Lotus Elan and Lotus Elan Plus 2 Forums

Hi,

I've fitted some Tony Thompson adjustable suspension to the front of my Plus 2. Does anyone know what size of Hook Spanner I need to adjust the spring shelves and set the ride height?

Cheers

Steve

Hi Steve,
Tony Thompson will sell you a spanner for a ?5 or if you are tight like me you could knock one up yourself.
I don't know if all the TTR dampers are the same but mine have 65mm O/D adjuster nuts so it's a 65mm spanner - probably best to measure yours to make sure before you buy one though.

If you add your location to your profile there may be someone close by who could lend you a spanner.

I'm in Wallingford, Oxfordshire.

Thanks for the info. I'm not handy enough with the metalwork to knock one up for myself, I fear. TTR for ?5 seems pretty reasonable

The old spanner from my Spax shocks works perfectly on the TTR fronts.

you can get adjustable hook spanners from tool stores that will fit a range of diameters. Also don't forget to undo the locking grub screw on the TTR front adjustable platforms before adjusting them.

cheers
Rohan

Rohan,

I can't find any locking grub screw on my TT front damper assemblies. There's just the big locking collar at the bottom.

I found that they are bear to adjust because the entire unit wants to rotate rather than stay still while the perch is wound up or down (which, of course, suggests that the perch is locked to the thread!). But a few squirts of WD40 allowed the bottom of the spring to slip around on the perch.

I also struggled with the C spanner being too big and fouling the chassis turret. A few minutes with a grinding wheel removed enough of it to make it easier to use.

Gee, I hope I did this right.

Nick

Hi Nick

I only found them on mine after the first time I adjusted them and had problems like you. They are very small diameter and very hard to see in the black adjustable seat edge on mine. But maybe TTR has deleted them and you don't have them.

cheers
Rohan

My TTR shocks are relatively new, and have the lock screw.

I assume that your are raising the front of the car/taking the weight off the shocks before adjusting? Mine have been very easy to adjust.

Got the Elan up on axle stands this afternoon (>90f in Boston!) to check my facts. As mentioned, I adjust them with the suspension hanging.

I realized that my concern about the spring rotating while adjusting the perch was totally wrong. And I did a bit more fettling to my C spanner, so it fits even better. The net result is that the spring/dampers are indeed straightforward to adjust, as elancoupe mentioned. I don't really know why I struggled so much before. Duh.

However, after much inspection, still no sign of a locking grub screw. I checked the perch and locking collar very closely. A grub screw to lock things would be handy, because the locking collar doesn't seem to be particularly effective. The units were purchased from Sue Miller early this year.

Regardless, I have to say how much the new units improved the handling and, especially, the ride. The car is much smoother over rough surfaces. I never realized that the original units were below par, I only changed them so that I could get the front ride height correct (the car was on the wrong length springs and riding too high).

Nick