Hi I have just purchased some of these springs for my Volkswagen Passat having seen them in the June magazine issue. Having read all of the instructions they seem alot more complicated than the article in the magazine i.e. it tells me to remove the wheels, then the shock absorber arm, then the main suspension spring, it then moves onto cutting bits off the main spring seat. The winding of the auxiliary spring is then to be wound in between & put everything back together. On looking at the magazine article it would appear that the wheels didn't even come off the vauxhall they were using. Has anyone fitted these springs & can offer any advice. Many thanks
MAD auxiliary springs
- Thread starter markyb11
- Start date
Mark,
I have fitted Auxillary Springs to my Renault Espace, I can't remember exact method to fit, but basically you place the jack under the car body and lift until the compression is taken out of the main spring and shock absorber (no need to remove wheel), then disconnect the lower shock absorber bolt(s).
Remove the main spring and fit the auxillary spring inside of this. Re-assemble to the shock absorber and re-connect the lower bol(s). Lower the car and the main spring and auxillary spring should both now be compressed.
Please remember when working under the car, to support the cars body with axle stands or blocks,
best regards, Martin
I have fitted Auxillary Springs to my Renault Espace, I can't remember exact method to fit, but basically you place the jack under the car body and lift until the compression is taken out of the main spring and shock absorber (no need to remove wheel), then disconnect the lower shock absorber bolt(s).
Remove the main spring and fit the auxillary spring inside of this. Re-assemble to the shock absorber and re-connect the lower bol(s). Lower the car and the main spring and auxillary spring should both now be compressed.
Please remember when working under the car, to support the cars body with axle stands or blocks,
best regards, Martin
When i last removed a spring to replace a suspension unit, i had to use spring compressors.
No mention of that in either post, is there another way of removing a spring?
No mention of that in either post, is there another way of removing a spring?
Hello Mark,
Spring assister's should not be necessary. The car manufacture has already done the calculations and will have balanced the systems to cope with all the loads that the car is specified for.
If you are attempting to fit assisters to prevent the rear springs of your car from bottoming, then either you are overlaoding the car or there is some problem with the suspension.
If you car tows nose up, and the steering is light, the assisters will address the attitude, but will do nothing to improve the steering as no weight is being transferred.
If towing characteristics are what you are trying to improve, then you must check your nose loads and the weight you carry in the car to make sure the car is not overloaded. Otherwise it is just an appearance thing.
Spring assister's should not be necessary. The car manufacture has already done the calculations and will have balanced the systems to cope with all the loads that the car is specified for.
If you are attempting to fit assisters to prevent the rear springs of your car from bottoming, then either you are overlaoding the car or there is some problem with the suspension.
If you car tows nose up, and the steering is light, the assisters will address the attitude, but will do nothing to improve the steering as no weight is being transferred.
If towing characteristics are what you are trying to improve, then you must check your nose loads and the weight you carry in the car to make sure the car is not overloaded. Otherwise it is just an appearance thing.
Mark,
You are near the mark by saying that it is simpler to fit the springs to some makes than others. For the simplest suspension systems, it is a simple matter of unloading the spring and sliding the supplementary spring into place. On other systems, there isn't enough clearance and some dismantling must take place. MAD springs are now distributed by Witter so if you have any problems, contact your local Witter dealer and ask for a quote to fit.
As for them being purely cosmetic, I don't agree with that at all. There are plenty of cars which sag badly even with appropriate loads applied. Fitting the spring assistors is a good way of correcting the car's attitude. That said, if a car is seriously overloaded, there is little benefit trying to improve things with supplementary springs
cheers
Nigel Donnelly
Editor
Practical Caravan
www.twitter.com/pcaravan
You are near the mark by saying that it is simpler to fit the springs to some makes than others. For the simplest suspension systems, it is a simple matter of unloading the spring and sliding the supplementary spring into place. On other systems, there isn't enough clearance and some dismantling must take place. MAD springs are now distributed by Witter so if you have any problems, contact your local Witter dealer and ask for a quote to fit.
As for them being purely cosmetic, I don't agree with that at all. There are plenty of cars which sag badly even with appropriate loads applied. Fitting the spring assistors is a good way of correcting the car's attitude. That said, if a car is seriously overloaded, there is little benefit trying to improve things with supplementary springs
cheers
Nigel Donnelly
Editor
Practical Caravan
www.twitter.com/pcaravan
Hello Nigel,
You treat this issue with less concern than it deserves. If a car is loaded up to its designed limits, it will perform and ride as the manufacture intended. It is therefore not necessary to consider spring assisters from any technical or functional point of view, thus the only reason for a consumer to have them fitted is raise the tail of a car for purely cosmetic appearance.
A cars suspension will compresses and offer less ride range when heavily loaded. This will give feedback to the driver that perhaps they should be more careful over some surfaces. This will help to keep the car operating within its approved envelope.
There is in fact a danger of having spring assisters fitted, It may encourage a driver to traverse rougher road surfaces at higher speeds than if the suspension was at the designed height for the actual load. This will increase impact damage to the suspension mounts and the rest of the bodywork. It will also encourage over loading by not giving the same visual signals as the suspension compresses as it accepts the load.
The design input into cars is now highly developed, and components are only as strong as they need to be for the designed purpose. Even small overloads will take some components out of their normal safety range and will lead to induce premature excess load failures.
You treat this issue with less concern than it deserves. If a car is loaded up to its designed limits, it will perform and ride as the manufacture intended. It is therefore not necessary to consider spring assisters from any technical or functional point of view, thus the only reason for a consumer to have them fitted is raise the tail of a car for purely cosmetic appearance.
A cars suspension will compresses and offer less ride range when heavily loaded. This will give feedback to the driver that perhaps they should be more careful over some surfaces. This will help to keep the car operating within its approved envelope.
There is in fact a danger of having spring assisters fitted, It may encourage a driver to traverse rougher road surfaces at higher speeds than if the suspension was at the designed height for the actual load. This will increase impact damage to the suspension mounts and the rest of the bodywork. It will also encourage over loading by not giving the same visual signals as the suspension compresses as it accepts the load.
The design input into cars is now highly developed, and components are only as strong as they need to be for the designed purpose. Even small overloads will take some components out of their normal safety range and will lead to induce premature excess load failures.
I would just like to add that one must not load the car any more when towing than when solo. (The noseweight is treated as part of the payload and has to be deducted from what you are allowed to put into the boot of the car).
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