Talk Morgan Forums Morgan Sports Cars Maintenance & Servicing Suplex

We've just had the Suplex upgrade to the front end of our plus 4. Brilliant service by Tony and his team at Williams, and we are really looking forward to the improvements promised. First impressions, more comfortable, smoother steering action, an all round more precise and responsive drive ,less violent reactions to bad road services. The downside - more nodding - however Tony asssures me this will settle down. Watch this space. SteveH and Harry

Agreed Steve.
I have just had the same done (though not Suplex).
Mine is a mixture of AVO and Mulfab.

My first impressions are very positive - it is the first time I have been able to drive over minor potholes without wincing.
Yes, it is softer, but overall more compliant and more of a pleasure to drive. For once, I don't feel so tired after a reasonably long country lane drive. Hooray!
Driving over shallow bumps where the back end lifts has also improved - I don't have to wait for the crash and back compression!

Like you Steve, it will be interesting to see how it settles down over time.

P.S. The damper blades have also been removed, and there is no reappearance of St Malvern's Dance, so that's another good result.

Steve, I had suplex fitted to my old +4 at the front. For me it stopped the nodding dog syndrome. Seems strange for me that fror you it has got worse.

I agree that the SSL (Suplex) front suspension system should remove the nodding dog syndrome. It is specifically one of the things it was designed to do.

Once adjusted correctly it does not require any further attention for a long time. It may need to settle in a little and then be checked and/or re-adjusted after an initial short run of say 50 miles.

To check the correct setting of the spring adjusters you must have the car on a perfectly level surface and have the front wheels dircectly ahead. I have checked mine by driving straight ahead and bumping the brakes gently a couple of times before stopping to bounce the front end. At that point the lower springs should be just pressing on the bottom of the sliding stub axle. They should be so that you can only just turn them by hand. If not run the car backwards and forwards and check again.

Agreed that with a correct Suplex setup you should get rid of the nodding, but IME the system needed a few hundred miles and a couple of adjustment sessions to settle down properly.

Now I can drive hands-off down bumpy pot-holed 'B' roads at 50mph with no problem whatsoever, so it's worth persevering to get the setup just right.

Is that finetuning of the Suplex system after settling down something most owners could do themselves or is specialist skill/knowledge required?

Thomas

If you can jack the front of your car up, use C spanners, and are able to measure accurately then it's dead easy. Here's the process I used:

1. Park car on flat level surface. I used my garage floor.

2. Measure the height under the crosshead and find a block of wood or axle stand to match this distance. You need to be able to support your car at normal static ride height (SRH) but with the front wheels removed

3. Jack the front of car up under the crosshead, remove one front wheel.

4. Put the block of wood/axle stand under the crosshead and lower the car onto it. Your car is now at SRH with one wheel removed.

5. Now put your jack under the hub splines (use a bit of wood to protect them), and jack up the hub just enough to start to take the weight of the car. Ideally the crosshead will not lift from its support. You now have the hub at SRH but without a wheel on it, meaning you can get to the adjusting rings. Yo can always measure from axle centre to ground to confirm you have this right

6. Screw the adjusting rings up or down with the C spanners to get the 'just free' condition for the rebound springs as described by Peter. Make sure you lock the 2 rings together properly to prevent them from moving.

7. Repeat for the other side. Getting each side right is more important than getting exactly the same distance between the rings and the top of the adjuster, there will be minor weight distribution differences across the car.

8. Put everything back together go for a spirited drive on some bumpy lanes. No shortage of these in Gloucestershire

9. Back in the garage, repeat the sequence checking for the 'just free' condition.

I did this exercise a total of 3 times spread over about 500 miles. Since then, I haven't touched them and the suspension's been absolutely perfect for about 6,000 miles.

If "nodding dog" (with Suplex) I would suggest the rear springs are too soft. At least this was the case for Me.

I suspect that the nodding dog syndrome is down to overtight bushes...they just need to be run in.

Thanks TMers. Great response. I think I will put a good few miles on HT11 as Tony suggested,and then explore the remedies you guys have suggested. She does seem more settled after our run to Bibury on Sunday, however I feel still not quite right., fortunately the ooverall feel of the car is greatly improved and promises great things endorsed by your comments. SteveH and Harry