Talk Morgan Forums Morgan Sports Cars Classic Morgans (pre-CX) Bilstein Rear Dampers

I have a 50s Moss box Plus 4 fitted with Suplex front suspension kit, which is excellent. The rear still has the Koni Classic dampers fitted on a Rutherford type frame. Has anyone with a Suplex front kit changed over to the matching Bilsteins at the rear? If so, I'd be glad to hear your views. Thanks,

It worked well for me on my old +4

Hi John

Thanks. It's useful to have feedback from someone who's actually done it.

Tony

Tony,

I have these dampers on the rear of my +8, after PB's recommendation, when I fitted the Suplex front end. I think they are a real improvement over the Konis previously fitted for two different reasons.

Firstly they have built-in bump stops so it handles the really big hits better, without bottoming out.
Secondly the damping is in my opinion an improvement, especially on the rebound phase.
They also seem to make the rear end a little softer and more comfortable. I might wish they were adjustable, but in reality I wonder if I would climb under the car before each trip to optimise the settings.

Andy, Thanks, I was hoping that they might soften the ride. I don't have any bottoming out issues with the Koni Classics currently fitted. The Bilsteins will go on the shopping list for early 2016.

Incidentally, I did a quick 80 miles this morning in the Plus 4 to Williams to pick up some parts and then to Terry Foxen at Nailsworth for some more bits for the '59 car. Weather much better than the past few days. Very enjoyable run up the A46.

Tony

Tony

Regularly spray some motorcycle chain lube on the leaves of the springs, or at least as much of them as you can get at. The lube will work between the leaves and reduce stiction and its unwanted additional damping effect.

Thanks Peter. Yes, I already do that. It's easier to get to the part of the spring at the rear of the axle and a bit more tricky getting spray into the front part. Good reminder to do it again now that we're approaching Winter

Tony

I plan to avoid the whole issue of lubricating the leaf springs by fitting the Suplex 5 Link rear suspension. Choice of Bilstein non adjustable or Quantum adjustables. At the moment I am leaning towards the Bilsteins as it seems the Quantums are more suited to those who give preference to on track use or really hard driving on good roads. According to PJB the Bilsteins are a more suited to sporty driving combined with comfortable touring (sounds like me).

The other issue influencing me a bit is that the adjustment of the Quantums is at the top so it means removing the tool tray if you want to change it. Not a big job but in the end I would probably try to find a "set it and forget it" setting.

Peter,
In theory I agree that we might all tend to find a "set and forget" point for the rear dampers , but I think that it may be worth pursing this if the load factor varies a lot.

When in holiday mode I am two up with luggage inside the car and on the rack. When solo this must be less than half that weight.
However can we assume that it is the the total unsprung weight that is significant, and not the extra load of passenger and luggage?

I get the idea that they are set to suit fast road driving with one or two in the car and will still be fine with a luggage because when loaded and with speed control in the passenger seat they will give a comfortable ride in touring-with-luggage mode. The real compromise will be in setting ride height so that it is not too high unloaded and not too low loaded. It can always be adjusted if necessary.