Thanks Randall!
That's really good to know about the Koni Shocks! I was actually leaning
towards them, but I don't want to have to remove them for adjustments!
I'm still up in the air over the lever shocks... I put some more oil to top
it off, but is' still very soft. I'm sure stiffer springs would help some,
but I don't want them to heavy.
Hopefully some people who have had experiences with this on a 6 can lend
some feedback???
Thanks again Randall!
Adam
73 TR6
-----Original Message-----
From: Randall Young [mailto:Ryoung@navcomtech.com]
Sent: Wednesday, April 14, 2004 12:44 PM
To: Adam C Beasley
Subject: RE: Shocks/Springs
> I recently bought the Steering/Suspension Magic Kit from TRF and decided
> while I have the suspension apart to upgrade/replace the springs
> and shocks.
> I have been looking at the uprated springs from Moss and TRF that claim to
> keep the original ride height. I'm guessing lower is to low? Any
> comments?
Ever since I've been on the list, there has been a steady stream of people
complaining that the replacement springs they got do not work out to be the
right height. There doesn't seem to be any consistent pattern either.
So IMO you should probably work on solving the other problems in the TR
suspension, and not just install uprated springs without the other changes
as well. Of course, I've never driven a TR6 either ... but stiffer rear
springs would definitely be a mistake on my stock Stag.
> Also I'm trying to decide between the shocks Koni or Spax? What's the
> difference?
Assuming you're looking at the adjustables, the Koni's are a PITA to adjust,
you have to take them off the car. The Spax can be done on the car.
OTOH, John Kipping (long time "small" Triumph parts specialist, now retired)
says the Spax are junk ... hopefully that only means they aren't well suited
to Heralds and whatnot. I've got a pair of Spax for the front of my TR3A,
but haven't installed them yet.
> And final question, I've
> read a lot about the rear shock conversion kits. Moss says the tire width
> should be limited to 190/60 or something. do all of the kits have the same
> restrictions. are some better than others.
There are definitely different kits around, some of them OK, some pretty
horrible. Some of them do infringe a good deal on tire clearance, others
don't. Sorry, I don't know who is selling which kit at the moment.
> is this a wise decision?
Frankly, I don't see any reason to switch. The original Armstrong lever
shocks are very high quality units, and the only thing wrong with lever
shocks is that they can't be built as cheaply as the tube ones, thus
virtually all car makers switched to tube shocks long ago, and so only tube
shocks are available new today. The lever shocks can be rebuilt, and
modified (even without being rebuilt) to be as stiff as you like. Easiest
modification is to just drain and refill them with 50 weight Harley fork
oil, but the valves can also be easily changed (probably without even
removing the shock from the car).
Triumph deliberately made the rear suspension soft on the IRS cars,
otherwise there's not much point in having IRS. It obviously depends on
what you are looking for ... but IMO a reasoned approach (ie what don't I
like, how do I change that) is a must, rather than just slapping on
'performance' parts because they are available.
Just my $.02 worth
Randall
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