Newbie questions

[gareth h]

Gents, some assistance for a raw recruit please.
I have just bought a 2000 K series roadsport, it is on 15" prisoner wheels which I shall change for 13" rims (anybody want a set of prisoner wheels??).
The car needs some set up, I understand that it should have a bout 8-15mm rake, at the moment the rear sits at 130/135mm and the front at 125/128mm, (measured from underneath the lower chasis box section). It was also suggested that the rear of the car should sit at about 125mm, but at the moment the sump has 65mm clearance which would reduce to circa 55mm with this set up, which doesnt sound like much ground clearance!
Any thoughts?
Thanks
G

[DCL]

Start with the sump clearance you're happy with and raise the rear (with you, passenger, and full fuel tank i.e. max weight). Ideally you are looking for the front lower wishbone to be parallel with the ground. then adjust the rear to 15+ mm. Too little rake is likely to result in under-steer. But nothing beats a proper geo and corner weight check.

[gareth h]

Thanks, what sort of sump clearance should I be looking for on a road car?

[framerateuk]

The higher the better I would say!

I have about 7.5cm with the tiny 13x6" CR500 all round and that seems ok - but I have bottomed out the sump on short speed bumps - not nice! I prefer touring on my 15's since it gives me more clearance.

[DCL]

That's not easy to answer as it depends the roads you use and how much risk you want to take. Various suggestions around, but I would say your original 65mm was about right - certainly not lower for road use. Also worth remembering that the cats eyes are on the 'crown' of the road so can be higher than you would think - you may want to avoid running the sump over them for any length of time.

[Steve Campbell]

I heard someone say once .. the ideal height was sufficient to role a coke can under, but not so high that a wine bottle would fit :-)

Not sure what that equates to in cm's :-)

[Eugene7]

The ideal front height is that which sets the lower wishbones parallel to the ground...
Then you can set the rear accordingly.

See: http://freespace.virgin.net/shaw.clan/roadholding....

[gareth h]

Eugene7 said:

The ideal front height is that which sets the lower wishbones parallel to the ground...
Then you can set the rear accordingly.

See: http://freespace.virgin.net/shaw.clan/roadholding....

Great info, thanks