Talk Morgan Forums Community General Photo Gallery Leaf Springs & the Frame

Expand image & you can see the telltale mark.

That is similar to my findings on our Feb-14 4/4 2 seater.

A set of Mulfab 4 seater 4 leaf springs sorted the issue. Now much more comfortable and no bangs.

I have a similar problem on my 2013 4/4 2 seater. Both springs show marks & on the righthand side the bulkhead is splintered.
Rog's excellent 'bump' stops are now fitted but I'm just wondering what the difference is with the 4 seater 4 leaf springs.
Is the rate firmer or the camber higher?

Jack this was my recent experience.

I had the original saggy factory springs replaced on my +4 with 4 seater springs. Not because I had issues particularly with the ride or bottoming or the car not being level but the ground clearance was dire.

Both the regular 2 and 4 seater springs manufactured in the UK and supplied by BCC have the same spring rate I believe so offer the same ride quality. As only the camber differs the benefit of the extra height was appealing to me. However unlike others the 4 seater springs didn’t work out with my car. I only had them in for a single 20 mile run before reverting back to 2 seater springs.

My attempt at an explanation….
The issue I believe was the camber. It would appear that with the increased camber yes you gain bump travel and ride height but it is traded for a reduction in extension travel.

When I drove the car with the 4 seater springs the ride was comfortable and indeed very similar to the 2 seater but I could detect the subtle feel of the rebound rubbers making contact under the axle. The pics below might help. The top pic is the new 4 seater spring with the extra camber and below is the new 2 seater spring. In the top pic with the extra camber you can see that there is only about 4mm clearance under the U-bolt nut to the chassis return. In order to prevent the nuts making contact with the chassis and causing long term chassis damage the rebound rubbers had to be set so high that there was zero static clearance between the axle and rubbers (I’ve read that there should be at least 10mm). So consequently with my light weight 2 seater car and a 10 1/2 stone whimp at the wheel the axle was effectively riding on the rubbers with no or at least very little suspension extension travel. I suspect that it might have all been different with a heavier set up that applied a greater preload to the springs.


So now I’m back with a pair of regular 2 seater springs. The ride is still the same but with the extension travel has been restored, the car is level to within about 5mm (unloaded) and the ground clearance is so much better than the factory originals. An interesting exercise…….

PS – The spacer in the top pic is there only to adjust the ride height.

Developments: I've now fitted AVOs at the rear. Initial impressions are good. The 'cattle-grid' test was much smoother - most cars I've had would give a 'notchy' ride depending on the speed (usually faster is better :-)). But a fast overtake at about 70mph on an 'A' road resulted in some bouncing. I've set the damping at 10 stops (out of 25) up from softest. What do people suggest?

Start from the hardest setting Jack, and click to softer.

It's a while since I clicked mine but I don't recall 25 clicks. I recall it was about 14. But anyway, I run mine 3 or 4 up from softest......so whatever that is down from hardest setting.

My AVOs on my Supersport have 10 clicks total and I run 3 at the front and 4 at the rear,,,20 psi all round.....works for me !

Ah the old cattle grid test! I haven’t been brave enough to try one with my new car. With the previous car the hood would fly up out of the rear catches and the horn button would jump out into my lap

You need to grit your teeth & drive over it much faster

The weak springs era shows what happens when a cost cutting mentality is applied to mechanical and engineering items.

Way back I did an audit at a major spring manufacturer in Sheffield who at that time were working on valve springs for the Ford Zetec engine.......it was a very long time ago. I had a long chat with one of the development engineers, and was amazed at the level of engineering which they put into every design.

Just because a leaf spring looks like a leaf spring doesn't mean it works like a leaf spring , and somebody at Morgan who made that decision either didn't understand the engineering, or didn't care about the consequences of cutting those costs.

My 2012 was at the end of the weak spring era, but we toured Scotland on the bump stops, whereas had I changed the springs earlier it would have been far more enjoyable. The four seater springs were just the job in my case......................