Talk Morgan Forums Morgan Sports Cars Classic Morgans (pre-CX) New King pins and fitting brake reaction bars

Collected my 4/4 from Matt at Lifes today following having my kingpins (SiFab) rebuilt (26k miles) and installation of brake reaction bars (SiFab). It's really great to deal with Matt, its the simple little things like he cleaned the inside edge of all my wire wheels while they were off, sorted out my rear brakes and handbrake without being asked for a very small extra charge over what he estimated, that makes all the difference and shows he cares and takes pride in his work.

The car felt very different driving it back, its difficult to point to one thing or the other whether it was the rebuilt pins, the car having been tracked or the brake reaction bars that contributed to a much more compliant ride and removed the heavy crashing I experienced on potholes, the steering wheel doesn't dance anymore and the brakes had far more bite.

Yes you are still aware of heavy ruts and pot holes, it just doesn't shake the whole chassis anymore and hit you in the back to anything like what I experienced previously, it certainly seems to smooth out the undulations. Booked my next service and MOT with Matt as every time I have Matt work on my car eg the pinking and removing rusted in spark plugs, I experience a step change for the better.

Tubular Manifold on a 4/4Sport -2018er

Guys,has anyone experience in the different tubular manifolds from aerosport and the librands one?
what about the Williams ITG air filter set?
thanks for answers
4/4 sportwupper

Yes i have the Morgan Aero-racing tubular manifold fitted to my Sigma 4/4. Purchased throu Wolf performance. Its a superb bit of kit and works really well along with a 200 cell sports cat - more power and a happier feeling engine. No idea on the Librands version - similar i imagine. The ITG air filter set up i do not have - others on TM do, and are happy with it i think. There is much on TM regarding air-flow characteristics around a Morgan front end - you may want to check these out before decide what to do regarding air-intake options.

The Wolf engine re-map for the Sigma is well worth doing - works even better with improved exhaust obviously, but the re-map alone is a real solid improvement.

Im still on the original kingpins John, but the brake reaction bars made a big difference to the car. On bumpy roads it stopped the chassis shake at the front which meant I now dont have to slow down and like you say the front end crashing on potholes is much reduced. I really should have fitted brake reaction bars before fitting adjustable shocks!

I also now have a Sifab Panhard rod fitted by Matty at Lifes which improved the handling and steering feel at a reasonable cost.

I was thinking of getting the Sifab Panhard rod fitted at the same time, but decided that I wanted to understand the relative changes to the car in stages of hopefully noted improvement. There is lots of 'sage' advice on here on suggested improvements, I just wanted to pick my own way through it all.........some are minor improvements, others can give a step change and I wanted to try and understand that for myself. It's now clear to me that brake reaction bars (all other things being equal) are a step change for the front end and chassis ride for a very small outlay.

I hadn't checked the tyre pressures since I got them replaced in September (even though I told the fitters it was 22psi and their boss has a Morgan) Matt noted they were at 30psi which he lowered to 22psi. I actually found the car felt more planted at the back with the higher pressures....now this may be a subjective feel and with the tightened front end its now showing the back end up...I'll wait till I get the Panhard rod done and then (if necessary) start playing with tyre pressures.

John, It also depends on the tyres. I run 26 psi (1.8 bar) with the Vredestein TTrac2. The tyres are controlled and still offer more comfort than the Conti CT22.
22 psi is far too little for me, spongy and maybe for slow cruising. Does the 2006 4/4 have lowering blocks? I removed them on my 2014 4/4 and the rear axle is much more controlled. I don't think I need a panhard rod.

Hi Heinz, Many thanks for that, I fitted new Conti CT22 and feel that at 22PSI it is too soft...anyone have any recommended pressures from experience for these CT22 tyres.

I haven't looked at the axle so I'm not sure whether it has lowering blocks. I read with interest your posts on that topic. its something I need to sort out a way forward and that's why I taking it a step at a time.

I wish I had known about the Vredestein tyres before replacing with Conti's, in fairness my various Mercedes have always had conti's as standard fit and I never had any problems with them so went with the Conti's again...i should have asked for recommendations

regards

John

I have Conti CT22's on mine and I love them.
The guys at New Elms suggested running at 20 psi to match the Rutherford suspension.
The car rides smoothly over the bumps and holds the road very well in the country lanes.
I'm very happy with 20 psi.
I should add that I have a 4/4 which is a pretty light car, heavier ones may need more.

I wouldn't go much over 24 psi. Why not try 0.5 psi increments. I run my Roadster at 23.5 front & 26 rear but it is much heavier with wider tyres.

Hi Paul,

Thanks for that input, I probably need to drive the car far more and see how it feels over time . I see your a Harley rider, whilst my Harley days maybe over, I always smiled when new owners complained about it wont go around bends or brake, tyres were always an emotive issue.

regards