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

I have heard differing opinions about SSL. Seems to relate to the driving style; hard driving sporty cruising etc. Personally I would go for the Tim Ayres Rutherford modified suspension solution.

More info please - I have read about the Rutherford AVO shocks but nothing else

Also if I do the Chrome king pins I assume I'll also need to fit new bushes and ream them out. I don't have reamers so I'd need to buy/borrow one presumably

Gary

It all depends what you want from your Morgan.

If you like the visceral feel of every bump and pothole coming up off the road , then go for the standard system with some well matched shock absorbers for both front and rear. Most "racers" would probably go for this as they need as much feel from the front end as is possible. However this is changing, and several Aero Racing series cars are now sporting SSL developed suspension kits (BUT not the same kit as for road cars) as they are now finding that it makes the car handle better , and is therefore faster on the circuits/hills/sprints.

Like others I can strongly recommend the SSL front end kit, and this can be done easily during your front end rebuild, using their excellent instructions. Not only is the ride much better, but the handling is also improved (IMHO).

As you have a +8 I would give a few words of advice. Most folk who fit the SSL front do one initial fit , and then need to adjust it after a period of running to fine tune the gap between the stub axle and the rebound springs and they are sorted for until the next rebuild . On a +8 there is usually a bit more than one adjustment necessary before you arrive at "the sweet spot" . Apparently SSL themselves admit that the +8 is a tad more tricky to set up "out of the box".

quote " we (and you) have learnt that it can be more difficult on a +8 as there is so much more off set load with the wider wheel/tyre, this tends to load up the bushes more than a narrow wheel/tyre would and so with more stiction it is more difficult to test adjustment" unquote

However please don't let that put you off , it is just a case of being a little more patient and experimenting for longer , you will revel in the improvement when you get it right.

Ahhh, that's a really good point (well both points actually)

I won't be racing - the red mist would fall and I'd kill myself. I wont be touring either. It'll be a mix a winding country A roads at or close to the prevailing speed limits if I'm having a pleasure run and slower procession driving with the folks in my car club, similar roads though. All the roads round here are poor, uneven and potholed. Even the dual carriageways are clunky and they're probably the worst roads for my Morgan. The A55 at 70mph borders on painful at times.

Day car is a BMW so I'm used to a firm ride and my Stag is limo like compared to both. The Morgan would bump going over a cigarette paper!

Gary

I think on the +8, the SSL kit has had mixed results, with some being removed to revert back to standard. Of course it could all be down to set up but probably best to see if you can drive one first as it is quite an investment.

I have used the Front SSL on the Front of My +8 Bitsa and tested it on 2,500 miles of varied roads. It does improve the drive on very rough roads but IMO not worth the money. I am now back to Chrome Pins, AVOs, and Blue 120 in/lb springs and I cut the rebound so they just touch the bottom of the stub axle at rest. No complaint about the SSL. Just think My system is just as good and cheaper.

I was an early adopter too, and I agree 100%. The benefits are definitely worth the cost. St up correctly and you will never go back.

I read up as much as I could on suspension modifications for my 2012 4/4 Sport and the conclusion I came to was that the SSL front suspension kit used the same stiffness of springs for any model whether it be a 4/4 or Plus 8 and used Spax adjustable front shocks.
The alternative such as New Elms, Cain and others used main and rebound springs weighted to the individual model and use AVO adjustable shocks which seem to have the best reviews.

I decided therefore to start with front and rear AVO/Rutherford adjustable shocks. These have given a better ride though not a night and day difference as some reported. My wife as a passenger seems to have noticed the ride being improved more than myself the driver. My car has done 12,000 miles and the Kingpins and shocks seemingly didn't need imminent replacement and to be fair the ride wasnt terrible anyway which is probably why I didn't notice the vast difference some seem to have reported.

When my kingpins become ready for replacement I will probably go with springs and rebound springs weighted to suit my car rather than the SSL kit. I don't think I would spend £1000 fitted for the SSL kit without driving a similar car to mine with SSL front suspension . There lies a dilemma as even if there was a similar car to mine, from what I've been told all Morgans drive differently due to the way they are set up at the factory anyway!

According to Dan at SSL I was relatively unique in sorting out the over stiff rear of my Roadster before the front when I fitted their new dual rate coil over dampers, specifically for the factory 5 link system on latest version of this model, although the ARP4 may benefit as well. Unfortunately this highlighted the stiffness of front though.

I thought I had sorted this when I fitted AVO adjustable shocks late last year as it certainly calmed excessive cowl movement with more together feel. I attributed this remaining firmness to static load on rebound springs creating an initial high front spring rate. Deciding to fit SSL's matching RS front kit, I was surprised when pre-installion checks revealed there was no static pre-load on either rebound spring, indeed the offside showed 2mm of vertical movement! Nevertheless on fitting RS kit I was pleased to find a ride which matched the rear. Soft initially for maybe first inch of movement, but quickly firming up after that to limit roll.

At the start I was prepared to accept a comfier ride as a trade off against reduced roll resistance. What I actually got on both front and rear was a rattle free ride on Norfolks worst, akin to riding on a cushion of air, coupled to increased roll resistance over original hence even better turn in, although it was good before. A pleasantly surprising win win!

Although I could have kept the AVO's I was persuaded to fit the matching Spax adjustable gas dampers which are part of the full kit. These I understand are tuned to match the RS rising rate springs. As a consequence I have a pair of Mulfab spec. front AVO's for sale. 6000 miles from new, PM if interested.

ETA: Noting Robs thoughts above, I would agree given my findings, that the only complete answer is to have some means of independantly adjusting front spring pre-load to give zero static load on rebound springs given factory variations side to side. Exactly what the RS kit has of course although shims may be another answer.

all the above makes very interesting reading and both brings some clarity and confusion at the same time.

To summarise:-

the SSL kit provides a significant change/improvement on plus 4 and 4/4 models of various vintages (£750)

On plus 8 models the improvement is less clear cut (mine is a plus 8)

The AVO shocks make a change/improvement on all models which may not be as significant as the SSL kit (£350 front and rear)

With the AVO kit 'shortening the rebound springs' should help. (this I don't yet understand)

In all cases chrome kingpins are recommended, which probably includes bushes and reaming (which adds about £300 to the job and something I hadn't accounted for). This on its own my be responsible for much of the harshness of my suspension.

I like to do all the work myself, that way I understand whats happening and can QA the job so there would be no labour charges but I'd need to get the bushes reamed or buy a reamer.

Have I missed anything?

Now I need to find out about 'shortening the rebound springs' which surely cant be a drastic as cutting a bit off with a grinder????

thanks for all the comments so far

Gary