Hi I have an question about ride height drop when loading the car with 2 people, what is acceptable for a road car, looks like mine drops too much, when my girl and myself get into the car the front drops 19mm (0.75") and the rear drops 15mm (0.6") seems a little too much to me but I have no idea if this is ok. I mean I can get the ride hide good but getting out of the car leaves it high up in the air and doesn't look nice. thanks, Rick
practical question about ride height
- Thread starter lotus-62
- Start date
Terry Oxandale
Skinny Man
Assuming a fit 300 lbs total weight for the both of you (Sorry, still measuring dinosaurs), the effective average spring rate would be just over 100 lbs/in, which seems pretty soft (really soft?). Dampers, good or bad will settle out at the same height, so the first thing that needs to be addressed appears to be the spring rate. I'm using 350/450 on mine, with a motion closer to unity than most other set-ups.
350 for the both of us (me 230 lol), total weight of the car is 1950lbs, 41/59 front/rear. front spring/damper angle is 47 degr. rear spring/damper angle is 61 degr. front is 400lbs/inch rear is 275lbs/inch (BTW old situation with 275lbs at the front car dropped 1.3" and 200lbs at the rear car dropped 0.85") so it is already better but still not happy. just curious what others have for a drop when they get into the car.
Terry Oxandale
Skinny Man
There must be a ratio of the arms not noted above, because the numbers don't add up, assuming the arm ratio is unity. As it sits right now, you've got an effective rate of ~300 front/~240 rear, which should only compress the springs to just under 1/2 of what you posted above when the two of you get in the car. What is the ratio of the length of the lower arms (Inner pivot to shock mount/inner pivot to ball joint (or rear upright pivot point))? If not 1/1, then this will show an even weaker effective rate for the springs.
Hi Rick, just a thought... if you keep adding spring rate to reduce the droop the car may ride too harsh for street use. Simply raise the ride height on the fully laden car to what your looking for and make sure the alignment stays in spec as well. Doubtful anyone will notice the ride height when the car is stationary. The sway bars need to be disconnected when your adjusting ride height and if your doing this on the floor, rather than an alignment rack, the car must be rolled back and forth a few feet on each adjustment to prevent a false setting due to the tires holding the track width on pavement. Believe me I know...hope that helps. Cheers
Bill Kearley
Supporter
Try and set it while on a set of scales.
I'll keep the springs as how they are for the moment and see how the car rides, if I am happy I'll do what you say an just adjust till I am happy
Something else to keep in mind...
The GT40 is equipped with dual fuel tanks, generally between 10 & 15 gallons a piece.
You could run with an empty fuel tank on the passenger side, thus recovering some of the ride height lost due to the weight of the passenger.
Remember that appropriate ride height is achieved with the car loaded and the lower control arms being parallel to the ground. This is the way that quite literally all road-going automotive suspensions are designed to operate.
The GT40 is equipped with dual fuel tanks, generally between 10 & 15 gallons a piece.
You could run with an empty fuel tank on the passenger side, thus recovering some of the ride height lost due to the weight of the passenger.
Remember that appropriate ride height is achieved with the car loaded and the lower control arms being parallel to the ground. This is the way that quite literally all road-going automotive suspensions are designed to operate.
