Dino Coil overs

[NeilF355]

Hi
I am looking for coil overs for my Dino project.

The previous builder has fitted Avo coil overs to the front with a 6 inch long spring rated at 100lbs. The problem is that this has 12 coils and is fully compressed and binds when the weight of the car is on the spring so it is the wrong spring for the car.

There are no coil overs on the back as yet. My car has the Alfa V6 engine.

I have determined the corner weights of the car and the angles of the coil overs along with the distances between the fixing points of the suspension but I can’t find any formulae on the web which give me reasonable results for the calculation of the spring rates.

I have contacted a couple of coil over manufacturers for help but they all require me to specify exactly what I need in terms of spring rates so I am a bit stuck.

I was wondering what other Dino owners have on their cars so as to give me some sort of starting point for mine.

Alternatively does anyone know of any reliable ways of calculating the spring rates required?

Cheers
Neil

[thecarbuilder246]

Hi Neil

What dino kit is it you have? If it's a deon/jhc I may be able to help.

ian

[NeilF355]

Hi Ian
Its a Classic Replicas kit.
I know that the chassis is modified from that of the Deon but as a starting point for coil over spring rates I think that it's close enough.
Many thanks
Neil

[thecarbuilder246]

Hi Neil

There was a lot of debate about the spring rates on the deon/jhc in the Italian Replica Car Club's magazine. Deon/jhc specified a spring rate of 300lbs for the rear and 450lbs for the fronts. Not sure without digging out the mags but I remember owners found 450lbs for the fronts were too stiff,as the cars were light at the front and resulted in brake lock ups. I have a spare set of front springs so I'll dig them out and measure them.

ian

[NeilF355]

Originally Posted by thecarbuilder246

I have a spare set of front springs so I'll dig them out and measure them.

Thanks Ian I would really appreciate that.

Neil

[thecarbuilder246]

Hi

These are a spare set of front springs I seem to have acquired!! If I remember correctly these are the standard deon front springs as they are the same colour as the springs fitted to the back of my deon.I seem to recall buying some lower lbs springs through the club mag.
Not sure of lbs spring rate but they measure 8 inches tall, 2-3/4 inches diameter and have 11 coils in total. I think they are a standard type spring length/diameter available from most spring suppliers.
When the weather gets a little warmer I'll crawl under the car and measure the rear springs but if memory serves me right they use the same type of damper /spring on the front and rear??

ian