New Member With A Couple Suspension Questions

[Callum]

Hi everybody, bought this little gem last week. Since then I fitted the Wellers i already had and the JapCan my mate gave me, next thing I want to get on with is suspension!

Ive done a bit of a search and started to get my head round things but still a bit unsure.

Wondering what Land Rover Dampers put on the back? http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Land-Rover-De ... 415396fd39 Are these the right ones?

I see people have drained there front dampers, (Remove the nipple and compress the damper til its all out?) but cant seem to find what grade of oil to refill them with?

I found a bit on speed hunters I think saying that the front setup is possible to convert to coilovers for about £40 but it didnt mention how? If its a bit of a faf I'll end up just getting springs.

Along with the rear dampers I'd like to double up the rear springs to save the dampers if nothing else! Is it just a case of getting another pair of 340 ones and bolting the pair together or am I over simplifying things?

Last Q' Im not entirely sure i want to yet, (dont want it to catch me out under normal driving and stuff the car) but wondering how to weld the diff? Pics would be really asppreciated on this one.

And if anyones got any pics of 40mm front 2" blocks rear id like to see if its not to much trouble.

Cheers

[Evoman]

Those landrover shock will fit, but personally I wouldnt fit them.

Regards the coilovers, it costs £40 for two conversion kits (one each side) but you will also need springs. The conversion kit comes with the threaded section, locking ring and spring seats. The threaded section of course needs welding onto the strut.

Mine is lowered 40mm at the front



Thats what I can help with.

BTW how much were your wellers?

[Callum]

Cheers for the reply, any ideas where i can get the conversion kits from? I swapped them fot an old set of wheela but i need to get two more. Google polley motorsport they do them up to 10j!

[Evoman]

I found polloy motorsport but i want 15" by 7j i think and i couldnt see any. For the converion kit, google comp brake i think

[Attack2001]

Have a look here for more info - http://www.volvo300mania.com/forum-uk/v ... 37#p156290

With regards to the coilies, you need the conversion kit which is about £50 for the pair iirc, then you need to have the original spring cup cut off and the conversion kits welded onto the struts, unless you can do it yourself - ££. You then need springs for the coilovers, which need to be of the 2.5" variety, which are about £30 a pair from rally design. You need to figure out a way of putting a bearing in the spring top to take the load of the car when turning, which requires yet more machining. Once done, you then have a set of coilovers, but with the uprated springs (i presume you'd use uprated so you can lower it and keep it at that hieght) you then need uprated inserts which are about £185 a pair.

As you can see, when you start to get all the parts together the price starts to go up and up. But, the good thing is, if you have the know-how and time you can do it over time and build them up bit by bit instead of using a whole load of wonga in one go Thomas............

[Callum]

Sorry bout the wellers they only sell them in 13s on there, maybe try ebay?

Looks like coiles are out then lol, either cut or lowerd springs for me! How comes you dont advice the landy dampers?

Cheers for the link but still wondering about double rear springs, or would stiffer dampers be enough?

If any one can help be much appreciated

[Attack2001]

It depends what you intend to use the car for? Fast road car? Even if its a drift slag that your going to use and abuse then chuck, just make sure you chuck it back this way so one of us lot can make use of it afterwards

Now ideally, if its just for drifting, the Landy dampers are perfect, they bolt straight on and stiffen the back up enough that even without a welded diff the back end will want to step out if you chuck it sideways. Now the problem comes with the way it stiffens up the back, as with landys, the stiffness at the rear is gained by the damper (as its meant for a 2tonne landrover not a 900kg volvo) and not the spring, whereas you should use stiffer springs and then dampers to control the springs, not the other way round.

There not advised simply because there not good for what the majority of us want which is a fast road car that handles well but can still be used as a daily Landy's make the rear skittish, which is what you want for drifting

Another way to do it, is to buy a set of Adjustable rear dampers off ClassicSwede (DAI) on here. And as you say, double up the leaf springs You can double up leaf springs by getting hold of another pair, cutting the ends up, then simply using metal straps of some sort to attach them to the underside of the original leafs. Its a little bit more complicated than that but you get the jist That would be a better way of doing, adjustable dampers for when you've got a long journey and the misses needs to be kept comfy you can wind the dampers down, but turn them back up for skidding. And you have the uprated springs to go with it If any of that actually makes sense, sweet! If not, i'll see if i can explain it in english Thomas..................

****EDIT - Welded Diff!

Sorry if this is telling you how to suck eggs, but i find its easy to start at the egg sucking stage for everyone so not to confuse

Welding the diff is simply stopping its ability to allow one wheel to travel faster round the corner than the other. This is done by using 'suns' and 'planet' gears in the middle of the diff. So, you simply weld them all together so they no longer work

Not welded:


Welded:

[Evoman]

Thomas explaination, explained why I wouldnt fit them

[Callum]

Nice one cheers, very usefull info

Think from what youve said i may go budget way for now then spend a bit when i can.

Only thing im not sure about is, yes id like to get it drifting, but with the landy dampers and cut springs is it still controlable or are they a handful? (This is my first rwd and other than p*****g around on the grass/gravel which it handles really well lol)

Also looking at the pics am i right in saying you weld the bigger vertical gear to the small horizontal one? In which case theres not much metal to weld?

Thanks

[Attack2001]

I dont drift mine, bloody hell i've not even driven the dam thing yet But, from what i've heard. With the gearbox in the back, the weight distribution is very nearly 50/50/ Because of this the car is a very nice handling car to drift. But this is just what i've heard. Cutting springs and landys etc, wont make your car "handle like a pig" if thats what you mean.

The welded diff - have a look here, it tells you how to do it and go about

http://www.trampdrift.com/index.php?opt ... Itemid=111


Thomas.......................

[Callum]

Sounds very tempting now lol!

Cheers for your help appreciate it

[mat_91]

best thing you can do if your not sure is just do it and see if you can live with it if not then start modifying as everbody has different tolerances but i have driven daily with a welder on cut springs and landy dampers for 3 years now at 75mm drop the rear dampers catch the axle at that height ive fount, thats on two different 340s ive owned and my 5 series had it sat on the bump stops for over 6months and didnt bother me thats how i roll haha
when i weld diffs up i just weld the plantery gears together were they meat then weld the gears to the diff casing make sure you weld it with the half shafts in like this random image i fount on google when people fill them with weld or plates and shit its point-less and is just adding unbalanced weight to the diff
where are you as i can weld it up for you can even take it out for you at a cost

[Speedy88]

I still think plated is stronger. You make a fair point about the unbalanced weight but it's still very close to the centre of the axis so I don't think it will effect it that much.

[mat_91]

nar plated not worth the effert, if your a good welder and get good penetration its not needed
i know of alot of diffs that arent plated just how ive stated running a good chunk of torque with no problems
all the ones ive done are still going strong mine has been done for 3years granted its only sat behind a 1.4 but still

[Evoman]

you'd be suprised how little metal you need for such huge amounts of torque. Good penetration is what she needs