The Triumph Dolomite Club - Discussion Forum

Hello all

I hope I find you all well and enjoying your Dolomiting.

I have just brought a set of front and rear Gaz ride and height shocks with standard springs from the big shop in Lincon.

Please would you be able to tell me at what height to set them on the car and what setting you would use for the adjustable shock setting for a standard road car that will not be used for track or rallying?

I would open/close each shock a few times to bleed it (may not be needed, but easy enough) Then adjust the shocks up until leaning on it , there is no (or very very slow) movement. On the fronts, about halfway that number of clicks. Rears about 1/3. That would be my starting place..... There is no right/wrong, that is the point of adjustables. You set them to what suits your driving.
Likewise height, if t=you want teh same ride height, set them to the same height as existing shocks. And go from there.

I have the same kit on my 1850. As Cliftyhanger said it's up to you. For ride height I found I had to wind the collars up quite a way to get an acceptable ride height - I would take a photo but that involves jacking the car and removing the wheels. The problem with the Dolly is that once the front is jacked up it won't settle to a normal position until you drive it, so quite a lot of too-ing and fro-ing is needed. I've ended up with mine lowered a bit from standard, about 3/4 inch at the front and nearly 2 inches at the back. It looks good and works well.

As for stiffness of the dampers, start with them fully soft. Drive it and then tighten gradually to reach what suits you best. I reckon with a rear drive car and a live axle I like the front a bit stiffer than the rear. This gives good turn in and a modicum of roll oversteer which is fun. If I have the rear too stiff my wife complains about the jolty ride.

This is how my car sits on the same GAZ set up. It’s part polybushed and runs 185 65 tyres. As already said it’s a case of trial and error. I was lower than this but it was too harsh so I raised it an inch. I’m just about to raise it another 20mm or so because the subframe still catches the camber on rural lanes! Speed bumps are a pain too. I have the screw adjusters around halfway on front and rear. Both need to be a lot softer and you deffinately want the rear softer than the front.

hn

I love the way it looks but want a bit more comfort. Must be getting old

Ride height adjustment, wind them up to where you think is right, then go up another inch! Within a week or so the car will have settled that inch! But it will probably need resetting a couple of times in the first 3-4 months before a final tweak to get it all level and four square, which may mean a variation in heights on the same axle. It's more important that the car sits level than that the numbers match. On the Carledo's final tweak, I went as far as to put a large sack of spuds in the drivers seat when levelling the car to represent me!

On shock adjustment, Gaz seem to vary a bit individually, but if you have around 38-40 clicks between full soft and full hard, I reckon a good start point is 10 clicks away from full hard on the front and 10 up from full soft on the rear. I did see 1 set with only 22-25 clicks of adjustment, so you'd have to vary the settings accordingly ie 75% hard on the front, 25% hard on the rear.

Steve

Great info on this thread, the lowered stances look excellent. Only rough roads stopped me from doing that to mine (for now), otherwise a slight drop suits these cars (visually) really well..

Bish wrote: ↑Sat Sep 11, 2021 9:27 pm This is how my car sits on the same GAZ set up. It’s part polybushed and runs 185 65 tyres. As already said it’s a case of trial and error. I was lower than this but it was too harsh so I raised it an inch. I’m just about to raise it another 20mm or so because the subframe still catches the camber on rural lanes! Speed bumps are a pain too. I have the screw adjusters around halfway on front and rear. Both need to be a lot softer and you deffinately want the rear softer than the front.

hn

I love the way it looks but want a bit more comfort. Must be getting old

This is exactly how i want mine to sit when its back on the road.

Was this on the round britain run last weekend?

Bish wrote: ↑Sat Sep 11, 2021 9:27 pm This is how my car sits on the same GAZ set up. It’s part polybushed and runs 185 65 tyres. As already said it’s a case of trial and error. I was lower than this but it was too harsh so I raised it an inch. I’m just about to raise it another 20mm or so because the subframe still catches the camber on rural lanes! Speed bumps are a pain too. I have the screw adjusters around halfway on front and rear. Both need to be a lot softer and you deffinately want the rear softer than the front.

hn

I love the way it looks but want a bit more comfort. Must be getting old

Not old, sensible. If I was on a race track, drop it as low as possible but on our pathetic moonscape roads? Nah, I much prefer a comfortable car, which are increasing hard to find these days. Reviewers only care about how sporty a car is and want everything fitted with giant wheels and rubber band tires, which further ruin the ride.

No I wasn't on the RBRR last week - mores the pity - I would love to do it one year. To be honest I wouldn't want to take my car on the RBRR at the moment. I`m finding the car sits a bit too low. Yes it looks good but bracing for potholes, and manhole covers etc is getting a bit boring. I wouldn't of wanted that for a solid 48 hours of driving around Britain.

I`m in process of raising the suspension another inch. I reckon it will drive a hell of a lot better, and I also think it will still look right too.

I`m at it this weekend with the c spanners. Pictures will follow, lets see how it looks, and ill report back on whether the drive is improved too.

cleverusername wrote: ↑Fri Oct 08, 2021 4:30 pm

Bish wrote: ↑Sat Sep 11, 2021 9:27 pm This is how my car sits on the same GAZ set up. It’s part polybushed and runs 185 65 tyres. As already said it’s a case of trial and error. I was lower than this but it was too harsh so I raised it an inch. I’m just about to raise it another 20mm or so because the subframe still catches the camber on rural lanes! Speed bumps are a pain too. I have the screw adjusters around halfway on front and rear. Both need to be a lot softer and you deffinately want the rear softer than the front.

hn

I love the way it looks but want a bit more comfort. Must be getting old

Not old, sensible. If I was on a race track, drop it as low as possible but on our pathetic moonscape roads? Nah, I much prefer a comfortable car, which are increasing hard to find these days. Reviewers only care about how sporty a car is and want everything fitted with giant wheels and rubber band tires, which further ruin the ride.

Well with age comes wisdom!? I hope......

The car does look good in that photo though, even if I do say so myself

Hello All

I thought I would give an update as to the shocks and springs.

Firstly I would like to say thanks for the info and pics, this was all very helpful especially for the setting up.
In the end, I went for Gaz shocks and standard springs with adjustable ride and height which I purchased from R----rs.

I have just fitted the front ones for now and they have been on about a month and done 200 miles, as you say have had to adjust a couple of times due to settling of the springs.
I have them set at 8 clicks and ride height of between 330mm and 335mm from wheel arch to wheel centre, I find this gives a good ride and is a lot better than the old Spaxs and lowered springs I had
fitted before.

On Saturday I reset the ride to the above measurements and went on a 50-mile drive on Sunday, when I got home the springs had settled down to 320mm from wheel arch to wheel centre.

What I have found concerning is that the spring platform on the o/s is about 25mm from the top of the screw thread and the n/s is right at the top of the screw thread leaving no more adjustment? is
this right or have I missed something out or done something wrong or could it be that the springs I have been sold are too soft.

I put the springs and shocks together as per the workshop manual.

Can anybody help?

Thanks.