Diddling the 105 front springs-

[JHertzman@xxxxxxx]

I may have missed something in the Mark Battley/Peter Krause discussion (in
321-322-323) of lowering Mark's car's front end, but I think Mark was saying
that removing the 10mm aluminum spacer from the spring pan would give him the
10mm drop he wants in his front ride height- Would that not be close to the
case at the rear but not at the front? Levers, fulcrums and all that? And
closer still on a Giulietta, with the rear spring atop the axle rather than
several inches forward on the rear radius arm? 

Without actual measuring (dark and cold at this hour) it looks to me as though
the front spring is considerably less than half-way out from the fulcrum on
the crossmember to the lower ball-joint, and that eliminating the 10mm spacer
would result in about a 25mm drop. If he wants a more modest drop one of the
other standard spacers (3.5mm, 4.5mm, 7.0mm) might be substituted for the
10.5mm spacer.

On the concerns Mark has heard expressed about stacked washers contributing to
possible reductions in stiffness of the spring pan/wishbone assembly, I am
having a hard time visualizing how the triangular wishbone assembly of
substantial forgings would be flexing, or how the spring pan would be
stiffening it, but since in his case all of the front end is out the one-bolt-
at-at-time technique would not be needed, and a short piece of bar stock with
a hole in each end could be substituted for two stacks of washers. I'm not
sure it would be better, but it might be neater.

That does not address any concerns about differences in stiffness between his
fronts and the previously modified by PO rears, but is he sure the rears had
"been lowered by some PO by cutting the springs"? In the USA the conventional
wisdom is that 105/115 springs invariably sagged on their own over the years.
I have heard much about "improving" rear ride heights on GTV-6s/Milanos by
boogering springs, but hadn't thought that was a "problem" with 105 rears.

Cordially,

John H., who perversely still thinks stock wasn't bad- 

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