Front suspension- very hard ride.
Posted: Fri Sep 08, 2023 8:43 pm
Hello, I'm hoping someone can help me figure out what's best to do in order to improve the ride quality on my '66 convertible please.
I've owned her since February and done lots to her already to improve things. However, a big thing that I would like to improve is the ride quality.
It is currently rock hard and very unforgiving. I can't go near uneven road surfaces or large bumps in the road. If I hit an unsuspecting pot hole it's awful- a great thump followed by the obligatory stop to check nothing was broken by the impact. When going over any hard bumps on the road or something like a cattle grid, the passenger has to hold the glovebox to prevent it flying open and distributing the contents everywhere! The front bump stops are very close to the striker plates- 1cm on the offside and 2cm on the nearside. I thought they had to be about 1.5"?
It has had gas shocks installed at some point. I believe it still has the original shock absorbers in place which I think have no oil and are just acting as a linkage? So, if anyone has any information as to how to make the ride a lot softer I would be really grateful.
I think the shocks are the mid range ones sold by ESM. I've heard that upgrading to the adjustable Spax ones won't make a massive difference. What I am concerned about is that the bump stops sit so close to the striker plate without passengers that when passengers are in the vehicle they are almost touching. How can the shocks work with such little room to move before hitting the bump stops? I can't see any evidence of the bump stops being forced into the body from impact though.
I know that the torsion bars can be adjusted to raise the height but I'm worried that it might then be a bit high as currently the visual gap from tyre to wheel arch looks even front and back.
It does handle well so perhaps the previous owner set it up for this instead of a comfortable ride.
Potentially stupid question from a newbie- if the front shocks were taken out and the original shocks were refilled with oil would that work? Or has something else been taken out/adjusted to fit the front shocks?
For info, it has had a lot of Marina parts added including the wheels which are 13s. I wonder if it has been lowered to account for this?
Sorry there's a lot of information there, I'd be grateful for any help/advice. I'm no expert! I've got the workshop manual but it's not that helpful with after market mods.
Photos attached for reference.
Thanks very much
Andy
I've owned her since February and done lots to her already to improve things. However, a big thing that I would like to improve is the ride quality.
It is currently rock hard and very unforgiving. I can't go near uneven road surfaces or large bumps in the road. If I hit an unsuspecting pot hole it's awful- a great thump followed by the obligatory stop to check nothing was broken by the impact. When going over any hard bumps on the road or something like a cattle grid, the passenger has to hold the glovebox to prevent it flying open and distributing the contents everywhere! The front bump stops are very close to the striker plates- 1cm on the offside and 2cm on the nearside. I thought they had to be about 1.5"?
It has had gas shocks installed at some point. I believe it still has the original shock absorbers in place which I think have no oil and are just acting as a linkage? So, if anyone has any information as to how to make the ride a lot softer I would be really grateful.
I think the shocks are the mid range ones sold by ESM. I've heard that upgrading to the adjustable Spax ones won't make a massive difference. What I am concerned about is that the bump stops sit so close to the striker plate without passengers that when passengers are in the vehicle they are almost touching. How can the shocks work with such little room to move before hitting the bump stops? I can't see any evidence of the bump stops being forced into the body from impact though.
I know that the torsion bars can be adjusted to raise the height but I'm worried that it might then be a bit high as currently the visual gap from tyre to wheel arch looks even front and back.
It does handle well so perhaps the previous owner set it up for this instead of a comfortable ride.
Potentially stupid question from a newbie- if the front shocks were taken out and the original shocks were refilled with oil would that work? Or has something else been taken out/adjusted to fit the front shocks?
For info, it has had a lot of Marina parts added including the wheels which are 13s. I wonder if it has been lowered to account for this?
Sorry there's a lot of information there, I'd be grateful for any help/advice. I'm no expert! I've got the workshop manual but it's not that helpful with after market mods.
Photos attached for reference.
Thanks very much
Andy