Brown · Sep 29, 2021

Well, some kinds of springs are 'handed', this is true. Land Rover originals and some OEM ones. Britpart springs aren't, or at least weren't the last time I fitted any. In fact, noting that I had a slight list to starboard, I took them off and swapped them over. Sure enough, the list persisted. Britpart get a lot of stick on here, but their springs are generally agreed to be OK, even the great James Martin, latterly of this parish, used to say so. I've lost count of the miles I've done since then, but it's well over 100,000 and no harm has come to me or the Land Rover. Traditionally, a stiffer spring was fitted on the driver's side to accommodate the weight of the driver, and on some models the fuel tank was on this side too. If all the joints and bushes are nice and tight and there doesn't appear to be anything wrong with the springs, it's probably not a major problem. Gwyn Lewis sell a range of spacers and elevated spring seats which can be used to get it level in the resting position.

Turboman · Sep 29, 2021

Brown said:
Well, some kinds of springs are 'handed', this is true. Land Rover originals and some OEM ones. Britpart springs aren't, or at least weren't the last time I fitted any. In fact, noting that I had a slight list to starboard, I took them off and swapped them over. Sure enough, the list persisted. Britpart get a lot of stick on here, but their springs are generally agreed to be OK, even the great James Martin, latterly of this parish, used to say so. I've lost count of the miles I've done since then, but it's well over 100,000 and no harm has come to me or the Land Rover. Traditionally, a stiffer spring was fitted on the driver's side to accommodate the weight of the driver, and on some models the fuel tank was on this side too. If all the joints and bushes are nice and tight and there doesn't appear to be anything wrong with the springs, it's probably not a major problem. Gwyn Lewis sell a range of spacers and elevated spring seats which can be used to get it level in the resting position.

Britpart springs are fine, and they are available handed, or used to be. The HD Britpart springs aren't handed on rears.

The difference in springs on each side isn't really to do with the weight of the driver.
More to do with the front of the vehicle taking a lot more load than the back, from the weight of the engine, and load under braking.
And to deal with torque reaction of the vehicle under acceleration.

Brown · Sep 29, 2021

Turboman said:
Britpart springs are fine, and they are available handed, or used to be. The HD Britpart springs aren't handed on rears.

The difference in springs on each side isn't really to do with the weight of the driver.
More to do with the front of the vehicle taking a lot more load than the back, from the weight of the engine, and load under braking.
And to deal with torque reaction of the vehicle under acceleration.

Ah, well, that's what it said in the 'Which?' magazine review of the Series Land Rover back in around 1971. Of course Land Rover technology has come on by leaps and bounds since then. Maybe there'll actually be some torque to react against in later models. They also remarked on how hard the springs felt, and that the best plan was 'to ride the vehicle as you would a horse' which struck me as an odd thing to do, as an eight year old.

Turboman · Sep 29, 2021

Brown said:
Ah, well, that's what it said in the 'Which?' magazine review of the Series Land Rover back in around 1971. Of course Land Rover technology has come on by leaps and bounds since then. Maybe there'll actually be some torque to react against in later models. They also remarked on how hard the springs felt, and that the best plan was 'to ride the vehicle as you would a horse' which struck me as an odd thing to do, as an eight year old.

The business about the weight of the driver is a common myth, I have seen it said again and again.It is clearly untrue, as you cannot allow for the weight of a driver who might weigh anywhere between 7 and 20 stone, and it would result in an imbalance the other way if a passenger was on board.

Power isn't that important as far as the torque reaction is concerned. The important thing is the mass of the spinning engine and flywheel, which results in a considerable torque loading on the chassis, via the engine and gearbox mounts, when the clutch is engaged.

I didn't know about the article in Which, but I am not a fan of that publication anyway.
My parents read it avidly when I was a kid, with the result that I ended up with a Raleigh Wayfarer when all my friends had "cool" Dawes or Holdsworths.

Brown · Sep 29, 2021

Turboman said:
The business about the weight of the driver is a common myth, I have seen it said again and again.It is clearly untrue, as you cannot allow for the weight of a driver who might weigh anywhere between 7 and 20 stone, and it would result in an imbalance the other way if a passenger was on board.

Power isn't that important as far as the torque reaction is concerned. The important thing is the mass of the spinning engine and flywheel, which results in a considerable torque loading on the chassis, via the engine and gearbox mounts, when the clutch is engaged.

I didn't know about the article in Which, but I am not a fan of that publication anyway.
My parents read it avidly when I was a kid, with the result that I ended up with a Raleigh Wayfarer when all my friends had "cool" Dawes or Holdsworths.

My parents had a subscription to 'Which?' too. I used to quite like their car reviews, because unlike most other motoring journalism of the time it took everyday cars and put them through a standard series of tests which were quite demanding. So much so that I felt sorry for the cars. One of these involved loading the car with around 700lbs of ballast and hill starting them on a 1 in 4. The Triumph Herald 'failed to move in any gear'. In another 1971 test they destroyed the diffs on a new Range Rover, and the Triumph 2000 came to grief when they drove it through water and the fan disintegrated and bits of it burst through the bonnet. I used to eagerly await each month's issue to see what automotive destruction had been wreaked on the humble offerings from BL, Rootes, Ford et al.

mick the builder · Oct 2, 2021

As far as the wheels are concerned, are the rims the same width, offset?

Brown

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