99.9% of the folks with MGs have no reason to go to tube shocks. Not because
the cars
were "engineered" that way, just because for what most people use the cars for
it just
doesn't matter. Club tours? Maybe a nice weather daily driver? "Spirited"
street driving?
Even sprint racing? Levers are fine. The shock kits that you see around do
have, as some
have pointed out, shocks that are a compromise. But, of course, if you know
anything at
all about where to buy "real" stuff, you'll know where to find truly adjustable
shocks in the
correct rates for whatever car you're dealing with.
There are some uses where I would (and have) change to tube shocks:
1) my rally car. As far as I can tell, it's the only performance rally
"classic" MG left.
anywhere. Levers can't handle it. The get too hot, and (not really the shock
and
I could change this) the rear links break. Perhaps I could putz around with
levers
(the stiffer valving, etc) BUT why do that when I can get a real shock and be
able
to tune bump and rebound?
2) autocross cars. In some ways, autocross puts far more demand on suspension
than
road racing, and in today's highly competitive environment, adjustable shocks
are pretty
much a necessity.
3) endurance racing -- again, lots of opportunity to get hot, though I'll admit
this is the one
of these three that I've never had to worry about.
I wouldn't say the levers are "safer", but I'll admit most of these kits just
aren't properly
engineered. If you ever get a chance to check out some real race cars, like
certain
SCCA production cars, you'll see how to properly do this. Suspension
engineering is
really not that hard to do.
My rally car has handled far more stress than even 20 years of street driving;
I will argue that
the MGB chassis is more than structurally capable of handling a tube shock
conversion.
I've had a lot of stuff break; I landed so hard once on a yump that the front
bump stops were
sheared off. I am paranoid. I really like rally; I love living. After events
I go over the car with
the proverbial fine tooth comb. I can find no evidence that the tube shocks,
are putting any
undue stress on the vehicle. Of course some people say that putting a V8 in an
MG will
"twist the frame". On the other hand, this car has a full roll cage and is
seam welded.
Just my experiences in this matter,
-Keith Wheeler
Team Sanctuary
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