Thread: Spring discussion

I have always felt that my TD51 springs are too firm. Mine is set up with 18inch rims and does handel quite well but as soon as it gets rough or you hit a speed bump you know abut it. My hilux can drive over he same speed bumps without noticeing while he disco feels like the roofling will fall in.
I would like to find a spring shock combination that is more of a happy medium.
Mike

i have been looking for ages on info on this to make a great combination with spring and shocks, and so far my conclusion is to get a soft spring with a electronic controlled shock, But so far have not been able to find an electronic shock for the D2, have used this set up on sports cars. you have different settings you can go from super soft to super hard suspension, just by using the shock to alter your requirements.

Originally Posted by Bilbo

I hope some experienced members will indulge me with a discussion on springs. I have searched the D2 forum and read most of the old posts. My first 2 questions are:
What is the factory spec for front and rear coils for a TD5?
Why are TD5 rear springs so much harder than RR springs? I do know that the self leveler helps but I removed it on my 78 and 88 RR classics and they did not sag too much. Admittedly my 78 RR had 180 rears, but that is still way softer than my D2.
The self leveler and the fact that the D2 is a faster vehicle so the springs are stiffer to allow you to "sports corner" the weight distribution is also different

I think RR classic fronts are 133 lb per inch or maybe 150, with a V8 weighing around 150kg, so I think I can understand why the diesel engine needs heavier springs at the front. By the way, how much does a TD5 motor weigh?about 300KG with all its trimmings

The next thing I would like to check is my understanding of variable rate springs: if they are rated from say, 150 to 200 lb per inch, I believe that the first 150 pounds weight squashes the spring 1 inch, the next inch takes 160 lb, and so on until the 5th inch takes 200 lbs to squash it. OK so far?near enough

Once installed on the car, the first few inches, the soft bit, will be taken up by the unladen car, the next few inches will be taken up by whatever load you carry, so if you drive around in a fully laden car, you will be operating at the heavy end of a variable rate spring. Have I got this right?Pretty much

To continue this thought, to get a softer ride, surely we could use a softer but longer spring? The down side to this comfort, would be big changes to the ride height with changed load.yes and it would handle like a boat on the road but with the swaybars off and a good choice of shocks would provide a very credible articulation.

answers in blue.