Who sells Leda B suspension
11 February 2003, 05:05 PM
#1
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We are very pleased to say that Leda is available from Xtreme Scoobies.
Creepy - thats between Scoobysport and us, this isn't the place
[Edited by BeverleyJM - 11/2/2003 5:16:23 PM]
Creepy - thats between Scoobysport and us, this isn't the place
[Edited by BeverleyJM - 11/2/2003 5:16:23 PM]
can't complain about that
01 November 2003, 11:53 AM
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3 months ago Dave Lyons and Leda parted company. Dave had been Technical Director for approx 13 years and was the person that we did all of our R&D work with. Dave and I have worked together on Impreza suspension for 6 years.
Another, much bigger, company had been after our suspension business for many years but they didn't have someone like Dave running their R&D.
3 months ago I introduced Dave to this company to see if they would get on together. They did. Dave's design skills, quality control proceedures and attention to detail fitted perfectly into this companies extensive engineering facilities. If he wanted to try something, it could be drawn up on CAD and CNC'd there and then.
When Dave started, we asked for a complete re-think on Impreza suspension. Not because anything was particularly wrong with what we had done before, but because a few few niggles required a backwards step and sometimes its quicker to go all the way back At about the same time, we were approached by 2 Impreza owners who compete in sprints and hillcimbs and 1 who tarmac rallies, all wanting custom suspension and all prepared to help with our R&D. With another customer who is a very high mileage driver and also willing to particpate, we now had a full test fleet that could prove the suspension in the extremes of loading, abuse and long term reliability.
One particlar problem that we wanted to eliminate was the knocking that nearly all coil over kits give on the rears. This can be very annoyinmg and puts many people off of changing to after market suspension. Some very clever design work has resulted in rear suspension that has noise levels on par with the factory units.
As you would expect with Dave Lyons doing the design, the handling is legendary. Incredible levels of grip, virtually non existant body roll and yet a system that is still compliant and comfortable.
(price edited out due to commercial advertising. PH) cheaper than its nearest rival
I am very proud of the work that has been done, very gratful to our test team and am about to update our website with the finished product
[Edited by Paul Habgood - 11/12/2003 11:37:36 AM]
[Edited by Paul Habgood - 11/12/2003 11:40:33 AM]
Another, much bigger, company had been after our suspension business for many years but they didn't have someone like Dave running their R&D.
3 months ago I introduced Dave to this company to see if they would get on together. They did. Dave's design skills, quality control proceedures and attention to detail fitted perfectly into this companies extensive engineering facilities. If he wanted to try something, it could be drawn up on CAD and CNC'd there and then.
When Dave started, we asked for a complete re-think on Impreza suspension. Not because anything was particularly wrong with what we had done before, but because a few few niggles required a backwards step and sometimes its quicker to go all the way back
At about the same time, we were approached by 2 Impreza owners who compete in sprints and hillcimbs and 1 who tarmac rallies, all wanting custom suspension and all prepared to help with our R&D. With another customer who is a very high mileage driver and also willing to particpate, we now had a full test fleet that could prove the suspension in the extremes of loading, abuse and long term reliability. One particlar problem that we wanted to eliminate was the knocking that nearly all coil over kits give on the rears. This can be very annoyinmg and puts many people off of changing to after market suspension. Some very clever design work has resulted in rear suspension that has noise levels on par with the factory units.
As you would expect with Dave Lyons doing the design, the handling is legendary. Incredible levels of grip, virtually non existant body roll and yet a system that is still compliant and comfortable.
(price edited out due to commercial advertising. PH) cheaper than its nearest rival
I am very proud of the work that has been done, very gratful to our test team and am about to update our website with the finished product
[Edited by Paul Habgood - 11/12/2003 11:37:36 AM]
[Edited by Paul Habgood - 11/12/2003 11:40:33 AM]
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10 November 2003, 04:33 PM
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Phil
I'm just waiting on some units to return from the platers and I will get the snaps done and have the website up to date.
As a taster, here is a mail I received from the owner of a 22B, to which we have fitted these...
Pete, I thought you'd like to know - Perry McCarthy (the Stig) drove my Scooby like a maniac at
Goodwood - overtaking the Pagani Zonda and Murcielago (both driven by other racing drivers). He did
things I didn't know were possible with a 4wd car. He reached a top speed of 158mph on the back
straight (the zonda only did 142mph) and the car was the highlight (and fastest) of the day. I got
you a mention in his speech - he said it was one of the 5 best cars he had ever driven and that the
setup was perfect - "if his Audi Le Mans team could set up his car as well as Scoobysport half the
time he'd be really happy". I asked him if he would change anything and he said no - but maybe fit
an oil cooler (it reached a consistent 130 degrees). Well Done!
The downside is that he clipped the wings on the chicane tyres (big bang - ouch), f...ked the clutch
and hammered the tyres - but it was worth it. I am missing an "STI" metal badge from the front wing
as a result of his encounter with the chicane - could you get me a replacement please? Also, I'll be
back fairly soon for a clutch overhaul, and some bits of trim seem to be a bit loose!
All the best, and please pass on these comments to your guys,
See you soon,
Paul
I'm just waiting on some units to return from the platers and I will get the snaps done and have the website up to date.
As a taster, here is a mail I received from the owner of a 22B, to which we have fitted these...
Pete, I thought you'd like to know - Perry McCarthy (the Stig) drove my Scooby like a maniac at
Goodwood - overtaking the Pagani Zonda and Murcielago (both driven by other racing drivers). He did
things I didn't know were possible with a 4wd car. He reached a top speed of 158mph on the back
straight (the zonda only did 142mph) and the car was the highlight (and fastest) of the day. I got
you a mention in his speech - he said it was one of the 5 best cars he had ever driven and that the
setup was perfect - "if his Audi Le Mans team could set up his car as well as Scoobysport half the
time he'd be really happy". I asked him if he would change anything and he said no - but maybe fit
an oil cooler (it reached a consistent 130 degrees). Well Done!
The downside is that he clipped the wings on the chicane tyres (big bang - ouch), f...ked the clutch
and hammered the tyres - but it was worth it. I am missing an "STI" metal badge from the front wing
as a result of his encounter with the chicane - could you get me a replacement please? Also, I'll be
back fairly soon for a clutch overhaul, and some bits of trim seem to be a bit loose!
All the best, and please pass on these comments to your guys,
See you soon,
Paul
10 November 2003, 05:02 PM
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Pete,
I'm currently looking to change the suspension on my MY00.
In the above text, what sort of suspension is used and is it available for my car ?
Regards,
Creepy
I'm currently looking to change the suspension on my MY00.
In the above text, what sort of suspension is used and is it available for my car ?
Regards,
Creepy
10 November 2003, 07:20 PM
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Quoted from Scoobysport's website
"As exclusive world distributors for Leda’s suspension for Subaru cars, we worked with them to design a suspension system that offered crisp cornering, high levels of grip and yet still retained a comfortable ride. After an extensive development programme with (Len Dixon (MD and Designer)), the final results were exactly what we had hoped for. A car that has huge grip, in the wet and dry, has a superb turn in and a perfectly neutral mid corner balance, though remaining safe and comfortable.
By analysing the car’s roll centres and weight distribution we were able to develop spring and damper rates that turn the Impreza into a true super car slayer. An STi with standard suspension is no match for a UK car with Leda. Its higher cornering speed will always out shine a more powerful car, but it will do it with more safety and without over stressing the engine. Obviously an STi with Leda is a different story!!
When cornering, grip from the inside tyres used to be wasted as the body rolled over, taking the weight away from them. Now, fine tuned roll control means that these inside tyres are working almost as hard as the two outside tyres and grip levels are staggering. Combining this grip with perfect turn in, a neutral balance and excellent throttle adjustment at or beyond the limit gives the driver a new level of enjoyment.
Often owners don’t consider how suspension affects braking ability. Putting on a powerful brake kit can easily overwhelm the standard suspension, creating huge amounts of dive, which causes rear end instability. Leda suspension restores the car’s poise and control under fierce braking allowing large brakes to be exploited fully and safely.
Technically, Leda’s dampers are unique in their use of the damping fluid. In most dampers, the valves wash up and down through the fluid and its operating temperature can quickly be exceeded. This results in a loss of damping control. Leda units have a unique valving system that means the fluid is always drawn from the base of the reservoir, where it is coolest, whether the piston is rising or falling. This gives predictable, reliable handling for the whole journey, or the whole track session.
The adjustability of the units puts them in a separate class. Not only are the units height adjustable, for perfect roll centre geometry and oversteer/understeer balance, but they are also damping adjustable. The ability to fine-tune the damping to the driver’s style and the roads or track being driven is easy. A 24 stage adjuster on the side of the damper alters the bump and rebound characteristics in one movement.
From motorway cruising, to fast road recreational driving to a serious day on slicks at a circuit, perfect handling is less than 1 minute’s adjustment away.
Since its creation in 1997 we have not rested on our success. Each year has seen new technical developments included in the damper construction and Leda suspension for the Impreza is recognized as the most widely developed system available. Today’s Leda suspension systems create an Impreza that is fast, comfortable and safe to drive.
For many customers it is the single best modification that they did to their Impreza."
Considering the thread was titled "Who sells Leda B, I feel justified in copying that from Pete's website. As he said, he will be changing his website shortly.
I wish him well in his new venture, and I'm sure he won't mind me correcting the bit in brackets above.
"As exclusive world distributors for Leda’s suspension for Subaru cars, we worked with them to design a suspension system that offered crisp cornering, high levels of grip and yet still retained a comfortable ride. After an extensive development programme with (Len Dixon (MD and Designer)), the final results were exactly what we had hoped for. A car that has huge grip, in the wet and dry, has a superb turn in and a perfectly neutral mid corner balance, though remaining safe and comfortable.
By analysing the car’s roll centres and weight distribution we were able to develop spring and damper rates that turn the Impreza into a true super car slayer. An STi with standard suspension is no match for a UK car with Leda. Its higher cornering speed will always out shine a more powerful car, but it will do it with more safety and without over stressing the engine. Obviously an STi with Leda is a different story!!
When cornering, grip from the inside tyres used to be wasted as the body rolled over, taking the weight away from them. Now, fine tuned roll control means that these inside tyres are working almost as hard as the two outside tyres and grip levels are staggering. Combining this grip with perfect turn in, a neutral balance and excellent throttle adjustment at or beyond the limit gives the driver a new level of enjoyment.
Often owners don’t consider how suspension affects braking ability. Putting on a powerful brake kit can easily overwhelm the standard suspension, creating huge amounts of dive, which causes rear end instability. Leda suspension restores the car’s poise and control under fierce braking allowing large brakes to be exploited fully and safely.
Technically, Leda’s dampers are unique in their use of the damping fluid. In most dampers, the valves wash up and down through the fluid and its operating temperature can quickly be exceeded. This results in a loss of damping control. Leda units have a unique valving system that means the fluid is always drawn from the base of the reservoir, where it is coolest, whether the piston is rising or falling. This gives predictable, reliable handling for the whole journey, or the whole track session.
The adjustability of the units puts them in a separate class. Not only are the units height adjustable, for perfect roll centre geometry and oversteer/understeer balance, but they are also damping adjustable. The ability to fine-tune the damping to the driver’s style and the roads or track being driven is easy. A 24 stage adjuster on the side of the damper alters the bump and rebound characteristics in one movement.
From motorway cruising, to fast road recreational driving to a serious day on slicks at a circuit, perfect handling is less than 1 minute’s adjustment away.
Since its creation in 1997 we have not rested on our success. Each year has seen new technical developments included in the damper construction and Leda suspension for the Impreza is recognized as the most widely developed system available. Today’s Leda suspension systems create an Impreza that is fast, comfortable and safe to drive.
For many customers it is the single best modification that they did to their Impreza."
Considering the thread was titled "Who sells Leda B, I feel justified in copying that from Pete's website. As he said, he will be changing his website shortly.
I wish him well in his new venture, and I'm sure he won't mind me correcting the bit in brackets above.
!?!?!?
11 November 2003, 04:05 PM
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I don't want to get into a bickering session on here, but I have to defend Leda.
Len Dixon is indeed the designer, and always has been. Dave worked in the workshop, and was never involved in R&D. Yes Pete, you did work with Dave, but as you well know, Len designs and develops the whole range of Leda products.
As far as the title of this thread goes, the Leda B kit, along with the whole range, is available direct or through a network of distributors which now includes Xtreme Scoobies.
Len Dixon is indeed the designer, and always has been. Dave worked in the workshop, and was never involved in R&D. Yes Pete, you did work with Dave, but as you well know, Len designs and develops the whole range of Leda products.
As far as the title of this thread goes, the Leda B kit, along with the whole range, is available direct or through a network of distributors which now includes Xtreme Scoobies.
11 November 2003, 04:56 PM
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Beverley
My reply above was meant to be a jokey end to this
In 6 years of working with Leda, I have spent many days suspension testing with Dave Lyons, down country lanes and A roads, both wet and dry, warm and cold. We also spent time at Brands Hatch in my road car and my RA. During those sessions, we played with spring rates, damper rates and geometry settings, testing the effects of each change we made over different surfaces. The result is the Leda kit that's available today and its very good.
In all the years I have worked with Leda, I have never once even been in a car with Len. The only involvement I had with Len on design issues was with regard to the noisy rears. His solutions was to put rubber between the top mount and the chassis. It didn't work.
The development work to make it good on Imprezas was done by myself and Dave Lyons. Dave did work in the workshop, as he ran the workshop. He was proud of his team and each and everyone of the hundreds of customers that had Leda fitted to their cars had Dave's personal attention to ensure that their set up was exactly what we had arrived at in all the hours of set up testing. The only time that this did not happen was when Dave was recovering from cancer.
This is not to detract from Len Dixon's design skills, which are legendary. My point is that, as my web site said for years, I worked with Dave Lyons when he was at Leda and continue to do so now. I do so as I believe him to be a very talented man.
My reply above was meant to be a jokey end to this
In 6 years of working with Leda, I have spent many days suspension testing with Dave Lyons, down country lanes and A roads, both wet and dry, warm and cold. We also spent time at Brands Hatch in my road car and my RA. During those sessions, we played with spring rates, damper rates and geometry settings, testing the effects of each change we made over different surfaces. The result is the Leda kit that's available today and its very good.
In all the years I have worked with Leda, I have never once even been in a car with Len. The only involvement I had with Len on design issues was with regard to the noisy rears. His solutions was to put rubber between the top mount and the chassis. It didn't work.
The development work to make it good on Imprezas was done by myself and Dave Lyons. Dave did work in the workshop, as he ran the workshop. He was proud of his team and each and everyone of the hundreds of customers that had Leda fitted to their cars had Dave's personal attention to ensure that their set up was exactly what we had arrived at in all the hours of set up testing. The only time that this did not happen was when Dave was recovering from cancer.
This is not to detract from Len Dixon's design skills, which are legendary. My point is that, as my web site said for years, I worked with Dave Lyons when he was at Leda and continue to do so now. I do so as I believe him to be a very talented man.
12 November 2003, 01:46 PM
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Adam
They are twin tube, as are Leda. Ohlins already make very good mono tube dampers, but be seated when you ask for a price I considered doing a mono tube system but there are only so many people that will spend £2k-£3k on suspension. For road cars, the advantages are negligable.
They are height adjustable and bump and rebound adjustment is with one adjuster at preset ratios, again like Leda.
smb1/WRBlue
We are fully booked for the next 12 days, but Paul or myself will find you a diary slot if you call.
They are twin tube, as are Leda. Ohlins already make very good mono tube dampers, but be seated when you ask for a price
I considered doing a mono tube system but there are only so many people that will spend £2k-£3k on suspension. For road cars, the advantages are negligable.They are height adjustable and bump and rebound adjustment is with one adjuster at preset ratios, again like Leda.
smb1/WRBlue
We are fully booked for the next 12 days, but Paul or myself will find you a diary slot if you call.