Stag Suspension

I had some free time last weekend, so in-between bouts of gardening (well, weed clearing to be more precise), I decided to fit the new struts to the Stag that I'd ordered from Chris Witor last month. 

I've never been entirely happy with the Stag's handling since I got it. Despite fitting lowered springs to the existing shocks early on, it always had a slight tendency to wander on uneven road surfaces. So to try and fix it once and for all I decided to go for all new parts. 

Rebuilt struts with 1" lower 205-400lb progressive springs and KYB shocks. Here's old vs new. (Not much visual difference other than cleanliness)

New tie-bar bushes, 80 shore. These are the blue ones in the photo. Looking at what was on the car before, I hoped this would be the cause of the wandering. Although poly-bushes, the centre holes of the old ones had a bit of wear to them.

Old strut off. Looking at these inner panels and the strut tower reminds me why I bought this car back in 2010, it really is rock solid. 

After taking a couple of hours per side, the new struts and tie-bar bushes were on. A test drive round my usual route, which is about 6 miles of country roads and an A14 blast, showed an improvement in the tightness of the handling. Because it had the same springs as before, it's always cornered with very little body roll, but that tendency to wander definitely seems reduced. Hopefully it will last. 

I'm really pleased with the stance of this car. People have always said the Rover engine ruins the handling of a Stag, but with the set-up I have now you can really throw it around without much drama, and those springs certainly alleviate any of the nose-up look you can get with the lighter engine. 

So, to re-cap, my suspension set-up is ...

Front : Chris Witor 205-400lb progressive springs with KYB shocks. 

Rear : Chris Witor PFLR575 Springs, with +5mm insulators. GAZ adjustable shocks (on the car when I bought it). 

... and I can thoroughly recommend it.