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10/26/2010 4:48 pm  #1


Passengers side of my car sits about 3/8" lower than the drivers side

Got everything mocked up for the 4th or 5th time today and after the weight of the car was sitting on the suspension I took a bunch of measurements .  All looked good except the passengers side is sitting slightly lower than the drivers side.  I extensively searched for the cause and measured my mounts, the wishbone location, and any other place I could measure to determine why that side was sitting lower.  The conclusion is it's not in the mount, but rather the shocks , or more specifically the springs.  The coil overs are compressed slightly more on the passengers side.  The difference is not by much, but due to the angle of the shocks and the resulting motion ration, a slight discrepancy at the coil over  turns in to a bigger discrepancy at the wheels.  I would assume, being that my coil springs are 35 + year old OEM equipment that two of them are softer than the other two and my wonderful luck resulted in the softer two being on the same side.  Next time I have it all apart I will put the coil springs individually on the scale in my press and see if I can find a noticeable difference in them.  If I can balance them by moving them around I will, if not I will use shims just like you would on valve springs to balance them.


If it isn't broken..... modify it anyway!!!!
 

10/27/2010 10:03 pm  #2


Re: Passengers side of my car sits about 3/8" lower than the drivers side

Maybe 3/8" low on passenger side is not all bad.  Try putting sandbags equivalent to your weight in the drivers seat.  Measure again after rolling the car back and then forward a car length or so.  Nothing wrong with measuring multiple times, either.


"'Cars are like primates. They need to squat to go.'—Carroll Smith"
 

10/28/2010 7:36 am  #3


Re: Passengers side of my car sits about 3/8" lower than the drivers side

irstang wrote:

Maybe 3/8" low on passenger side is not all bad.  Try putting sandbags equivalent to your weight in the drivers seat.  Measure again after rolling the car back and then forward a car length or so.  Nothing wrong with measuring multiple times, either.

I understand why you say that, and part of me agrees, however the OCD part of my brain is horrified by the prospect of leaving one side lower than the other  

As I add more weight via the pinion supports and brake parts, I will probably have to move my upper shock mount out one place which will improve my MR just a bit which should decrease the difference between sides.  I still also plan on testing my springs, and trying to balance them.


If it isn't broken..... modify it anyway!!!!
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