Damper set up

Andy at GD will set up your new GD suspension at no additional cost. My car is a Euro so should only need the dampers setting, as the rest is set as part of the rolling chassis build. The car drives well now, but does 'float' a little over crests in the road and also feels a little unstable particularly at speed on the motorway, which does not instil total confidence when pushing on. The dampers (or shockers) control oscillation of the springs and keep the tyres in contact with the road. So this is what I needed to sort out to address the minor handling issues.

I didn't really want to take the car to the factory, as it is a 2.5 hour drive each way and I have no weather gear to combat the vaguaries of the British summer. A quick call to Andy and he explained the way to adjust the dampers and that it should correct the issues above. The dampers are set using just one knob for both the compression and rebound. If I made a pigs ear out of it, there is no real harm done as it can be corrected!

Andy knows the feel of the cars and the changes needed to correct the symptoms. It also depend on the weight of the driver, passenger and junk/tools etc carried in the boot (if a lot of weight in the boot you may need more clicks at the rear). He suggested that damper settings of around 4-6 clicks clockwise are likely to be about right, but that I may need to amend this to my preference. No change is required to the spring rates or toe. However, for the track more clicks may be required e.g 12/13!

The first job is to set the ride height. Mine is set to clear local speed bumps (see a previous post).

Collar for ride adjustment can be seen here

This is achieved by adjusting the collars up (using a C spanner) at the bottom of the springs.

The lower the car the less it will roll in corners (lowers the centre of gravity) and the better it will handle, but the car is more likely to come into contact with speed humps (legal limit for a speed bump on a public road is 4" I think) or raised road surfaces/metalwork - so you have been warned!

Next I needed to back off all four dampers fully (they were set to 5 clicks at the factory) - turning the knurled knob fully anti-clockwise, so that the knob will not turn any further (don't force it). You should be able to do this with the wheels on. The knobs are at the bottom of the dampers - on the inside at the front and on the leading edge at the rear.

Front nearside damper knurled knob (faces away from wheel)

Rear nearside damper knob (faces front of car)

Then turn the knob, say 6 clicks clockwise (which is one full rotation of the knob). For road use/touring you do not want the car to be too stiff or it will be uncomfortable and thump over every road imperfection. I set mine to 6 clicks. With 7 clicks it handled well but was a tad too hard. If you have a roll bar fitted the setting is likely to vary

Now the good bit. Once adjusted, test the car on your favourite road 😆. If it is not quite right, further adjustments can be made. Extra clicks will firm up the dampers, backing it off will reduce the damping effect. Note, this is not the spring rate, but the speed at which the dampers move and allow the car to roll in corners, control the car over undulations and dive (or not) under braking.

Tyres and stoneguards fitted!

Tyres

I had Michelin Pilot Super Sport tyres fitted at home today. 245/40/ZR18Y at the front and 275/40/ZR18Y at the rear.

The wheels were delivered to my house directly from Image, although I had ordered via Gardner Douglas. This was no more expensive than ordering direct from the manufacturer, so well done GD. Having them fitted on the drive saved me having to take the wheels to a fitter and also having to wait around at a fitters place, kicking my heels.

I used "tyresonthedrive.com", they were competitive on price and fitted the tyres and balanced them at home.  I could have bought just the tyres cheaper, but then I would have had fitting and balancing costs, plus fuel to get to a fitter and all the hanging about. So in the end it would have cost me more.

An email in the morning reminded me that the tyres would be fitted today. The fitter (James) arrived on time as promised, in his van with electric fitting and balancing on board.

Tyresonthedrive - tyres being fitted

The centre nut cover and spinner was removed from each wheel first. The tyres were fitted without any fuss in about an hour and paid for at that point. Now if all services were that good!

Tyres fitted

Now I just need to remember to take them to GD when I collect the chassis (this looks to be delayed a bit at the powder coaters according to Andy).

Stone guards

Black stone guards contrast nicely with the white body. Black was not only chosen due to the contrast, but I know from experience that the Caterham's stainless guards were wrecked within a few weeks due to stone chips. Carbon fibre are available, but the cost was more than I wanted to pay and I couldn't find proof that they lasted much longer. That left GRP which can be rubbed down, filled and polished back to new if required.

Stone guard and rubber U channel strip

Black rubber U-channel edging was fitted around each stone-guard. The guards were fitted with a black rivet in the corner nearest the body. A hole was drilled in the corner closest to the body to accept the rivet. Then two black self tapping screws were used to fix each guard to the wheel arch return.

Stone guard fixed in place

The wheel arch was then dressed back to the stone guard, so that there was no white showing. How good does that look?

Can't wait for the chassis now!

Wheels arrived!

The wheels have arrived from Image Wheels. I had decided to go with black centres, annodised rims, nut covers and spinners. I had Image wheels on the racing Radical, so I am confident that they will be okay. They are their GTD5 Halibrand replica style at 18" diameter, 8.5" wide at the front and 10" wide at the rear!

The four wheels with spinners and nut covers

Now I just need to organise some tyres, prior to collecting the chassis from GD in Newark. The GD preferred tyre sizes are :

• front 245/40/ZR18 Y
• rear 275/40/ZR18 Y 

I will go for Michelin Pilot Super Sports as they are rated as good in the wet/damp, are excellent in the dry,  have good reports for comfort, are rated as one of the fastest tyres, have raised ridges around the tyre bands to help defend against kerbing and get great reviews. They sound pretty good!