Is this too low? Should I raise it?

[adherent]

Hi folks,

I have a 1990 1.6 NA, jap import, which looked a little low. I've just got around to actually checking, and the height is 320 mm front & rear.

Its sitting on a height adjustable Cusco coilover setup, so it would be easy enough to raise, I guess. So, this prompts a number of questions:

Q1. Is this too low, and should I raise it?

Quoting from the sticky,

A NA standard is 350 mm front and 370 mm rear. Minimum allowed is 320 mm front and 335 mm rear.

So I'm way below spec at the rear. Various sources have it that the handling goes to pot if its too low. Any thoughts on the consequences of this ride height for the handling of my car?

Q2. How do I adjust the height?

Never having done this done this, I assume it would just involve jacking the car, wheels off, compressing the springs (how?), and screwing the perch up the threaded shock body. Any tricks I should know about?

Q3. What would be a good height?

I don't plan on tracking this, but do enjoy taking it for a good fang. Any suggestions for a good setting for spirited street use?

Q4. Would I need a wheel alignment after raising it?

Q5. What is my current alignment doing?

How does lowering the suspension affect the choice of alignment settings?

I had Keith Tanner's sport settings set up on the car last year. These would have been recommended for a vehicle at stock height. What would this be doing on the lowered vehicle? (Settings are +4.5/-1.0/0 front caster/camber/toe and -1.5/ 1/16th rear camber/toe.)

Q6. Anyone know anything about Cusco shocks? I think they might be the Comp S, maybe the Zero 1, I can't tell - the label is in Japanese.

Sorry for all the questions, but this is fairly new to me. Any thoughts on these matters would be great,

cheers all.

[Okibi]

It's all a little hard to answer over a forum.

Go to the local suspension experts (whom ever people here recommend), they'll be able to see if the ride height is suitable, and if they need to lift it up (if possible with those shocks) they can redo the alignment.

How does she handle with the current alignment / height?

[StanTheMan]

It all depends on a lot of things.

I have Koni & kings. My front was a fair bit lower than. The ride over bumpy roads was shocking. I dare say it was riding on the bumpstops......and if not....wasn't far off it. I didn't realise how bad it was until I drove someone else's car. Also I have the polyurathane bushes which have made the ride considerably harsher.

There is a thing such as short barrel shocks.(or something of that nature) which allows extended travel. But i don't know what other cons this set up has.

Each brand of shock is probably a little different & have different dimentions so your actual dimensions of shocks could be the same or different to the OEM or koni set up.

All around I'm still around 310mm front & back. The front seems OK now but the back still needs work. Its getting raised in the next few weeks.

Legally.....well it a little bit of a COW. lets not go there. But if you are on your P's......I personally suggest you raise it to the legal minimum. (Or you suspension expert would be able to tell you exactly where that is. If it is different from the sticky.)

raising it will probably decrease the amount of camber you can dial in but judging by what setting you have now.....I doubt you'll have any issues.
raising will probably also give you more body roll. Ballance can then also be adjusted by tyrepressure & stiffness in your shocks to get it right.

But like Okibi said. There is alot of different set ups here. with varying opinions.
Heasmans is the place of choice they'll be happy to work with you. It may take a few goes to work out what you like.

[adherent]

Thanks for the replies guys.

How does she handle with the current alignment / height?

I've thought the car was fairly tail happy. It feels a bit skittish - I have no confidence in it in the wet, though that is likely the crap tyres it came with. The wheel alignment went a long way towards fixing things though, and as for the tyres, I'm working on removing the tyre tread just as fast as I can ...

I quite like the feel of it, but I'd like to know that the suspension is not compromised by the ride height. It also looks like I'l be checking in on the legal height. Heasmans is a bit of a hike. Can anyone recommend anywhere in the Beecroft area?

If I raise it using the shocks adjustment, will the alignment settings change?

[StanTheMan]

I'm pretty sure it will reduce the amount of camber. But its very slight.