modernbeat
Active Member
This is very easy to test. Remove the rear spring, disconnect the swaybar and cycle the suspension through it's movement both with and without a wheel and tire.
We do this with every suspension we work with both to check and see if there are any issues with lengths and strokes, and also to see if we can improve on it by correcting the mounting height either in the adapters or in the camber plate or spherical mount.
Here I am working on the Subaru we took to Pikes peak checking bump, droop and tire clearance.
And if you follow our builds you will almost always see a photo of something like this, a car with a fully installed strut minus the spring. In this case they were prototype MCS suspension for the S550. I made a prototype set of camber plates for them during the install. We gave MCS some feedback to gain some stroke and some bump travel, and also some small detail items (that they were already aware of) that would make their struts easier to install and more compatible with the stock parts.
This alerts us to any issues with parts, so we know about lowering limits, mounting issues, what else has to be done to get the maximum out of the parts (moving lines, adding camber, relocating bump stops) or what the ride height sweet spot for the parts is, and what we can do to get it further up or down without giving up all the bump or droop travel. It tells us which parts are hopeless, without redemption. And which parts are appropriate for different purposes. They guy daily driving in Rhode Island shouldn't get the same parts recommended to him that a guy with a track-only car in Arizona gets.
Of course this involves some work. We actually have to get hold of the model car we are working on. We get to put the suspension on and off a few times, and assemble and disassemble the parts a few times. We have to take some measurements and know what they mean. And we get to keep track of all those measurements, forever, so when things change, or new combinations of parts come up we don't have to do the experiments all over again. But after you do it a few times it's easier.
We do this with every suspension we work with both to check and see if there are any issues with lengths and strokes, and also to see if we can improve on it by correcting the mounting height either in the adapters or in the camber plate or spherical mount.
Here I am working on the Subaru we took to Pikes peak checking bump, droop and tire clearance.
And if you follow our builds you will almost always see a photo of something like this, a car with a fully installed strut minus the spring. In this case they were prototype MCS suspension for the S550. I made a prototype set of camber plates for them during the install. We gave MCS some feedback to gain some stroke and some bump travel, and also some small detail items (that they were already aware of) that would make their struts easier to install and more compatible with the stock parts.
This alerts us to any issues with parts, so we know about lowering limits, mounting issues, what else has to be done to get the maximum out of the parts (moving lines, adding camber, relocating bump stops) or what the ride height sweet spot for the parts is, and what we can do to get it further up or down without giving up all the bump or droop travel. It tells us which parts are hopeless, without redemption. And which parts are appropriate for different purposes. They guy daily driving in Rhode Island shouldn't get the same parts recommended to him that a guy with a track-only car in Arizona gets.
Of course this involves some work. We actually have to get hold of the model car we are working on. We get to put the suspension on and off a few times, and assemble and disassemble the parts a few times. We have to take some measurements and know what they mean. And we get to keep track of all those measurements, forever, so when things change, or new combinations of parts come up we don't have to do the experiments all over again. But after you do it a few times it's easier.
The body may be lower, but if the shock bottoms out internally before the body hits the mount, which is what I expect happened, then it will push the plastic bushing right out the top of the mount.
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