Amazing difference!
Discussion
Passed MOT with no problem on Saturday (thankfully) and had the geometry checked and adjusted. The difference this had made to the car is quite significant. Before, the car was nervous and would track all over the road with bumps, dips, drain covers, etc.
Now it is actually pleasurable to drive!
Now it is actually pleasurable to drive!
Its expensive living out here in the sticks you know... probably still worth a call as I would expect they could give you a fixed price for a job like this... you could maybe even blag a discount out of your TVRCC membership ? and at least you know your precious would be looked after by a TVR dealer... sounds like I have an axe to grind eh? but you know I dont and what i'm saying.
good luck
K
good luck
K
Not sure exactly as it was lumped in with some other bits and the MOT.
Richard mentioned £60 on the phone but I can't remember if that included anything else.
He checked the alignments, camber, castor etc and looked at the suspension bushes. Probably some other stuff too but I wasn't there at the time.
Richard mentioned £60 on the phone but I can't remember if that included anything else.
He checked the alignments, camber, castor etc and looked at the suspension bushes. Probably some other stuff too but I wasn't there at the time.
£60 sounds pretty good to me... it cost me £50 for 4 wheel alignment for my scoobie a couple of years ago
I suppose if the checks found that no adjustment was required then it would be cheaper than if everything needed resetting ?
worth having done anyway. I have just replaced an O/S top ball joint so will need mine checked. I'll let you know but it will be May before thats done. - roll on May
I suppose if the checks found that no adjustment was required then it would be cheaper than if everything needed resetting ?
worth having done anyway. I have just replaced an O/S top ball joint so will need mine checked. I'll let you know but it will be May before thats done. - roll on May
I have a plan.
I've stripped the suspension and steering for clean up and paint so will have to do the initial alignment at the front anyway. Shouldn't be too difficult should it? No, really, it shouldn't should it?
OK, here's the plan:
Pump the tyres up to the correct pressures all round, centre steering wheel.
Camber first, straight edge clamped to axle stand positioned convenient distance from and lined up with the centreline of the wheel. Sight the straight edge against a plumb line and set to vertical. Measure bottom of wheel rim to straight edge, measure top and adjust as necessary.
Toe-in. Set up a line front to back on both sides of the car aligned with the centre of the wheels. I'm thinking of looping it around the hub or trailing arm, passed round the back of the tyre and spaced with a block against the tyre to clear the bodywork with a batten clamped to the chassis front to secure and tension. Set the line each side so that the rear of the rims are equidistant from it front and back. Having set that up measure front rims to line and adjust as necessary at the track rods.
I think it will work but may have to look at the detail a little more, esp securing and tensioning lines front to back. I should be able to get well within the +/- 0.25 deg tolerance mentioned in the book. (1 deg across 410mm rims equates to 7.15mm).
I think the castor angle is fixed by the suspension geometry, can't see any way of adjusting that. Wouldn't attempt to adjust the rear wheels, probably best left to a specialist with a supply of shims, but will check and record whats there.
Question is what settings to use for standard Koni setup, straight from the book or are there any that work better for normal road use?
I've stripped the suspension and steering for clean up and paint so will have to do the initial alignment at the front anyway. Shouldn't be too difficult should it? No, really, it shouldn't should it?
OK, here's the plan:
Pump the tyres up to the correct pressures all round, centre steering wheel.
Camber first, straight edge clamped to axle stand positioned convenient distance from and lined up with the centreline of the wheel. Sight the straight edge against a plumb line and set to vertical. Measure bottom of wheel rim to straight edge, measure top and adjust as necessary.
Toe-in. Set up a line front to back on both sides of the car aligned with the centre of the wheels. I'm thinking of looping it around the hub or trailing arm, passed round the back of the tyre and spaced with a block against the tyre to clear the bodywork with a batten clamped to the chassis front to secure and tension. Set the line each side so that the rear of the rims are equidistant from it front and back. Having set that up measure front rims to line and adjust as necessary at the track rods.
I think it will work but may have to look at the detail a little more, esp securing and tensioning lines front to back. I should be able to get well within the +/- 0.25 deg tolerance mentioned in the book. (1 deg across 410mm rims equates to 7.15mm).
I think the castor angle is fixed by the suspension geometry, can't see any way of adjusting that. Wouldn't attempt to adjust the rear wheels, probably best left to a specialist with a supply of shims, but will check and record whats there.
Question is what settings to use for standard Koni setup, straight from the book or are there any that work better for normal road use?
I set the toe-in by strapping a long piece of wood to each wheel and measuring across between the ends. You can do the same thing with string but you need to position it very carefully to get it parallel to the wheel. When setting the camber you need to ensure that the floor is flat and level. Other than that, as long as you understand what it is you're trying to measure and can visualise it clearly, it's a doddle.
On the Camber side of things ,I have fitted new springs to the front, if I have the pre-compression wrong on the springs this will affect the camber,correct?? (ie too little precomp' and the the top of the wheel leans in)I dont want to try and set the Camber needlessly because of this, and be compensating for the wrong pre load.
How do I get the preload correct in the first place???
or am I looking at it all wrong.I've never had adjustable suspension on a car before so its a bit new to me.
How do I get the preload correct in the first place???
or am I looking at it all wrong.I've never had adjustable suspension on a car before so its a bit new to me.
clarenceboddiger said:
On the Camber side of things ,I have fitted new springs to the front, if I have the pre-compression wrong on the springs this will affect the camber,correct?? (ie too little precomp' and the the top of the wheel leans in)I dont want to try and set the Camber needlessly because of this, and be compensating for the wrong pre load.
How do I get the preload correct in the first place???
or am I looking at it all wrong.I've never had adjustable suspension on a car before so its a bit new to me.
How do I get the preload correct in the first place???
or am I looking at it all wrong.I've never had adjustable suspension on a car before so its a bit new to me.
If you change the ride height this will affect the camber. You need to get the ride height before you set anything else. To do this you need to adjust the spring seats until you get the correct ride height. Obviously you do need to know what the correct ride height is!
The force on the springs is determined by the vehicle weight and suspension geometry, and can be estimated if you know these. Alternatively if you know what the old spring length was at the normal ride height and you know the old spring rate and free length you can get a pretty accurate indication of the force on the spring. Knowing the force and the new spring rate you can work out how far the new spring will deflect. Knowing the ride height you can determine the damper length at the normal ride height. Knowing the spring length and the damper length you can determine where the spring seats need to be.
Alternative just fit them somewhere that seems about right and adjust them up and down until you get the ride height you want.
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