Talk Morgan Forums Morgan Sports Cars Morgan Three Wheeler & Super 3 Suplex suspension upgrade .

Whilst talking about suspension, I thought it may be a good time to give a quick update on the Empire kit. I have sent details out to all who have expressed an interest, but for those who may be thinking about it, Bill Chaplin, the boss at Empire Racing, has now sorted out his flood problems [he lives on the Somerset Levels, and had 2' of water flowing around his workshops] and has the machined parts back and ready, and is at this very moment busy making the wishbones and putting the kits together, I expect a call from him early next week to say that all is now ready for despatch. Because of the interest in his kit, he had a few more brackets and spacers made, so once the initial orders are despatched, there will be a few left over. He is charging £795 plus P+P, and is able to anodise the alloy brackets for an extra £35, if required. Do PM me if you would like me to send you some pictures, they look superb [and shiny!]

I'm thinking that once the suspension geometry is sorted out, and as David G has commented, a set of the new Suplex adjustable dampers may just be the icing on the cake. I was already driving my car with more verve and confidence last year, after having the Empire kit made and fitted. I am sourcing a set of the original Suplex spring/ dampers units for my car, which Peter has suggested can only be better than the Spax, though I doubt will be as good as the new adjustable Suplex units.

The car is currently at Williams having a new Bevel Box fitted under warranty, if that doesn't work, then I will have to go for the NVH kit, but thought I'd try a new BB first.

Summer isn't long now, so everything must be ready!

Thanks for the update Paul.

Just so as to keep a little 'balance' in the battle of suspension setups, I have the Spax Adjustables fitted currently and will be getting my Empire kit in the first wave of deliveries. I have put a few miles on the Spax setup now and have to confirm that they are fundamentally better than the fixed-rate stock items, no question. As I mentioned before, I was not able to drop the car to the low position that might have gotten the steering arms straight, due to exhaust-to-shock interference, but in hindsight that would have been too low for speed bumps and driveways to have been of much use.

So although the Spax kit is not as sophisticated as the Suplex adjustables, they are by no means a bad option and in fact for the £700 they cost (less than 50% of the spend of the new Suplex package) they offer 100% improvement over the stock Spax units. In my view these are a very good compromise and I am sure represent good value for money. It is just a shame that they were made available without reference to what was coming along next.

I will report back again of course once I have my Empire kit fitted.

All

Please explain the advantage of Empire over Factory comfort option at a fraction of the price.

I am happy with my handling now on original Spax but of course there may be a big improvement there that I don't need or understand.

Put simply, the factory Comfort Kit has minimised bump-steer by moving the steering arms to the mid-position in terms of suspension/track-arm movement. Steering arm is 'longest' when horizontal and that is now the starting point. So up and down movement is theoretically even around that midpoint. Geometry change under bump remains, as this is inherent within the design, but the impact on the driving experience is minimised. It is a good and very cost effective solution. More to the point it simply restores the static positioning of the track arms that the first Suplex cars had, which is probably why both Comfort Kit convertees and early Suplex owners are now equally happy.

The Empire Kit is a true geometric fix in engineering terms which ensures that the effective length of the steering arms remain constant through their vertical suspension movement, in relation to the wishbones. So no change in length and no bump-steer. This is a true fix, but a more expensive one, undeniably. Whether it's ultimately needed now that factory Comfort is available is down to personal preference of course.

I guess it's a bit like the difference between the Spax Adjustables v's Suplex Adjustables - Suplex is the better engineered version, but is it now really needed?

There are other advantages of the SUPLEX units; besides all the advantages of being sophisticated monotube adjustables rather than 'run of the mill' bleed hole controlled twin tube adjustables:
1. The SUPLEX units have a rising spring rate to give good ride yet good control of bump deflections. SPAX have cheaper less effective linear springs.
2. Both front and rear SUPLEX units have internal rebound springs, SPAX don't. At the front these significantly increase roll resistance thus reduce roll even with a soft initial spring rate for good ride. At the rear the rebound springs limit the lift of the rear of the car when the rear wheel comes out of a pothole.

The M3W drives like a sports car should with the SUPLEX units, after all it has the performance to match.

Yes there is far more engineering and development in the SUPLEX units with progressive/rising spring rates and damping ratios developed specifically for the M3W.

But as always you pays your money and takes your choice.

Regards PJB.

Agreed. And the same argument goes for the Empire v's Comfort debate of course. Ultimately the clever bit is knowing where to stop!

In general terms the 'comfort' spacers allow the steering rack to sit at the right height, and therefore minimise the amount of toe change around the centre position of the bump and rebound cycle, which is the most commonly used part of the arc, whilst the Empire kit, by correcting the geometry, allows all components in the front suspension to work in the same arc and there is now, effectively, no toe change throughout the whole amount of movement, [well, Bill did find a small change in the last half an inch of rebound but one is unlikely to get there.]

In addition, when using the new Empire upper wishbone and spacing bracket, because it uses race car design and spherical bearings, it means that, should an owner want to, the castor and camber are also fully adjustable, which they are not in the standard setup. It also eliminates the use of rubber bushes, ensuring less lost movement.

I just ordered the Suplex Suspension for my Brooklands. It will be fitted by the factory when they build the car. It's pricey, but if I want to race it up a hill immediately upon arrival to Portugal, might as well have the best suspension available from the start.


Can't wait for the moment when the drops!

Great idea,while their at it.but tell them how low you want it & then you can have the stiffness adjustably easily set after you try it out

A good move Mario. I'm sure you will be very satisfied.