Fitting New Springs & Shocks

[muskrat]

I've seen lots of posts saying "2 bolts 30 mins per corner". Is it really that simple ? Assuming I buy them assembled do I need anything more than a standard socket set ?

Regards,
Mike

[Bugsy]

Well I haven't got around to fitting mine yet but I did have a play on the old car and reckon that it is that simple, the longest job I think is getting the ride height correct.
My new shocks have the springs on and I intend to set them all equal off the car to the same length as the old ones and then adjust them the last bit with the C spanner once fitted.

Anybody knows better, lets hear it please.

[GreenV8S]

You'll need an open ender for the top of the rear shocks. Otherwise, fitting is straight forward assuming you have the correct springs already mounted on the dampers and the spring seats are set correctly.

[sotonS2]

muskrat said:

I've seen lots of posts saying "2 bolts 30 mins per corner". Is it really that simple ? Assuming I buy them assembled do I need anything more than a standard socket set ? Regards, Mike

Disregarding seized bolts etc etc then 30 minutes per corner is the maximum it should take.

Avoid seized bolts by soaking in wd40 24 hours beforehand.

The only awkward nuts to get to are the top rears and you may need a bent, open ended spanner.

[Shmern]

Sorry to be a pain, but with the search disabled again I need to ak a question.

What Shocks/Spring sets do you guys recommend ?

AVO, GAZ, Obviously Nitron, but to be honest Nitron are a bit too dear for me.

I haven't seen AVO's or GAZ advertised with springs (fitted or otherwise)

My use would be for Firm road use with regular track days.

Shmern

[GreenV8S]

sotonS2 said:

The only awkward nuts to get to are the top rears and you may need a bent, open ended spanner.

On mine you can get away with a plain ordinary open-ender by approaching it vertically (from underneath) rather than horizontally iyswim. There is a definite knack to getting the thread started though.

[yellabelly]

Shmern said:

Sorry to be a pain, but with the search disabled again I need to ak a question. What Shocks/Spring sets do you guys recommend ? AVO, GAZ, Obviously Nitron, but to be honest Nitron are a bit too dear for me. I haven't seen AVO's or GAZ advertised with springs (fitted or otherwise) My use would be for Firm road use with regular track days. Shmern

Recently fitted AVO PG718 adjustables on the front of the S with E10325 325lb rate springs. The cost direct from AVO was £236.18 delivered, Shocks were £75 each + VAT and the springs were £21 each + VAT, carriage £9.00. However they ommitted to tell me that they don't supply a C spanner and you have to fit the springs. The 30mins per corner is about right but pre-setting the spring platform height, I have 10" springs set to 8 1/2", will help reduce time and that gave me a ride height of 6 1/2"
YB

[bugsy]

Sorry to advertise because as some of you know I have done a deal with Gaz but the Gaz shocks come with the springs fitted and you do get a C spanner included.

[sotons2]

yellabelly said:

Recently fitted AVO PG718 adjustables on the front of the S with E10325 325lb rate springs. The cost direct from AVO was £236.18 delivered, Shocks were £75 each + VAT and the springs were £21 each + VAT, carriage £9.00. However they ommitted to tell me that they don't supply a C spanner and you have to fit the springs. The 30mins per corner is about right but pre-setting the spring platform height, I have 10" springs set to 8 1/2", will help reduce time and that gave me a ride height of 6 1/2" YB

Very similiar to mine except I opted for 350lb front.

and they do supply a C spanner if you ask nicely

GreenV8S said:

On mine you can get away with a plain ordinary open-ender by approaching it vertically (from underneath) rather than horizontally iyswim. There is a definite knack to getting the thread started though.

[bugsy]

sotons2 said:

Very similiar to mine except I opted for 350lb front.

So did I
I;m trying 300lb on the back and 350lb on the front, Gaz do a swap deal FOC if you don't like the set up.

[SotonS2]

bugsy said:

sotons2 said: Very similiar to mine except I opted for 350lb front. So did I I;m trying 300lb on the back and 350lb on the front, Gaz do a swap deal FOC if you don't like the set up.

Fair play to them - that's a cracking deal

Are yours fitted yet ? If so, how do you find them ?

[bugsy]

Not fitted yet, I might sell them and go for the new nickel plated ones, they do look rather good, a bit like chrome and I'm told that nickel plating is non porous, so they stay nicer longer.

[shmern]

bugsy said:

sotons2 said: Very similiar to mine except I opted for 350lb front. So did I I;m trying 300lb on the back and 350lb on the front, Gaz do a swap deal FOC if you don't like the set up.

Which leads me onto my next question....

What rates front and back ? As said before Firm road use and Regular Track days.

300lb F and 350lb R sounds (according to some other threads) prehaps a touch to soft for what im looking for ? or is it !!

Obviously Pete's rating are probably mental, so im guessing, somewhere between Pete's rates and standard then but what are they !!!

Any suggestions ?

Shmern

>> Edited by shmern on Tuesday 26th April 09:56

[SotonS2]

Can of worms.......

I have gone for 350lb front and 300lb rear ie slightly stiffer than standard and 10%-15% softer on the back than the front. They don't seem to too soft to me but then I don't track mine.

AFAIK, its only Tower View that recommend having stiffer back than front. I am no expert and merely went with the majority and I am not displeased with the results.

GreenV8 and Joospeed sprint / track theirs and run insanely stiff springs - cannot comment how these would be for day to day use. Peter or Joolz will have to advise.

[bugsy]

Drop Peter Humphreys a mail, he has been experimenting for years.
The serious players seem to go harder on the front than the original fitment of about 280lb on the back and 250lb on the front.
I reckon that what I had on the old S3 was pretty firm at 350lb front and 325lb rear and it did point and shoot at corners, the only thing I was unhappy about was that the Avo's seemed very difficult to adjust and once you went past 10 clicks it just seemed that there was no control of damping, which is why I originally looked at Gaz with 30+ damping adjustments.

[shmern]

SotonS2 said:

Can of worms....... and I am not displeased with the results.

So is that the same as pleased or not really Damn those double negatives !

And Yeah I'd imagine Joolz and Petes rates to be verging on the ridiculous, so somewhat softer would be nice.

Wish the search was working, I could do some research !

Shmern

[bugsy]

SotonS2 said:

Can of worms....... I have gone for 350lb front and 300lb rear ie slightly stiffer than standard and 10%-15% softer on the back than the front. They don't seem to too soft to me but then I don't track mine. AFAIK, its only Tower View that recommend having stiffer back than front. I am no expert and merely went with the majority and I am not displeased with the results. GreenV8 and Joospeed sprint / track theirs and run insanely stiff springs - cannot comment how these would be for day to day use. Peter or Joolz will have to advise.

Tower View are not alone, they are simply sticking to the TVR line of about 10% harder on the rear, most of the dealers would go this route.
I have tended to go with Jools and Pete as I had a harder set up on the front and it worked.

[SotonS2]

shmern said:

SotonS2 said: Can of worms....... and I am not displeased with the results. So is that the same as pleased or not really Damn those double negatives ! And Yeah I'd imagine Joolz and Petes rates to be verging on the ridiculous, so somewhat softer would be nice. Wish the search was working, I could do some research ! Shmern

Sorry shmern - I'll admit that was a bit vague.

OK, I fitted mine myself with no real experience of setting up suspension. I set the ride heights to about where I wanted her to sit, adjusted the damper settings to their mid-points and haven't changed anything since.

The results over my knackered 'standard' dampers & springs ? A much smoother ride but still quite hard. Power on into a corner and she grips way better than before with minimal body roll (if any). Oversteer is very controllable by feathering the throttle. My only criticism is I get loads of lift off oversteer if I have to back off mid corner. Catchable but not very welcome.

This may be a combination of scabby P6000s (which I am trying to wear out - rapidly !!) or may be indicative of needing to get all the alignments and the like done. I believe it was Hoover33 who spent a 100 quid on laser alignment and said it transformed his S.

I haven't had the opportunity of playing with damping adjustments yet to see if that makes any difference. Will do so when the evenings get lighter for longer and post any feedback.

Before we start getting the comments 'take it to a specialist' or 'everyone thinks they are an expert' as in previous threads I have read on PH - no names , I am not and do not profess to be an expert. I can only talk from experience. For me, it is not about the money I save by not taking the car to a specialist. Part of the attraction when I bought the S was to tinker and to have the opportunity to learn as I went along, both from trawling the S forum archives and from getting my hands dirty.



>> Edited by SotonS2 on Tuesday 26th April 10:41

[bugsy]

I agree on the laser alignment, changing from the old rising rate springs and new shocks could definately change the camber/tracking.

Mind you loads of places now have this laser equipment and as long as you feed them the correct data, it could be done locally as cheap as £60. That's what I'm paying.

BTW I think I read on the forums that the P6000's were pants on the S series, Had Eagles and SO3's up to now, no problem



>> Edited by bugsy on Tuesday 26th April 11:00

[Kentish]

SotonS2 said:

Part of the attraction when I bought the S was to tinker and to have the opportunity to learn as I went along, both from trawling the S forum archives and from getting my hands dirty.