50 each from a main dealer.

Thanks in advance. :)

Hughesie2

12,790 posts

311 months

Thursday 25th August 2005
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Try Bugsy, no nonsense and no bull shit, he'll be along in a minute

damnfinechim

291 posts

254 months

Thursday 25th August 2005
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Sorry to hijack but i think i might be in the same boat. Not too worried about bells and whistles or racing but want something good and strong.

Cheers

bugsy

1,371 posts

265 months

Thursday 25th August 2005
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Sorry guys, can't help, yes the old rising rate rear springs do go saggy but I have to buy quite a few to get the right price and generally sell shocks and springs together, so don't have the demand.

I would say that before you go replacing springs that you get the shocks checked out because they also get tired and when the original springs are £100 a pair plus VAT and shocks and springs are only £217 plus VAT a pair, you have to be careful.

markh

2,781 posts

304 months

Friday 26th August 2005
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I got a set (2 front 2 rear) from Nitron for I think £125.00 seemed good value I thought.

damnfinechim

291 posts

254 months

Friday 26th August 2005
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markh said:
I got a set (2 front 2 rear) from Nitron for I think £125.00 seemed good value I thought.


Was that fitted or you do it yourself?

markh

2,781 posts

304 months

Friday 26th August 2005
quotequote all
Just the springs, fitting was on top

bugsy

1,371 posts

265 months

Friday 26th August 2005
quotequote all
markh said:
Just the springs, fitting was on top


If they were single rate springs, thats ok but not great.
Single rate springs are generally about £20 each plus VAT.

markh

2,781 posts

304 months

Friday 26th August 2005
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was for 2 325lbs front and 2 x 275lbs rear with vat and P&P

bugsy

1,371 posts

265 months

Saturday 27th August 2005
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According to the Nitron site his 2.25 ID springs are now £37.50 plus VAT.
You could probably buy Eibach for £10.00 extra per spring and get really great springs.

If you want 9",10" or 11" springs its not difficult to get 4 single rate springs for just over £100 inc Vat and carriage.

>> Edited by bugsy on Saturday 27th August 04:26

GreenV8S

31,017 posts

313 months

Saturday 27th August 2005
quotequote all
bugsy said:
You could probably buy Eibach for £10.00 extra per spring and get really great springs.

Surely a spring is a spring is a spring? Unless you go for some cheap shoddy rubbish that is, which I don't think any of the suppliers mentioned here are. I reckon the reason many of the springs cost more is because of the name - Nitron springs for example are relatively pricely but they come nicely painted in Nitron colours and you know the length and size is all correct. I don't see any problem using generic springs as long as you get the right spec.

trackcar

6,453 posts

255 months

Saturday 27th August 2005
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A rep from a very famous spring company* that may (or may not)have already been mentioned came to see me once to ask why i didn't want to use their springs. I told him it's because they sag like any other and i didn't think the extra cost was justified. He replied that their springs didnt sag, so i showed him several used sets with varying free lengths (they were all supposed to be the same) and a cerbera running on it's front bump stops. he conceeded that they'd sagged ...

Many race teams would argue that there's a benefit to running expensive springs made of a specific steel alloy with certain properties .. at our level you can forget all that.

For we mortals a spring is a spring is a spring.

* name of spring company withheld...

bugsy

1,371 posts

265 months

Saturday 27th August 2005
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Eibach are very good quality springs but I concede all the points made and buy mine down the road from Jools.

Mind you we are all bracing ourselves for a price rise because one of the biggest suppliers of spring steel to all the Sheffield guys has just gone bust.

BTW I note the care taken by our Yorkshire friend in not naming the manufacturer of the saggy springs

parrot of doom

23,075 posts

263 months

Sunday 28th August 2005
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I've got some old rear springs. Nowt wrong with them. You can have them for a tenner plus p&p.

eel330

Original Poster:

42 posts

263 months

Monday 29th August 2005
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Thanks for all the replies. Got some standard springs from a main dealer. Got the old man to fit them at the weekend. Hasn't cured the problem of riding low on one side. Very occassionally catches the tyre. I have checked and the tyres are the right size. Anybody got any thoughts?

trackcar

6,453 posts

255 months

Monday 29th August 2005
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bent wishbone?
not unusual to have different dampers side to side..?
one damper losing it's gas pressure ( can be up to 150psi pressure so would make a difference)?
badly repaired accident damage?

could be any number of things really..

eel330

Original Poster:

42 posts

263 months

Monday 29th August 2005
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Had a look underneath and everything looks straight and no evidence of anything shifting. Isn't it the spring lenght that controls the ride height?

GreenV8S

31,017 posts

313 months

Monday 29th August 2005
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It may well be a spring problem, but there are some other potential causes. It would be worth making sure before parting with the hard-earned.

If you are in a position to take the springs off and check the free lengths then that would be a pretty conclusive check. This is a fair bit of work which you might not want to do speculatively though; there are some other things you could check first.

Is the chassis sitting level? Not easy to measure unless you can find perfectly flat ground, but if you are looking for differences in ride height it is critical to measure at the chassis rather than the body.

The second thing is whether the body is symmetrical and central on the chassis. It probably wasn't as standard (none of the bodies are perfectly symmetrical) and may have got worse over time as the mounting rubbers age and/or fall out. It may be that the suspension is fine and the problem is the bodywork has moved. Raising the ride height with new springs/dampers would correct the symptoms but not the underlying problem.

eel330

Original Poster:

42 posts

263 months

Wednesday 31st August 2005
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Maybe I should have mentioned that the car was hit in the side last year. A small chunk was taken out of the rear wing. All been repaired but now the bodywork is near the tyre on 1 side. Body all looks in the right place in relation to the chassis. I am competely stumped now. The old spring was exactly the same length as the new one. Any more ideas?

JR

14,332 posts

287 months

Wednesday 31st August 2005
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What sort of difference are you talking about? 5mm? 50mm? 80mm???