Front springs on Vitesse

[daverclasper]

Hi. Anybody know by how much about, they might typically compress, say, in a bad pot hole? (looking at fitting some larger diameter tyres and want to be sure they are clear of wheel arch lip).

I assume the the rears ok, as seems plenty of space/gap at the sides? 

Cheers, Dave

[daverclasper]

Just thought I'd refresh this, as no replies, maybe a daft question?, or no one has any info?. If so, would be much appreciated.

Thanks, Dave 

Edited May 20, 2020 by daverclasper

[Clive]

impossible to say, as we don't know how "hard" the hit is.

A better question may be asking if people have had issues with what you are thinking of? But you may be able to compare your existing wheels/tyres, see how much difference the new ones will make? ie I know that on my vitesse with lp923 wheels and 175/70/13 tyres they initially rubbed, but rolling the arches sorted the issue.

 

[Nick Jones]

They will compress until the bump-stop (in the damper) is reached.  Whether this causes tyre/arch contact depends on wheel and tyre combinations and how wide the arch lip is.

To be sure/scientific about it you could fit the damper without a spring and jack up under that corner until the bump stop is reached and see where that places the tyre.  Significant effort though.

I can tell you that on my Vitesse, 175/70 tyres on 6J wheels, ET13 do make occasional contact, even with slightly rolled arches, but nothing I can't live with.  Fffset/ET is important.

What wheel/tyre combination are you wanting?

Nick

[daverclasper]

Hi and thanks for getting back to me.

I didn't ask the straight forward question as to wether the tyres I intend to fit will be ok , as there may be an issue with my particular car.

It's currently on 185/60 R30 on 5" wide Minilite reps and the n/s tyre sticks out at the top, by about 8mm proud of the wheel arch/wing, the o/s is about 4mm inside (funnily enough since noticing this ages ago, I have seen quite a few Herald/Vit's with what appears to be this, syndrome).

This n/s may not be helped, as it more positive camber, I think than the o/s (though not able to measure accurately as no level ground, though would like to sort this), also the wing could not have been fitted correctly at some time, or the bulkhead on the piss, etc,etc)

The o/s spring is about 10mm shorter than the n/s when car at rest, so looks like it's more worn?.

I am thinking of fitting 155/80's, and I gather this will the overall diameter larger by 28mm (so I make it, an extra 14mm from top of tyre to wheel arch)

In theory the 155's would be around 14mm narrower at the outer edge, compared to current tyres. Just a bit of a concern that this may not be enough to clear the edge of lip at the o/s, though I guess the camber goes a bit negative as the springs compress?.

There is currently about a 55mm gap between the top of tyre and wheel arch at the o/s, which in theory may reduce to about 41mm if I fit 155's, and could/will snag the horizontal area of the lip, if the 155 tyre doesn't clear the edge of lip . Hence my original question to try and get an idea of how much a spring may compress in normal (big pot hole) use.

Hope this essay makes sense and if you don't get too bored, not to finish it, then any more advice would be great, thanks.

Cheers, Dave   

Edited May 21, 2020 by daverclasper

[NonMember]

57 minutes ago, daverclasper said:

The o/s spring is about 10mm shorter than the n/s when car at rest, so looks like it's more worn?

Not necessarily. My Spitfire does that, with brand new springs, and no change when swapped. Also, it has a swing spring at the rear. I think it's the ARB that's twisted and I understand that's quite common.