define "captive springs"

Started by anglia4, September 23, 2009, 03:16:45 PM

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anglia4

who knows the definition of "captive springs"??

my VR failed its wof today, apparently the rear springs aren't captive, news to me as its always passed and when i first got a wof for it when i bought it i pulled up and the mech said "its a bit low isn't it" and i said "yeah but i think its legal" and he said "we will soon find out" and then he passed it, so i assumed they were kosher.

anyway to be captive do i need to shorten the strut, or will some tie-wire and/or cable ties suffice for making the spring "captive"??

anglia4

don't worry... i found it

"replacement springs are self-retaining in their seats at full extension,
without the use of non-standard devices such as wire-ties, straps, or external
spring locators; and"

Thats from the LVVTA website of modifications that don't need a low volume cert.

Dam that means i've got to shorten my struts!!!

Does anybody in christchurch have a Die set???

deedub

Bugger. Are you sure you don't want to get some shorter shocks? The billies from the VR6 might be up for sale (someone wanted them but haven't heard from them for ages).
1983 T25 Microbus - keep forever, never finish
1988 mk2 Golf 2L 16v - work in progress

anglia4

hmm would be tempting but i really can't afford to spend ANY more money on it at the moment.

kiwihigh

Call chamberlains they shorten shocks and i don't think it was expensive as i thought it was gonna be  ;)
BUILT not bought

anglia4

has anyone every shortened these struts?
is it just a matter of winding a die onto the end to extend the thread and then cutting off the excess?
or do they need to go in a lathe and be machined down first?

anglia4

sweet as, thats 3 blocks away.

back in 20 mins! i'll let you know how i get on haha

anglia4

hmmm $140 a pair. little bit out of my reach at the moment.

has anybody done it before?

how do you hold the strut in the lathe without damaging it?

deedub

i can't remember what they look like now but isn't the thread flush with the piston? So you would just need to use a die on it?

i don't think you'll be able to put it in a lathe. You can borrow the billies for a warrant and then put back your old shocks if you want.
1983 T25 Microbus - keep forever, never finish
1988 mk2 Golf 2L 16v - work in progress

VR6

Shock shafts are hardened and are not that easy on the old die nut. It,s the grove that the clip sits in that is the hard part to change as that is what really determines how short the shock travel is. Buy some spring spacer blocks. Those rubber black things that you can get in all different thicknesses  and spring diameters. Your local suspension place should have a catalog with them in.

Turbo

never heard the term either.

i thought they were springs held against their will.
2000 S4, MTM stage 1, Oettinger RE's, Bilstein Sports, Vogtland springs, H&R Swaybars, DBA 4000 rotors, EBC Yellow stuff pads, 710N DV's, F1 tints, RS4 clutch

BB

Good post Al. Incredibly hard to just cut a thread in a hardened rod, is there special dies you can buy?

You can also sometimes move the base plates up and down by grinding and then latheing in a grove for a clip but the spring spacer blocks sound the best because your car must be only just rattling or the other guys would have failed you.
Remember when farting round with standard shocks that the rod can end up banging into the bottom of the strut tower if it all gets too low.
The end is nigh, but the end of what is the question?

vwrally

I would ask a local engineers shop $140 a pr sounds a bit steep I am not sure about chamberlains either

Thay made the springs for the rally car, we wanted to lift the front 2 inchs from standard and have a finshed pressure of 200lb,

We pit them in the car and it was solid we put 4 grown men circa 350 kg on the front of the carand it didnt move a single mm

We had to cut 2 full coils of the spring to get an effectives installed spring rate of 200lb

b0000st

How much movement is in your springs? I've WOF'd a car with lowering springs and could turn them by hand and there was also a little up/down play  but at full extention they could not come off the spring platform so I classed that as captive.

Matt

anglia4

i've got some standard mk3 struts and springs to throw in for thow in for the wof. i'll have a look at how much play there is and what can be done to solve it in an hour or so when i get the struts out.