Discussion
After 5 years of fun in a 1.6 K Roadsport, I decided a change was due and now have a 1.6 Sigma Roadsport with the 140 bhp upgrade.
It also has lowered floors and 13" wheels with Avon CR500s. And that's where the problems start. My drive slopes steeply down from the road to the garage. On my triumphant arrival home, I managed to achieve the violent shearing of two seat runner bolts on the crest of the drive, (at least it wasn't the sump). I am now stuck in the garage with a loose seat, easily fixed, and an undercarriage which is too low, not so easily fixed. This afternoon was spent (with a prone observer) trying different angles of approach, wooden boards, and industrial quantities of cursing. All to no avail.
There was never any problem with the K and its 14" Minilites shod with A041s. So does this mean a return to Minilites, or anyone have any bright ideas?
It also has lowered floors and 13" wheels with Avon CR500s. And that's where the problems start. My drive slopes steeply down from the road to the garage. On my triumphant arrival home, I managed to achieve the violent shearing of two seat runner bolts on the crest of the drive, (at least it wasn't the sump). I am now stuck in the garage with a loose seat, easily fixed, and an undercarriage which is too low, not so easily fixed. This afternoon was spent (with a prone observer) trying different angles of approach, wooden boards, and industrial quantities of cursing. All to no avail.
There was never any problem with the K and its 14" Minilites shod with A041s. So does this mean a return to Minilites, or anyone have any bright ideas?
With the 13x6 wheels all round it is pretty hard to get a good ride height - enough to get over speed bumps anyway.
My car originally had 15" wheels with CR500 all round, and after some height adjustments, I had no issues with ride height at all, but since going to the 13", while the ride and handling have improved, I have had some scraping issues.
Firstly, I'd think about getting some shorter bolts for the seats. Mine stuck out about an inch originally, I've bought some shorter bolts since (or you could just grind them down) and that's improved the situation quite a bit.
Secondly, do you have the adjustable height platforms? Depending on how high your car already is, you could jack it up a little all round to give you the extra clearance.
You could also consider some higher profile tyres, this would solve the problem and give you the same rolling circumference that the 14" or 15" wheels would give. You can get the AO21 in 185/60/13 and 185/70/13. These would give you an increase in ride height and sort the problem quite easily, if you're willing to change the tyres.
After a trip to North Wales last week, I've realised we need some extra ride height for touring as you can't always avoid speed bumps, and we had some bottoming out problems both on the sump and lowered floors with the 175/55/13 wheels all round. I think we'll go back to the 15" wheels for touring or maybe a new set of 13" wheels with the tyres I've mentioned above.
EDIT: I've made the assumption that you have 13x6 wheels all round, where it's quite possible you might have the 13x8 rear wheels (205 width tyres). If this is the case, you should have plenty of room for height adjustment in the springs themselves. The front lower arms should be parallel to the ground, with a rake of about 1.5cm higher at the rear. I did my ride heights myself and the results were very good, but there's definitely a chance of getting it all wrong
My car originally had 15" wheels with CR500 all round, and after some height adjustments, I had no issues with ride height at all, but since going to the 13", while the ride and handling have improved, I have had some scraping issues.
Firstly, I'd think about getting some shorter bolts for the seats. Mine stuck out about an inch originally, I've bought some shorter bolts since (or you could just grind them down) and that's improved the situation quite a bit.
Secondly, do you have the adjustable height platforms? Depending on how high your car already is, you could jack it up a little all round to give you the extra clearance.
You could also consider some higher profile tyres, this would solve the problem and give you the same rolling circumference that the 14" or 15" wheels would give. You can get the AO21 in 185/60/13 and 185/70/13. These would give you an increase in ride height and sort the problem quite easily, if you're willing to change the tyres.
After a trip to North Wales last week, I've realised we need some extra ride height for touring as you can't always avoid speed bumps, and we had some bottoming out problems both on the sump and lowered floors with the 175/55/13 wheels all round. I think we'll go back to the 15" wheels for touring or maybe a new set of 13" wheels with the tyres I've mentioned above.
EDIT: I've made the assumption that you have 13x6 wheels all round, where it's quite possible you might have the 13x8 rear wheels (205 width tyres). If this is the case, you should have plenty of room for height adjustment in the springs themselves. The front lower arms should be parallel to the ground, with a rake of about 1.5cm higher at the rear. I did my ride heights myself and the results were very good, but there's definitely a chance of getting it all wrong
Edited by framerateuk on Wednesday 6th August 08:42
You could try13 inch Yoko AO48s. They have a higher profile than the CR500s so could give you that little bit more clearance.
Combine this with trying to reduce the crest a little and if you take it very easy it should work, especially if you can cross the crest slightly diagonally, if that's possible. Good luck
Combine this with trying to reduce the crest a little and if you take it very easy it should work, especially if you can cross the crest slightly diagonally, if that's possible. Good luck
Thanks for the ideas. I am looking at the possibility of fitting 185/70 x 13 A041s. That should give me an extra 35mm in ride height. Whether that will be enough is difficult to measure. I can get out of the drive with the help of scaffolding planks and blocks, but not something to do on a daily basis!
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