Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[minifreek]

Will the springs off a MV6 estate fit a saloon....?

Im thinking of replaceing the lowered springs on my Omega for a set that are not quite as low, and then re-instating the SL shocks. We're planning on doing quite a bit of touring over the next couple of weeks with our tintent and was wanting to give the Omega a better chance of handling the weight of the caravan better......

[Lazydocker]

Front, yes.

Rear, no.

[minifreek]

I presumed the fronts would fit, so that confirms that...

Why wont the rears fit....? Are they too short....? Or too stiff...? Or too long etc.....

[ajsphead]

Or not nearly strong enough

[Diamond Black Geezer]

Right, first of all Estate rear springs will fit saloons. It's the same car/chassis/floorpan etc. Further borne out by the fact a mate of mine ran his Elite with Estate springs for a year or two. It is/was a common mod for local taxi drivers to stick the Estate springs on the saloons, as this got round...
-three generous-sized rear passengers
-generous-sized punters plus their luggage
-local speed bumps
...rather nicely.

I am sure that when blitzed round a test track The Stig will be able to reach the conclusion than a completely unladen saloon on estate springs will feel a fraction more 'floaty' or 'bouncy' at the rear, but once you have some luggage, rear occupants, or... a caravan to tow, I'm pretty sure that Silverstone Trackdays are out anyway 

Rewind a few years - before the advent of 'self-levelling rear suspension' - and you'd be advised to fit stiffer springs, or an extra leaf if you intended to tow regularly anyway. 

As for standard estate springs combined with self-levelling shocks that may not work so 'happy'. The SL system will constantly read the back axle as high, and try and compensate. The proper SL springs are softer, and of course lower than estate.

Now as for MV6 estate springs, I'd presume they're lower than normal estate springs, but still a little higher than saloon MV6.

But really only SL springs want to be used with SL shocks. SL springs alone, with normal shocks tends to leave the rear end rather low and 'soggy' 

[minifreek]

Thats a better answer for me DBG

I'll be reinstating the SL airshocks and system, with the MV6 estate springs...

I'm not intending to throw it around any test track, with or without a caravan attached LOL

The wife has told me to stop using the family car as a race car, and use my weekend toy instead (Classic Mini)...

So, because we intend to do a tad more touring than we did last year AND my bones are getting older now, Im contemplating putting the suspension back to normal-ish but with a 'sporty'ish fell to it (for me)...

If it wallows around like a boat as it used to when I first got the Omega, I'll take of the SL shockers and re-install the Bilstein rear shocks ....

I believe a bit of trial and error is in my future....

[Diamond Black Geezer]

Very welcome, lad 

You coming to Billing, did you say?

[pauls]

If you want it to drive at normal height but a bit stiffer and use your s/l shocks try and get some police springs. I had the s/l shocks and police springs on mine and it drove and cornered well enough. I have since put b4 shocks on but thats because i wanted it a stiffer at the back.

[minifreek]

No not doing Billing this year, had issues with where we was 'put' and people not shutting up until 4AM right next to us, even after me asking them to be quiet and then ended up telling them to be quiet...

I would go back, but the wife has said she doesn't want to go again because of last years experience...

So once and only time for me was last year.... shame really TBH... but gotta put the wifes feelings before mine really...

[minifreek]

@ Pauls - At the moment Im on lowered APEX springs with Bilstein B4's all round... It handles well enough for a big car and corners well but I dont want it to act like a ruddy boat again when I go back to bigger springs... If it comes to it, I'll keep the MV6 springs installed but change from SL to normal suspension and make do with it.. I also use the spring assisters too, just to give the springs a bit of help...

[pauls]

I thought apex springs where lowering springs(40mm lower than standard) and actually shorter the mv6 springs. Police springs are standard height just stiifer. please correct me if Iam wrong 

[minifreek]

Apex springs are lowering springs yes, the MV6 springs are a tad lower than standard springs...

If I can find a set of Police springs for a good price I might fit them instead, or have them as back-up

[Doctor Gollum]

@Dbg. All I will say is that the floor pans are different from the rear of the rear footwells back...

Not just a question of longer springs... Due to the geometry of the rear shocks, the whole rear end behaves differently... Also the trailing arms are different saloon to estate.

Expect it to handle like an empty pick up if you fit HD estate springs...

[Diamond Black Geezer]

Fair dos. But the critical variable here is the car won't be empty, and if you're driving in a style which in any way tests the chassis to said limits, then you've got a wildly skidding caravan behind risking ripping the towbar from the floorpan as top priority  If the question were "I'm off on a trackday in a fortnight, got some old estate springs I might chuck on, what do we reckon?" then I'd certainly advice against it for best results and suggest OEM saloon spec and agree wholeheartedly with yourself.

All I can say is done it, it works. And my mate has done it for years on dozens of cars, and it works.

Fully appreciate there are fractional differences in the floorpan, the orientation of the shocks, and subsequent different bolt location for shocks. 

[biggriffin]

Springs a measured in lbs, and have a rate, 
Now with out a spring tester, it's difficult to see the differences between saloon and estate, probably 50lbs between them.
 
Would take to long to go into the science. but during the war we use to fit CF van front springs to mantas, about 900 front 375/425 rear and billiys all round.