Stop the Bouncing!

It's been a while since the last update, so what's happened...well not a lot really, over the summer I fitted a set of Gaz Gold shock absorbers purchased from Absolutely Shocks.

Fitting was really quite easy, well it was after I found some initial settings on Pistonheads.com. These initial settings refer to the number of clicks towards plus from full minus setting and the distance the spring retaining collar is screwed onto the barrel of the shock, measured from the bottom of the thread.
These settings are not to be taken as the correct ones for all cars and preferences but they are a good starting point, at least they will get you to your favourite dealership or indie garage for a proper set up.

So the settings I used are;
Rear: 18 clicks, 35mm.
Front: 12 clicks, 25mm.

I also bought a new set of bolts from Steve Heath Engineering Ltd, which saved me having to clean up the old ones, and just generally for peace of mind.

As mentioned before the job was quite straightforward, jack up the car, remove the wheel, unbolt the old shock (liberal dousings of WD40/penetrating oil maybe required), adjust the new shock to the initial settings, and fit with new bolts, wheel on, lower car. Job done, about 30 minutes a corner...

...well it would have been until I got the front off-side...

...whilst unscrewing the lower bolt from the wishbone I noticed a bit of rust on top of the lower wishbone, on further inspection I did actually manage to put my thumb straight through it! Sod! So now I have on order, two new lower wishbones (rarer than rocking horse poop), a set of powerflex bushes (I can't resist a small upgrade) and a new set of bolts. Hopefully all this will arrive this week and I can get it all fitted this weekend, next will be to get the car MOT'd and the suspension geometry set up correctly.

Pity I've missed most of the good weather with a dodgy wishbone.

ps. I did take it out after fitting the new shocks, and yes they make a BIG difference, transforms the car around the corners, it actually stays in a straight line when going over the many potholes around Leeds!

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