On 25 Dec 2008 at 15:20, Joe Curry wrote:
> Your friend steered you wrong. The springs are the same
> width (length).
I was hoping somebody more knowledgeable than I would jump in. If it
was about Spitfire springs I would have answered directly.
My uncertainty, which Joe "Fluif" Curry wouldn't necessarily share,
is that they would have calibrated the GT6 springs differently from
the Spitfire because of the greater weight. They *might* have made a
longer spring for the late GT6 to match the longer axle but length by
itself is not enough information. If it was longer without being
stiffer it would be effectively softer, and a spacer between diff and
spring would be the wrong thing to do because the car would sit even
lower. If they the spring stiffer they could have made it longer,
but longer or not, they would have had a goal to match the weight for
a given axle length. So if they combined stiffness and length to
match the longer '73 axle and you installed one on the shorter axles,
it would indeed be too stiff, making the car ride higher.
The Spitbits website lists a different part number for early
Spitfires, swing-spring Spitfires, Mk2 and early Mk3 GT6, and Mk1 and
later Mk3 GT6. Certainly the GT6 spring is not the same as the
Spitfire's for any suspension setup. But the curious thing is that
they listed only one spring as Mk1 and Mk3 after KF20001. Can't tell
from the picture whether it is the swing-spring or not. However this
suggests that either they don't offer have both early and very late
GT6 springs or Triumph reverted to the non-swing spring in '73. I
suspect the former.
> The difference is that the later spring is a swing spring which
> ... allows the rear to have more body roll.
I'm not sure what Triumph did for the GT6 but for the Spitfire the
swing-spring also came with a stiffer swaybar. Todd, you need to
consider whether the PO swapped that too. Or just update the rear to
your preference then choose a swaybar based on how it corners.
Todd also asked:
> I don't believe there is a bushing in the ends of the spring.
> Does there have to be?
There should be something (they are only $5 from Spitbits). It is
not a super tight fit. It is more critical on the Mk2 because the
spring acts as the upper control arm. On the swing-axle versions it
doesn't but you should still have something to spread out the stress.
--
Jim Muller
jimmuller@rcn.com
'80 Spitfire, '70 GT6+
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