Hi all

When the car is loaded with passengers in the rear seating and also luggage in the boot, the ride height of the rear wheel arch to the wheel is minimal. Sometimes when going over a pothole or bump in the road it sounds like the suspension bottoms out - is this symptomatic of the shock absorbers needing replacing?

The car goes in for a service tomorrow and it this is a likely cause then I will ask them to replace them on the rear

 

It sounds like you could beawful close to the Gross Vehicle Weight rating (when fully loaded). Unless the rear suspension feels unresponsive when the car is empty I say there is no fault with the shocks. Its more a case of weak springs. By design there is a compromise between performance and comfort. A stiffer spring may provide slightly better performance and hauling capabilities, but toostiff and it will ride like a truck. Speaking of trucks (and slightly off topic), with leaf springs all you would have needed to do would have been to add an additionalleaf and you'd be set. But with coil springs you want to look into stiffer spring rates or something called 'overload springs'.

So if you get anything from this its that replacing your springs with oem probably wont solve your issue. If you pack your car 'full' often then it might be worthwhile to upgrade. If not, you can leave them be and just watch the potholes.

 

Hi there

Verdict from the garage was that the suspension and shocks are fine but they agree that the ride height on the rear wheel arches doesnt give much clearance.
I would be keen to know of anyone in the UK that has a make and part number for some load springs that would mean I can carry the same load with some additional clearance. Every spring set I find is about lowering the car - not all of us are in it for the street look!

I dont want to end up putting a tow bar on the vehicle but would welcome any direction to after-sales spring suppliers in the UK

 

Sorry about the late reply but I have been trundling around East Anglia without a computer.

Most car accessory shops can supply springs of varying strength and, of course, price.

In the past I have used ATS, National Tyres, Charlie Browns and A1 Motor Stores for suspension parts. All have depots nationwide and have access to the latest products.

 

I don't know about over there but here in the U.S. I don't think there are OVERLOAD springs for the v40 models. However that doesn't mean no one makes them somewhere else in the world.

 

As an alternative, if no-one produces an upgraded spring for the V40, you could considerthese:

http://www.carparts-direct.co.uk/sus...muscle_kit.cfm

For some years whenI was towing a caravan I used a similar, but much cheaper, product from: http://www.towsure.com/They are listed under Spring Assisters.

For a much more up-market product: http://www.carparts-direct.co.uk/Ros..._Assistors.cfm

 

Hi all

Thanks for the pointers and also the links to products. I am going to see if I can get a pair of the assisters delivered and fitted in the next 7 days which will tide me over the holiday and then on my return look for some replacement springs.

Regards

Ian

 

If you have had the suspension checked and all is in order why bother with new springs later? The spring assisters I bought from Towsure stay on the car regardless of load. They do make the rear suspension a little bit firmer when lightly loaded, but you would get that with heavier springs. Fitting takes about an hour for the pair.

They do not cause any adverse handling.

 

Yes, after some thought I must admit I came to the same conclusion.
The service at the garage advised that the springs and the shocks gave no indication or any fault so why replace them! Just my money going down the drain!!
The spring assisters I got were from http://www.springassisters.co.uk but they appear to be identical to those on Towsure. I see from the TowSure website tonight that they have had to close due to the local flooding. Hope everything is okay with you guys; cant be any fun at all!
Thanks for all the advice on this thread, it is appreciated