rooflessdriver Posted February 18, 2011 Report Share Posted February 18, 2011 I took the car in to WIMS on Weds 16th as planned for the new Gaz Gold Pro's to be fitted and took some photos as the work took place. (thanks to Joe for his patience! ) First thing Tony showed me was two of these Inside were : Front Rear Spanner These Gaz Gold Pro's have 22 click adjusters in comparison to my old rebuilt Absolutely Gaz which had 42 clicks. Having emptied the boot, first thing done was to undo the old Gaz shock top mounts. yes that is sound deadening material around the mount points, used to reduce the noise of the old shocks clattering. The car was then raised up, and wheels removed to get access to the bottoms of the shocks. Offside Rear Nearside Rear You can see here the state the adjusters get in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rooflessdriver Posted February 18, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 18, 2011 Having undone the bottom bolts, with a little leverage with a crowbar, the shocks could be lowered from the top mount holes and removed. Now they were out of the car, we could have a look at the condition of them. Nearside rear Can see in this pic the rear nearside had just started to leak a little. offside rear The Springs were looking worse for wear, and as MX5 Parts had originally supplied MK1 front springs by accident, Tony said it would be best to replace all of them with new ones. Old Rear Spring New Springs The old units were popped in a spring compressor to dismantle them New rears were assembled ready for fitting Refitting was a simple reverse of removal. Offside Rear Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rooflessdriver Posted February 18, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 18, 2011 Nearside Rear The car was lowered to torque up the rear top mount bolts and then the front top mount bolts were removed Nearside Front Offside Front Its easier to remove the old units if the lower link arm is undone, so the bolts were removed to allow them to drop. Nearside Front Offside Front The bottom bolt was then undone and the unit can be detached. Again, the shocks were popped in the compressors, dissasembled and the new units put together. Fitting was a reverse of removal. A stand was used to hold the lower link arm in place to rebolt it. You can see in this picture that the adjuster has been moved to the side on the front units for easier access. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rooflessdriver Posted February 18, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 18, 2011 Nearside Front Offside Front The height of each unit was then measured and adjusted with the spanner to get to the required ride height. The first measurements were a little too low for my personal set up! So was raised slightly. The car was then driven ready for Geo. Before The front settings look way out, but this is to be expected as the lower arm was removed. After I tend to go for Tony's Fast Road settings which suit my driving style. The adjusters were set at the baseline settings of 7 clicks for rear & 9 clicks for the front. As you can see from the spring photos, I have 250lb rears & 350lb fronts, The spring lengths are 8 inches on rear & 9 inches on the front. The height adjustments made with the tape measure were 85mm rear and 140mm front. This gives a wheel centre to arch height of 325mm rear & 320mm front. These were the heights on my car before the new suspension was fitted, and I wanted these again, as I have loads of speed bumps on my journey to & from work. Any lower and I ground out on the annoying square ones in the centre of the road. The car is on 15" OZ Ultraleggera's with Toyo T1R's at 27 PSI. These figures are specific to my personal requirements, and shouldn't be taken as standard for anyone else interested in following this upgrade. Each setting should be discussed with Tony & the guys, and adapted to individual requirements. I would like to say a big thank you to Derek from Gaz for his excellent Customer care and service. Would also like to thank Tony for allowing me to spend time taking photos, and most of all thank Joe for taking the time to explain & allow me to interupt him for each picture. Observations Major noticeable difference is the lack of suspension noise! In fact its so quiet, I can now hear all the other rattles and creaks in the car dash. On a serious note, on the way back home I noticed a few differences on the M25 at particular places I used to pass when I used the motorway a lot. Coming up to J14 anticlockwise, when you go over & under the flyovers, there is a ridge and a section of undulations. In the past this would be very noticeable bump. Now the car rides much better, but maybe a bit too bouncy. Coming past J9 anticlockwise, in the overtaking lane, there are a number of dips on the right handside that I used to move over to avoid. These would give a serious 'Thwack' as I passed over them, its now more of a soft 'Badam'. Finally, coming off the motorway and down Reigate Hill on the A217, there is a section near the top of 'ripples' that really jittered the car. Feels much better now, and as mentioned, no noise. I'm going to run with the car on 7R & 9F for a little while, but I will change the front. If i move the steeringwheel a little either way from deadcentre, there is no movement in the bonnet left to right. This was initially the same with the old suspension but could be tuned to be more 'reactive' by increasing the front clicks. My personal preference is to have tighter turn in on the front and the rear a little softer. Will keep this thread updated over the next few weeks/miles as time progresses. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Posted February 18, 2011 Report Share Posted February 18, 2011 Superb write up and fantastic pictures ( as usual )....... Good to read you can feel the difference between the gold and the gold-pro, you just need to find the best bump/ rebound setting now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Posted February 18, 2011 Report Share Posted February 18, 2011 Nice write up Sean Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
e4tnu Posted February 18, 2011 Report Share Posted February 18, 2011 Very good write up , your car looks great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hms Posted February 18, 2011 Report Share Posted February 18, 2011 Nice one Sean, Suggestion, get some clear waxoyl and coat the shock body with it especially in the area of the adjusters. Keeps the crap out. reapply when you adjust. h Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
e4tnu Posted February 18, 2011 Report Share Posted February 18, 2011 Thats a great idea going to get some myself . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rooflessdriver Posted February 18, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 18, 2011 Nice one Sean,Suggestion, get some clear waxoyl and coat the shock body with it especially in the area of the adjusters. Keeps the crap out. reapply when you adjust. h I have some in the garage! Will have a look over the weekend. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Posted February 18, 2011 Report Share Posted February 18, 2011 Nice one Sean,Suggestion, get some clear waxoyl and coat the shock body with it especially in the area of the adjusters. Keeps the crap out. reapply when you adjust. h I have some in the garage! Will have a look over the weekend. Sean, fantastic blog but i have to ask will this be going in Nuts as well? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hms Posted February 18, 2011 Report Share Posted February 18, 2011 He's alredy got it up on Planet. h Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Posted February 19, 2011 Report Share Posted February 19, 2011 He's alredy got it up on Planet.h Saw that Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rooflessdriver Posted February 20, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 20, 2011 Nice one Sean,Suggestion, get some clear waxoyl and coat the shock body with it especially in the area of the adjusters. Keeps the crap out. reapply when you adjust. h I have some in the garage! Will have a look over the weekend. Sean, fantastic blog but i have to ask will this be going in Nuts as well? If its ok with you to go up on Nutz, yes. Wanted to get it on planet & WIM first. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Posted February 21, 2011 Report Share Posted February 21, 2011 Nice one Sean,Suggestion, get some clear waxoyl and coat the shock body with it especially in the area of the adjusters. Keeps the crap out. reapply when you adjust. h I have some in the garage! Will have a look over the weekend. Sean, fantastic blog but i have to ask will this be going in Nuts as well? If its ok with you to go up on Nutz, yes. Wanted to get it on planet & WIM first. It would definitely help wim/ GAZ visibility in Nuts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rooflessdriver Posted February 21, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 21, 2011 Nice one Sean,Suggestion, get some clear waxoyl and coat the shock body with it especially in the area of the adjusters. Keeps the crap out. reapply when you adjust. h I have some in the garage! Will have a look over the weekend. Sean, fantastic blog but i have to ask will this be going in Nuts as well? If its ok with you to go up on Nutz, yes. Wanted to get it on planet & WIM first. It would definitely help wim/ GAZ visibility in Nuts. Your wish is my command oh might Geo one! (added to my nutz thread now) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Posted February 21, 2011 Report Share Posted February 21, 2011 Ta Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rooflessdriver Posted February 21, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 21, 2011 Well I reckon I'm going to have some fun with these! After 4 days and couple of hundred miles, I decided to up the fronts to see if I can get more 'feel' in the steering. I have upped them from 9 by 2 clicks to 11, and been for a quick drive tonight round the country lanes near home. One word to describe it. Wow! Completely transformed the feel and reactions of the steering wheel now. Slightest movement left/right has instant response in bonnet movement. Will try the car in daylight on the run in to work but very impressed so far. Other thing I need to check is the ride height. On thurs/fri had no problems with local speed bumps, but on Sunday with the GF in the car, we scrapped two of them. (Weekend before on old set up was fine.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Posted February 22, 2011 Report Share Posted February 22, 2011 That's the beauty of the dampers is they adjust from full off to full on...... When they have settled we will need to adjust the ride height. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rooflessdriver Posted February 24, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 24, 2011 Quick update. I have knocked the fronts back down one click to 10 yesterday eve. Initally it felt great but after a drive to & from work, and then on the M25 to PlanetMX5 meet on Tues, it felt too jittery and nervous. I also seriously grounded out on the speed bump into Silvermere golf club for the meet Tues night, so I have adjusted the front height very slightly. Car felt much better this morning on the way in to work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Posted February 24, 2011 Report Share Posted February 24, 2011 Fine tuning Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rooflessdriver Posted March 21, 2011 Author Report Share Posted March 21, 2011 I've done a thousand miles now on the new setup, so time for an update. I had the car up on ramps over the weekend to change the post cat O2 sensor, and whilst I was under the car i noticed a few scrapes. One on the underneath of the cat, one on a brace bar & one on the bottom of the ILM Duals back box. Once the car was back on the ground and level, I measured the rear height and since the install, they have dropped 20mm. After adjusting the height, I also decided to add one click on the adjusters, up from 7 to 8. Took the car up town yesterday and to work and back today and I think I will be taking it back to 7! The car felt much firmer, but it was unfortunately cringe-worthy over some potholes and compressions to the point of mechanical sympathy!! So Derek/Tony's recommendations of 9F & 7R seem to be quite good for my spring rates. Admittedly, I have upped the front to 10, but that may be due to the extra weight of the supercharger, Intercooler etc. Quite amazing how adjustable this suspension setup is Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Posted March 22, 2011 Report Share Posted March 22, 2011 Reads good...... I have to agree about the bump/ rebound adjustment range, it's noticeable click on click. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rooflessdriver Posted March 22, 2011 Author Report Share Posted March 22, 2011 Reads good...... I have to agree about the bump/ rebound adjustment range, it's noticeable click on click. I suppose I was used to the old Gaz 42 click adjustments, so really couldn't feel a difference with one or two clicks. This is much improved and certainly makes them feel more professional set up and getting VFM. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rooflessdriver Posted July 22, 2011 Author Report Share Posted July 22, 2011 Spent the day yesterday at Gaz with Derek to look at my recent suspension issues. The car had been gradually dropping at the rear over a period of time and was running on the bump stops and getting coil clashing as had to wind them up to the top of the thread to get any sort of height. It turns out there were several issues combining to cause the symptoms. First thing Derek noticed was my rear shocks had been manufactured with bottom mounts for a front shock. (The adjuster points backwards on a rear, and towards the wheel on a front.) This would mean the shock body length was shorter than it should be, causing the Rod to extend further than necessary. He also commented that he felt a Mk2/2.5 shouldn't be on 8" 250 springs. So a brand new set of rears were fitted with 9" 325 springs, and I was dispatched off for an hour to get them to settle, whilst they fettled a rather tasty Smart for Four race car. An hour of hooning around Southend country lanes later I returned with a smile on my face. We got the car back up on the ramps to recheck the heights and I asked Derek if he could quickly check the fronts, as they had started squeaking. He suggested it would be best to remove them, as its often the foot bearing that hasn't been copper greased when fitted and can cause this. He was correct. The passenger side had completely siezed up and had to be removed in a vice. We also found out that the bottom locking collar had unwound itself and had been rubbing against the wishbone and was seriously chewed. (Post a photo later). The fronts were tested on the Dyno and apart from the bearing issue, they were fine. I gave the car a good run home late in the eve from the GF's and then the journey to work this morning was the proving, as i know every bump, dip, pot hole & speed bump in detail. No problems at all and was nice to just drive rather than concentrate on missing all the above! Result! Big thanks to Derek & Mark for their help, and Derek now has a plan to fix another mk2.5 owners car with the same issues as mine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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