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Kerb weight in relation to coilover height
Posted: Tue May 13, 2008 9:29 pm
by blackster
After measuring the OEM height I have noticed that passenger side sits about 5-6mm lower then the drivers side, putting mwah in the drivers seat makes D & P height about equal.
Is kerb weight considered when setting P & D coilover height? If so, would you apply the same principle when setting the height with aftermarket coilovers.
Cheers
P = passenger side
D = Driver's side
Posted: Tue May 13, 2008 11:50 pm
by wun911
Seeming you have coilovers you can cornerweight the car.
Posted: Wed May 14, 2008 2:02 am
by PASHN8
Did you buy coilovers Phil? If so, what did you get?
Re:
Posted: Wed May 14, 2008 2:32 am
by blackster
wun911 wrote:Seeming you have coilovers you can cornerweight the car.
Corner weighting (if i can use that word) as i undestand it attempts to provide even weight distrubtion to stop the car from wedging or reverse wedging. The process of going about it seems a bit of an overkill for a street car.
I am wondering if whether mazda deliberatly from factory adopted corner weight principles, as un even height; which is noted affects weight on that corner. Perhaps the placement of the battery in the right rear also serves a purpose other then being placed there because of a lack space.
Posted: Wed May 14, 2008 10:55 am
by Charlie Brown
You have a very rare car there Blackster. 99% of vehicles would be lower on the drivers side than the passengers, especially once they start to age.
Re:
Posted: Wed May 14, 2008 1:51 pm
by blackster
Charlie Brown wrote:You have a very rare car there Blackster. 99% of vehicles would be lower on the drivers side than the passengers
Care to share the reason why? Apart from having a driver that surpasses "kerb weight"
Re:
Posted: Wed May 14, 2008 2:24 pm
by Charlie Brown
blackster wrote:Charlie Brown wrote:You have a very rare car there Blackster. 99% of vehicles would be lower on the drivers side than the passengers
Care to share the reason why? Apart from having a driver that surpasses "kerb weight"
Yep, overtime that great lump of dead weight located amidships of the car (the driver) causes the suspension to settle/droop/drop/sag on the driver’s side. Race around to a few cars with a tape measure and see what I mean.
I'm NOT saying there's more unladen weight on the drivers side, just that most vehicle without the driver are down on the drivers side. A lot of people swap sides with their springs when replacing their shocks in an attempt to have the car settle evenly over time.
S’pose if you think about it, it would mean that the car is level when the camber of the road is taken into consideration.
PS Out of the factory mine was 5mm lower on the right rear than the left but the fronts were within 1mm.
Posted: Wed May 14, 2008 3:21 pm
by Garry
Both my MX5's have listed to the drivers side. Though tended to even up a bit after a long drive with some ballast in the passenger seat