suspension on a corrado

[Adam Darby 0]

hi all just after some advise on suspension hights for my corrado. Its lowered 40mm at the mo but im putting some new ones on i notices that some cars lower the front slightly more apart from looks what purpose does this surve. cheers

[gaz the geezer 0]

....none probaly, just aesthetics, but if you got a few mates in the back then it will soon level out

[double-6s 0]

you got some pretty small mates then Garry? A few mates in the back of a C???

 

:)

[gaz the geezer 0]

.....i have shoe horn and i`m not afraid to use it ....damn it, smilies wont fecking load up, never mind

[double-6s 0]

Yeah thats what i use to get the kids in ;)

[Adam Darby 0]

so have the car the same hight all the way round

[gaz the geezer 0]

so have the car the same hight all the way round

 

why not :wink:

[Adam Darby 0]

like i said ive noticed some car's that have lowered the front slightly more that the back. Is this just for look's or does it make that handeling any better

[chrishill 0]

I 'think' they're slightly higher at the back as standard anyway, so lowering 40mm all around will still leave you with the back looking a tad higher than the front. Both my 16v and my VR appeared higher at the back, only slightly though.

 

I've a feeling you can get 40/60 suspension kits to level things out a bit but I've been told that could effect handling, not sure how true that is since the people running coilovers dont seem to be complaining!

 

edit - also, knackered topmounts will lower the car further, a put -40mm springs on my valver with the original topmounts and it looked more like -80mm at the front! :?

[Adam Darby 0]

cheers i think ill just stick to 40mm all round cant go wrong then

[dinkus 10]

Generally the lowering springs are the same drop all round, but you have to bear in mind that the heavy engine is at the front, you sit in the middle and there's a 50 (or 70) litre petrol tank slung over the rear wheels.

 

Petrol has a density of 0.73 - 1 litre of petrol weighs 730g. So a full 70 litre tank of petrol weighs about 50kg.

 

Which will make quite a difference in the heights of the suspension ;)

[Kick Up The Rs 0]

I parked my near std G60 against an Vr6 the other day and the Vr looked monster truck like in terms of ride height.

 

Is the G60 generally lower than a VR (and valver).

 

I have std springs...

 

Just curious

[Supercharged 2]

Kick Up The R's, yes - the later VR's were very high compared to previous models...

[Kevin Bacon 5]

Ideally you want the back higher than the front, 5-10mm (measure from a uniform edge, such as the sill). This reduces lift under acceleration and the more lift you get, the more positive camber you get which reduces grip.

 

You also want to keep the roll centre and roll axis as close to stock as possible for optimum handling and grip. Slamming completely f'cks up the roll centre/axis, so make sure the outboard ends of the wishbones are not above parallel and likewise, don't deck the rear axle so much that it moves the wheel forward into the arch.

 

To maintain roll centre axis, don't go any lower than 40mm.

 

Fit poly or Vibratech rear wishbone bushes too as they are the achilles heel of the MK2 platform. It's sheeeeite basically. They lose castor mid bend and Castor is King these days..... in fact the rear wishbone needs replacing with something a lot better imo!

[jonrb 0]

Good advice, Kev.

 

I've never understood the fascination with slamming. If you want crappy cornering ability then buy a Micra.

[Kevin Bacon 5]

Getting the suspension right for ALL conditions and scenarios is the hardest thing to do on a car, by far!

 

Lowering suits the Corrado perfectly, but it does nothing to aid handling, other than lower the centre of gravity and there's a whole load more to it than that!

 

Filling the tank and carrying passengers affects things, sure, but if the car has it's wishbones and axle at the optimum angle with no laden weight before hand, then the effects of the weight will be far less than if the wishbones were already pointing at the sky to begin with.

 

The reason the VR6 is so high as standard is pure roll centre and axis related. VW put a lot of work into it, not that you'd think that to look at it but believe it or not, that is how high the suspension needs to be in order to maintain the correct roll centre and axis.....

[Storm Warning 0]

kevhaywire, Sorry to bump this thread but I am interested about anything at the moment to do with handling. Its not that I am trying to change my Storm for a track day car, I just want to make a few improvements in handling. My std ride height results in 3 wheeled cornering which I imagine is not the best way to get about. I am considering an economic 40mm drop using lowering springs. Is it worth it? or should I be spending more on a full kit?