Rear end squatting

[bigtalljim]

Anybody know how to stop the back end from squatting when pulling off sharpish, and when going over large lumps in the road the back end sits down and sometimes scrapes.
I know they are low to the ground but blunts the enjoyment of a good blast.
Is it just a spring job, new uprated ones or something else?

[GreenV8S]

There isn't much ground clearance, especially on the V6 models. You can increase the rear ride height slightly, and stiffen the rear springs and dampers slightly, but you want to avoid making any major changes because that will upset the car's handling. If it's any consolation, with the rear ride height set fairly high, springs twice as stiff and standard and bump stops adjusted properly mine hardly ever bottoms out, but it will still scrape the exhaust occasionally on roads with a lot of camber.

[the gazman]

You could change the rear springs but you would have to go to David Gerald to get the correct length springs, they did tend to ride on the dampers with soft springs, so as the dampers fade off they get boat-like (my one did).

[trackcar]

If the rear springs are rusting and losing rate then this will happen .. also tired dampers losing compression damping, though to be fair the compression damping shouldn't be too high even on a new damper .. but depends what yours is wearing at the mo.

as Peter says they won't bottom out if set correctly .. but if the rear ride height drops you'll lose some of the inherent anti-squat that's in the semi trailing rear end and also lose some of the excellent traction from a standing start that all S cars (except mine it seems lmao) are famous for.

By the way, you can run incredibly stiff springs and not lose comfort as long as you use the right combination of parts, I'm up to 750lb front and 600lb rear now (though i think i'll stop there, it's pretty stiff now) and I use my car every day

[GreenV8S]

trackcar said:

By the way, you can run incredibly stiff springs and not lose comfort as long as you use the right combination of parts, I'm up to 750lb front and 600lb rear now (though i think i'll stop there, it's pretty stiff now) and I use my car every day

I thought mine was pretty extreme for road use, and probably costing me traction on the track. I suspect that at those rates, the [lack of] stiffness of the top rear suspension mount becomes the limiting factor!

[trackcar]

GreenV8S said:

trackcar said: By the way, you can run incredibly stiff springs and not lose comfort as long as you use the right combination of parts, I'm up to 750lb front and 600lb rear now (though i think i'll stop there, it's pretty stiff now) and I use my car every day I thought mine was pretty extreme for road use, and probably costing me traction on the track. I suspect that at those rates, the [lack of] stiffness of the top rear suspension mount becomes the limiting factor!

I've seen almost all TVR chassis flex with the application of a big bar across the front of the chassis .. stiff they are not! .. but if you add extra x-bracing you can improve matters significantly

[pies]

trackcar said:

By the way, you can run incredibly stiff springs and not lose comfort as long as you use the right combination of parts, I'm up to 750lb front and 600lb rear now (though i think i'll stop there, it's pretty stiff now) and I use my car every day

no wonder your outriggers gave up

[trackcar]

pies said:

trackcar said: By the way, you can run incredibly stiff springs and not lose comfort as long as you use the right combination of parts, I'm up to 750lb front and 600lb rear now (though i think i'll stop there, it's pretty stiff now) and I use my car every day no wonder your outriggers gave up

Interestingly I have a mod to stop the rear end steering when it flexes the rear of the chassis too
the outriggers have broken at teh front, fortunately all they do is hold the body on, which isn't very important in the grand scheme of things is it?

[Podie]

GreenV8S said:

trackcar said: By the way, you can run incredibly stiff springs and not lose comfort as long as you use the right combination of parts, I'm up to 750lb front and 600lb rear now (though i think i'll stop there, it's pretty stiff now) and I use my car every day I thought mine was pretty extreme for road use, and probably costing me traction on the track. I suspect that at those rates, the [lack of] stiffness of the top rear suspension mount becomes the limiting factor!

Out cornered pretty much everything else at Snetterton last year... despite a minor BHP defecit...