Fav upgrade

Post by **Cam** » Mon Mar 08, 2004 10:31 am

My anti-roll bar was £70 and the springs were £30 each from the Minor Centre in Birmingham.

The anti-roll bar makes cornering more stable and it also reduces being blown about by side winds.

You should not need a rear anti-roll bar on a standard car as the front one should be sufficient.

Post by **Matt** » Mon Mar 08, 2004 1:54 pm

ok, so i got the pricing the wrong way round........ but at least i didn't say they ARE £xxxx

Post by **rayofleamington** » Mon Mar 08, 2004 1:56 pm

but at least i didn't say they ARE £xxxx

true - you were only out by a factor of 2, not a factor of 10^2

Post by **Matt** » Mon Mar 08, 2004 2:10 pm

£3000 for leaf springs *gulp* and if I knew leaf springs were only £30 each I would have got new springs for the sprite

Post by **Cam** » Mon Mar 08, 2004 2:38 pm

ok, so i got the pricing the wrong way round........ but at least i didn't say they ARE £xxxx

I just thought I'd mention what I paid last time just in case it would swing the decision to get some or not. Just to clarify matters, not to shoot you down, Matt!!

Post by **Matt** » Mon Mar 08, 2004 2:43 pm

I didn't mean it that you did.....I just like highlighting my own stupidity sometimes, it makes me feel clever :?

Post by **Cam** » Mon Mar 08, 2004 2:47 pm

Post by **iwant1** » Mon Mar 08, 2004 7:43 pm

When you say 30 quid, is that for a side or for an individual leaf? seeing as they are only pieces of metal, that seems a bit steep if it is each. Surely they can be bought or made up cheaper else where?

Post by **Matt** » Mon Mar 08, 2004 7:45 pm

per side..... ie. the whole 5 leaves

Post by **rayofleamington** » Mon Mar 08, 2004 7:49 pm

latest ad from Bull Motif:
£17.95 each for the 5 leaf (saloon) + VAT etc.. 01386 831755
best part of £30 when it's been delivered, but get a pair and pick them up (eg at a rally) to save money...

Post by **Matt** » Mon Mar 08, 2004 7:51 pm

just don't replace one at a time.........

Post by **iwant1** » Mon Mar 08, 2004 7:58 pm

I thought it might be a whole side, how bad do they get before they need replacing, in terms of wobble from side to side as you lean on the car! (for the average simpleton) I might need to replace the oil in the dampers also.

Post by **Matt** » Mon Mar 08, 2004 8:01 pm

well if you push down on the car and it bounces, ie up and then down again, the shockers are dead, i don't know about the springs tho, but if you ground out on speed bumps etc the springs probably need doing

Post by **iwant1** » Mon Mar 08, 2004 8:27 pm

Well theres certainly no bounce, but it seems to sag a bit is this a minor feature!

Post by **rayofleamington** » Mon Mar 08, 2004 8:37 pm

does it sag to one side? That is usually caused by the torsion bar adjstment - it makes the whole car wonky if it's not set right.
I once changed a 'weak' rear spring, only to find it was the torsion bars!! (was an entusiastic miss-guided teenager at the time)

Post by **Matt** » Mon Mar 08, 2004 8:39 pm

It would probably be a good idea to replace the shocks when you do the springs anyway.....

Post by **iwant1** » Mon Mar 08, 2004 8:47 pm

It's another one of those cases where i would if i could, it doesnt sag only on one side, it just looks lower at the back than i think it should. I'll try replacing the oil sometime and refurbishing the dampers, what oil should i use?

Post by **Matt** » Mon Mar 08, 2004 8:48 pm

im not going to saw what i use, but you should use oil for hydraulic jacks.... there was a thread about it around here somewhere

Post by **rayofleamington** » Mon Mar 08, 2004 9:05 pm

iwant1,
it may be high at the front, rather than low at the rear?

Post by **Kevin** » Tue Mar 09, 2004 9:19 am

I thought it might be a whole side, how bad do they get before they need replacing, in terms of wobble from side to side as you lean on the car! (for the average simpleton)

If your springs are really bad when you look at them they will be convex in shape (ends pointing down) generally the springs settle with age but should still be concave in shape (pointing up) and not flat, its also worth checking to see if one of the leaves are broken although this is normally fairly obvious, when you have a look it will be far more apparent just have a look from under the rear bumper.