Sports suspension on a BIS

[Gadge]

I'm in a pickles guys an need your help. I currently use the reverse eye spring with a flipped leaf and I've never been 100% happy with the setup. I have the desired ride bight but its too soft and all my attempts at finding a cheap hard shock have failed. Air cooled rears are too short and give me an unbelievably Poor driving experience. So this year I'm biting the bullet and buying one of the following options.....

1. Spax adjustable shocks

2. The ultimate - removing the leaf altogether and fitting the rigid beam/coil over set up.

Whats everyones thoughts? Has anyone ever used any of these before? 

[stuey]

If you can afford it go for the could over set up if I had the cash it would be on my car (well actually on my garage floor next to a bare shell)

[Piotross]

Gadge

adjustable shock absorbers are a very good idea because you can adjust own parameters to the a specific surface.

Rigid beam it's a typical part used in sport of Fiat 500 and 126. Usually used in car racing on the flat surface..

[ronb1967]

HI Gadge
You need to bear in mind that the cross member that the leaf spring is attached too is structurally stronger than the inner wing [thus taking the weight of the front end], the inner wing is not designed to take the weight /forces as its only thin metal, if i was to go down this route id be thinking of double skinning the inner wing from the underside to spread the load and fitting a strut brace under the bonnet, and even then id be taking speed bumps and cornering with care
hope this helps

[Gadge]

Thanks guys this is just what I need. Ronb1967 I share your thoughts on the inner wing strength. I was thinking that if I did go down that route I would fit a strut brace for sure - there not expensive.

Piotross I love the idea of adjusting the height the only thing that concerns me is how hard the ride will be. I have studied the web and found a lot in Poland use them in hilclimbing and rallying. At least with the spax I can adjust the stiffness

[jacw]

Hello, I have a barchetta 595 using a 126bis chassis and had an independent front suspension kit fitted.
I have some pics of where the chassis had to be modified to accept the kit and how the wishbones had to be modified to accommodate the front disc calipers.
As a newbie/novice to all things 126/500 I had to have professional help to carry out all of this work.
In conjunction with adjustable coil over dampers the handling has improved (to my mind) beyond belief especially over our increasingly bumpy roads. pm me if you want the pics. John

[Gadge]

PM sent thanks very much

[poxxxy]

Hi jacw, please share... I have heard stories from people in poland that those kits aren't great without extra modification taken so I wouldn't use them on roads... points seem to have been highlighted here though . Those "adjustable" socks... are they actually adjustable? Or they just harden up as more load is applied? My dad bought some for the mini not long back and they were advertised as adjustable... however that adjustment was self adjusting lol.

[Gadge]

The spax shocks aren't height adjustable. It's the "stiffness" that adjustable hence why I'm interested in them as I'm happy with the height. The thing that puts me off is weather  they are physically the same size because if there shorter they'll be no good.

I must say although extra pressure will be placed on the inner wing i don't see it being too much of a problem. The standard leaf spring is quite a strong unit aswell and it too exherts quite a lot of pressure from the base of the hub right up to the top of the shock. A strut brace should be enough imho

[Gadge]

Ok thanks to JACW and his photos the rigid axel coil over set up not going to work. Have a look at one of the photos he sent. Because we both use a disc brake set up the lower arm will need modifying to clear the caliper. Simple modifcations may rectify this but it's not something I wish to take on given that it's the best part of £600 so I'm going for the spax option

[1973/126]

 Gadge I can measure them Spax for you. I`ve got them universal ones fitted on my CCZero. It`s not in driveable state, so I don`t know how stiff they are.
 They fit well, but I think you might have to enlarge the top mounting point a bit.
 These often come up on eBay very cheap. That`s where I got them from.

[1973/126]

 So these are the ones I`m talking about. I`m not sure if they are the same as the ones offered by 126 suppliers, but I would have thought so.
 http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Spax-Shock-Absorbers-/261752299136?pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item3cf1a71e80
 Just took them of the Zero for some measure up. They are a little bit longer than the standard 126 rear shocks, but much "stiffer" even in the softest setting, so if you want more ride comfort they are probably not ideal. I might have to swap these for some standard ones too as they could be a bit of an overkill on a car which will weigh 400kgs.
 Few pictures.
 
 
 

[Gadge]

Thanks 1973/126 i didn't know they did universal ones. Its the fronts I'm after so they will be way too short for what I need though

[poxxxy]

Is the dampening actually adjustable though or is it self adjusting... so you drive harder and corner harder and they stiffen up on their own? Thats what I was getting at .

[1973/126]

 Yes them Spax are adjustable. You go by turns/cliks from soft to harder setting turning clockwise. I think the ones I put the picture of here are designed for kit cars.