Which shocks?

[Donnie]

Anyone out there with a Series 2 Seven with a Cortina axle? If so, what rear coilovers are installed. The Spax units designated for Series 2 & 3 (Spax G776) are too long by at least 2 inches. Thanks for any help. Don

Edited May 30, 2015 by Donnie

[TheDingo8MyBaby]

I have a S2 with a cortina axle. Can't say that I've heard many positive things about spax and the old ones fitted to my car were not good and also too long.

 

The optimum length depends on several factors including what ride height you intend to run and intended spring rate. I wanted at least 30mm of compression at normal ride height, so I went with 16.5" length shocks (as measured from the center of the hole in the axle to the bottom of the plate mount on the chassis) and my car runs at 15" compressed.

 

I also opted for spherical bearings on the rear axle as the rubber bushes cause binding of the axle.

 

There are several options for coilovers, the most popular being Spax, AVO an protech. Here in the US, we also have some manufacturers to choose from: Carrera and QA1. After doing a lot of research, I purchased Protech coilovers from a company called "procomp" in the UK which takes the protech bodies and custom valves them to your specifications. The problem with all of the above companies is they valve their dampers for much heavier cars, meaning you'll only get a few clicks of meaningful adjustment (instead of the whole range) and very often they are not balance from right to left.

[Donnie]

Thanks for the input. I'm told that Spax has cleaned up their act of late and has improved quality. May be sorry but I got a deal on an open box, unused set so I figured I'd give them a try. Had Bilsteins on my Caterham and loved them. What are the specs of your springs? Free length and PSI. What is the primary use of your Seven?

[TheDingo8MyBaby]

Rear springs are 10", 150 lb/in., but I'm debating about going down to 125lb/in. Primary use is for street, but it's close to a track setup.