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MG MGF Technical - spax

thinking of fitting spax to my mgf vvc i have got new polyflex bushes for the shocks off mike satur ,but now thinking i might as well fit new shocks anyway! where is best place to get them for price and has anybody fitted them and what do you think of them thanks
richard
richard

I've got my F lowered, poly bushes and new alloy drop links fitted along with Spax shockers. Totally different car and so much more comfortable than it was before. Don't regret getting the work done for a minute.
David Clelland

Hi Richard,

I have used spax shocks on various cars over the years and always been pleased by them. I recently fitted them to my F and adjusted them to a setting of 5 all round. The difference was fantastic over the old worn out units. I also took my car to the donington track day with mgot. I used a setting of 10 all round which gave excellent results. Thats the beauty of adjustable shocks. Low setting for a sporty but softer normal ride then adjustable for that extra firm extra handling when driving briskly.

I purchased mine from Moss for about £225 so probably double the price of the standard shocks. I think you can order them vat free if collected at sandown park show this weekend.

Also you may find that MS polybushes don't fit the spax shocks, but then spax shocks are comp shocks and the rubber is probably already hard.

hope this helps

don
don k

Don,

It was Mike that carried the work out on my car and fitted poly bushes all round including the new Spax shockers.
David Clelland

David, what is the point of the alloy drop links? Is it a question of unsprung weight, or is there more to it than that?

I've heard so many things about Spax dampers - but the thing I put most store in is that Andy has had them fitted to Scarlet Fever for 7(?) years and they've been faultless. :o) Probably a good idea to keep the adjuster screw well protected with grease etc to prevent corrosion that can affect this part.
Rob Bell

Rob,

According to the gospel of Mr S -

"The front anti roll bar drop links and polyurethane bushes, improve the looks, steering and handling response to your MGF or TF. The rear ones will positively locate the rear anti roll bar and assist the handling"

He also told me that one of the biggest problems that he comes across with handling is the roll bars being seized and not working properly. When he carried out the work on my car I just went for the full nine yards and to date I haven't been disappointed.
David Clelland

Thanks for that David :o) Have you got PU bushes all round? I am sure that that would make for a big benefit in terms of handling and steering response - so much so I guess that it is difficult to dissect out the benefit of any one mod- the whole lot ought to work well in combination :o)

One day, I'll go for PUs through out - but for now, in the sprint class that I'm in, they are off the agenda :o( Perhaps the year after next I'll enter the RGM class that allows more 'flexibility' in the rules :o)
Rob Bell

WARNING - If you do the above mentioned mods and they do make a huge difference PLEASE, PLEASE check your rear shocker brackets. Use MS reinforcement brackets if you fit stiffer shocks, you could save yourself a fortune.
I didn't until it was to late and had to replace and reinforce both turrets when they failed, plus the car was of the road for eight weeks.
Andrew Regens

Must get those pix on line Andrew! They're truely frightening. Doesn't happen to every car - but it is wise to remember that the original damper mounts aren't designed for dampers that provide significant resistance to compression...
Rob Bell

Rob,
Maybe you should start a chamber of horrors and show what can go wrong, not only with shocks but of cam belts not changed on a time basis.
Andrew
Andrew Regens

Rob,

Yes I got all the bushes changed at the same time as getting the drop links and shockers done. Big difference in handling but you're right it's difficult to tell which individual part makes the biggest difference. Although I suspect that changing the tracking from MG's settings made a large contribution to the overall improvement.

Andrew,

I kept the shocker settings pretty low for comfort and also so they didn't damage the rear turrets. It was Mike Satur that did the work, so I'm sure that he would have recommended reinforcement brackets if he thought that they were needed.
David Clelland

Andrew - I love that idea!

Things that go bang! in the middle of the night. Probably when it is very cold and very wet...

1. HGF (of course)
2. failed cam belt (anyone got pix?)
3. failed damper mount
Rob Bell

>> but the thing I put most store in is that Andy has had them fitted to Scarlet Fever for 7(?) years and they've been faultless. :o) <<

Yep, had them fitted (by Mike S) in, hmmm let me see, must have been early 1998, so that puts about 80K miles on them by now.

I have had some minor problems with them, mainly the adjustment screw, as Rob has indicated above, has rusted up so they are stuck on the firmest setting, but as i'm happy with this it doesn't bother me. For those that don't know the adjustment screw is on the shaft of the shocker, exposed inside the wheelarch - adjustment is by a long screwdriver inserted through the spokes of the wheel. It's location makes it hard to keep clean and thus over time, suffers the effects of all the road grime.

I have also picked up a squeak on the rear, driver's side since the accident. What is worrying is that it sounds exactly like Dave Livingstone's squeak which was traced to a damaged shocker mount. I feel that the area was highly stressed by the shocks and then the impact in the accident, despite being on the other side of the vehicle, was the last straw.

The car still drives perfectly well and the squeak is intermittant and not becomming more frequent. This coupled with the limited mileag she does these days means that although it will eventually need to be done, it is a long term project and is on the back burner. Besides there are other mroe pressing things to deal with at the moment, not least of which is the front end respray and a new hood. Ho hum, such is my life...

SF

P.S. Would i recommend Spax shocks? Wholeheartedly, they are great. But i would also recommend the stiffening plates Mike offers (need to get some myself).
Scarlet Fever

Rob, i have a contribution to the 'Chamber of horrors' - i have numerous photos of the damage caused when the valve sheared, including one or two of the cracked liner - they are archived at home so i'll have to dig them out for you.

Let me know if you want them.

SF
Scarlet Fever

I want them! :o)
Rob Bell

Rob,

I have some pictures of my VVC head following failure of the cam belt tensioner, Had the same effect as cam belt failure as the belt jumped the gears. The result was 16 bent valves.

Let me know i could mail them over.

don
don k

SF,
It started as a squeak!, from the offside rear, that was the side where the spot welds started to pull away from the inner guard. This only happened under load ie high cornering speeds, beware.
Andrew
Andrew Regens

Received - thanks Don :o)
Rob Bell

This thread was discussed between 13/10/2004 and 15/10/2004

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