Dampers. And springs? and bars?
- Thread starter Shane Hodges
- Start date
The car is back and I have been trying out some of my local routes to really see what the difference is. Some interesting points to note first though:
1) 62,000 miles and the Boge shocks on the front were shot, but the back ones were actually OK. ... so they don't all go after 30k miles! Chris therefore has a set of used rear dampers if anyone should need them.
2) The springs had only compressed a little and so the car now sits at M030 height on standard springs. There is still thread on the dampers, so PP is corect when he says that you don't need the extra thread Bilsteins if you want to go to M030 or M033. Replacing the standard shocks with Bilsteins therefore does not necessarily increase the car ride height by 10 - 15 mm.
3) The amount of dirt and rust around the kinematic toe setting strongly suggests that it has never been adjusted. It was almost off the scale and the adjustment Chris made has now moved the rear wheels significantly towards the back of the car. This was a bit of a shock (and slightly upsetting) so I am now trying to understand why it might not have needed adjusting in the past.
4) Castor is out of tolerance. Again, I have checked my historic geo readings and this has not previously been the case - I will speak to Chris this week to understand why this has been necessary.
So, the drive .... first impressions are that the general ride is not affected (hurrah) - my bumpy B Roads still leave the car quite compliant. The steering feels far more precise - you turn the wheel and the car precisely takes that line, just as I remember she did when I first purchased her. Perhaps this is the "new car" feeling everyone talks about after Chris has worked his magic! The steering has seemed very light over the last few years. Cornering is significantly better - the cars feels far more "planted". I guess this has something to do with the kinematic toe .....
I'll post again to fill in some of the gaps above.
1) 62,000 miles and the Boge shocks on the front were shot, but the back ones were actually OK. ... so they don't all go after 30k miles! Chris therefore has a set of used rear dampers if anyone should need them.
2) The springs had only compressed a little and so the car now sits at M030 height on standard springs. There is still thread on the dampers, so PP is corect when he says that you don't need the extra thread Bilsteins if you want to go to M030 or M033. Replacing the standard shocks with Bilsteins therefore does not necessarily increase the car ride height by 10 - 15 mm.
3) The amount of dirt and rust around the kinematic toe setting strongly suggests that it has never been adjusted. It was almost off the scale and the adjustment Chris made has now moved the rear wheels significantly towards the back of the car. This was a bit of a shock (and slightly upsetting) so I am now trying to understand why it might not have needed adjusting in the past.
4) Castor is out of tolerance. Again, I have checked my historic geo readings and this has not previously been the case - I will speak to Chris this week to understand why this has been necessary.
So, the drive .... first impressions are that the general ride is not affected (hurrah) - my bumpy B Roads still leave the car quite compliant. The steering feels far more precise - you turn the wheel and the car precisely takes that line, just as I remember she did when I first purchased her. Perhaps this is the "new car" feeling everyone talks about after Chris has worked his magic! The steering has seemed very light over the last few years. Cornering is significantly better - the cars feels far more "planted". I guess this has something to do with the kinematic toe .....
I'll post again to fill in some of the gaps above.
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