Talk Morgan Forums Morgan Sports Cars Morgan Aero 8, 2012< Plus 8, SuperSports, Coupe & Aeromax Suspension Upgrades

I'm quite enjoying the Morgan but there's an unpredictable nature to the front suspension when going over uneven surfaces.

There's one patch of tarmac on my local road which causes the front to bounce, losing contact with the road and inducing understeer.

Taking the same patch in most other cars isn't really a problem so I wondered if anyone here knew of any suspension upgrades which could improve overall handling and hopefully alleviate this issue.

Hi Stephen,

I think most people would agree that improvements to front suspension on four wheel Morgan's a good idea.
My choice was Suplex fitted by Williams in Chipping Sodbury. Also had AVO shock absorbers fitted to rear at an overall cost of £1300.
Conclusions so far? Definite improvement with AVO's on rear - no more "hitting bottom" on poor roads.
Whilst "the jury is still out" on Suplex as 1/2000 miles before they are "run in".
There is definitely some improvement already, and hope the adjustments later will further improve the drive.

Cheers

Are we talking the Trad range here or Aeros? I'd agree with David regarding the front end of the Trads.

Stephen has an Aero as I understand it. The symptoms he describes seem to indicate faulty or badly adjusted dampers. Probably worth talking to an expert like cerealsurfer.

I fitted the Suplex to my 2005 Roadster V6. The ride was improved beyond belief but the cornering and handling was frightening. The front tucked in very sharply and unpredictably and I felt I could not trust it. The was a lot of bump steer and she felt very skittish.
I have had the front end sorted by Tim Ayres at New Elms and the handling is now very good. He took off the Suplex fitted Rutherford springs and changed the Bilstein dampers supplied with Suplex for AVOs. There is more to be done by moving the track rod arms to underneath the arm on the stub axle, refitting the damper blades and fitting brake reaction bars.
I hope all that improves things!

John

The suplex suspension seems to be a little controversial with many, the majority? absolutely raving about it but quite a few remain unconvinced with the driving style having an impact on whether it's for you or not. I have not driven a suplex converted car so can't say one way or the other but have had the Mogsport suspension upgrade that included Rutherford springs, AVOs, brake reaction bars, and rollers bearing conversion, as well as AVOs at the back and a panhard rod and that transformed the handling which, after my previous Morgan, I found almost dangerous. The big problem being rapid changes of direction such as pulling back in after an overtake. My car handles brilliantly now so with Tim Ayres expertise I am sure you will have your car to your liking very soon.

When I was at the factory on Friday I did observe a Suplex upgrade included in the kitting pallet for a plus 4.

Thanks for that Andrew. I already have AVOs on the back together with ant-tramps bars. Tim Ayres is going to fit a panhard rod to complete things. I'm looking forward to it.

John

My Roadster is an early series 1 and, I am given to understand, these early cars had the track rod end above the stub axle arm for a short while. In that position I am told that bump steer is more likely as is shimmy. The suspension was untouched before the Suplex was fitted so, I suppose, it could have been wrongly fitted although I don't know how. That said, Tim Ayres tried various combinations of set ups, taking the Suplex on and off again twice before deciding it was much better off. He says he never usually fits it himself.
I have no specialist knowledge of car suspension, but I can say that the handling was very scarey with the Suplex.

John

The Suplex upgrade fitted to my 2013 Plus 4 improved the ride and did away with the 'nodding dog' syndrome. However, the downside with my car was that the steering became very light at anything above parking speeds and there is a slight vibration at the steering wheel. In an attempt to improve the steering, a steering damper was fitted and this did help a little but made the steering heavy at parking speeds.

To sum up, the Suplex upgrade is good for ride comfort but I am disappointed at the affect this has had on the feel of the steering and the slight vibration at the steering wheel. The vibration is not that significant and is suppressed by keeping both hands on the wheel but I doubt this should this be an issue with a nearly new car. Maybe I am expecting too much from a trad.

Anyone else had a similar experience?