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Styling Updated punto pictures! My Red MK1

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Styling Updated punto pictures! My Red MK1

Momanatorz said:
think what? that the rear will be ok? i said they seem ok. might burst aswell in the future lol.
and the front i've heard it all around the forum anything below 50mm is not recommended for standard front shocks
Click to expand...

Momanatorz,

The main problem with standard shocks on <50mm lowering is the shock length. The security of the upper spring mount on the standard springs is guaranteed because the shock at full extension still applies a degree of compression to the spring. When you go to 50mm or below, the shorter spring is no longer guaranteed to be held securely because the damper is too long. This is problematic if you ever have to jack up the car, or you get a little air time hitting a bump too hard. Shortened shocks prevent this insecurity.

Also, you need to think about uprating the damping over the standard shocks. The damping constant is calculated as...

c^2 - 4mk, where c is the damping factor, m is the mass (your car, which is fixed in this case) and k is the spring constant.

Because your shorter springs have to prevent bottoming out, they are stiffer, and so the value of 'k' is greater. In order to maintain critical damping, you must also increase 'c' proportionally to sqrt(k). Therefore if your spring is 50% stiffer, you will need 22.5% greater damping to maintain critical damping for the system.
 
MikeSalt said:
Momanatorz,

The main problem with standard shocks on <50mm lowering is the shock length. The security of the upper spring mount on the standard springs is guaranteed because the shock at full extension still applies a degree of compression to the spring. When you go to 50mm or below, the shorter spring is no longer guaranteed to be held securely because the damper is too long. This is problematic if you ever have to jack up the car, or you get a little air time hitting a bump too hard. Shortened shocks prevent this insecurity.

Also, you need to think about uprating the damping over the standard shocks. The damping constant is calculated as...

c^2 - 4mk, where c is the damping factor, m is the mass (your car, which is fixed in this case) and k is the spring constant.

Because your shorter springs have to prevent bottoming out, they are stiffer, and so the value of 'k' is greater. In order to maintain critical damping, you must also increase 'c' proportionally to sqrt(k). Therefore if your spring is 50% stiffer, you will need 22.5% greater damping to maintain critical damping for the system.
Click to expand...
Yeah... i have ordered the shorter spax shocks for the front. but the rear are fine because the new springs are the same length as the old ones. the front new springs are actually shorter than the old ones so shorter shocks are needed, true !
i hit another major landmine... can't get the hub to strut bolts out! i was relivied that the nuts came off then the bolts wouldn't!!! i tried hammering... soaking.. few other things. screwing them out don't work.

sorry thread hijack, lol.
 
Momanatorz said:
Yeah... i have ordered the shorter spax shocks for the front. but the rear are fine because the new springs are the same length as the old ones. the front new springs are actually shorter than the old ones so shorter shocks are needed, true !
i hit another major landmine... can't get the hub to strut bolts out! i was relivied that the nuts came off then the bolts wouldn't!!! i tried hammering... soaking.. few other things. screwing them out don't work.

sorry thread hijack, lol.
Click to expand...
How big is your hammer? ;) One side i had to get the garage to get oxyacetene on it!
The other side, they forgot to do, so I was there hammering with a standard sized hammer. Went up to the mechanic who ran me dow in his car, removed the steering arm thing so had a big swing then got a sledge hammer, but a hand held one and he hit it about 3 times then it budged. So old and rusty bolts. Used lots of WD40.

Don't worry about the hijack, if it helps you :)
 
karbineftw said:
How big is your hammer? ;) One side i had to get the garage to get oxyacetene on it!
The other side, they forgot to do, so I was there hammering with a standard sized hammer. Went up to the mechanic who ran me dow in his car, removed the steering arm thing so had a big swing then got a sledge hammer, but a hand held one and he hit it about 3 times then it budged. So old and rusty bolts. Used lots of WD40.

Don't worry about the hijack, if it helps you :)
Click to expand...
Thanks dude...but the thing holding them in i believe is the bent strut mount. the last owner is a ****. the spring is not even in the top seat!
the nuts were too tight so the strut mount bent inwards... i tried real hard and the bolts are damaged. will have to get new ones when they come off... i'm gonna take a break from it cos i'm gettin real annoyed lol. :bang:
i'll get a bigger hammer this weekend
 
You should replace the strut-to-hub nuts anyway. Just make sure that the hub is undistorted and that you copper-ease the new bolts and nuts. Also, make sure the strut's dust cover and bump-stop are in good condition before refitting. When I bought my car it was missing the dust cover, and when I had the worn strut replaced, my garage failed to fit one. Needless to say, the damper was wrecked within a year, so I did the job myself instead, making sure I fitted a brand new dust boot. If a jobs worth doing...

Thankfully my current garage are much more observant and thorough. Instead of viewing my car as a ****ty old Fiat, I feel they respect it. They even cleaned the car for me while it was in for a head gasket swap. How's that for service?
 
MikeSalt said:
You should replace the strut-to-hub nuts anyway. Just make sure that the hub is undistorted and that you copper-ease the new bolts and nuts. Also, make sure the strut's dust cover and bump-stop are in good condition before refitting. When I bought my car it was missing the dust cover, and when I had the worn strut replaced, my garage failed to fit one. Needless to say, the damper was wrecked within a year, so I did the job myself instead, making sure I fitted a brand new dust boot. If a jobs worth doing...

Thankfully my current garage are much more observant and thorough. Instead of viewing my car as a ****ty old Fiat, I feel they respect it. They even cleaned the car for me while it was in for a head gasket swap. How's that for service?
Click to expand...
Sounds like a nice garage (y)
do you know where i can buy little parts like bolts and nuts from?

karbineftw said:
Take some pics man
Click to expand...
i just jacked the car down and put everything away :(
but i'll do it after dinner. not much to see though... just two bolts that like to annoy people
 
Momanatorz said:
Sounds like a nice garage (y)
do you know where i can buy little parts like bolts and nuts from?
Click to expand...

It'll be Fiat themselves since it has a specific shank length and unthreaded section. Wait until a quiet time and go to http://eper.fiatforum.com to get the part numbers. Use Internet Explorer, not Firefox in order to navigate the menus correctly.
 
Part numbers are 7676614 and 7676615 for the nut and bolt required to connect the strut and hub. You will need four of each to complete your vehicle (both sides). Probably about £8 all-in (my version of EPER is out of date, so I'm estimating).
 
karbineftw said:
How big is your hammer? ;) One side i had to get the garage to get oxyacetene on it!
The other side, they forgot to do, so I was there hammering with a standard sized hammer. Went up to the mechanic who ran me dow in his car, removed the steering arm thing so had a big swing then got a sledge hammer, but a hand held one and he hit it about 3 times then it budged. So old and rusty bolts. Used lots of WD40.

Don't worry about the hijack, if it helps you :)
Click to expand...
Oh look what happened...
Thanks alot Mike and karbine. I hammered the entire existance out of the bolts, especially the bottom one. About 50 hammers at full pelt and it moved!!!!!!!! :worship:I did not care if the neighbours were gettin a headache. it was just me and the bolt :devil:
going to try use a impact gun to take the top nut off tomorrow at my colleges workshop. if that don't work GRIND THE NUT OFF mwahahahah!! i only need the top cup and bushing anyways!
i'll return to my own thread...
oh the shock and spring are both blue, are they aftermarket do you think? maybe around 30mm setup? other side is standard... lol!
 

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Wow 2 weeks since the last update!
Nothing really to add to it really.
I'm seriously looking into getting a seat Ibiza GTI splitter and fitting it and keeping it black.. looks really good on this car imo...
punto4.jpg


But obvs without the bonnet :p
I have some plans for when the weather gets a bit better too..
I think I'm going to remove my skirts (for the 3rd time :LOL: and my passenger side skirt is coming off slightly so I can fix it on properly) and mirror caps and spray them red to colour code. Just for a bit of a change and gives me a chance to have a play around with my car! lol :')

This will all be done when the weather warms up though as I have a bit more motivation to do stuff! Now I just go outside to get in the car :'D.

Hopefully it will look better! Anymore ideas throw them out :)
 
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