Talk Morgan Forums Morgan Sports Cars Morgan Three Wheeler & Super 3 Comfort kit - observations and questions

Recently had the Comfort Kit added to my Oct 2012 car. This car is an early example with the later steering rack.

Having fiddled around with toe settings when the car was new and finding a decent balance, I was wondering if any of you clever people who have also had the Comfort kit fitted have experience of adjusting settings after the kit is fitted.

Reason I ask is because - while the steering is much more relaxed and easy and the bumpsteer is reduced to the extent I hoped (great!), the car now feels quite lazy around the straight ahead (which is fine and relaxing) but needs a lot more lock to turn into a corner and seems to understeer more too (which is not so fine). Steering feels a lot lighter as well.

I'm getting used to it and think the changes are obviously much safer but the car is less 'sporting' to drive and is sort of living up to the Comfort name the change has been given, which I had thought was just a cynical name but ends up being quite accurate!

Does the Comfort kit change camber? Also, given the lighter steering and less turn-in I would guess there's less toe-in and probably less tyre wear too?

Is there any way of tweaking things to provide better turn-in? I'm guessing I could always create a bit more toe-in and see what happens...

+1...just ordered the comfort steering kit...also interested to know

If I remember correctly, pre the comfort kit the recommended toe setting was +2mm but with the kit it should be set to parallel or 0 toe. The toe would have to be set from scratch after the kit is fitted as the components on each end of the rack that attach to the wheels are changed. Camber should not have been affected by fitting the kit.
My own experience regarding the more relaxed feel about straight ahead is similar to yours but I would not have said that there was more understeer though I was running BLockley tyres by the time I got the kit fitted which in themselves reduce the understeer.

Thanks, Calum. It almost feels like the steering is lower geared (which of course it isn't!) and the change to toe-in would probably account for some of this, the lighter steering and less tyre wear. All of which are good things in themselves. Perhaps I just need to get used to it a bit and fling a bit more lock on - and get some Blockleys...

Interesting observations about the apparent 'slowness' of the steering. I can only assume it is caused by lifting the height of the track rods, thus enlarging, by a very small margin, the distance the steering arm has to travel when movement is input at the steering wheel end.

I cannot think of any other cause. Other people who have only had the risers fitted say the same thing, yet with the Empire wishbone kit fitted as well, this does not seem to be the case, on my car at least. I can also play around with camber and castor change, which is impossible with the standard setup with Morgan 'comfort' risers alone.

Funny, I posted on this thread in April;
http://www.talkmorgan.com/ubbthreads.php/topics/191212/Re_Costs_of_various_upgrades#Post191212

"Thoughts on the comfort pack; bump steer completely gone, but some of the weight has gone too. It feels like you need to turn the wheel more to make turns; needing to grab another handful when before it was possible without. At speed it almost feels like it is understeering, although there is no tyre noise to support this. I will have to get used to it."

Acquiring some Blockleys is an excellent idea. The recommended tire pressure for the Avons is 22lbs but the Blockleys really come into their own at around 25-26lbs. Steering and tracking are much better. Understeer almost disappears. At 22lbs they are a real slog and a bit of a fight.

A true night and day difference!

Can fully confirm that 25-26lbs is a better front tire pressure.

+1

I run my Avons at 26psi

I always felt that running the Avons at the recommended pressures was a bit daft. They have no bias ply to speak of and watching them in hard turns made my stomach roil and squirm. I was totally afraid of losing the bead and watching the tire just lose it and me!