Lan-suspension new shock absorbers and springs front and rear

[deQuincey]

Hey dQ, I'm impressed like always when you generate a "How To Do It" for the community.

The result looks quite great at the front end, but what happened to the rear ?
Looks way higher now than before. Or do the springs need some certain kilometers to sit a bit deeper ?
Great car, but imho it deserves the staggered 16s Alpinas :roll:
But that's just a matter of personal taste.
Ingo

hi ingo, wie gehts ?
it is a nice way to participate sharing my experience, if peter and others can use it i am happy
yes the rear has gone 20mm up, but my assumption is that it was deep low before, i do not know if i will have to wait for them to sit down a bit
16" alpinas ? not for me...ha, ha,
thanks

 

[Stan]

to rival the Hack Mechanic!

DeQ should compile all of his posts and publish a book, or a restoration manual!!

 

[Nicad]

Yes, very nicely presented. How do you find it drives now?

 

[Stefan]

Front height with Nelsons

Hi DQ!

I'm curious to know the distance between the front wheel centre up to fender with the Nelson springs. Any chance you could measure this?

 

[deQuincey]

Hi DQ!

I'm curious to know the distance between the front wheel centre up to fender with the Nelson springs. Any chance you could measure this?

yes, tomorrow probably

 

[deQuincey]

hi stefan, is there any reference figure in your mind for this distance ?

HERE YOU ARE THE RESULTS:



ALL DIMENSIONS IN (mm)

...............................LEFT SIDE: ..............RIGHT SIDE:

GAP FRONT ...................35 ..........................35
GAP REAR .....................32 ..........................35

FLOOR FRONT ...............275 .........................280
FLOOR REAR .................300 .........................300

WHEEL CENTRE FRONT ...350 .........................352
WHEEL CENTRE REAR .....347 .........................350

 

[Stefan]

Perfect!

Thanks deQuincey!

All the measurements I need for comparison. I planning to do some work with front height this coming winter. For the moment I'm running with stock springs.

Once again, thanks!
//Stefan

 

[deQuincey]

you re welcome,

i would appreciate if the rest of forum members that had upgrade to carl nelson springs could post their meassurements

regards

 

[Peter Coomaraswamy]

Q for DeQ

How difficult is it to introduce the new rear top shock bushing? In your picture it looks as if you coated it with some type of "lube". Do I have to "pull" that through the hole with a pipe and bolt or does it slide in easily? Just prepping myself mentally for the task at hand.

Thanks,

 

[deQuincey]

How difficult is it to introduce the new rear top shock bushing? In your picture it looks as if you coated it with some type of "lube". Do I have to "pull" that through the hole with a pipe and bolt or does it slide in easily? Just prepping myself mentally for the task at hand.

Thanks,

hi peter

it is very easy, the system is composed of two parts, the rubber bushing, and a short metal bushing that goes inside the first one, this little metal bushing blocks the rubber one inside, so if you need to dissasemble the rubber one you will need to remove the metal one first

you must proceed this way,

yes i used a little ammount of vaseline, you introduce the rubber piece from the top of the wheel arch (inside the boot), then you introduce the metal bushing inside the rubber piece from the top again (i coated it with a little vaseline again), and then you come from the bottom with your shock rod, you place the top washer and the nut you do the nut until contact but no more

then you use the jack to get the weight of the car on the shock, you place the jack on the wheel hub support from inside, and you lift it until the weight is on that shock, and in this position you introduce the nut on the shock rod and you give 25Nm torque

p.s. i made a mistake considering that the rubber part could be introduced from the bottom of the wheel arch. it is wrong, it must be introduced from the top

 

[Peter Coomaraswamy]

Thanks DeQ, I will post results in a few days. Also thanks to SFdon for telling me that I did it wrong in the first place-it only took about 100 miles before I heard the shafts clunking around back there

 

[deQuincey]

measurements after alignment operation

results:



what do the experts think ?

 

[Stevehose]

How did they adjust the rear alignment? I may have to have this done after my rear axle rebuild and don't see how it's adjustable.

 

[DerSchwede]

Hi DeQ,

first question: was the car empty or loaded as stated in the manual (68kg on the front seats, 14 kg to the left in the trunk and a full tank)

The result shows that the rear end of the car is too high - hence the low camber figure. You need at least 1.5 (+/- 0.5) deg negative camber to gain a good performance in corners. That corresponds approx. to lowering the rear end by 10-20 mm. What spring rubbers do you have now?

Toe-in should be a tad more front and rear. 0.14 degree up front and 0.1 at the back. Currently the car will be very nervous and tend to slender when braking hard.

Cheers
A

 

[DerSchwede]

How did they adjust the rear alignment? I may have to have this done after my rear axle rebuild and don't see how it's adjustable.

Normally you don't have to adjust the rear end - it's not adjustable. If all parts are in good shape (not bent or otherwise not OK) everything normally line up to factory specs (within the factory specs).

The only reason to adjusting the rear end (other than if it's been hit or is not straight) would be if you change the height and still want to change the camber. The toe-in can be adjusted by using the assymetric trailing arm bushings. That can provide a little.

Cheers
A

 

[deQuincey]

Hi DeQ,
first question: was the car empty or loaded as stated in the manual (68kg on the front seats, 14 kg to the left in the trunk and a full tank)

That corresponds approx. to lowering the rear end by 10-20 mm. What spring rubbers do you have now?
A

hi

i am afraid i did not load the car. the tank was full, yes, but that was all. what effect can this mistake have ?

the spring rubbers at the rear are the standard ones (fresh new parts), i recall it being the 37mm one, according to the parts list there is a 28mm version too

To stevehose: nothing was adjusted at the rear axis

 

[DerSchwede]

Hi,

with less weight in the car it's normal to have less camber since more load will produce more camber - although it's hard to say if the lack of weight correspond to the figures. Since nothing can be adjusted at the rear it will not have any negative effects other than that you don't exactly know if the car has the right set-up. On the other hand - the very small amount of rear camber clearly have a part in the lack of grip at the rear.

You might test another thinner spring rubber to lower the rear end and so make the car feel and perform better when cornering.

/A

 

[Peter Coomaraswamy]

rear camber/toe-in question

For a couple of reasons I am considering putting Ireland Engineering's rear camber and toe-in adjusters on my coupe;

After taking a few hundred mile tour with Terry Sayther in the hill country last weekend I was a little uncomfortable cornering at speed- the front held well (Bilsteins, CN springs, CN -camber plates, heavy duty sway bar), but I got the feeling that the rear wheels might "fold under" the car and 2. when I had the alignment set the read-out showed positive camber in the rear and toe out. The car also has 16 in. equal size rims with 205/45 tires

Does anyone have information on using these adjusters to enhance the stability? The rear also has CN springs, Bilsteins and a heavy duty sway bar.

Into the snake pit again!

Thanks

 

[Gazz]

deQ' now that you have had some time in the car on the new suspension what are your thoughts?

New springs and dampers take a little while to settle so have you noticed any change in ride height yet?

I have bought the Ireland Engineering rear camber adjustment kit in anticipation of a needed camber compensation due to the lowering of the car. The eccentric cam adjustment is fitted to the inboard trailing arm link only. It seems to me that adjusting the inboard only will throw this link out of alignment with the outer link. Does anyone have this set up on their car and have you found any issues with alignment.

 

[Gazz]

I attached the rear trailing arms to the rear sub frame / axle carrier and determined that there is enough give in the assembly to allow for a camber adjustment from the inboard linkage side by loosening the outboard linkage bolt, setting the camber then tightening everything up. The two links will still align, they have to I guess as the trailing arm is inflexible anyway, and binding against the axle carrier shouldn't be an issue. Hope this helps anyone considering doing this. Sorry to hijack your thread deQ.