Scottish Elises

I'm putting the car away fro the winter this year. I've cleaned it (!). Errm anything else I should do?

(Wile cleaning it I noticed that there is corrosion on the springs (Nitrons) so the red paint has come off. Does this matter?

That is rather critical Pete as they will rust through very quickly.

You need to remove all four springs and get them shot blasted and powder coated, or get a wire brush and scrub them very hard, then coat them in two layers of hammerite so that they are nice and shiny again.

You will feel much better after you have done this.

tut

tut wrote:That is rather critical Pete as they will rust through very quickly.

You need to remove all four springs and get them shot blasted and powder coated, or get a wire brush and scrub them very hard, then coat them in two layers of hammerite so that they are nice and shiny again.

You will feel much better after you have done this.

tut

Oh you better be kidding. I've already cleaned it FFS. That took me nearly an hour!

You could have one snap in two at any minute Pete, so no time to be lost.

tut

Tut's right enough. Can come up and supervise if you need?

Brim it with fuel,
Pump up the tyres,
Plug in a battery conditioner (not a trickle charger).
Leave the handbrake off. (make sure discs are dry if you just washed it)

Dominic wrote: Pump up the tyres

He wont need to do that as the car will be up on blocks while he urgently saves the springs from imminent corrosive failure...

Lol.

woody wrote:Tut's right enough. Can come up and supervise if you need?

I'll give you a shout. I might do some maintenance - fix window, make my adjustable shocks adjustable again, find about 8 new bloody rattles.

we are cruel.......

tut

tut wrote:we are cruel.......

tut

There's a wee dial that is supposed to turn. I've seen it on Robin's. Mine is corroded solid.

And yes you are evil.

That is the problem Pete if you never change the settings. It has 24 clicks between hard and soft, and as you learn later, it pays to turn it through the range at least once a month. If not it gets very stiff and loses the clicks. it is bloody awkward to get to the ring to turn it or even to get much grip on it. Before now I have used a screwdriver and hammer to tap on the teeth to start turning it, and a wrench may work as well.

There is a good chance that they could also need a rebuild depending on age, Nitron suggest every two years, but that would turn out expensive. I sent mine away from N1 and they needed a complete rebuild at £700. However if they are not leaking and are still firm with good damping when you push down hard on the four corners, they are probably OK. Get one of our knowledgeable ones to check it out for you if possible.

tut

tut wrote:That is the problem Pete if you never change the settings. It has 24 clicks between hard and soft, and as you learn later, it pays to turn it through the range at least once a month. If not it gets very stiff and loses the clicks. it is bloody awkward to get to the ring to turn it or even to get much grip on it. Before now I have used a screwdriver and hammer to tap on the teeth to start turning it, and a wrench may work as well.

There is a good chance that they could also need a rebuild depending on age, Nitron suggest every two years, but that would turn out expensive. I sent mine away from N1 and they needed a complete rebuild at £700. However if they are not leaking and are still firm with good damping when you push down hard on the four corners, they are probably OK. Get one of our knowledgeable ones to check it out for you if possible.

tut

They'd just been done when I bought it. Hmm good damping. When I push down they don't move. If I push really hard the bodywork flexes.

Pete, your springs are really firm (same as mine) - assuming the dampers are also set to firm I wouldn't expect any movement by pushing on it.

Job 1 should be to free off the adjusters, then set to full soft, then drive for a bit and make sure you can tell the dampers are soft - try to gauge the response driving over a speed bump, for example. Then set to full hard and drive over the same speed bump, same speed. You should get a much harsher response. Assuming you do, I would suggest they are working well enough for your needs.

I think it is easy to remove the springs on your car as I think you can just jack the car up, undo top/bottom damper bolts, then unscrew the collar and the spring will fall off. You could replace for softer springs for not too much money. You'll need to reset ride height when done and you'll need to get the geo checked if the ride height is different to what it was before (measure it before/after).

It is also easier to free off the adjuster this way because you can clamp the lower mount in a vice.

Cheers,
Robin

robin wrote:Pete, your springs are really firm (same as mine) - assuming the dampers are also set to firm I wouldn't expect any movement by pushing on it.

Job 1 should be to free off the adjusters, then set to full soft, then drive for a bit and make sure you can tell the dampers are soft - try to gauge the response driving over a speed bump, for example. Then set to full hard and drive over the same speed bump, same speed. You should get a much harsher response. Assuming you do, I would suggest they are working well enough for your needs.

I think it is easy to remove the springs on your car as I think you can just jack the car up, undo top/bottom damper bolts, then unscrew the collar and the spring will fall off. You could replace for softer springs for not too much money. You'll need to reset ride height when done and you'll need to get the geo checked if the ride height is different to what it was before (measure it before/after).

It is also easier to free off the adjuster this way because you can clamp the lower mount in a vice.

Cheers,
Robin

I think that might be my next job (free off the adjuster and find a few rattles) when I've finished some stuff on the house. I've kind of got used to it's ride now and it works so well on my bi-annual track day I'll leave the springs as is