Springs Again...and Again....and Again

[ibrooks]

Ok folks given the lack of response to my last question on the topic and the number of questions I've seen about it. Is there a rule of thumb which we can use to guess roughly what sort of springs we need for a given weight of Hood (presumably unsprung weight that is)? It's fairly easy to get various sorts and they are not that expensive but it could soon mount up if you start having to try trial and error. Anybody any ideas of the magic formula?

 

Iain

[Guest Tony Tank]

Hi Iain, when I got my spax shockers from Demon Tweekes I asked the lad if the springs where incorrect could i change them he said yes so long as they were not damaged, this does not answer your question but hope it helps. PS I live local to Tweekes so it was easy for me.

[Peter Bell]

Ian, the springs have to hold up both the unsprung and sprung weights otherwise the body will be sitting on the floor! The unsprung weights are the wheels, brakes and the moveable suspension bitz. (I am missing the ZZZdz!)

Peter

[ibrooks]

The springs do not suport the unsprung weight. Hence the name "unsprung". These items are sat on the road and so do not have an effect on the springs. The springs suport the sprung weight which then in turn sits on the unsprung items.

 

Iain

[Peter Bell]

Sorry Ian I stand corrected (I hope Chris A doesen't see this!) I did think about it at the time but not enough. Back to the original question though it is difficult to come up with a straight forward answer as the springs are usually, except on the 2b sliding pillar, acted upon by some lever mechanism. For instance on the older inboard front suspension cars the lever ratio is about 1:1.2 but even then the springs are not upright so the resultant force is different to that applied. I think the best answer is to find out what others are using with a similar setup, if you can get answers!

Peter.

[ibrooks]

Well this was the original method but no-one answered. Possibly because I'm actually looking for springs for a Cortina based hood - there are others about but their owners don't seem to be talking here. I'm not too bad for getting the weights as the springs are upright and just support the body. I can get at the seats with a wheel off so one of those corner weight guages could be stuck under the spring seat to measure the weight that actually acts on the top of the spring. Ideally I'd like coilovers which could be adjustable for height and damping rate but I would still need the spring rate and I'm not sure how I'd go with coilovers as the shocks are at one hell of an angle. Maybe I'll give Tweeks a shout and see what advice they cn give me.

 

Iain

[Spannerman]

Iain

 

I have a 2B & have just ordered coil overs

for the front from Dampertech (Dave Ainsworth)

fully adj Gaz shockers and springs he seemed to

be up to speed with what I needed and was very helpfull.

Tel No 01709 703992 fax 01709 702572

 

Hope this may help you

 

Cheers

Kevin