Talk Morgan Forums Morgan Sports Cars Classic Morgans (pre-CX) less ground clearance on the driver side

Hi Folks,
my 2019 Roadster shows around 2-3 cm less ground clearance on the driver side compared to the passenger side. It has around 10k miles on the clock. It has been driven mostly without passenger. Could it be that the 5 link spring/ damper on the driver side has softened over the years? Would this be solved by fitting the SSL units? I wanted to do this anyway having read all the positive reviews. But before I do this I wanted to find out if anybody has seen a similar "leaning" to the driver side and also to understand where it comes from.

Best regards,
Frank

Totally normal to have some clearance reduction on drivers side I understand Frank, particularly if you drive regularly without passenger. I can however recommend the SSL front and rear kits. I was lucky to have the prototype SSL 5 link dual rate rear kit fitted (in a matter of minutes) and noticed the improvement in both ride and roll resistance in very short order. I was apparently their first customer to sort the rear suspension before front and quickly realised I also needed the dual rate treatment with their front RS kit to compliment.

Still very happy after close to 15,000 miles. Have had one front settling in check since fitting, finding I had to increase the drivers side pre-load a few mm more to gain the zero static pre-load on each rebound spring. Never thought to touch the rears other than adding a little damping when touring two up. No reason the adjustable spring platform couldn't be tweaked to even ride height though if it's an issue.

thanks, Richard, I will go for SSL front and rear now.

On my 2006 Plus 4 I had a significant list to drivers side. I drive a lot solo but even with wife there is a 7 stone variation between Starboard and Port. 2 years ago Williams fitted two new leaf springs BUT I had the drivers side spring loaded for our circumstance. The spring was heated and fettled. The car is now spot on empty, solo and with both of us onboard. Best money I spent.

Bear in mind it can be difficult to find the static ride height at the front particularly if you have the wider front tyres as on your Roadster. Reason is the stub axle angle is greater than 90° and as they slide up the laterally inclined kingpin there is a tendency for tyres to pinch together. Wider tyres resist this more causing car to not fully settle on springs when stationary unless moved back and forwards a tad.

Oh and a belated welcome to TM Frank

I have the same setup as Richard on a 5 link Roadster, and agree with his comments

You could try an easy test & just swop over o/s to n/s on the existing rear coilovers as they are easy to access

thanks for welcome, Richard :-)

Jon, what exactly is o/s and n/s?

Off side and near side.

ok. that means replacing the original shock absorbers with the SSL Roadster springs is a job I could do myself or would you recommend to have this done by a dealer? It looks like two nuts and bolts per side. But maybe it is more involved

I think the first advice is to stop the shocks from side to side. I'll let someone else comment on how to do it on a 5 link set up