Ride Height

PostPost by: Over Steer » Fri Aug 12, 2011 4:13 pm

Hi Guys;

After a long leave of absence I've decided to finally get my +2 on the road. Its mostly done but there are a few issues that have me stumped.

One of them being the rear ride height. the car is running new Gaz struts but everything else is standard. For some reason the ride height is 17.5cm (measured from the sill just forward of the rear wheel).

There is obviously something amok here as it should be closer to the 13cm mark. I have taken the following photos, they might be of help?

http://me.lt/9P8MKr

http://me.lt/9P8Mle

Thanks in advance guys!
Jan

1963 23B
1969 Elan + 2
1973 Europa JPS Special
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PostPost by: Over Steer » Sat Aug 13, 2011 12:43 pm

Bump
Jan

1963 23B
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1973 Europa JPS Special
2004 Prep'ed Lotus Exige
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PostPost by: stugilmour » Sat Aug 13, 2011 2:22 pm

Jan, although I can't see the photos, a couple of thoughts. Has the car had time to settle? My ride height came down a bit over about a month of use. Are you measuring with a full tank of gas and the correct weighting in the trunk, rear seats, and front seats? This alters rear ride height quite a bit. The correct weightings for alignment & adjustment are in the Workshop manual; I can dig them up if you need them.

Even with full weight load my wishbones are angled downward slightly; the thought here on previous threads was the Workshop Manual ideally wants the wishbones level with the ground. Mine visually rides a bit high in the rear (Spyder stock diameter springs, Spyder supplied shocks, Non-Adjustable spring perches, Spyder adjustable rear wishbones, 175/70R13 tires on Minilite 5 1/2" wheels). Presently I am just living with it. I think the only other solution in my case would be adjustable perches.

I have Spyder supplied adjustable perches on the front, and actually had them adjusted too low upon initial installation; the wishbones were angled slightly up. This made the ride height in the rear look very high. Adjusting the front has improved handling considerably. Still need to do a final alignment.

HTH
Stu
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PostPost by: andyelan » Mon Aug 15, 2011 5:20 am

Hi Jan

What year is your car? Late cars do run higher at the back (by about 2.5cm) than early ones, I don't know why but they do.

Regards
Andy
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PostPost by: Over Steer » Mon Aug 15, 2011 6:27 am

Thanks for the reply guys. I measured it empty with 1/4 fuel in the tank. So I guess it's just about right allowing for a slight sag after some use. It's a '69 so is not a later car.

Tomorrow is D Day and MOT time. Fingers crossed!
:|
Jan

1963 23B
1969 Elan + 2
1973 Europa JPS Special
2004 Prep'ed Lotus Exige
User avatar
Over Steer
Second Gear
Second Gear
 
Posts: 104
Joined: 14 Dec 2006

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