Talk Morgan Forums Morgan Sports Cars Morgan Aero 8, 2012< Plus 8, SuperSports, Coupe & Aeromax Suspension Upgrade 8 months on.

As you may remember, I removed all the factory suspension and ARB's from my Series 5 after having a complete suspension and ride analysis done about 3 1/2 years ago. Wish the whole thing could have been done for the £2,000 or so quoted above or better yet, that the factory had put a little more into the car at outset rather than me having to invest in the R&D to get the car right :-)

After it was completed I was tempted to try and get a GT as it seemed the factory had followed a similar route but watching the build process, all I could see changed was adjustable dampers. The ARB's remained the same. I do not know if the spring rates were changed. They were definitely very heavy weights on the S5. The rumour mill suggested they were so heavy because there were issues with wishbones with lighter weight springs. Don' know if that was just rumour or fact but on my S5 the new spring rates are set massively lighter, the ARB's both front and rear are significantly different and of course the dampers are adjustable and the valving set up specifically for the car.

The improvement is like night and day. Based on all the previous Aero's I've had and the 120,000 plus miles driven in them, the S5 out of the factory has the best steering feel and was a definite improvement of the earlier models but the suspension as standard was the worst. The changes make the car so much better. However, I think the S4 was possibly the best overall iteration of the series as an all-rounder and the GTN the most focussed.

Will, cutting of the chassis is NOT needed to fit the revised ARB's. The rear doesn't need anything, The front ARB needs the slot in the bolt on panel made wider to fit the bigger ARB as it is heavier and wider than the original factory ARB but no cutting of chassis. The extra weight is countered by the fact that the rear ARB is significantly lighter!

that'll be what I was thinking of - thanks :-)
I remembered the chassis needed altering, but not by how much

Over the next 3 months... I'm pretty busy with work now, and Williams are over 3 hours away... but I was due an MOT in March, and the extension is only 6 months :-)

Hi Will, I met with Peter earlier today to enable the necessary S5 measurements to be taken. Hopefully pressure off for you.

aha Ron, it's you that Peter B was talking about :-)

I'm booked in at Williams to have the work done 17th July (which was my one opportunity to get over that way for measurements to be taken)

Many thanks - you've saved me a long trip!

Will

I dont believe that that is too difficult or even expensive - both Ferraris have had it, one from the factory. And the F type. You may well be able to get the valves from the Jag dealer at sensible prices - the Fezza ones are vacuum operated.

However, be careful. The set up on the current Ferrari is IMO way too loud for anything other than leaving a few friends in the restarant car park. Unuseable on the road not because its too noisy for the other road users but because its intolerable when driving. Its also more than a bit childish, or so my wife says.

The reason for making the car capable of being noiser is because it is childish and silly.
A perfectly sensible thing to do in my view.
But then, I'm regressing back into my early 20s.
Adolescence is but a few years ahead, when I can be really silly!

Peter, seems we may think alike, as when I bought my +8 circa 18 years ago, I found the inside of my rear tyres was polishing the exhaust pipes on both sides.. As a possible quick fix, I removed both rearmost silencers/resonators, to enable me to bring the exh pipes in closer to the chassis and improve clearance betwixt tyre and tube.... While I could still see witness marks after the mods, I became addicted to the new tune that the old V8 was singing thus the resonators are now no more than garage ornaments. I also suspect I may not be rubbing the tyres on the tubes as much these days as I did some years back as my cornering speeds have likely reduced somewhat...(-:

As for the tune, well I guess on light throttle or in traffic it can purr along causing no disturbance to anyone, however if one is induced to hit the loud pedal, it can be well...err...LOUD... and as for country road H&T when rev matching and dropping down the box, the occasional pop and bang just adds to the whole..err.. experience of Morganeering...

Krazy Horse do a switchable system for the 3.7 Roadsters, I had a good look underneath and the pipework & valving was very well made

It's vacuum operated (intake manifold) and is switchable on the move from a little wireless remote, defaults to off, so each time you start the Mog it's in quiet mode

The hooligan in me was tempted, but for a Yorkshireman it was a little too 'reassuringly expensive'