Anybody know if it's worth using AKS or Acad springs to stiffen my ami6 up? I can't afford to have a set of lowered or stiffened springs made, but I want it to be a bit lower and more useable on long journeys, where the original springs simply wound down wasn't much good. I'm wondering if I acad springs are harder and likely to fit in the shorter ami6 cans?

Russ, yes and no... as far as I'm aware. I haven't got the dimensions of ami6 springs, but have them of AK350.
When ami6 and AK350 are equal, acadyane front springs are 60-65% stiffer than AK350 springs. Acadyane rear spings however are slightly softer than the AK350 rearsprings.
So if you want your ami6 stiffer you probably want acadyane frontsprings all around.

Which means the bigger spring cans i assume (unless your running open)
Do ami 6's have humps in the floor alreadys?

Ami6 has big cans anyway matt, they are just shorter than others.

Russell,
these lists might help when mixing & matching springs and tie rods...

< http://www.flickr.com/photos/30132857@N ... 2/sizes/l/ >

< http://www.flickr.com/photos/30132857@N ... 2/sizes/l/ >

Note that spring rate is related to the cube of the wire diameter, so there's quite a difference between those of 17mm dia and those of 19mm dia.

You'd also need to take into account the number of turns, but that means chopping the cans open, which I guess you'd be doing anyhow...

ken
( p.s. I've got some Ami Super cans lying around here.
If I get bored with welding, should I open one up for a look see?
I know they're much stronger, as an aks400 I worked on last year arrived with an Ami Super can fitted to one side, back to front to make matters even worse.
The owner admitted that the handling with this setup had been lethal.
Still wondering which clown(s) dreamed up that particularly nasty bodge... )

<checks AK350/Ami6 parts book>

No dimensions other than a height are given, but there's three part numbers for each front and rear.

Front (LH wound)
AM431-1 - 225mm, AM ->11/61, AK
AM431-1a - 192mm, AM 11/61->, AM2, AKB
AMB431-1 - 195mm, AMB, AMB2

Rear (RH wound)
AK431-2 - 238mm, AK, AKB
AM431-2 - 205mm, AM, AM2
AMB431-2 - 243mm, AMB, AMB2

So there...

Russ me boy

you should be thinking of the new your new Dak
waiting!!!

on springs
Axcadiane are smaller wire thickness eg softer but longer overall spring length means different type of ride
++++ Knife edges are also different

only coil length is longer

so there u go


Is the ami 6 for off road if so let me know and we could knock up some bash plates!
pony

Pony,
doesn't it depend on which year an Ami was put together, since Citroen seem to have been very fond of swapping the spring sizes around every couple of years?

< http://www.flickr.com/photos/30132857@N06/4259290322/ >
&
< http://www.flickr.com/photos/30132857@N06/4259290622/ >

According to those lists, an Acadiane would have had the same springs as an aks400 from 7/76 onwards, when they changed over from floating to fixed cans.

I opened up 4 of the large cans last week, trying to identify some stronger springs for Russ, but every one I've checked so far has had front and rear springs chosen from Citroen's bottomless 'pick and mix' box.
Even when the lengths were similar, the wire diameters and number of turns varied.
< http://www.flickr.com/photos/30132857@N ... 5/sizes/o/ >

Ami 6s look to have had softer springing compared to Ami 8s, so maybe what Russ needs to find is some early Ami 8 cans, with 19mm diameter rear springs.

Got to fire up the angly grindo first, though.

ken.

I've got a set of un-mucked-about-with aks400 suspension units here, ready to be swapped into new and undented cans...