Ideal ride height

[Kaldar142]

What is the ideal ride height for these cars?

I plan on switching to coilovers so I will have the adjustability.

Right now I'm on pro kit which is 1.3 front and 1.5 rear.

I was thinking along the lines of 1.5 front and 1.7 rear.

 

[foolio2k4]

I am getting tein flex in a week or so. I am gonna first set it up at the highest drop setting. Which around 1.5 all around. I dont wanna go to low because then it really messes with the balance, toe, camber, etc.

 

[jlmounce]

That's a real tough question to give a finite answer too.

As with most McPhearson, and modified McPhearson strut designs, as the suspension is lowered, the geometry becomes further and further out of whack.

Then you have other factors to add in, like suspension travel needed for what you do. If you do nothing but open track, and live near the smoothest roads in the country, you can probably go pretty low and get a relatively good correction of the geometry with bump steer kits, tall ball joints etc.

That's the nice thing about coil-overs, you'll have the adjustability to experiment and find what works for you.

I would work from top down in 1/4 inch increments. Find the car's sweet spot. You'll be able to feel it.

If I had to guess, based on a pretty standard setup that you're going to find yourself pretty near where you're at now.

 

[marksti]

If you have coilovers, maybe have the car corner weighed/balanced/aligned..that WILL find your ideal ride height for YOUR car.

No doubt if you do this the car will be lower then currently.

Balancing the car out is one of the benfits of going to coilovers, rather then installing spring spacers or cutting out coils.

 

[STEVE_POE]

I am getting tein flex in a week or so. I am gonna first set it up at the highest drop setting. Which around 1.5 all around. I dont wanna go to low because then it really messes with the balance, toe, camber, etc.

I have a set of these and a few different spring rates that I may be selling soon. it's a like new kit with only street miles. this will be there first trip on the race track this weekend.

I have a line on a fresh set of dynamics and if the deal goes through I will be selling my flex kit.

 

[06FMGT]

I have a set of these and a few different spring rates that I may be selling soon. it's a like new kit with only street miles. this will be there first trip on the race track this weekend.

If you do im interested, as I might be selling my ground control coilover kit.

 

[Kaldar142]

^ i might be interested in that, why are you selling it?

 

[06FMGT]

Im setting my car up for drift so tein would be my best option, the kit I have is only 3 months old, great condition, great quality kit, ask the people that have bought it.

 

[race4food]

What is the ideal ride height for these cars?
I plan on switching to coilovers so I will have the adjustability.
Right now I'm on pro kit which is 1.3 front and 1.5 rear.
I was thinking along the lines of 1.5 front and 1.7 rear.

You set the "ride height" based on corner weight. If you are using coil overs then you will set the height of each corner by adjusting for the weight on each corner.
Preferably with the amount of fuel in the tank you intend to run and with the driver or equivalent weight in the drivers seat.

If you spent the money on coil overs then spend the money and get the car corner weighed..
you might be surprised on how "high" the ride actually is when its over.

One time we actually raised a Motorolla cup Supra back up 1.0 inch over the "perfect factory race setting" that was specified and picked up 2.5 seconds per lap at TWS..

 

[DevGittinJr]

What's a good initial setup for the rear? If I lower it to where the lca's are perfectly level, the panhard is about 1/8" lower on the body side. When the panhard is level, the lca's are lower on the axle side, also by about an 1/8."

I get that having the lca's lower on the axle side causes roll oversteer and braking issues, but what happens when the panhard is lower on the passenger side?

 

[csamsh]

holy thread resurrection, batman!

Get some LCA relo brackets, then you can adjust LCA angle to your heart's content!

 

[DevGittinJr]

holy thread resurrection, batman!

Get some LCA relo brackets, then you can adjust LCA angle to your heart's content!

Silly me, I used the search function.

I have relocation brackets. The lca's are in the top hole. Do I lower it until the lca's are level, but the panhard is lower on the passenger side? Or, will the panhard being angled that way cause worse issues than the minimal amount of roll oversteer caused by the lca's being 1/8" axle side low?

 

[DevGittinJr]

It turns out that 1-1/2" drop levels the panhard and the lca's, perfectly. Problem solved. Thanks for all of the input. I couldn't have figured it out without you guys.

 

[NoTicket]

Thanks for all of the input. I couldn't have figured it out without you guys.

This gave me a good laugh.

 

[Pony DNA]

This gave me a good laugh.

I think he was referring to what he found in the search. Of course he did not post it so we don't have any idea if he is on the right track or some looney-toon wacko idea.

 

[Pony DNA]

It turns out that 1-1/2" drop levels the panhard and the lca's, perfectly. Problem solved. Thanks for all of the input. I couldn't have figured it out without you guys.

With a Panhard bar/track bar stick axle car normally the optimum setting with the PH bar parallel with the ground. With a stock S197 chassis lacking any adjustment to the Panhard bar pickup points the only option is to adjust the rear ride height to get the bar leveled out using adjustable spring seats. With the Steeda Competition Panhard bar kit you can level the PH bar at any normal ride height to change rear roll center height. But if you are going to go to the cost and trouble of installing a Steeda Comp PH bar setup you would be much better off installing a Steeda Watt's link if you are not limited by the competition rules or are willing to take the class or time hit.

But with an S197 chassis how low you can set your rear ride height is limited by axle and frame mechanical interference. Even on very firm 200lb rear springs with the dampers turned up on FRPP soft foam bump rubbers I need to have at least 1/4" (only good on absolutely smooth roads and no passengers) to 1/2" (normal road use light loads) gap to the frame rails to maintain the best possible ride and handling. The problem is that if you really bottom out in a turn and you are on the grip limit you will experience a nasty snap oversteer when it happens. The good thing is that most folks have not experienced snap oversteer and I believe them because for the most part most folks don't really drive more than 6/10ths ever even on the track though they think they do. If you have lowered an S197 much past these reference points and you are actually cornering at the limit it will happen to you if your ride height is set too low. It is very easy to avoid this by not excessively lowering rear ride height.

HTH!

 

[Pony DNA]

You set the "ride height" based on corner weight. If you are using coil overs then you will set the height of each corner by adjusting for the weight on each corner.
Preferably with the amount of fuel in the tank you intend to run and with the driver or equivalent weight in the drivers seat.

If you spent the money on coil overs then spend the money and get the car corner weighed..
you might be surprised on how "high" the ride actually is when its over.

One time we actually raised a Motorolla cup Supra back up 1.0 inch over the "perfect factory race setting" that was specified and picked up 2.5 seconds per lap at TWS..

No, ride height is determined by much more than just optimizing corner weights. If you are setting ride height by corner weight optimization you are doing something wrong. Ideally ride height is a target determined by suspension geometry considering roll centers, IC, CG, bump and droop limits, ground clearance etc. and should not be limited by corner weight optimization unless you have other mechanical or rule limitations.

 

[DevGittinJr]

I think he was referring to what he found in the search. Of course he did not post it so we don't have any idea if he is on the right track or some looney-toon wacko idea.

I think Noticket was referring to my attempt at sarcasm. What I found in the search was a thread already dedicated to ride height so why start another? i asked a question and heard nothing but crickets (probably because I'm not a hard core track guy), so I figured that shit out myself.

PonyDNA thank you. Your response is the exactly type of info I was after. I got the phb and lca's level (horizontal), so I don't want to go any lower in the rear. 1-1/2" drop in the rear is about perfect for the phb and lca angles, and the 1/4"-1/2" gap to the frame rails is there.

I'm sure I'm on some kinda looney tune wacko shit, but who isn't?

 

[Pony DNA]

I think Noticket was referring to my attempt at sarcasm. What I found in the search was a thread already dedicated to ride height so why start another? i asked a question and heard nothing but crickets (probably because I'm not a hard core track guy), so I figured that shit out myself.

PonyDNA thank you. Your response is the exactly type of info I was after. I got the phb and lca's level (horizontal), so I don't want to go any lower in the rear. 1-1/2" drop in the rear is about perfect for the phb and lca angles, and the 1/4"-1/2" gap to the frame rails is there.

I'm sure I'm on some kinda looney tune wacko shit, but who isn't?

What was that ride height thread titled? It can take a few minutes or hours for someone to chime in once in a while.

You're welcome. Once you have your ride height set where the stock PB is level you probably don't want your LCAs to be level but instead to run slightly down hill to the axle, 3-5 degrees is a good range. This improves putting power down making the car steer better and react better to bumps under braking and throttle. It also lets the car rotate more easily instead of the rear axle promoting stability as the rear axle steers the car in roll when cornering.

HTH!

 

[DevGittinJr]

What was that ride height thread titled? It can take a few minutes or hours for someone to chime in once in a while.

You're welcome. Once you have your ride height set where the stock PB is level you probably don't want your LCAs to be level but instead to run slightly down hill to the axle, 3-5 degrees is a good range. This improves putting power down making the car steer better and react better to bumps under braking and throttle. It also lets the car rotate more easily instead of the rear axle promoting stability as the rear axle steers the car in roll when cornering.

HTH!

I get that having the axle side of the lca's lower is better for traction in a straight line, but if I'm understanding you correctly, you're saying that the bit of roll-oversteer introduced by the axle side being a bit lower actually helps the car rotate. Meaning, with the lca's at that angle, the outside rear wheel will move slightly toward the rear of the car while the inside rear wheel moves forward, as the body rolls in a corner. The axle is steering to the outside, thus aiding rotation. I'm assuming that how much is going to be dependent upon spring rate.