New Hydragas page

[Rob Bell]

Hi folks - here's a subject that'll be close to Dieter's heart: a new page describing how Hydragas works. Did a little work on it yesterday on a wet bank holiday Monday!

See www.mgf.ultimatemg.com/hydragas.htm

Dieter, your comparison pages on the 'Taper Skirt' displacer cone is brilliant - great work! Interesting to compare the Metro item with those on the MGF.
It'd be good to get a look and measure the displacer cones on the Maxi, Allegro, Princess and Ambassador as well.

For the record, the displacer cones' shape dictates the spring rate. Fit a cone that is broader as its base, then the spring effectively becomes stiffer. Clever stuff.

By swapping cones from different Hydragas equipped cars, it may be possible to tune the MGFs suspension differently. Might be fun having a go - certainly would make a change from the usual mods to Hydragas fluid pressure/ Nitrogen pressure! ;D

[Dieter]

Looks great ;D

Will keep the comparison site and link back to your site.

btw. do you recall my question regarding suspect emails due to my Metro Displacer advert at the BBS advert board..
Err.. I got 4 more of such suspect offers in the meantime. All the same, offering cheque payment and pick up
Really annoying.

[Rob Bell]

Dieter said:

btw. do you recall my question regarding suspect emails due to my Metro Displacer advert at the BBS advert board..
Err.. I got 4 more of such suspect offers in the meantime. All the same, offering cheque payment and pick up
Really annoying.

Flippin' eck Dieter How anonying indeed! Best not ask for other Hydragas displacers then!

I wonder if specialist autobrakers can help out with hydragas displacers - and most critically - how much?

[ScarletFever]

Excellent work you two - i'm impressed. These days its not often i learn somthing new about the F and yet the stuff i've just read contained a load of new info for me - well done guys

OK, down to brass tacks as they say up north...

The very last thing on Rob's page is this:

Curiously, when a Hydragas unit fails, it is typically the rear units that are the most vulnerable. An adequate explanation for this has not been found, although heat is one proposed factor (near the engine).

Reading through the new stuff i found this:

Firstly, there is a clear difference in height between the front and rear cones (the rear being longer). Secondly, if you compare the angle of the cones, there is evidence that one cone is more acute than the other. All other things being equal, this would equate to one pair of springs being stiffer than the other: in this case, the rear springs are stiffer (reflecting the MGF's weight distribution).

Ergo the rear units are working harder than the front ones. Could this also be a contributory factor to the reason the rears tend to fail more often than the fronts?

[Rob Bell]

Good reasoning there Andy - and certainly plausible. But how do we prove that I wonder?

[ScarletFever]

Well, i'll leave that little conundrum to the scientist...