Bobtaylor Posted January 6, 2022 Report Share Posted January 6, 2022 Hi, I am planning to replace the rear and front shock absorbers om my Mk1 vitesse, I thought I would replace the front springs at the same time. My plan is to use standard parts. Due to their age I think the car would benefit from a fresh set. Any advice on best supplier for quality and problems I may encounter would be appreciated. Bob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GFL Posted January 6, 2022 Report Share Posted January 6, 2022 Hi Bob I would recommend Koni Classic Dampers, I fitted them all round to my Mk2 Vitesse and had no issues, in fact the current owner, who I keep in touch with on a regular basis is always telling me how well the car still rides? Although Koni aren't the cheapest they will last, remember you get what you pay for? Gaz & Spax are also well know and have a good reputation I would keep away from unbranded black dampers, I've read and heard bad stories about them, probably made in Asia to poor standards You may get luck and find branded Monroe N.O.S. ones on E-Bay but they may well be 20/30 Years old now so who knows what the internals are like! Search around the usual suppliers for the best deal, Rimmer's sometimes have 15% off deals Regards Gary Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobtaylor Posted January 6, 2022 Author Report Share Posted January 6, 2022 I accept you get what you pay for, but a set of Koni dampers is out of my budget. it is only for general running around and would be happy to restore to original factory spec. I see Rimmers do a set of 4 dampers and 2 front springs for £119. I guess these are unbranded though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clive Posted January 6, 2022 Report Share Posted January 6, 2022 2 hours ago, Bobtaylor said: Hi, I am planning to replace the rear and front shock absorbers om my Mk1 vitesse, I thought I would replace the front springs at the same time. My plan is to use standard parts. Due to their age I think the car would benefit from a fresh set. Any advice on best supplier for quality and problems I may encounter would be appreciated. Bob Problems would typically be the cheap shocks don't absorb much, and may have spring pans at the wrong height (used to be the case, it may have been fixed) making the car sit way to high. New springs? again, it is finding some that are correctly made to the std specification. The brothers have a repuation for that, I know dolomite springs turn up with a pair that are different unfitted lengths....... and different rates. Try Fitchets or Canleys? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GFL Posted January 6, 2022 Report Share Posted January 6, 2022 57 minutes ago, Bobtaylor said: I accept you get what you pay for, but a set of Koni dampers is out of my budget. it is only for general running around and would be happy to restore to original factory spec. I see Rimmers do a set of 4 dampers and 2 front springs for £119. I guess these are unbranded though. Chances are the Rimmers ones are made in China/India or some other far eastern country and are of dubious quality, you may get lucky but personally I wouldn't fit them to a car of mine? How about these Branded Monroe ones on E-Bay? https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/304168713426?fits=Car+Make%3ATriumph|Model%3AVitesse&hash=item46d1de3cd2:g:j3YAAOSw~j1hVuA4 Gary Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Lewis Posted January 6, 2022 Report Share Posted January 6, 2022 std springs in club shop are £45 inc vat shop only sell gaz £185 and spax more there is little point in adjustable shocks for normal leisure driving and pootling around shocks are very much how much /how many miles /what usage/driving style all come into the utopia/compromise equation Pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Lewis Posted January 6, 2022 Report Share Posted January 6, 2022 yes i found with adjustable you were always messing depends on the load and passengers always too hard too soft most have them on the minimum setting so agree they are a pain of little help as they cost so much you rarely hear of a bad idea how apart from much testing can you set the bump and rebound to match your cars specification and why not do a push pull test on what you have they may be better than you think if you have a local chassis dynamometer handy then thats the way to go so stick to simple less faf Pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daverclasper Posted January 6, 2022 Report Share Posted January 6, 2022 Also I think the springs have a free length size quoted in the manual, I assume this may tell if they are Ok? Not sure if there is a compressed, under load, with weight of car dimension a well? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Lindsay Posted January 6, 2022 Report Share Posted January 6, 2022 Fitted length and free length in this screenshot from the manual: I'll be going for the standard black units on my Herald, I don't think I'll be rallying or even fast cornering. I'll probably buy from Paddocks although have just spotted these: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/203515060433?fits=Car+Make%3ATriumph|Model%3AHerald&hash=item2f627160d1:g:AFUAAOSwXwRg4wVL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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