front spring free length

[series111]

Hi
Please can anyone tell me how long uncompressed standard front springs should be for a dolomite sprint.

Thanks

[xvivalve]

That's a good question....

https://forum.triumphdolomite.co.uk/vie ... ree+length

[Carledo]

There is NO information that I have been able to find (and i've searched HARD) on the exact poundage and free length for ANY Dolomite or Toledo model spring.

It's not, as I would have expected, in the Factory workshop manual's data section. Nor have I been able to discover it anywhere else.

Even the much touted standard Sprint poundage of 140 all round cannot be substantiated in print.

I got 2 NOS front springs, touted as 1850 from a supplier at Stoneliegh show, both had the same small beige paint mark, but one was nearly an inch shorter than the other! Go figure! It made no difference, I put the longer one on the driver's side to account for my extra weight and it sat level!

As is mentioned in the thread linked by Alun (xvivalve) above, the best thing you can do is fit height adjustable shox. If there is no info on what exactly a standard spring is, you have no base line to work from when making or buying "uprated" springs. Sure the ASP shox are expensive, but you can buy and discard an awful lot of springs getting the ride height you want. With the ASP you can fit any spring that's handy and make the height what you like.

Steve

[series111]

Thanks Alun and Steve for your answers, why I asked the question is because I brought a set of adjustable ride and height gaz shocks and standard springs from the big shop in Lincon at the end of the summer and fitted the front ones to my sprint ( have not got around to fitting rear ones as of yet), After about a month and 200miles and a few adjustments to the height on the springs I was nearly right up to the top of the adjustment on the shocks with a ride height of about 320mm from wheel arch to wheel centre,I removed them from the car and the free length of the springs to start with was 360mm (14") but after a month one was 13" height and the other was 12.5" height.To cut a long story short I contacted the shop and spoke to a chap in customer service who was helpfull and said he had not heard of this before? and said I could send them back to which I agreed and said I would exchange them for standard height heavy duty ones , But off course they sent lowered 1" uprated ones, to which I contact him again and he sent the right ones next day, as you can see in the picture.The part number and specs are below.

The one that is on the right in the pic is:-

TKC768UR Lowered 1" uprated 175lb free length 315mm (12.5")

The one on the left in the pic is:-

TKC768HD Heavy duty Standard height 170lb free length 330mm (13")

TKC768 Standard height 139lb free length 360mm (14")

Hopefully I will fit the new springs next week and see how I get on I will let you Know.

[yorkshire_spam]

I went through weeks of palaver with RB trying to get springs out of them that even vaguely matched their p/n or descriptions once fitted.
Many emails back and forth were a total waste of energy.
Not much use to you I'm afraid, but here for reference:



Left - the spring that was on the car when I got it. Whether that's original or not I have no idea - gave a soft ride with a ride height that looks like what you see in the original advertising literature (subjectively)

Middle - Rimmers new "HD Standard ride height" offering, which was stiffer, but resulted in a ride height the same as the -1" springs I already had.

Right - Spring marked as HD -1", did what it said on the tin... -1" ride height and stiffer suspension.

[Tony Burd]

This is as far as I know a standard Sprint front spring, measures 14".

[soe8m]

Originally there were two different springs fitted left and right. Length and number of coils were different. Just fitted last week a few good used ones on a daily Dolomite with new GAZ adjustables but searching in the pile of springs I was already happy to find a set that were reasonable similar.... There's no such thing as a standard lenght. The Rimmer springs I used in the past were not usable anymore after a year because of lowering and softening themselves. The last 10 years it's only using good used ones and adjustable shocks to have the car level.

Jeroen

[Carledo]

Mostly due to lack of money, I've always used 2nd hand or occasional NOS springs whenever i've found them for sensible money.

So i've never been tempted by the brothers offerings.

But the matter of the lack of data concerning just exactly what a "standard" spring is, was what drove me to adopt the ASP Gaz shox, especially as I was then building a highly modified car. Nothing matched the accepted wisdom, mainly because the car was, by design, unusually light (kerb weight of the Carledo is 760kg)

The Gaz ASPs let me stop worrying about ride height and concentrate on poundage which I could do much easier by trial and error with (largely) cheap, used parts I already had. After a couple of failed experiments with Sprint springs, the Carledo runs on those (alleged) NOS 1850 front springs and it's original (40 odd thousand mile) Toledo rear springs hung off it's Gaz. Seems to work well!

Steve

[roger440]

Hi
Please can anyone tell me how long uncompressed standard front springs should be for a dolomite sprint.

Thanks

Do you still need this info?

Ive got a NOS one here i can measure.

[roger440]

Originally there were two different springs fitted left and right. Length and number of coils were different. Just fitted last week a few good used ones on a daily Dolomite with new GAZ adjustables but searching in the pile of springs I was already happy to find a set that were reasonable similar.... There's no such thing as a standard lenght. The Rimmer springs I used in the past were not usable anymore after a year because of lowering and softening themselves. The last 10 years it's only using good used ones and adjustable shocks to have the car level.

Jeroen

According to my parts catalogue, only LHD cars were fitted with different springs left and right.

Is this incorrect?

[series111]

Yes PLease roger440 It would be handy to know is this the R----r springs you are measuring or are them from somewhere else.

[soe8m]

According to my parts catalogue, only LHD cars were fitted with different springs left and right.

Is this incorrect?

RHD straight out of the UK..

Jeroen

[roger440]

Yes PLease roger440 It would be handy to know is this the R----r springs you are measuring or are them from somewhere else.

No, these are genuine unused triumph springs.

I'll have a measure up. They are at work, so it will be early next week.

[roger440]

According to my parts catalogue, only LHD cars were fitted with different springs left and right.

Is this incorrect?

RHD straight out of the UK..

Jeroen

I'll take a pic of the parts book tommorow. RHD same both sides. Sure of it.