Chris,
A post I made to the list about a year ago:
####
This weekend I am removing the rear leaf springs on my Phase II BJ8 to
have them re-arched to compensate for a ride height that is too high. I
wanted to get some opinions on the where the rear axle, at rest, should
lay between the frame (lower stop) and the bump box (upper stop).
Currently, there is 0.5" between the bottom of the rear axle and the
rubber pad on the frame; there is 3.5" between the rubber bumper on the
top of the rear axle and the bump box. This would equate to a total of
four inches of vertical travel.
My question is: Should the axle be dead centre between the two stops
(i.e. as much travel down as up) or something else?
I would love to lower the rear end by about 1.25" (to get the wheel
wells to match up with the tires), which would put the axle slightly
lower than centre by about .25". If there is something wrong with this,
I need to to know!
####
And a reply from Dave Russell that was on-point:
####
The Healeys are woefully short on axle travel & everything is a
compromise.
There is actually a little more total travel than the apparent 4 inches.
Since the bump stop is fairly thick & soft, it is best to use some of
this give as compression (bump) travel.
I try to get around 1.5" of up (rebound) travel. If the up is too little
the axle is constantly banging on the rebound stop. If it is too much
the axle is constantly bottoming on the bump stop. Your numbers are
close to this 1.5 inches & should work. Keep in mind that fuel, luggage
& passenger weight will affect this ride height. As a check, the numbers
usually given for the BJ8 are around 28 inches from ground to fender
opening. If you get it too low it will be dragging it's tail & precious
ground clearance will be lost.
Kind of hard to get it just right. It might take a couple of spring
adjustments & the springs may sag a little more after use for a time. I
think that most people just take whatever the springs give them & live
with it.
It takes really good shocks to control the rebound as much as possible
since rebound travel is so little.
Dave Russell
####
Chris, I think I set my rear axle to be exactly in the middle of the 4"
travel, which would give the axle more "up" travel than "down", because
of the compression of the upper rubber stop. This seems to have worked
well in the 1000 miles or so since I have re-arched the springs.
John
On Sat, 2004-07-31 at 05:52, Chris Dimmock wrote:
> Does anyone know (or have a std BJ8, in a condition to be able to measure)
> the total suspension travel (i.e. from the stationary 'centre point' ) the
> max Bump & max Droop of the back & front wheels of a BJ8? ie I'm trying to
> determine total suspension travel & whether the std ride height is 'in the
> middle'.
>
> My car's ride height means it isn't the right car to try to do this
> on.............
>
> :)
>
> Let me know if you can help.
>
> Thanks in advance guys.
>
> Chris
> www.myaustinhealey.com
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