Coil Spring Report

Have just returned after a 2000km road trip through New South Wales (Aus) using the new coil spring replacement kit manufactured here in Australia by the MG Centre of Sydney. We've very little in the way of motorways out here and most country roads are in a condition that you in the UK would find hard to believe. Pot holes you need to change down to get out of....... Can report that the set up is near perfect. The only thing that seems to upset is is bad washboard corrugations which frankly upset pretty much anything, and thankfully are rare.

So can only praise the set-up and give it a big thumbs up :broon: Can now look forward to many more years of MG-F motoring with the added bonus of never having to worry about being "let down" (literally) by the suspension again.

Murray
Brisbane Aus

excelent :broon: shame that they are so expensive over here nearly £900 .

Hi Murray

I completed the MGF Spring Conversion kit installation yesterday.
Aside from a couple of tricky bolt positions on the clamp area (upper top left) the installation was straight forward.
I have taken the car for a spin and am quite impressed with the ride quality, most improved on the failing Hydragas I had in place
For the rear pre-fitting the knuckle pins into the adjuster plate prior to installation is a better alternative to cutting.
As I did not retain the knuckle pin washers I added a few mm's to the suggested gaps on the adjustment plates.
This got me around 10mm lower than specified height.
I found that a full turn of the adjuster (360 deg) gave me around 7mm lift.
I am still a little lower than spec however I will drive the car for a week prior to fine tuning the height.
Once I get a feel for the handling I will adjust the GAZ shockers to suit my preferences.
I take my hat off to Stuart at RV8 cars on the kit, it is a great alternative to Hydragas and will help keep MGF's on the road for many years to come.
Regards
Adrian

avandr wrote: As I did not retain the knuckle pin washers I added a few mm's to the suggested gaps on the adjustment plates.

Hi Adrian,
Thank you for sharing !
Just a quick question regarding the washers you left out.
One of the reasons for adding these washers at the old hydragas kit was the poor cuntersunk drill at the hole for the knuckle pin in the aluminum piston. It's been almost to wide. I've seen some with up to 2mm x 45°, resulting in a quite small contact surface for the knuckle shoulder.

The small shoulder (spelling?) of the knuckle pin is from hard steel and could more or less easy get hammered into that hole if the washer is missing. (Washer drill was only 0.3mm x 45° countersunk).

So I'd like to know the design of that washer from the spring kit and the quality of the drill for the pin.
How thick is the washer and is it a standard part or special lathe ? May be you have another pic ?

Also I'd recommend to drive very careful while you test your setup. The front tracking depends on the adjusted ride hight and the altering of the toe angle may nick your feeling on what ride behavior is good or less comfortable. Toe OUT at the front when very low, up to toe IN when very high ride hight. all is possible without any adjustments.

Hope this makes sense

rayb wrote: excelent :broon: shame that they are so expensive over here nearly £900 .

Ray, you dont have these worries now that you have got a TF :bust:

Hi Dieter

The adjuster that the knuckle pin fits into is a snug fit and has a tapered hole to fit the pin, it is also steel unlike the aluminium part on the Hydrasphere. Therefore I do not see an issue, this was also confimed by the supplier, with or without washers is ok.

Regards
Adrian

I'll be fitting this conversion in the next week or so, just need to find some spare time!

Would anyone be interested in me documenting the process?

I would like to see the installation.
Fortunately I don't need to do it now, but if my spheres go I will
likely go with the Aussie kit as I already have the Gaz shocks.
Shipping for me would be about the same from Oz or Blighty.

Absolutely ! We'd love to have a HOW TO! :yesnod:

David Aiketgate wrote: Absolutely ! We'd love to have a HOW TO! :yesnod:

I second that :thumbsup: :yesnod: :woohoo:

Me too !! :whistle:
Also have a look to my first experiance on a suspension job.
http://www.mgfcar.de/hydragas/blownhydra.html
&
http://www.mgfcar.de/hydragas/blownhydra2.html

Some useful hints included and may be makes life easier.
- broken bolt @ the right rear engine cover (in wheel house)
- bend the inner sheet metal outwards for easier access to the spring cover bolts and HG unit removal (right rear)
And see the HG unit cover bolts are whyever some with loose nuts some with weld nuts :rant:

Have fun :lol:

Love to see a documented report on fitting. I've only just found out today, 13 October 2011 that these even existed.

Hydro is failing, its an Aussie product, buy Australian, raise tariffs and cause a world depression.

Yeah, another to do, buy, as my funds allow.