New spring length with Gaz shocks

[NigelM]

 

I need to replace the old shocks and springs on an '84 Esprit Turbo. Having read all the threads I find myself paranoid about ending up with the ride height too high. I want to go with height adjustable shocks from Gaz front and back but they don't sell springs so need to source from elsewhere. I am speaking with Coil Springs in Sheffield who were recommended in another thread and who will make whatever I like. Ideally I want to end up at Essex height rather than std '84 Esprit height. Also keen to slightly stiffen the springs with a 140 rather than a 120 front and a 180 rather than a 157 rear.

At the moment my numbers are not the same as Coil Springs and I don't understand why. My data says the front springs in order to change rate to 140 and drop by 15mm need to start at 338mm and the rears to achieve a 15mm drop with a 180 spring need to start at 318mm. This does not however take into account any difference in the spring base height between the std shock and a new Gaz shock. 

Has anyone got any real life experience of specifying springs for Gaz dampers and getting the sums right?

[monkey man]

hi nigel

I got my springs from leda I have on the front 300mm 115lbs and on the rear 300mm 145lbs its a nice firm ride but the front sits a little too low

[NigelM]

Thank you Monkey Man. Nice car.

I have bitten the bullet now and gone with the recommended lengths from Coil Springs Sheffield. Will find out in a few weeks whether I have done the right thing!

Nigel

[jcslocum]

Nigel,

 

@NigelM I'm in the same spot as you. Can you provide more info on exactly what you have ordered with the shock number too??

 

The front strut looks to need some reinforcement to handle all the load on the bolt instead of just the spring perch.

 

@monkey man I love your ride height!!  Can you provide more info on your set up??

 

 

[NigelM]

I have gone to Gaz for the shocks. Mark at Gaz knew exactly what I was talking about and sorted me out very quickly. For springs I went to Coil Springs of Sheffield, spoke with Neil who ran the numbers for me on 140lb fronts, 180lb rears, both lowered 20mm. He seems pretty confident they are going to work. I will know the answer in a few weeks.

[monkey man]

Hi Jon

The idea was to lower the car 2in all round to make it look like the same ride height as the Essex on brochure when it all settled down the front lowered by about 3in .Henry on here has a s3na has standard springs (I think) and his sit low but i don't no if they're original .

[Andyww]

I got some front springs from Coil Springs but they were miles out and the car was much too high.

But different situation as I have 82 car with the spring platform on the lower link.

Eventually I went with the "non air con" springs from SJ although the car does have air con (albeit with a lighter aluminium condensor than standard) and the height is perfect.

I would not want it any lower owing to the very low rad undertray. Some of the brochure shots do look low, they probably put some paving slabs in the front and boot!

[Tony21]

This post is music to my ears, I bought Gaz shocks and springs for my S3 Turbo about 10 years ago and the springs are too long!

Even with the spring platforms at the bottom the arches are way too high.

[jcslocum]

Nigel, Any update on the springs???

 

 

[Steve4012]

 

On 10/06/2016 at 14:25, NigelM said:

I have gone to Gaz for the shocks. Mark at Gaz knew exactly what I was talking about and sorted me out very quickly. For springs I went to Coil Springs of Sheffield, spoke with Neil who ran the numbers for me on 140lb fronts, 180lb rears, both lowered 20mm. He seems pretty confident they are going to work. I will know the answer in a few weeks.

Just digging this thread up again as it's exactly the info I need for my '81 Turbo. I'm planning on Gaz shocks and could do with confirmation on spring specs, would love to know how the above worked out but @NigelMdoesn't appear to be on here anymore? @jcslocumdid you get a satisfactory solution for springs with Gaz shocks?

Thanks, Steve.

[Andyww]

Steve, It might be worth asking Gaz if they can set up shocks to specified dyno curves, as we do have these for the Esprit:

 

[Steve4012]

Appreciate that Andy thanks, but I would have thought their standard offering shock for the Esprit will be fine for the way I'll be driving the car. Ofcourse I would like it to handle well at sensible speeds but I'm more concerned about the springs and the appearance as the front is obviously non adjustable height wise and is set by the springs. Here's a pic from when I bought it (the engine is now out so it sits a little higher these days!). For a supposedly lower dry sump I still think it sits a little high and I would like to drop it down an inch or so.

[Andyww]

I have the "Without A/C" springs from SJ (although the car has A/C) on mine and they are just right.

[skiing]

My car has always sat lower than most S3's I have seen - It is on standard (replaced 8 years ago) springs and pro-techs. It is the first S3 so it might be slightly different? Also,  I think the body where it mounts to the chassis at the front does not have any spacers - I think some cars do have this? Finally, the car had a front end put on it at some point in the 80s and this also might mean it is lower - sort of a droop snout modification! 

[C43]

I think the latest damper settings are stiffer especially in bump than lotus used on the Esprit. Although most of us don't push these cars hard enough to feel the handling affect the dampers will make the cars crash more over the bumps. Around Oxford this is a problem given the number of potholes we have.

C43

[Andyww]

4 minutes ago, C43 said:

I think the latest damper settings are stiffer especially in bump than lotus used on the Esprit. Although most of us don't push these cars hard enough to feel the handling affect the dampers will make the cars crash more over the bumps. Around Oxford this is a problem given the number of potholes we have.

C43

Agreed. The third-party shocks I think have an incorrect bump/rebound ratio. And this is not adjustable.

On the subject of ride height, this subject came up on the FB group and none other than MJK stated that the designed ride height never changed on the Esprit right through production.

So any differences are down to spring variations etc. Also I am sure they loaded the press cars to make them sit lower in publicity shots.

[Smithy111]

Just digging this thread up again, I have an 84 Turbo with a/c and need to buy front springs very soon and was just going to buy the standard springs for pre 85 with a/c from SJ. Can anyone post pics of their cars ride height with the standard a/c and non a/c springs fitted on an a/c car such as mine?! Currently looks like this and want to keep the same or slightly lower if anything:

[Andyww]

This is with the non-a/c springs. Car does have a/c but its an aluminium condenser which is much lighter than the original brass.

[Smithy111]

Thanks for advice think I’m going to go the same way with mine!

[Jim1]

I have just bought a 1984 S3 Turbo with all 4 coil springs and dampers needing to be replaced. I am thinking of Gaz dampers and getting the springs from coil springs in Sheffield. Has anyone got a better solution. I wand the ride and the height similar to stock.

 

[NigelM]

Apologies for the long silence. The car has been away for a complete mechanical restoration and only got back yesterday.

The sums we did on the springs worked. Neil Satur from Coil Springs in Sheffield did all the work. I used Gaz shocks, front springs were 140 lb/in and 318mm, the rears were 180 lb/in and 328mm. 

The ride height is exactly what I wanted - Essex height which is about 20mm lower than standard Esprit Turbo. It might be too low for some but I think it looks great. In terms of ride quality I don't think it's too firm at all, pretty much spot on, and some of the roll has been taken out, probably a combination of the lower ride height and the higher spring rate. 

I'm very pleased with it. Thanks to Neil for his help and his patience.

 

[naasaa]

Did you fit height adjustable shocks at the front?

[NigelM]

Yes we did.