Going to uprate suspension and brakes!

[Orophin]

Here we go, i have some money I can spend at last on my baby. I thought I'd enhance her handling and safety first by uprating the suspension and brakes. Just like you've all advised me too. What kits would you recommend?

S+S preparations do the suspension kit for £375 and a S&S Vented Disc Kit for £295. Is this the best place to uprate? Are they any good? Cheers.

[busheytrader]

S & S are one of the good guys in the wedgie world.

If you get stuck fitting the parts yourself they will point you in the right direction. They have been in the game long enough to know it all and are very helpful.

I converted my 7 to a V8 many years ago using their kit in a box (never did get that box) and they happily took a few calls whilst I was doing it.

There are other fine suppliers as well but S & S are very good. In the IOW, none of them appear local to you though.

Cheers,


Adam

TR7 V8 DHC Jaguar Solent Blue. 9.35cr Range Rover V8, Holley 390cfm, JWR Dual Port, 214 Cam, Lumention, Tubular Manifolds, Single Pipe Exh, 3.08 Rear, 200lb Spax & Solid Bushes, Anti- Dive, Granada Vented Discs & Calipers, 4 Speed Rear Cylinders, Uprated Master Cylinder & Servo, AllyCat 5 Spokes. No Door Stickers.

[Beans]

It's very much a matter of how you drive your car.
I used the Ford based S&S front brake upgrade on 't Kreng for years but in the end (as I did more work on the front suspension) I found them to be not good enough for that car.
But I renovated them and put them on my DHC where they (again) perform quite acceptable.
Biggest advantage of the Ford set up is that parts are readily available and cheap.

<center>
<font color="blue"><i>1981 TR7 FHC Sprint (better known as 't Kreng)
1981 TR7 DHC (not very well known yet, but back on the road)
Also a 1980 TR7 DHC, 1980 TR7 DHC FI, 1981 TR7 FHC
http://tr7beans.blogspot.com/</i></font id="blue"></center>

[Orophin]

How much better are these upgrades? I know I need the brake kit more than anything else, but what about the suspension upgrade? Are they stiffer, lower, more modern? I'd like the car to sit slightly lower if possible [:p] haha but if there is not a noticeable difference in the s+s suspension upgrade then i'll give it a pass.

I figured - I think i'm going to be burdened with this car for as long as I can see, I kind of like the idea of me having the same car all my life because I really like it. So I figured that I may as well spend some money on it! Please give me your views and experiences. With the brakes and suspension done, i could look for means of increasing the power. But brakes are a must eh? What would you do??

[Beans]

My best handling car ('t Kreng) sits more or less on the standard ride height (very slightly lowered).
Lowering in itself doesn't improve your overall handling. It will only improve a part of it. Bear in mind that lowering your suspension will change your steering geometry. Sadly enough this is quite often forgotten ...

<center>
<font color="blue"><i>1981 TR7 FHC Sprint (better known as 't Kreng)
1981 TR7 DHC (not very well known yet, but back on the road)
Also a 1980 TR7 DHC, 1980 TR7 DHC FI, 1981 TR7 FHC
http://tr7beans.blogspot.com/</i></font id="blue"></center>

[Hasbeen]

Orophin, it all depends on how good the car is now. The best brakes
in the world will have trouble stopping a car which is bouncing
around on sloppy suspension. So if its worn, I'd do the suspension
first.

Don't be fooled by "racing" mods to the suspension either. My 8s
suspension is near a full race setup, & has cost a lot of money.
Assuming the bushing is all good, 90% of the improvement in handling
is in the shocks, & the anti roll bars.

I can convert the car from a harsh riding, really quick cornering
car, to a thing like a Kangaroo, bounding from bump to bump, with
almost no cornering power, just by adjusting the shocks from full
hard to full soft.

My program would be, replace any worn bits, then, shock [adjustable
or heavy duty] anti roll bar, brakes, really good tyres, then all
the detail bits that are nice to have on there.

If the good people are offering packages, ask them if it will suit
your type of driving. The good ones will discuss your requirements
with you, & be happy to tailor their kit to you, & the use you put
your car to.

Hasbeen