Suspension mods

[PeteR X1/9]

Has anyone sourced lowered/stiffer springs and/or anti-roll bars for a
X19 here in NZ. I'm looking at getting some stiffer springs done. If
anyone else is interested let me know as if we can do a few together
it might make it cheaper for all. Cheers PeteR, Christchurch

[ladaspeed]

My car has a set that have come from the UK, they are pretty low and
stiff although the backs could be a wee bit stiffer....

I could measure these up as a baseline if you were to get some
made....?

[Pete and Tania]

Cheers

The info I have is for US springs that should lower the car about 1 inch in
the front and 1/2 inch in the rear.

The fronts are specified as 7 coils, 117.5lbs/inch, with a free height of 9
inches. By my calculations they should then be 145mm under load of 200kg.

The rears are specified as 8 coils, 154lbs/inch, with a free height of 10
1/4 inch. They should then be 185mm under load of 235kg.

I'd be interested in how these stack up against yours. I've seen sets in the
UK for 150 pounds (about $350 at current rates) plus freight. US sets seem
to be about $290US ($400 NZ) plus freight.

Regards
PeteR

[ladaspeed]

I can easily measure the turns/coil diameter/compressed length, free
length might be an issue though although I may have the rears out in
the next few weeks, so I may drop the front too... I will post what I
can get....

[Pete and Tania]

That'd be great. I'm not in too much hurry as I have to have an op on my
shoulder in a couple of weeks so wont be able to do much on the car for a
couple of months after that.

[ladaspeed]

I just had a quick squiz at the springs;

Fronts = 11.15mm diameter, 170mm(ish) compressed height, 4.5 coils
Rears = 11.75mm diameter, 175mm(ish) compressed height, 6 coils

These would not be captive in standard struts, both fronts and rears
have been modified with 128 strut top nuts and shortened shocks.

It sits just about perfectly, the only complaint I have is the rears
are a wee bit soft - the last track day Ewan Mitchell said it felt a
bit softer than his one. Still goes around corners pretty well
though....

There is no rub with the standard rims and 175/70 tyres, but I think
it would rub with bigger rubber.

Thanks
Dylan

[Pete and Tania]

Dylan,

It looks like your rears are possibly 25mm lower than standard as under load
these should be 200mm. Your front length is pretty close to standard the
manual says 170mm. As far as I know my one is on standard springs and sits
170 at the front and about 190-195 at the rear.

Thanks for the extra info. I plan on visiting Chamberlains here in ChCh as
they make and export Cobra springs and see if they can make something (or
already have) that is close to the specs I have.

[ladaspeed]

Hmm there might be something else going on with mine as the standard
ride height springs tend to give a slightly 'nose up' look and this is
definitely not the case. I had to shorten the front shock 12mm to make
the springs captive....

[Pete and Tania]

To make the spring captive would, I think, relate to the uncompressed
length. As I say the specs I have for the fronts start at 9" (228mm) and a
compression rate of 117.5lbs/inch. The front corner weight listed in Haynes
is 440lb - this should compress the spring 3.75" (95mm) to give a spring
length of 133mm, which in reflection seems low as the specs say this should
drop the height by about 25mm - or down to 145mm (although ride height
change and spring length change may not be the same thing).

I just went out and measured ride height (ground clearance), as opposed to
spring length. At the front - ground to bottom of the control arm/radius arm
link (the flat area where the bolt goes through - not the nut or the end of
the bolt though, the actual arm) - mine measures 165mm. I checked both sides
and they are the same - so that's a bonus. The rear I measured from ground
to bottom of the control arm nearest the wheels - this was 145mm (again the
same on both sides :-) ). You'll need a flat and level garage floor to do
these measurements. These measurements are possibly more meaningful when
comparing cars - especially mark 1 and mark 2 - as the springs may have been
different but I don't think so.

As an aside the spec I have for rear springs says free length of 10 1/4 inch
(260mm) and a compression rate of 154lb/inch. The rear corner weights
according to Haynes are 562lb - this should compress the spring 3.65" (93mm)
to give a compressed spring length of 167mm (33mm less than standard).

So based on the spring specs I have the car would be dropped more at the
front than at the rear, which I guess is what we want. Shifting weight
forward could be expected to increase understeer but stiffer rear springs
would increase oversteer - so if the Yanks have done it right the overall
effect should be neutral!

If you can make the same measurements, I'd be interested to compare.

Pete

[PeteR X1/9]

Hi everyone - shit I must have been in a dreamworld when I wrote the
message below. Of course measuring height to bottom of suspension arm
is nonsense as this is fixed by the wheel diameter not the length of
the shock. Obviously we need to measure somewhere on the body -
something that goes up and down when you bounce on the car :-). The
jacking points on the side would be good or even the bottom of the
sill just behind the wheels but to compare with others you will need
to make sure tyre sizes are the same, etc.

Sorry for the bum (dumb) steer.

Pete

> > > > > Christchurch- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -

[ladaspeed]

I have just measured mine;

Rear - at the jacking points = 170mm
Front - at the lowest point of the radius arm body mounting which is a
kind of fin thing = 165mm

Dylan

[Pete and Tania]

My car is sitting on brand new 185/60 x 13. Ground to rear jacking point
under engine 165mm. I'm not quite sure where you mean on the radius arm but
if we are measuring the same place I'm 185mm. As alternatives I'm 610mm to
the wheel arc and I'm 205mm to the bottom of the radiator support in the
middle of the front.

[ladaspeed]

ok to the bottom of the rad support on mine is 185mm...

Mine has 175/70's which in theory are 575mm diameter, 185/60's are
552mm diameter, so 11.5mm lower....if it helps!

Also I have a tyre size calculator that I have uploaded to the docs
section, I have found it quite useful.

Dylan