Ride Height

[JimiD]

Hi Guys,
FFR suggests 4.5 inches from the bottom of the 4" rail to the ground. Is that standard practice or is there some insider info on the topic?
Also has anyone calculated what one turn of the spring lock nut equals in change of height in inches? If not i will post after i do it.

thanks
Jim

[3kcarbon]

You can't really trust height adjustment if its been jacked up and doesn't have full weight on it. I set mine high and drove it and tweaked it down over 300 miles. Only then will it be settled in. Try it for yourself by going about a inch or 1.5 high on initial setup. While mine was a unfinished garage project it didn't want to come below about 5", jack one side up to work on it and it wanted to stay higher due to the stiff springs and shocks. Drive time is good time and it needs it to be settled in. You may get other advice but this seems to be what I found to be true.

[Pierre B]

I started with the FFR-recommended suspension height settings for my MKII. As mentioned above, we cannot get a true impression of what the actual settings will be until the car's sprung weight settles down (literally). This I found was particularly true of the front suspension. My initial settings caused a bit of tire rub, so I raised the car gradually to eliminate most of that. I am at the point where the rear wheels will rub a bit when we are two aboard and we encounter a substantial bump. That I don't see as much of a problem since it's very intermittent, given that I do most of my driving on smooth roads with no passengers.
From the very outset, I lined my front and rear wheelwells (the underside of the bodywork only) with 3/8" thick to eliminate rock stars in the fiberglass. That has worked well, and it also provides an early warning about tire rub, in that the rub first occurs against the foam liners. My approach here is that of wanting to have as low a ride height as the car and my driving habits will allow. My EFI 302 is not a heavy front-end load relatively speaking, so I believe I have found a good balance. Of course, if I gain an additional fifty pounds of body weight (not gonna happen), I will need to reset the suspension. To me, all of this points out just how great it is to be able to set and re-set the riding height in the first place.
My conclusion: IMO setting the 'proper' ride height on one of these cars is very much an individual builder's decision. There is no one answer that will satisfy everyone, especially since all of these cars are built differently.

[proeagles]

Your suspension will settle with a few miles and you will have to tweak it again. The 4.5 inches is a good base, much lower than that and you will have problems with driveways, speed bumps, and parking lots.

[Scott L]

Over the first hundred miles mine settled. I lost almost an inch with settling and a full tank of fuel in the rear.

[mcwho]

I saw a ride height piece on the powerblock video. He did a 4 1/2 ride height and then pushed the rear up 1/2 " more for a little rake. After that he weighed the car and made minor adjustments, to get a 50-50 weight distribution.

I would think that the fuel tank should be either full or 1/2 full cause that the average weight on the rear.

[riptide motorsport]

Im alittle higher at 5.5" you can't really tell the diference,,but I feel better with the extra 1"

[oldguy668]

The front suspension ratio is about 2 to 1. Every 1/4" of spring adjustment results in 1/2" of height change. The rear is 1 to 1 with solid axles.

[Darren]

I have 3.75" in front and 4.25" in back. I've never had a problem with any speed bump or incline. I like the stance better, too much air between the wheel well and tires when you get up over 4.5", especially in front.

Pics. I have IRS, 17" rims with 315's on back, no rubbing anywhere.

http://i857.photobucket.com/albums/ab139/dagmandt/Cobra/DSC_0009-2.jpg

http://i857.photobucket.com/albums/ab139/dagmandt/Cobra/DSC_0010a.jpg

[CraigS]

I am w/ Darren.

[skullandbones]

I guess there has been a sort of consensus that 4.5 is right. I am just getting to the point where I have to consider it (go kart pretty soon). I think that's a little too low. I have O2 sensors I installed in the side pipes (4 tube headers) so I want a little more safety factor built in. My main concern is will the change in ride height affect the front end alignment enough to have to redo it. WEK.

[cobrajj]

Mine is set at 4" front and 4 5/8" rear ride height-w/ 1/2 tank of gas. No rubbing or bottoming out. Tires to body gap looks about right. Jim

http://i612.photobucket.com/albums/tt201/jjcobra_01/IMG_5924.jpg

http://i612.photobucket.com/albums/tt201/jjcobra_01/IMG_5818.jpg

[Someday I Suppose]

I think I settled on around 4 inches in the front and 4 1/4 or so in the back, so similar to Darren. When I first got the car on the road it did settle a bit down from there and I would scrape the pipes a bit on rail road crossings and the like. At the current settings I haven't had any issues.

_Scott