After the last month of work changing Steering Rack bushes, Axial Control Steering Arms, Eibach Front springs and general fettling it was time to get the Suspension/Steering geometry reset.
I have used CenterGravity in Atherstone before. They are a top flight dedicated Geometry alignment business catering predominantly for the Porsche road, modified and competition fraternity.
They have two Hunter Laser alignment facilities but it is the depth of technical knowledge and expertise that separates them from most other outfits.
Both Chris (who worked on my Trophy yesterday) and Pete have a depth of technical understanding of car geometry and its effects on handling performance that would not be out of place in the F1 field.
Firstly Chris took it out on a test drive. Noted an inclination to move to the left under constant load and to move right under strong acceleration.
The car was then prepped with weights added to simulate full tank, tyre pressures corrected, chassis height data measured, 4 corner wheel weights measured and full joint inspection to establish any issues before set-up is commenced. Then the application (Road, track, Rallying etc.) is discussed to agree and optimise the Caster, Camber and Toe as well as residual cross weight balance (which in my case was affected by the recently fitted rear anti-roll bar). The current settings are then recorded prior to change.
Chris also spotted an error in the way I had fitted one of the front Sachs top mounts so this was eventually corrected (much to my shame and embarrassment). Then the adjustment process began in earnest.
The adjustment alone took over an hour with all settings being double checked by rolling the car off the pads to stabilise the suspension, moving the body up and down to remove stiction and hysteresis and then rechecking.
When complete to single minute side to side comparisons all bolts were then torqued up, thread locked where applicable and paint marked to validate completion and to monitor fixing.
The results? Well it has transformed the handling back to where it was (if not better) than 2 years ago - probably because of the bush, spring and control arm changes. It is everything a best handling Trophy should be!
Was it worth the time, effort and money. Undoubtedly without hesitation. There is no point lavishing time and money on our cars if the chassis is not perfectly set up to exploit the full potential of their original design.
I can not recommend CenterGravity highly enough if you are serious about getting the best handling possible from your Trophy. ?
I am now planning a few trips out to use this wonderful chassis and put the smile back on my face.???
I have used CenterGravity in Atherstone before. They are a top flight dedicated Geometry alignment business catering predominantly for the Porsche road, modified and competition fraternity.
They have two Hunter Laser alignment facilities but it is the depth of technical knowledge and expertise that separates them from most other outfits.
Both Chris (who worked on my Trophy yesterday) and Pete have a depth of technical understanding of car geometry and its effects on handling performance that would not be out of place in the F1 field.
Firstly Chris took it out on a test drive. Noted an inclination to move to the left under constant load and to move right under strong acceleration.
The car was then prepped with weights added to simulate full tank, tyre pressures corrected, chassis height data measured, 4 corner wheel weights measured and full joint inspection to establish any issues before set-up is commenced. Then the application (Road, track, Rallying etc.) is discussed to agree and optimise the Caster, Camber and Toe as well as residual cross weight balance (which in my case was affected by the recently fitted rear anti-roll bar). The current settings are then recorded prior to change.
Chris also spotted an error in the way I had fitted one of the front Sachs top mounts so this was eventually corrected (much to my shame and embarrassment). Then the adjustment process began in earnest.
The adjustment alone took over an hour with all settings being double checked by rolling the car off the pads to stabilise the suspension, moving the body up and down to remove stiction and hysteresis and then rechecking.
When complete to single minute side to side comparisons all bolts were then torqued up, thread locked where applicable and paint marked to validate completion and to monitor fixing.
The results? Well it has transformed the handling back to where it was (if not better) than 2 years ago - probably because of the bush, spring and control arm changes. It is everything a best handling Trophy should be!
Was it worth the time, effort and money. Undoubtedly without hesitation. There is no point lavishing time and money on our cars if the chassis is not perfectly set up to exploit the full potential of their original design.
I can not recommend CenterGravity highly enough if you are serious about getting the best handling possible from your Trophy. ?
I am now planning a few trips out to use this wonderful chassis and put the smile back on my face.???
