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Ride height


James.Burton

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Without intending to be rude, yes you are being a bit dumb, just raising the front adversely affects the rake of the car, the front to rear balance and has a detrimental affect on the cars handling.

 

To do the job properly take the car to someone who knows how to set a 7 up properly, there are a number of places you can go depending where you are.

 

Don't make arbitrary changes, you can make your car truly terrible to drive.

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If you wind up all 4 platforms equally it should be ok. For the best road holding and brake performance you will need to have it flat floored set up but then it only will be at it's best the way it's set up, i.e. for you as a driver only or for you and with a passenger of a certain weight.

 

 

 

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Janes

Obviously in the Austrian Tyrol, Caterham specialists will hard to find but you may know people in LSOS who can help.

As above, you do need to keep the rake from front to back consistent and the coke tin test is commonly used for sump clearance.

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Thanks all.

Coke can showed me to be 1cm too low, so I adjusted all corners up (taking notes so I can return it if required). I`ll look to find the suggested settings as there isn't any specialist nearby.   I looked in the technical blog and didn't see details of set up suggestions (not just ride height but toe in/out, etcetera). I would have thought that to be one of the most obvious topics to have there.

Looking forward to the test drive tomorrow morning, over the FachinaJoch pass 

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I looked in the technical blog and didn't see details of set up suggestions (not just ride height but toe in/out, etcetera). I would have thought that to be one of the most obvious topics to have there.

Start here, but NB different settings have been recommended at different times as discussed there.

Jonathan

PS: Have you already got the appropriate Assembly Guide? Please let me know if you haven't and would like a copy.

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But do not forget to put the equivalent of your weight in the drivers seat before adjusting the basic ride height fore & aft........

Remember for every adjustment made the rake will change so go round every corner to ensure the basic chassis to floor measurement has not changed. 

 

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James, you might want to check whether you have the right front springs on the Nitrons. Mine came with 18cm front spring lengths which left the car riding dangerously low on the road. I enquired with Nitron and they sent me longer correct front springs. Just a thought.

 

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Caterham doesn't state that the ride height and rake should be set with anyone in the 7. If you do 2 turns up ( linear springs ) on the drivers side ( courtesy of freestyle ) compared to the other side you are really close in diagonals with a driver in the 7 if you put it on scales. I always sit in the 7 when i check the display as you can't replicate the human body with a bag of sand.

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After my build I used 80Kgs on the drivers side & 20Kgs on the pax side then set the basic ride height, toe & camber. Adjusting the ride as necessary again.

When I had the car professionally set up they were surprised how close it was & only required 'tweaking' to get the diagonal & rake spot on fighting against variable rate springs on the rear! That took nearly four hours.

My current setting for the rear shocks is 14 threads showing RHS & three showing LHS.

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James. You are really going to struggle to get to your required ride heights using the Street Series.  The springs are too soft for the VX.  Can you tell me when you purchased them as we had to get them extended before we could sell them.

Unfortunately the SS only comes with set spring rates/valving and lengths.

Again its its likely you will run out of thread on the damper body at the front with the standard 7" spring.

You will have loads of preload on each end particularly the front and the ride will be very bouncy! 

Please give me a call if you need more information or advice.

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  • 4 years later...

Just picking up this thread from the one on coil over adjustment.  I need to get my suspension ride heights into the correct ballpark before a longer drive to get it properly flat floored / cornered.  My question is where does one measure the ride height at the rear?  I am sure I have seen a diagram of this somewhere but cannot find it ion my assembly guide or owners manual.

So, do I set the front with, say, 75mm sump clearance, then measure the front ride height under the chassis say at the rear leg of the front suspension wishbone, then add 15mm rake but then measure the rear height where?  At the front A-frame mount?  Where is the reference point for measuring rear ride height?

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15 minutes ago, JP said:

Just picking up this thread from the one on coil over adjustment.  I need to get my suspension ride heights into the correct ballpark before a longer drive to get it properly flat floored / cornered.  My question is where does one measure the ride height at the rear?  I am sure I have seen a diagram of this somewhere but cannot find it ion my assembly guide or owners manual.

So, do I set the front with, say, 75mm sump clearance, then measure the front ride height under the chassis say at the rear leg of the front suspension wishbone, then add 15mm rake but then measure the rear height where?  At the front A-frame mount?  Where is the reference point for measuring rear ride height?

Do it all with the equivalent of your weight in the car.

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Will do!  Right now I just want to make sure I can get to PT safely and without grounding my sump!  My car is currently as I have rebuilt it - with components fitted out of the box and applying the general guidance from the build manual.  Looking forward to getting it properly set up...

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