Lotus Elan and Lotus Elan Plus 2 Forums

Does any one have the standard ride heights for a plus 2?

According to the workshop manual (Section C, page 4) the ground clearance from bottom of chassis closing plate to the ground is 6 decimal 5 inches. Lotus state that this can be achieved by loading the centre line of the car as follows:

168 lbs on the front seats
80 lbs on rear seats
72 lbs in the boot
5 gallons (22.7 litres) fuel.

Regards

Martin B

Hi there

Martin's quite correct in what he says although I believe that later cars run about 1/2 inch higher than this

Regards
Andy

I'm bang on an inch too low...how do I put that right...Is it a straight forward spring/shock change?

Hi There

What you need to do first is find out what's actually wrong

If its is the spring which have sagged then replacement should sort out the problem. It frequently isn't and doesn't.

Andy

An inch low is a lot, are your tyres flat?

Mike

No, tyres are spot on...I do intend to fit new shocks...maybe we go for springs too...what else could it be?

You need to check dimensions versus what is given in the workshop manual diagrams for the front and rear suspension. The most likely problem is the springs have sagged but other problems possible from chassis distortion to bush wear. Measure it all up before you start replaciong stuff

cheers
Rohan

Johnny,

Have you taken into consideration tyre sizes. I believe that the original tyre fitment to the +2 was 165/13. This tyre's aspect ratio is 82 ("Unless marked otherwise, "standard" car tyres have a nominal aspect ratio of 82%"). This tyre size calculator http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/tirecalc.php gives 165/13 diameter as 23.65 inches. If you have replaced the original tyres with say 165/70R13 the diameter is 22.09 inches, a difference of 1.56 inches. Your ride height at the bottom of the chassis would be reduced by half this difference: .78 of an inch.

Colin.

jonnyconcrete wrote:No, tyres are spot on...I do intend to fit new shocks...maybe we go for springs too...what else could it be?

The inch loss is actually the length of the shock when compressed...so the tyres are not in the equation. It has to be the spring or the shock...I think!

Jonny,
not sure if I've missed something here, the ride height is the height of the chassis off the floor when loaded and sitting on the tyres, if the tyres are flat, the chassis is lower and closer to the floor.

Are you measuring the loaded length of the shock absorber and spring?

Mike

Both, the loaded shock length is indeed an inch less than it should be, that seems to be resulting in a ride height that is an inch lower than it should be.

Hi John

It looks to me like you already have a pretty good handle on whats going on.

My guess is that the cars been fitted with shortened springs at sometime in it's life but I can't say for sure because, after all, it's you who've got access to the car and not me. You seem know what you're doing so I'd suggest you do all your checks and you should be able to find whats wrong for yourself.

If I could offer some advice it would be to ask if you have an official workshop manual. Much of the info you're asking for is available there so if you don't have one I suggest that's the very next thing to put on your shopping list

Andy

Has anyone any experience with Tony Thompson Racing shocks and springs?

Johnny,
I have a set of Gaz fully adjustable front coil-overs from TTR. They have adjustable spring seats as well as adjustable damping. The springs, if I recall, are fast road, or whatever TTR recommends for road use. They work really well on my S4 and allow you to set whatever ride height you desire. Coupled with SuperPro polyurethane bushes, the front end is tight, but still gives a comfortable ride.
Colin.

jonnyconcrete wrote:Has anyone any experience with Tony Thompson Racing shocks and springs?