Technical Panda Front Strut Spring Spacer Thingy!

[pandamonius_maximus]

If both my 903/965 engines weren't buried under tonnes of other panda parts I'd get them on the scales Maybe a job for the summer though, would be interesting if we can weigh them and test the statement.

 

[pandamonius_maximus]

Success!!...

I have made it into a spacer by inserting a ring beneath it to set the gap (made from a door handle from B&Q ):

I cut a slot to allow room for a locating peg to go through (to stop the spacer from gradually turning round and causing wear).

Then I painted up the bottom spring seat in awesome gun metal :devil: and push fit a locating peg through one of the existing drain holes:

Quick dry run to check it all fits ok:

And the moment of truth! :slayer:....

All fits perfectly, will go for a test drive shortly but the main thing is the ride height is now perfectly level :devil: Couldn't be any more pleased with the outcome. In fact I am glad I couldn't find the genuine Fiat one now as this one can be customised by changing the spacer thickness:slayer:

 

[Bartpanda]

Installing the dust guard would be a good idea , especially if it's 4x4

 

[pandamonius_maximus]

Installing the dust guard would be a good idea , especially if it's 4x4

Not a bad idea. I think they just fell off the bump stop part. It's not a 4x4 though and it is only going to be used for motorsport / light social use so I'll probably leave them off. If I had thought of this before putting the springs back on though I'd have ordered a set. I hate spring compressors though; they make me nervous

 

[Bartpanda]

to be used for motorsport

ahh that's why there is "steel" brake line and probably the oil cooler lines on the photo right? spring looks a bit progresive too

 

[pandamonius_maximus]

ahh that's why there is "steel" brake line and probably the oil cooler lines on the photo right? spring looks a bit progresive too

They're Spax panda 903 / Marbella lowering springs; a little too soft for the y10 turbo lump but still stiffer than standard with original engine.

Full write-up is here, but it's 3 years of work in total so there are just a few posts in there

 

[Bartpanda]

nice lancia beta alloys, and the whole marbella is cool! I do not know if acquiring skoda favorit/felicia rear springs is possible in UK, but if is, they can be good "sport" springs for panda, they fit perfectly, are made of thicker steel rod{ plus 1mm and about 2mm from combi} and have about 2 coils more.

here are combi favorit vs stock panda 4x4{ finally I did not use them, since they are far to stiff for 4x4, but hatchback favorit{not combi} could be good for rally panda/bella} or for making a "lift" for 4x4

 

[pandamonius_maximus]

nice lancia beta alloys, and the whole marbella is cool! I do not know if acquiring skoda favorit/felicia rear springs is possible in UK, but if is, they can be good "sport" springs for panda, they fit perfectly, are made of thicker steel rod{ plus 1mm and about 2mm from combi} and have about 2 coils more.

here are combi favorit vs stock panda 4x4{ finally I did not use them, since they are far to stiff for 4x4, but hatchback favorit{not combi} could be good for rally panda/bella} or for making a "lift" for 4x4

Ah yes I remember you saying about the favorit springs before. Could be worth a go if I can get them cheap. My only concern is if they are good for giving a "lift" for 4x4's it will also raise the ride height of the marbella as well.

how much stiffer do you think the favorit springs are (hard to push down or just slightly more stiff?

 

[Alixcompo]

Youd like to think that it was only the 902cc engined models that had the spacer; but..... My Panda Terra (MK1) doesn't have one but the 1992 900 Dance I have just bought has one.

 

[Giacosa]

Youd like to think that it was only the 902cc engined models that had the spacer; but..... My Panda Terra (MK1) doesn't have one but the 1992 900 Dance I have just bought has one.

I was looking at the the suspension pdf in Classic Panda literature by James 2609, and it suggests spacers were a dealer fix to correct lopsided Pandas. If thats true it would explain why some have them and some don't.

 

[james2609]

Here it is, although this is for the rear spring?

 

[pandamonius_maximus]

Youd like to think that it was only the 902cc engined models that had the spacer; but..... My Panda Terra (MK1) doesn't have one but the 1992 900 Dance I have just bought has one.

Interesting, is your Terra level or slightly lop sided? I was under the impression that all Fiat mk1's had the spacer and Seat only removed it on the Marbella to save as much money as they could (like the fixed shut rear windows and the single rear leaf suspension ).

Also some feedback for the handling. Having fitted the spacer the handling is fantastic. Very sharp in the corners which makes sense as it used to be crazy soft on one side. Car still sits level so whatever the reason, Seat made a mistake removing it and although the difference made itself more apparent with the change to the heavier Lancia engine, it was still a bit lop sided before as I remember it being noticed by colleagues at work after I bought it.

Fiat can't get hold of this spacer anymore though unfortunately (it is now out of stock) so we'll be relying on good old ebay I think or the bodge I've put together Fortunately it's not a massively complicated part to replicate.

 

[pandamonius_maximus]

Here it is, although this is for the rear spring?

I wonder if they had a fix for the rear leaf springs of the mk1s / marbellas....

I can never quite fully understand why SEAT removed one of the leaves from the rear springs. Almost all Marbellas have soggy rear suspension that bottoms out over the slightest bump. Cost saving must have been the reason, but surely there are some things you shouldn't save on At least they kept all the brakes though. And all the cylinders in the engine :devil:

Si

 

[purple haze]

It's the kind of mystery Petal could answer...not seen him on here for along while.

 

[pandamonius_maximus]

It's the kind of mystery Petal could answer...not seen him on here for along while.

Yeah he's been quiet for a while now; hope he's still Fiat'ing about!

 

[TheBodger]

Long time lurker and Seat Marbella owner de-lurking!

My parents and I have had at least one Seat Marbella in the family since 1988, and I'm currently in posession of three of them. I've found this topic very interesting, since one of the biggest problems I've had is with drivers side springs going saggy.

Basically, as other people have said here, it is mainly due to a weight distribution issue. In the UK - due to being right hand drive - there's a cast iron engine block, the driver and a fuel tank on one side of the car, and only an alloy gearbox and a spare wheel on the other. Over the course of 20 years or so, the extra weight causes the driver's side springs to age faster than the passenger side ones; particularly if the car spends most of its time on the road with just one person in it.

My temporary bodge has been to swap over the springs from left to right when the lean gets too bad, which tends to level the car back up. However it doesn't solve the problem that the suspension is softer than its supposed to be. In the last couple of years, I've combined this 'solution' with assister springs - coil springs which install between the solid axle and the chassis. The ones I used were application specific, and were intended for the Seat Terra van (which has identical suspension setup to the Marbella). This addition has restored the suspension to near - original levels of support.

Regarding the differences between the Panda and Marbella leaf springs: If you look at the Marbella springs, you will find that they are infact Parabolic Leaf Springs. This means that the metal of the leaf is thicker in the centre of the spring where it meets the axle than it is at the spring eyes at each end. By comparison, the metal in each individual leaf of the multi leaf Panda springs is the same thickness all the way across. This is a fundamental design difference; according to various sources, parabolic springs have greater flexibility, which results in better suspension characteristics. However this is at the cost of load carrying capability.

Hope this is of interest to someone (or at least makes sense )

 

[firstcar-Y10]

Well un-lurked sir

 

[pandamonius_maximus]

Ah yes, the assistor spring route. I thought it was an early christmas when I discovered these:

I use it to achieve a variable stiffness but unfortunately it comes with the negative side effect of raised ride height. So it's a compromise but at least it's not hammering the bump stops anymore .

 

[Bartpanda]

If you look at the Marbella springs, you will find that they are infact Parabolic Leaf Springs

like in ritmo abarth all other ritmos and regatas have leaf springs of 2 or 3 leafs, and abarth has single parabolic leaf spring.Parabolic leaf spring has some progresion in its function, the more load the harder it gets, like front progresive coil springs in ritmo abarth.

 

[purple haze]

Good info bodger.....see you in 2016..