ground clearance

[jthomas]

Getting fed up of cracking my exhaust (S1) tried changing the suspension but to no avail
as anybody tried anything else

ie lifting the suspesion / re routing the pipe etc

[PetrolTed]

I did enquire about some sort of skid plate/sump guard arrangement once without much joy. I think there would be huge demand for such an item!

[johno]

The problemn with a 'skid gaurd' is that too make it worthwhile means it's construction has to be fairly significant in terms of strength. The consequence of this is that it needs to be attached somewhere which will in turn absorb the energy created.

Fear being that although you could put skid plates or runners under the car the fixing would have to go through the chassis and therefor you would be stressing this unnecessarily. If it were too rigid then you may damage the chassis !

I have changed the suspension on mine and have an exhaust with an oval box which further reduces the clearance (S1.5) I considered the above but resigned myself to having the rear a little higher than I would like ideally and being careful over sleeping policemen and bumpy roads !

Re-routing of the pipes would be incredibly difficult and would involve having to insulate great areas of the under body as the proximity to it would be a little risky. You would also not be able to provide the same level of prebaffle and silencing you have now due to the restricted areas available. Cost would be far far greater than skid pan aswell.

Cheers


Mark

[jthomas]

How much higher did you lift the suspension and did it make much difference

[M@H]

Looking at my exhaust, it was only catching at the front where the maifold drops down, and on the two square box section "silencers" about a third of the way down.. It looked to me that if you welded a bit of 1/4 " plate onto the exhaust up at the front coming down the car, then it would act as a skidplate for the system and stop it getting too wrecked... thats the theory anyway.. havent done it just yet...

Cheers
Matt

[johno]

This is by no means scientific.....

I used to have a 3 finger clearance from rear wheels to bodywork.

I now have a 4 finger clearance. Both sides are equal to the floor which is the critical difference.

That is a lift of probably only 8-10mm but considering my oval box reduced clearance by 3-4mm from standard you can see why it was necessary.

I also run the car with 20% stiffer springs and at hard settings for the dampers.

Cheers

Mark

[johno]

quote:
Looking at my exhaust, it was only catching at the front where the maifold drops down, and on the two square box section "silencers" about a third of the way down.. It looked to me that if you welded a bit of 1/4 " plate onto the exhaust up at the front coming down the car, then it would act as a skidplate for the system and stop it getting too wrecked... thats the theory anyway.. havent done it just yet...

Cheers
Matt

This would be my answer aswell. Attach some form of sacrificial plate/strip to the exhaust so it took the brunt of any impact without any resultant chassis or exhaust damage...

[M@H]

In fact you wouldn't actually need to weld it on.. with a bit of imagination you could make something that bolted onto the existing exhaust... (obviously not through it b4 I get slated, someting top and bottom, or utilising exhaust clamps)
Cheers,
Matt.

[Ben Brown]

A trick that you can use on many cars to increase ground clearance is two make up a spacer to sit under or over the springs. Basically a large washer made of metal, plastic or even marine ply works. Not sure of the details of S type spring seats to know if this would work.

[Roy C]

The clearance problems on the S (particularly S1 & S2) are exacerbated by tired (10 years +) springs.
Replacement goes a long way to improving the problem.
Or go on a diet!

Roy

[jthomas]

well Ive changed the springs and shocks
and iam now on the post xmas keep fat regime
and the bugger still hits the ground

[M@H]

Isn't the trick to open the Bonnet on its catch and the nose should be 1 1/2" off the ground.. if it touches you need your suspension looking at...?

Or have I got that wrong??

Cheers
Matt.

[Davyg]

Is the bonnet drag the only key indication of sad suspension. I have read the bible but even that is not categoric. The car does not want to leap about and the ride is not uncomfortable. Steering is positive, does this sound Ok to you lot...but the front of the bonnet does scrape. Car is 12 years old with about 39k on the clock

[GreenV8s]

quote:
Isn't the trick to open the Bonnet on its catch and the nose should be 1 1/2" off the ground.. if it touches you need your suspension looking at...?

Or have I got that wrong??

Cheers
Matt.

I thought the line was, if the bonnet doesn't scrape the ground the suspension is too high? My S2 always used to touch, and the V8S did when it was standard. With the suspension setup I've got now it's been dropped so far I can only lift the bonnet half way unless it's on ramps. Must get round to moving the hinge points one of these days ...

Cheers,



Peter Humphries (and a green V8S)

[Dave_H]

I don't think the bonnet up scrape is always the sign of worn front suspension, as it may well be down to the bonnet fit/adjustment.

If the car's never had new shocks/springs then fair enough, but it's worth checking the bonnet shut lines to the front wings and doors, make sure the bonnet and front wings arnt rubbing or else the bonnet may well be sitting too low and will then touch the ground when raised.

There's also adjustment of the bonnet to go forwards/backwards, so if you've a big gap between the front of the door and the top rear of the bonnet, then the bonnet could be too far forward and may well foul the ground when raised.

This has happened on my car, after I'd replaced the front shocks/spings. It does take a while to adjust.

Cheers,

Dave.

[Roy C]

My bonnet was fine with the old suspension as the back end had sunk down further than the front had.
Now it's marginal, so I need to shorten the bonnet prop with some serious metal bashing.

Roy

[johno]

I have new susepnsion alll round and still the bonnet catches on the floor. I can only just open it to the catch.

That's the way I have the front set up though. If your dampers do not have adjustable spring platforms and your bonnet is catches badly I would suggest you check out the springs. The S series was known for compacting springs.

But beware, it may be the fit. It may be hinges etc etc. None of it is categoric with these car and id the front end is performing as you want it then leave it alone. I will say though that changes to the front ride, even small changes, have a large effect on the cars handling characteristics.

Cheers


Mark

[M@H]

Is it worth fitting adjustable shocks on the front for fine tuning purposes??

Cheers
Matt.

[johno]

YES !!!

It has made a lot of difference to the set up and the cars handling.

Peter is far more of an expert in these matters than I will ever confess to be. But I regularly fiddle with ride height on mine to assess varying characteristics and the adjustability highlighs benefits you can get from having them, if you see what I mean...

[markbigears]

you would think someone would have manufactured something to protect the front....er.....
like TVR....... from new