Lord Sorbington Posted June 12, 2007 Share Posted June 12, 2007 Got my new struts fitted today, from Chris Witor with the 160lb/in springs , uprated dampers and about 1/2" lower.The worrying knocking on the passenger side has stopped (the main reason for doing the job) so I'm glad it actually was the strut causing the problem.To be honest, apart from being a bit more springy when you press on each front wing, there isn't a huge difference in ride or handling. The old suspension may have been rattly and rusted up but it obviously still worked reasonably well! It was in a right old state though and needed to be changed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spitfire2500 Posted June 12, 2007 Share Posted June 12, 2007 Have you rebushed the suspension at all sorbs? Just curious. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Sorbington Posted June 12, 2007 Author Share Posted June 12, 2007 Drag strut bushes are new, which made the car a lot sharper, but apart from that all other bushes are existing ones. I'll fit poly ones when the time comes. Looking at the old struts, one top mount doesn't turn freely and I doubt gaiters were ever fitted during some botched rebuild long ago so the damper rods are quite corroded. This is why I wanted to start again using bits built up by someone who knows thier stuff. May have to get a bit of overtime in.....The back suspension displays just about every classic big saloon malady though, worn bushes, worn UJs, sticky splines, so that is on the list now too! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spitfire2500 Posted June 12, 2007 Share Posted June 12, 2007 Interesting -- thanks for info. Not sure what to do with ours. Ride and handling is fine at the moment - back end is a wee bit jumpy but not too bad.All the suspension stuff on our Saloon looks like complete sh*t but it works OK :DThink I'll leave the suspension for time being as it's doing the job OK and spend what I can afford at the moment on the bodywork and try and get sorted over the next year.Cheers, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Sorbington Posted June 12, 2007 Author Share Posted June 12, 2007 Yeah, I'm very much at the stage of only fixing things that are actually falling apart. Upgrades and improvements will have to wait! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Sorbington Posted June 14, 2007 Author Share Posted June 14, 2007 Went for a proper test drive on flooded lanes in pouring rain, the car is far far sharper - and I noticed I was going round the corners about 10mph faster than before!! Also gave me enough confidence to get the tail out a tiny bit!!Still very much a comfy cruiser with the 160 springs, 20% stiffer than standard, you could probably go quite a bit firmer without sacrificing comfort.Money well spent! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roger Keys Posted June 17, 2007 Share Posted June 17, 2007 sorbs wrote:Drag strut bushes are new, which made the car a lot sharper, but apart from that all other bushes are existing ones. I'll fit poly ones when the time comes. Looking at the old struts, one top mount doesn't turn freely and I doubt gaiters were ever fitted during some botched rebuild long ago so the damper rods are quite corroded. This is why I wanted to start again using bits built up by someone who knows thier stuff. May have to get a bit of overtime in.....The back suspension displays just about every classic big saloon malady though, worn bushes, worn UJs, sticky splines, so that is on the list now too!Don't know if chris has released his increased castor dragstrut bushes. Well worth doing. I trial fitted a set to the estate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlanChatterton Posted June 17, 2007 Share Posted June 17, 2007 ???????????For the un-educated,.........please explain Roger!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roger Keys Posted June 17, 2007 Share Posted June 17, 2007 Errr - ok!The bush in question is efectively a ball cut in half yes? Well if you cut it in a different place this will move the arm either forward or back, dependingf on which way you install it.We want to move the arm forward, effectively pushing the lower ball joint forward. This increases the castor angle, an imaginary line from the top strut mount to the lower ball joint.The actual effect of this is to make the steering self centering effect greater, a feature of most modern cars which is most noticeable on the motorway when they just track straight without any real driver input.Ever driven a go kart? these have a bonkers castor angle, hence they self centre very aggresively.I fitted it to the estate and it was noticable. How noticeable it will be on a saloon with the standard engine i don't know? Logically, the effect will be greater. I forget the exact figure increase in castor, but i think it was about 1 degree.This is a very brief description. Go here for the full monty! www.wheels-inmotion.co.uk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlanChatterton Posted June 17, 2007 Share Posted June 17, 2007 Ah, ok thanks Roger, that makes sense now.I assume the extra forward movement of the lower arm is taken up by the track control arm?Might be tempted to try a set.......... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roger Keys Posted June 17, 2007 Share Posted June 17, 2007 You will need to recheck the front toe afterwards. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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