[Shotimes] Is our suspension travel really that short???

[David P]

I think they mean that once the car is settled on it's own weight, there is
an inch of downward travel before the car hits the bump stops.

Yes, the suspension is indeed that short. A total of 7 and something inches
of travel total, and an unmodified SHO sits right around 3.5" on the shaft.
This is not, however, total suspension travel at wheel center. The front
LCA's are short, and the pivot angle is what determines total travel. Maybe
someone else can calculate it out. I'd guess that wheel center sees 25-30%
more travel than the strut.

Our bump stops are somewhat soft, and will compress a fair amount. They are
not designed to stop travel cold like hard rubber, but slow it down at a
rapidly increasing rate. I do think it's hard enough to remove some, but I'd
stay at 1" or less.

I remember being able to push in my Koni's strut to within 1/4" of the seal,
where the strut is trimmed and tapped for the nut.

How much did those 3-way adjustable Koni's cost? Everyone around here is
always complaining about the high cost of their one-way adjustable struts.
What is adjusted in that third way?

Let us know how the car with one inch of downward travel does. I bet you
don't actually hit the bump stop except on seriously undulating roads. One
inch of travel goes a lot further than most people know. Especially since
most people don't know that the tires may absorb up to three inches of road
height changes.


David P

95MTX



~
----- Original Message -----
From: "Randy Crist" <dlmech@charter.net>
To: "Josh Salaets" <jsalaets@msn.com>
Cc: "SHOTIMES" <shotimes@autox.team.net>
Sent: Thursday, January 23, 2003 23:43
Subject: Re: [Shotimes] Is our suspension travel really that short???


> I think you have something wrong..I have Eibachs and 3 way adj. Koni's and
i
> have 3" or more of clearance.
> Randy
> 93 ATX
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Josh Salaets" <jsalaets@msn.com>
> To: "SHOtimes" <shotimes@autox.team.net>
> Sent: Thursday, January 23, 2003 1:10 PM
> Subject: [Shotimes] Is our suspension travel really that short???
>
>
> > **Note:  Hopefully I am not reposting this and my last message to the
> list.  I
> > never recalled seeing them show up when I posted them because I had some
> mail
> > settings screwed up that probably blocked me from posting.  Now they're
> fixed.
> > If this is a repost, I apologize.**
> >
> >
> > Hey Everyone
> >
> > We FINALLY got done with some work on my friend's 95.  We spent the past
> > couple of days removing and trimming the GM rear control arms, replacing
> the
> > rear proportioning valve, and pulling out his coilovers to try some
> different
> > spring rates.
> >
> > Since we decided to go with a 300 lb spring rate spring up front (came
> with
> > 600 lb) on the coilovers, we installed some stock size bump stops on the
> Konis
> > in case they ever bottomed out.  Unfortunately when we lowered the car,
> there
> > was NO suspension travel, as it was sitting on the bump stops.  My car
> with
> > the Intrax springs and bump stops was sitting only about one inch higher
> than
> > my friend's SHO, so we adjusted his coilovers to be the same height as
my
> car,
> > giving him just barely an inch of suspension travel.  This would mean
> anyone
> > running the Intrax or Eibach front springs with stock bump stops also
only
> has
> > 1-2 inches of travel up front AT MOST.
> >
> > I don't think I have hit the bump stops on my car since I replaced a
blown
> > Koni, so does this mean that our cars really only function with 1" of
> travel
> > up front with aftermarket springs, even less with coilovers, and only 3
or
> so
> > inches stock?  If so, is there any way to improve suspension travel
while
> > keeping the car low and looking good?
> >
> > THANKS!
> >
> > Josh Salaets
> > 95 Taurus SHO (See it at www.cardomain.com/id/sh0gun)
> > 85 Omni GLH-T (Autocrosser)
> > Eugene, OR
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