[MexXxentric]

I was enquiring about ways to make my Gypsy's suspension a bit more soft.
A mechanic suggested removing all the plates but one from the leaf spring set and putting a coil spring( from TATA sierra), coaxial with the hydraulic dampers.
He suggested this for the rear suspension .
what do u guys feel about this mod?

Can the same mod be done for the front suspension also???

Is there any other ways to reduce the stiffness of the suspension??

Sree

[veyron1]

There's no safe way to alter a Gypsy's suspension to accomodate coil springs instead of the current leaf spring setup. Besides, the Sierra weighs 1550 Kgs as opposed to the Gypsy's 970 Kgs kerb weight, so the setup will remain stiff anyways. Trust me, I've owned a Sierra and I currently have a Gypsy.

What you CAN do, is play around with the existing leaf setup. Adjust the play by replacing the bushes, and try fitting the softer springs (leafs) from the Omni. Assuming you never carry heavy loads, of course. See if you can get Frequency Selective Dampers for the Gypsy. That is, if Koni supplies them in the particular spec. That should alter the bouncy ride by a huge margin.

As a cheaper alternative, if you're ABSOLUTELY sure that your car is not gonna carry more than 2 passengers at a time, fiddle with the primary springs (top leafs) and cut the secondary (bottom) ones. That will reduce the stiffness, but it will also cause more body roll and reduce your load carrying ability.

A still cheaper alternative, without touching the mechanicals, is to tie up weights to the bottom rear half, or put a couple of sandbags in the loading area and cover it up. The ride will be compliant enough. Of course, this will sap the vehicle's power a li'l bit....

As a final alternative- get high-profile radials. The Gypsy usually runs on 185 R15, try and go for 215/75. It will alter (read:deteriorate) the vehicles' handling, though..

[MexXxentric]

hi veyron 1,

I had discussion with the mechanic on all ur alternatives..
He ruled out the use of omni springs. (reason- size mismatch)
He still sticks with the idea f coil springs.

Finally the decision is to grease the leafsprings, and put new bushings.
i wil be getting in done after a month only..
will keep u guys posted..

Sree

[Sankar]

How about greasing the leafs nicely and wrapping it in some durable material like leather? It's called grease packing. I've read that old leaf sprung Rolls Royces used to come out with such a kind of grease pack setup.

The leather sheath will keep the dust and the grime out and keeps the grease in which will help the leafs to slide amongst themselves with less friction between them, which in turn could give you a better ride.

[ported_head]

As far as I can remember the member, xtreme_power absolutely suggests against using the coil spring conversion for the Gypsy, as he has tried the same on his, and in vain. PM him for more details, or you could wait till he sees this thread.

[Mpower]

Originally Posted by MexXxentric

A mechanic suggested removing all the plates but one from the leaf spring set and putting a coil spring( from TATA sierra), coaxial with the hydraulic dampers.
He suggested this for the rear suspension .
what do u guys feel about this mod?

Can the same mod be done for the front suspension also???

Is there any other ways to reduce the stiffness of the suspension??

Shock loads are much smaller than spring loads and the loading is in the rebound direction. Putting a spring load into it will rip off the mounts. Sierra spring is waaay too big.

I suggest remove the helper leaves one by one starting from the bottom and evaluate the ride quality. Make sure you use a spacer to compensate for the thickness of the removed spring otherwise the ride height and the roll steer will be affected.

If you have big $$ budget, then you can go look for the coil spring suspension of a late model Suzuki Jimny which has coil spring and links. Then you can try fitting it into the Gypsy after welding on the brackets.

[parimal_vb]

Hi Mexxx,

I hove got suspension (both front and rear) softened by a professional in Pune. It cost me for 900 rs. The responce on this suspension is much softer than the company fitted, it was suggested to me to not to get the leaf spring tampered, i have tested the responce on off roads ( 4 WD)there is no crack or twist with the leaf.

These changes to leaf are very critical if it is not done well it may crak in two pieces. And the New ones are expensive costs 5000/- each.

It is definately achivable to soften the leaf spring.

[MexXxentric]

hi,

How did the professional soften the springs?
Heat treatment?
Using Hydarulic press?
hammering?..
The local mechanics claim to soften the leaves by hamering them to the desired shape..
their thum rule is- Straighten the spring to make it soft.

Tats y i asked if they did hammering..

Did the clearence between body and suspension change after the job??


Sree

[ap10046]

Hi MexXxentric,

I had one of the first MG-410W's back in the 90's. She was really nice looking in white with huge gold/silver rims, 255/15's, Hella 3000's, a killer music system (read 18" downfiring papercone sub!!3 amps..) As Veyron1 said, not much you can do to th ebasic suspension setup because the darn thing is too light!!
I made a huge mistake of fitting Rancho air shocks on the Gypsy. (i sold my a/c and the hardtop to get them, about $1000 in them days!!My mother came behind me with slippers, sticks, etc..)
They had a small air compressor under the driver's seat and a pair of air pressure gauges to regulate the pressure. They looked DA BOMB!! white with deep red boots..at the softest settings they shook my fillings out and when you pumped them up, I swear the car used to bounce at least 3 times before stabilizing after hitting a speed breaker or the like..SCARY as HELL!!
All I can advice is have the springs bent out to make them straight-ish..correct me if im wrong here Veyron1..but this helps..or load it up..that really helps..but she is a bit underpowered so power will suffer..

Also the car has an unpleasantly high CG, so dont mess around too much with the suspension. Lowering it should make a difference..

Cheers!

[Rajat]

guys ....u may hav heard bout d Premier Rio.....a new entrant compact suv.....its got a McPherson strut & coil spring in front and 5 rods system at the rear.....its weight specification is Gross: 1530Kgs/Kerb: 1145Kgs thetyre specification (205 / 70 R15)....And specifications for Gypsy...Gross: 1585Kgs/Kerb: 985 Kgs the tyre specification (205 / 70 R15)........i think that Rio's suspension is the closest replacement for the Gypsy...... The initial reviews of the Rio cite a decent ride quality and handling......I think its suspension should be a good fit replacement for the Gypsy.....
P.s. the Kerb weight of Rio may seem much higher than d Gypsy ....but remember that Rio is a hard top 5 door Suv with a 1.5L diesel unit.......


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[acdcnippon]

Mod note: Thread merged with existing one, please use Search to find if an appropriate thread exists, before opening a new one. Thanks.

Hi Folks,

Need some inputs for my Gypsy King. The King is now in its 16th year and I have been driving it for the last 4 years. Over bumps potholes it gives a big jerk practically giving an impression that either something is wrong with the jumpers or the other issue could be the leafsprings.
The guy whom i had bought the Gypsy was into Offroading and possibly this car would have been part of some Rally at one stage or another. There are a total of 5 leafsprings on all four sides front and back!! Is that normal. I am not sure how many does a standard Gypsy King have underneath.

Pls suggest options to ease the load on my back/backside:

Either I remove a couple of leagsprings? to start off with and then look at other options like Carbonfibre leafsprings etc.

[Jaggu]

Gypsy spring set are not very expensive, best is to replace all 4 along with the shocks. But mind you gypsy is not a vehicle with softest of suspensions, so if you really want comfort you would have to look at aftermarket leaf's and shock absorbers.

[acdcnippon]

Thanks Jaggu. My first question was ideally how many leafsprings come in the gypsy king..I guess here the person has added an extra one.

Also I have tried contacting ARC India as I believe they deal in CF leafsprings. Yet to hear from them.

[MrBeast]

Hello all, this is slightly off topic but I thought it will be interesting to share.
I received a WhatsApp forward of this image and I can't understand how will the ride quality of the vehicle be affected after this.



Now, what happens to the vehicle now?
Soft ride or hard and why? Effects on body roll?

[jashbhagat]

Originally Posted by MrBeast

Hello all, this is slightly off topic but I thought it will be interesting to share.
I received a WhatsApp forward of this image and I can't understand how will the ride quality of the vehicle be affected after this.

Attachment 2077286

Now, what happens to the vehicle now?
Soft ride or hard and why? Effects on body roll?

This is not a high speed highway trveller and drivers inside these aren't much aware of driving dynamics like bodyroll etc. These mini trucks and pickups are generally lifed to carry more loads so shocks fall short in length and generally are unscrewed from mounts. You will find many such examples if you watch carefully under these vehicles.