Need to gain suspension travel

[theBrit]

I am running 17" wheels held up by MM coilovers and tokiko struts. This is a road car, occasional track day.

 

What I have found is that the car sits higher than I would like unless I lower the spring to the point that there is very little suspension travel left.

 

I was wondering if any one had any comments on these ideas.

 

1. I need to shoot for min 3" of travel from the resting position to hitting the bump stop.

 

2. For the street, I could use adjustable perches to gain some clearance at the top as they ar ethinner than stock mounts, but the ride might be a little more noisy. I looked at

http://www.designproductsracing.com/DesktopDefault.aspx?tabid=512

http://www.designproductsracing.com/DesktopDefault.aspx?tabid=513

And I think I read that this might be worth 1"

 

3. Section the stuts and use koni 8610 inserts to gain 1.5"

 

4. Final ride height from the under floor rail is to be 5-6"

 

5. I could leave the bump stops out (2") becasue I have stiffer springs and it is less likely to compress that much.

 

I think those are the only options I have, any thoughts appreciated.

Mike

[JMortensen]

Sectioning the struts would be my suggestion. You can trim down the bump stops but don't leave them out. Camber plates are good for adjusting camber. They do have side effects that make them not the best bet for lowering the car, like noise and upkeep on the bearings.

 

You could always get a shorter wheel/tire combo too.

[theBrit]

Thanks for the thoughts, I had thought about going to a shorter tire side wall, but I originaly went with a larger one to gain the compliance it would provide. For now I am hoping to pull this off without changing the tires.

 

I just dug up that MR2 insterts might be better than the konsi for the street PN BZ3099, I know the konis are about 13" long thus I gain 2", but I can't find any specs for the MR2 shock. I will keep digging and hope that MR2 inserts might even give me more travel.

 

Mike

[JMortensen]

The BZ3099 is 1 5/8" shorter than the stock strut.

[Forrest]

BTW, the front strut insulators are 1" shorter than the rear ones. I used fronts in the rear to lower an inch without losing travel (using camber plates in the front.)

[theBrit]

Hey Forrest, you do mean the rubber section between the spring and the body?

I ask becasue I measured the old stock ones and from my 73 car they appear to be the same height front and rear, if you have a part number for a thinner one I would be very interested, I am guessing that yours are from a 280z from your signature.

 

The insulators I am running now I machined down so that the coil over hat does sit a little higher - maybe 1/4 inch giveing me a little extra travel but not as much as an inch.

 

Thanks Jon, so I could still get 1.5" given that I will not try to cut the strut to the exact size, I still need to scrounge some more I think.

 

I have not looked, but it occurs to me that if I detach the strut tube from the hub I could weld it back in with the bottom sticking out of the bottom of the hub a little, probably will intefeer with something - it cant be that easy!

 

Mike

[Forrest]

Darn, I should have checked your signature. The 280z rear strut insulator is an inch taller than the front. If yours are the same height, I'm betting they're both the same height as my fronts. Sorry that wasn't any help after all.