MGF Hydragas Suspension
Although I have the equipment and ability to pump up your suspension to factory recommendations, I am not officially advertising this at the moment (from October 2010). Please contact me for discussion.
The following is for information only. It provides information on the system, and how you can check your own.
The MGF sports car utilises Hydragas suspension, and physical shock absorbers. It was first introduced in 1973 in the Austin Allegro and was later fitted to the 1975 Princess and its successor, the 1982 Austin Ambassador. Both systems attempt to address the ride-handling compromise of car suspension by interconnecting the suspension of the front and rear of the car in some way.
Hydragas suspension gives a comfortable ride and exerience, but over time, the liquid part of the system can leak out and requires pumping up. It is recommended to do this at least every few years, or whenever required.
The system replaces the separate springs and dampers of a conventional suspension system with integrated, space efficient, fluid filled, displacer units, which are interconnected between the front and rear wheels on each side of the vehicle.
The heart of the system is the displacer units, which are pressurised spheres containing nitrogen gas.
Each displacer unit contains a rubber spring, and damping is achieved by the displaced fluid passing through rubber valves. The displaced fluid passes to the displacer of the paired wheel, thus providing a dynamic interaction between front and rear wheels.
It is this system that provides the F with its superb ride and handling characteristics, however, running the car with the suspension too low on hydragas fluid can result in bad handling, uneven tyre wear, and damage to suspension components.
Factory recommended settings:
Heights are measured at the front wheels only from the middle
of the wheel
vertically to the underside of the wheel arch. Measurment at 17 degrees
C should be 368mm +/- 10mm. With the ride height set like this, the
camber will be within spec and the OE tracking settings should be used.
Ambient air temperature can obviously affect liquid pressure, so this
must also be taken into account. In particular, 1 degree
centigrade difference from 17 degress, can equate to 0.4 mm
difference in height.
at 15C ideal height = 367.2mm
and so on.
If you have a Trophy 160, then the ride height is lower as standard. Measurement should be 348mm +/- 10mm, again at 17 degrees C ambient temperature.
There is a recommended pressure of 400 +/-10 psi also, however, it is preferred to go on height only, as 400psi may not equate to true ideal conditions due to car to car differences as a result of the age of components, levels of Nitrogen in spheres, differences in different pumps etc.