[DeTomaso] Recommended Ride heights..

MikeLDrew at aol.com MikeLDrew at aol.com
Mon Mar 23 18:19:59 EDT 2015


In a message dated 3/22/15 13 12 14, detomaso at poca.com writes:


> The email came that says I'll can run on the track come May of this
> year with the POCA fun ralley!   Yikes!!  That means the car must be ready
> and in good shape.   (I still have the 15" oem wheels but will be
> moving to 17" (thanks Chance)).. 
> 
>>>If you plan to get into the habit of running on the track, you might 
want to consider investing in track tires for your 15-inch wheels?


> > I need to set the ride
> height correctly for the track.  I have it set quite low
> for the street, and it works with an occasional scrape (going
> too fast over major elevation changes).  What is quite low?
> I measure 5.5" inches at the front Drivers from the bottom of the rocker 
> panel
> spot weld seam to the ground and 6" Drivers at the back from the bottom of 
> rocker panel spot weld seam to
> the ground.  I measure 6" inches at the front Passenger from the bottom of 
> the rocker panel
> spot weld seam to the ground and 7" Passenger at the back from the bottom 
> of the rocker panel spot weld seam to
> the ground.  This is with a full tank of gas.
> 
>>>That's not 'quite low'.   In fact it sounds rather tall to me, although 
that could be a by-product of the tires you are using.

> >For those of you who have run on the track, how
> much clearance do you have running the standard size diameter tires?
> I have Dennis Quella's Koni' shock/spring combination on the
> car, so adjusting the ride height is not too big of a deal, although
> it may require another alignment..
> 
>>>I have the same shocks.  Mine is 4.5 at the front and 5.0 at the back, a 
full inch lower than yours.   Of course, tire height affects that as well.  
 I have 245/50 front and 305/50 rear which are rather tall compared to the 
tires often seen on 17-inch wheels, so if I was running those, my car would 
likely be lower still.   It's not 'slammed' like a ricer car though; I still 
have full suspension travel and compliance.   

My rear A-arms are just slightly higher on the inboard side (that is, they 
are close to being flat and parallel to the ground, just a tidge lower on 
the outboard side and higher on the inboard side).   That is pretty much 
optimum.   Those who lower their cars excessively affect the camber curve in a 
negative way; as soon as the suspension compresses further, the top of the 
wheel tips inwards and you get excessive negative camber.

Regardless of what you choose to do, if you alter your ride height in any 
way you will need to align your wheels.

Cheers!

Mike
-------------- next part --------------
   In a message dated 3/22/15 13 12 14, detomaso at poca.com writes:

     The email came that says I'll can run on the track come May of this
     year with the POCA fun ralley!   Yikes!!  That means the car must be
     ready
     and in good shape.   (I still have the 15" oem wheels but will be
     moving to 17" (thanks Chance))..

   >>>If you plan to get into the habit of running on the track, you might
   want to consider investing in track tires for your 15-inch wheels?

     > I need to set the ride
     height correctly for the track.  I have it set quite low
     for the street, and it works with an occasional scrape (going
     too fast over major elevation changes).  What is quite low?
     I measure 5.5" inches at the front Drivers from the bottom of the
     rocker panel
     spot weld seam to the ground and 6" Drivers at the back from the
     bottom of rocker panel spot weld seam to
     the ground.  I measure 6" inches at the front Passenger from the
     bottom of the rocker panel
     spot weld seam to the ground and 7" Passenger at the back from the
     bottom of the rocker panel spot weld seam to
     the ground.  This is with a full tank of gas.

   >>>That's not 'quite low'.  In fact it sounds rather tall to me,
   although that could be a by-product of the tires you are using.

     >For those of you who have run on the track, how
     much clearance do you have running the standard size diameter tires?
     I have Dennis Quella's Koni' shock/spring combination on the
     car, so adjusting the ride height is not too big of a deal, although
     it may require another alignment..

   >>>I have the same shocks.  Mine is 4.5 at the front and 5.0 at the
   back, a full inch lower than yours.  Of course, tire height affects
   that as well.  I have 245/50 front and 305/50 rear which are rather
   tall compared to the tires often seen on 17-inch wheels, so if I was
   running those, my car would likely be lower still.  It's not 'slammed'
   like a ricer car though; I still have full suspension travel and
   compliance.
   My rear A-arms are just slightly higher on the inboard side (that is,
   they are close to being flat and parallel to the ground, just a tidge
   lower on the outboard side and higher on the inboard side).  That is
   pretty much optimum.  Those who lower their cars excessively affect the
   camber curve in a negative way; as soon as the suspension compresses
   further, the top of the wheel tips inwards and you get excessive
   negative camber.
   Regardless of what you choose to do, if you alter your ride height in
   any way you will need to align your wheels.
   Cheers!
   Mike


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