Springs and Shocks on Contemporary

[Eljaro]

I have a late Contemporary Cobra car and find that once I have set the the suspension to give the car the correct height and stance, the spring have been compressed quite a lot and the suspension is very stiff.
I plan to change the springs, since the Spax gas Shocks seem to be working OK.
What rate springs were supplied with the coilover Contemporary Kit and how can I measure what springs I need?
I have coilover front and double spring/shock rear. jag suspension all around.

BTW, I took my Contemporary to a Hillclimb race last saturday. manged a 92.5 km/h average.
See the video:Hillclimb Race Son Mas in Palma de Mallorca 6th July 2013 - YouTube

[legenmetals]

Wow, that's a cool video. Hill climbs are scary for sure.

[vatdevil]

Originally Posted by legenmetals

Wow, that's a cool video. Hill climbs are scary for sure.

I know nothing about contemporaries , but yea, cool video.

[mickmate]

Way to run it, nice job! I think you need about 275 pound springs for the rear. They measure about 7/16" diameter on the wire for E type springs which works pretty well. I'll check some notes for fronts.

[Eljaro]

I think you need about 275 pound springs for the rear. They measure about 7/16" diameter on the wire for E type springs which works pretty well. I'll check some notes for fronts.

I have read somewhere in this forum that Contemporarys used to supply 300lbs springs for the rear which were pretty stiff.
Is 275lbs still not a little too hard?

Here another video GOPR0051-Desktop.mp4 Video by lomejoronline | Photobucket

[mickmate]

I have run 225's on them but if you set them down to a good ride height it rubs from time to time. I recommended 275 assuming you wanted it a little stiff for handling. I have them available in 250's which I believe is the best for the street.

[1985 CCX]

I ran 250's and loved them................

[mickmate]

You mean like these..........Shocks Coil Over Jaguar Contemporary [CCX Contemporary Unique Jaguar] - $147.00 : Acton Custom Enterprises, Custom Metal for Cobras

[kdavies3]

I fitted 275s on the rear as I didn't want that "perky butt" look they seem fine.
I'm not sure what my fronts are but I think i need something softer.
I need to double check.
My front end is set right at lowest setting ie spring as long as possible and it's still quite high and stiff.
Like Stefan mine is late one with coil overs and a front sway bay.

What steering geometry is recommended for these beasts?
ie Toe in / out,
Castor, Camber etc.
Mines just set roughly by eye at the moment so I need some figures to set it to before my new Avons are toast.

[Eljaro]

the Contemporary assembly manual says
caster 3 to 5 degree positive
camber 0 to 1/2 degree negative camber
toe in 1/8"
rear camber 0 degrees.

I have the front set like Contemporary says and the rear with 1/2 to 1 degree negative camber.
Car behaves very well with these settings.

[kdavies3]

Thanks Stefan,
I had to junk the pads that were the Wilwoods I got from you.
They were just too hard without a servo.
I've gone with EBC greenstuff pads now which is better but still not as good as I'd like the front brakes to be.
I may try an even softer pad or fit a remote servo in the longer term.
I had to fit a pressure restrictor in the rear brake line to stop the rear end locking up first.
I'm going to replace the restrictor with an adjustable valve so i can optimize things.

[racco]

Originally Posted by Eljaro

the Contemporary assembly manual says
caster 3 to 5 degree positive
camber 0 to 1/2 degree negative camber
toe in 1/8"
rear camber 0 degrees.

I have the front set like Contemporary says and the rear with 1/2 to 1 degree negative camber.
Car behaves very well with these settings.

The lower you drop the rear end the more neg camber. I have 1.5 deg neg camber on the rear and 1/8 toe in.

My front is similar but i maxed the caster, the car is rock solid on the highway and has good self centering.

Stock konis and torsion bars

[Eljaro]

Originally Posted by kdavies3

Thanks Stefan,
I had to junk the pads that were the Wilwoods I got from you.
They were just too hard without a servo.
I've gone with EBC greenstuff pads now which is better but still not as good as I'd like the front brakes to be.
I may try an even softer pad or fit a remote servo in the longer term.
I had to fit a pressure restrictor in the rear brake line to stop the rear end locking up first.
I'm going to replace the restrictor with an adjustable valve so i can optimize things.

I am running Polymatrix E type compound pads , and braking is vigorous without any power assistance.
For the rear i have a Wilwood proportioning valve to limit the pressure to the rear brakes. Takes some brake testing to find the good adjustment. Once set you can leave it like that.

[kdavies3]

Holy thread revival Bat Man!
Hi Stefan, what calipers, discs etc did you end up with?
I've come to the conclusion that the Wilwoods I had from you aren't going to cut it.
As I suspect you found.
I just can't get enough front braking as it is.
I really don't want to fit a servo.
I have 5.98 sq" of piston area with 4 pots, what did you get by going to 6 pistons?
Did you go with bigger diameter discs too or just thicker?

[Danr55]

I have Alden Eagles on the back with 300# springs. They work just fine.

[buddyg]

What an awesome road! Thanks for the video, looks like a ton of fun!

[Mdman352]

Acton Custom supplied my new rear shocks and the car rides like a dream now. I do not road race nor auto cross. Spirited yes.
Walter Mitty

[Eljaro]

Originally Posted by kdavies3

Holy thread revival Bat Man!
Hi Stefan, what calipers, discs etc did you end up with?
I've come to the conclusion that the Wilwoods I had from you aren't going to cut it.
As I suspect you found.
I just can't get enough front braking as it is.
I really don't want to fit a servo.
I have 5.98 sq" of piston area with 4 pots, what did you get by going to 6 pistons?
Did you go with bigger diameter discs too or just thicker?

Hi Kevin, the brakes with the 4 pots worked alright. I am using 3/4" master cylinders (one for front and one for back, with balance bar) and no servo and did not have problems.
What bore size master cylinder are you using?
On some rallies with plenty of curves and lots of hard braking the brakes would get very hot and the brake fluid would start boiling, leaving me with no brakes up front.
I decided to install larger discs and calipers. I have 12.75" diameter vented discs, 1.25" thick and Billet Superlite SL6 calipers with narrowed outer body.
Piston area is actually less than on your calipers (4.04 sq"). I think the 6 pot calipers are smaller and will fit into a wheel where 4 pot ones will not.

I had to do a lot of measurements to make sure it would all fit inside the 15" Halibrand wheels. And it all did. Just one mm of space between one outer edge of the caliper body and the wheel, and no weight can be fitted inside the wheel or it will get scarped off.
Braking is now incredible, almost like having a servo. Easy push and unrelenting deceleration is what I have now.
Pads are Polimatrix E Compound front and back, with a pressure limiter for the rear brakes.
Fitting the brakes needed me making a special hat and adapters to fit the lug mount calipers on to the Jaguar front axle.
I also fed a hose from the front openings to the calipers for cooling.

If you need info on how I did it let me know.
best
Stefan

[kdavies3]

Hi Stefan,
in fact no your calipers are bigger than mine in piston area.
mine are 6" sq. That's for the whole caliper ie. 4 pistons.
Yours are 8.08" sq. over 6 pistons, Wilwood quote the piston area only on one side of the caliper for some reason.
Therefore yours are 25% larger than mine.
I think i see my way forward with bigger brakes, it's just how to keep the cost down is the issue as always.
I want to get them sorted before my run to Le Mans in July.
Ideally I'd like to keep my discs and bells and just increase the piston area.
I've been looking at the Superlite 4120-7568/69.
I'm not sure if I can make them work with the rest of my set up?

[Dominik]

You might consider replacing the 4 shocks with 2 and mount them a bit further out at the lower mount. Of course, that saving only makes sense if the ones you have are long enough and you don't have to buy new ones.

I used a 100N/mm coil, which was a bit hard. I forgot the length.

Drill a hole in the center of the XJ6 bracket which connects the shock lower mounting shaft with the upright (as far up as you can) and bolt it right there.

I took a pic once, but can't find it.

And before anybody says it does not work, I can tell you that 20 years down the line with this setup "it still does not work"... ;-)

Jaguar used 4 because they had a package problem. The exhaust was routed along there.