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I've had an irritating problem since I finished rebuilding my S3. I chose to route the exhaust under the rear cage instead of through the suspension parts. Of course that removes about 2 1/2" of road clearance, and so began my problem.
Hitting the exhaust on dips in the road. The suspension compresses farther than the exhaust clearance and we have contact with the road. With four people in the car I managed to ding a catalytic converter enough to break the matrix inside. This spring I was bound and determined to find an answer.
I could see the bump-stop was made of relatively soft rubber and there is a big whole in the middle of it. There was also almost 3" of clearance between it and the hub carrier at road height. Add another 2" of compression to the stop and it was more than my exhaust could withstand. I added 3/4" spacer above the stop and inserted a piece of 1" Delrin (just what I had in the shop) in the hole. Test drove today and will call the problem fixed. This may not be of interest to most, but if you are experiencing road-rashed exhaust this could help.
Mine goes under the cage too, on a really rough road I might get some road contact, but not enough to worry about, however I am running all new ( well a few years old now) struts and springs!
hmmm now that I think about it, when a say a few years old, they are actually closer to 10 maybe even 15! Wow! Now i feel old!!
Didnt mean to hijack your thread here, but my point was how old are your springs etc?
You didn't hijack, Darren. But you brought up a good point about the age of the springs, mine are original.....41 years. I had thought about stiffer springs, but I would want the ride height to stay the same. They would have to be aftermarket and they would more than likely be expensive. I figured massaging the bump-stops would be the cheapest first step and I'm satisfied with the results. I'm going to start picking my battles in life and try to enjoy some of what I've accomplished, which includes the Jag. I've done a little tinkering on it in the last year and I'm going to call it good. Now I'm just going to drive it and smile.
The new woodheads will lift the rear by abt half an inch over my original worn springs. I put db7 rears on and it dropped it back down by abt the same so i appreciate the heads up on the exhaust👍
I'm coming to the well for advise or opinions. I'm about half way to buying a new set of rear springs, hopefully with a higher rate. I have emailed King in AU,but they are expensive without shipping-maybe too expensive with shipping. I came across these two upgrade springs in UK at a reasonable price. I'm still trying to reduce the amount of rear suspension compression when hitting dips (I know, you're saying "don't hit the dips; slow down; take another road; use your other vehicle", but that's not the point is it?)
If anyone has any experience or opinions on either of these springs, I would like to hear from you.
I'm still trying to reduce the amount of rear suspension compression when hitting dips (I know, you're saying "don't hit the dips; slow down; take another road; use your other vehicle", but that's not the point is it?)
If anyone has any experience or opinions on either of these springs, I would like to hear from you.
I suggest adjustable dampers to overcome this problem, Gaz adjustables on the back will solve it, I believe.
I can appreciate what you're saying, Greg, but I just spent a wad for Bilstein's all around and I can't justify another set. I did find something that sounds like the cats meow called JounceShock. But again, we're talking big $$$. I think living with the issue or trying stiffer reasonably priced springs are the options I have right now.
I have followed this thread with great interest, and confirmation I did the right thing at the time.
This whole episode is why I gathered up all my courage, took Several deep breaths, Cleared my calendar and engaged the Pitched Battle with pipes through the cage. (It wasn't actually all that bad once I got to it.)
I grew up on (sometimes) graveled country roads where clearance was often questionable at best.
As Nix is already Very Low slung (just like a slinky BLACK cat should be), subtracting another 2+ inches from effective ground clearance just did not seem like something I wanted to do. Even as it is, there's one driveway I avoid locally because she drags her butt no matter how carefully I cross.
(';')
I have followed this thread with great interest, and confirmation I did the right thing at the time.
This whole episode is why I gathered up all my courage, took Several deep breaths, Cleared my calendar and engaged the Pitched Battle with pipes through the cage. (It wasn't actually all that bad once I got to it.)
I grew up on (sometimes) graveled country roads where clearance was often questionable at best.
As Nix is already Very Low slung (just like a slinky BLACK cat should be), subtracting another 2+ inches from effective ground clearance just did not seem like something I wanted to do. Even as it is, there's one driveway I avoid locally because she drags her butt no matter how carefully I cross.
(';')
You're just being mean and hurtful Elinor, but I have to admit you have a point worth considering.
I'm sorry, Dave, I didn't mean to be hurtful. Nor mean either.
I was merely relating my point of view
Apologies.
You did neither, Elinor. I was trying to make a funny on your good judgement and my poorer judgement. In my mind I was humorously implying that your better judgement in some way was hurting my feelings, which of course couldn't be farther from the truth. I botched the response and my intent was completely lost. I'm the one who is sorry for the misunderstanding.
I can appreciate what you're saying, Greg, but I just spent a wad for Bilstein's all around and I can't justify another set. I did find something that sounds like the cats meow called JounceShock. But again, we're talking big $$$. I think living with the issue or trying stiffer reasonably priced springs are the options I have right now.
The original v12 pipes are 1-3/4" and are pretty restrictive for an sbc or LSx motor. I realize that an oval would reduce cross section but still not as much as a 1-3/4' pipe I think. That said, this guy was able to bend 2-1/2" to fit through the cage! Amazing build too...
Rear Bump-Stop on Lumped S3
