Improving SV suspension
Discussion
Whilst I love my 7. I do feel the ride quality could be improved without upsetting the rest of the cars dynamics.
I am speaking to Simon at Meteor today to see what his suggestions are, but I wondered what others have tried/considered and why ?
Personally, I feel the car should be able to ride the bumps better than mine currently does, and I dont really have enough experience in 7s to know if thats how they are ?
My impressions are that it feels either poorly or over damped, it feels like it crashes over bumps, or bounces around on the top of them.
I am speaking to Simon at Meteor today to see what his suggestions are, but I wondered what others have tried/considered and why ?
Personally, I feel the car should be able to ride the bumps better than mine currently does, and I dont really have enough experience in 7s to know if thats how they are ?
My impressions are that it feels either poorly or over damped, it feels like it crashes over bumps, or bounces around on the top of them.
Simon transformed my car with a set of Penske 3-way shocks, but the price of them was eyewatering. There's no doubt that the standard shocks and springs are a bit of a compromise. However, even with the best shock available, it does not change the fact that the Caterham is a light car with (essentially) a live rear axle. It'll never negotiate rough road surfaces without a degree of skipping around. The ratio of sprung to un-sprung weight will always be a challenge on such a light car. I found that once the behaviour became predicable and consistent with good quality suspension , it sort of became less annoying and part of the fun.
Counterpoint - I am impressed / was really surprised by how compliant mine is compared to other 'performance' cars. Mine's got the normal 'road' setup, not the track oriented options (it's a 2006 car, can't recall the terminology). I don't find it bad on track either, but if you have the racey stuff maybe that's why..
Well I think you're talking to the right person about getting it sorted.
Regarding Penske, I have dealt with them in UK personally, they custom built a very special pull shock for me, for one of my motorcycles, and the quality is exceptional, owner re-buildable too.
However I will also go to Simon when the time comes for a set for my SV, I think he will have the experience to match up the correct spring rates with the Penske dampers for my car.
I disagree that a Caterham will always be skipping around because it's a light car. Otherwise motorcycles wouldn't handle as well as they do, now would they?
Regarding Penske, I have dealt with them in UK personally, they custom built a very special pull shock for me, for one of my motorcycles, and the quality is exceptional, owner re-buildable too.
However I will also go to Simon when the time comes for a set for my SV, I think he will have the experience to match up the correct spring rates with the Penske dampers for my car.
I disagree that a Caterham will always be skipping around because it's a light car. Otherwise motorcycles wouldn't handle as well as they do, now would they?
Try disconnecting the rear anti roll bar. I also thought my 420R skipped and jumped around over bumps in the road but after disconnecting the rear ARB it is significantly more complaint and planted over the bumps. Would certainly not bother with new shocks now that I’ve done this. Will reconnect rear ARB when track season starts again in the spring.
Gassing Station | Caterham | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff