Talk Morgan Forums Morgan Sports Cars Classic Morgans (pre-CX) 5 link suspension

But to my mind that friction is just another damping component on the leaf spring setup and would be compensated for by having a slightly softer damper setup.

If you put exactly the same damper on both setups then I think it would be harsher on the leaf spring setup due to the friction.

So why not just soften the leaf spring damper to compensate.

In a static situation I would agree Bob, but the dynamics of compliance need to be considered.

Whilst we wait for Mr Ballard to comment- my tuppence worth....

Dampers not only control the spring, but the body as well, certainly the damper rate- being velocity dependent as opposed to distance, has a huge effect on ride quality.

A too stiff damper, will make a car feel "jiggly" over small road surface irregularities, and larger irregularities will cause the ride quality to be skippy or crashy, because the damper will "prop" the car up rather than allowing the spring to soak up the bump

In my head a Morgan rear damper needs to be "relatively" soft in bump, but with more rebound rate, to control the huge unsprung mass of the axle (about 55 kg before you add in wheels, tyres and brakes).

Happy for Peter B's comments though, I'm good at getting Morgan's to handle on the race track- the road is an entirely different kettle of pilchards

There is also the rear axle to contend with, compared to a modern independent suspension. The axle links both sides of the car more than a the chassis does, ( monocoque included). Even front to back effects can carry through. Cooperman’s suggestion of full soft all round as a starting point to set up from is the way to go. Repeat test drives on the same stretch of road to assess the effects of adjustments with notes to monitor your results.
I did this on my trad when putting new AVO shocks all round. The rear has been kept at soft and front up to 5 clicks as my preference.
The car already had a Panhard rod fitted. Keeping the leaf springs lubricated helps as does trying small tyre pressure tweaks. The ultimate decider was when commented on the improvement !

Dropping my roadster off at Techniques tomorrow morning, getting the SSL front and rear suspension done.

Looking forward to finding out the results first hand.

I have fitted springs with a higher rate to the rear because of the often heavy luggage loads that we carry. The dampers only have adjustment on compression and I have the feeling that I need to increase the rebound damping rate to compensate for the higher rate springs. I will probably remove the dampers over winter and send them to SSL to get them serviced and adjusted as appropriate.

I collected the Mog from Techniques this morning following the front and rear SSL suspension upgrade - I am really happy with the service from these guys.

Not a great day for driving, it was very wet, however I took the A roads to give it a better test (and motorways are extra boring in the Morgan). My initial thoughts were that the car was more planted on the road, lumps and bumps had much less effect on the stability of the car.

Speed humps and pot holes are definitely more manageable.

I think the real test will be when Mrs Mac is in the passenger seat...'cause she's the boss!

On the advice of CooperMan, I had the rear SSL adjusted, which has resulted in an improvement, although I still don't think it's a £4-5k improvement over the stock suspension.

I do now have a horrible squeak accompanying any lateral movement that wasn't there pre-SSL. Does anyone know what this might be?

Front or rear? Right or left corners? Certainly not something I have experienced.

If it is front I really can't imagine but if it is rear lift the tool tray out and look for anything which may be too close to a moving part. The rear setup may require a little adjustment too.

Seems odd Peter that the dampers SSL provide are only adjustable for compression given the greater need for rebound damping. I don't think the dual rate SSL coilover upgrade to factory five link I have would offer the improved compliance to road surface that it does if it created greater compression damping. You can actually feel the initial softer springing static, whilst pushing down on the bodywork. Surely SSL's own 5 link conversion won't be so different.