Leda Coilover Car Set

[WestonE]

Guys

I asked Leda today if they still do Coilover suspension for the Beta Coupe/ Spyder as I beleive am going to need them! The answer is yes at £1400 plus VAT for a car set! Does anyone know of alternative suppliers of a Coilover solution for our cars or a way of converting the existing struts. I have of course checked the universal weld on threaded kits and the front struts are too small and the rears too big on the diameter for these.

Has anyone adapted units from another vehicle? Is there another solution beyond the Spax inserts and BB Springs?

Cheers

Eric 

[thecolonel]

Hi Eric,
as you know I made my own Cusco WRX STI Subaru units fitten to Gamma bottom mounting.

at the time I spoke with Matt at Leda UK  ( sales@leda.com ) as you say he quoted £1400.
I also spoke with Julian at Balance Motorsport ( info@balancemotorsport.co.uk )  he quoted
around £900 plus vat for the Gaz GGA kit.

I seem to remember spax were around the same price.

Geoff

www.balancemotorsport.co.uk   tel: 0845 2263717

[WestonE]

Geoff

Thank you for both tips I want to check out the Gaz option i.e. exactly what does it include and can I adjust front camber. I am very nervous about cutting and welding gas filled struts which most seam to be unlike your Cusco items with cartridges. I would also need to commission top spring locators/top mount interfaces.

I did see on the GC forum that a guy in Australia had used Audi items on the rear, but I do not know which car or what else he had to do. The rear is the crucial area as preload and spring rates tend to be too light leading to squat under power and wheel spin. I am expecting to have plenty of power so this matters.

All ideas gratefully received.

Eric

 

[thecolonel]

I purchased a second hand set of cusco, cut them to the right length and had a professional welder seam weld
the two parts, extremely strong really, top mounts were just a pair of 10mm alloy plates which I then cut to fit
and mounted with spherical bearings to the struts, These are adjustable for camber etc. which I had checked/
adjusted at Supertracker. Biggest problem was finding the correct length inserts, I ended up with Koni adjustable
Golf mk 2 in the front and Gamma in the rear, It was all a bit hit and miss but it seems to have worked and the
total cost was £110 for the lot.

Thing was if it didn't work there was no real loss and I could always purchase the propper items at a later date.

I posted some pics on an earlier thread if that's any help

regards Geoff

[WestonE]

Chaps

A conversation with the tehnical lead at Gaz (ex Leda Chief Engineer) has given me a way forward at last for £850 +VAT which is sensible if not a bargain. On the front I will use the Ford Escort adjustable top mounts from MC Motorsports and Gaz will build the coil over 14 way adjustable struts to suit. This gives me the vital camber adjust without pulling the top of the tyre closer to the strut body. As they make Stratos kit car struts this is re-using that pattern (rear on kit car). For the rears they will be made to suit again, but good rear strut bodies are essential as they will be welded to GAZ bodies for the unusually long rear struts. Fortunately I have mint stripped and empty rear strut casings. This is another reason to not throw away sealed rear struts that are not corroded.

The rear top mounts are Mark W's heavily uprated PU items and will have a custom adaptor made for the spring interface. Camber adjust is achieved by the pair of adjustable lower links I am building now. This will in the end produce a repeatable performance suspension option. as the price includes the springs I now need to wok out where to start with the spring rate based on 25mm lower and uprating the rear.

To get this underway will involve a whole day in Essex with a big pile of sample parts, but the beast in the engine bay will be needing this.

PS This means I will be selling off fully re-furbished front struts Powder coated black with top adjustable Spax inserts, NOS top mounts new PU spring seats, uprated and lowered springs. Plus rear Top adjust Spax Inserts and uprated springs, PU spring seats.   

Eric     

[markwast]

Hi Eric
Let me know how they work out as would be interested later in the year , funds permitting.

Mark

[WestonE]

Mark

No problem. Please can you tell me the spring rates you used for the BB uprated and lowered springs Vs standard so I can take a view on where to start with the springs.

PS I noticed the rear SPAX inserts you supply have shorter rods than standard which is a nice upgrade and important to reducing rear squat as the originals did not pre-load lowered springs as they needed to be.

Eric

[rossocorsa]

Mark talking about lowering springs any idea when you will be looking to do another run of coupé ones?

[markwast]

Eric has a set now going spare.

Mark

[WestonE]

Chaps

An update following my visit to Gaz and conversations with David Lyon ex Leda technical. They are in progress building them for me now. For the front I am using the Ford Escort fully adjustable top mounts i.e. camber and caster. For the rear the original top mounts do not allow enough spring room. However we have settled on re-using OE front top mounts on the rear as they are strong have some compliance and fit straight on the strut tower. Camber/ toe adjust is by having a pair of adjustable links as mentioned earlier in this thread. They had to re-use the lower brackets from the rear strut bodies so I gave them a pair of sealed struts with blown inards but good bodies to cut up as required.

Watch this space for more details like spring rates and photos. NB I took down hubs wheels multiple strut tops, spax inserts standard inserts, standard springs, BB lowered and uprated springs and had the initial conversation on site.

Cheers

Eric.     

[WestonE]

OK

So I have been to Gaz and collected half of the Coil Over set after a hitch with the rears that would have made them impossible to fit. In order to clear the inside tyre edge on my 7 x15 wheels with 205 tyres 1 of the original holes in the strut lower mount has to be repositioned by half the holes diameter and I will have to wind out both transverse links to compensate and set rear camber. This does however allow the use of a full length (9 inch spring on the rear). I should get the rear struts back and my remaining prototype parts (wheel tyre, rear hub, rear disc) this week.

Anyone near High Wycombe want to see how they fit? My shell only has tatty roll arround suspension whilst the main bits are plated and assembled.

Eric     

[thecolonel]

Pictures please

[WestonE]

Geoff

If I can remember how to do it there should be pictures here!

[WestonE]

Just for reference that is a 7X15 ET 30 Azev A wheel with a 205 x 50 Toyo Proxes tyre fitted and there is not a lot of clearance to the strut body, but that together with the rolled arches gives me the best chance of running 205 section tyres all round with no rubbing issues. These have not yet been tried on a car, but I will find a way in the nbext month.

Eric

[WestonE]

PS there is an 8mm hubcentric spacer fitted so ET22 in reality ET20 would be a direct fit.

Eric

[thecolonel]

They look superb, better than my homemade jobs... I liked the Leda set-up but it was out of my range at the time