I am nearing the end of fitting all of my adjustable suspension parts and want to set the ride height before it goes on the wheel alignment machine.

The car has high lows all round

What ride height are people setting for best handling and clearance

Thanks

Kiwiinwgtn

I dont know what regulations you have about minimum road clearance heights - Here it about 100 mm and mostly the very vunerable alloy sump is the lowest point.

Within reason - minis dont suffer badly in the handling by being a little bit high and the 100 - 150 from the sump to the ground is a good sensible height. Stiffer shocks will compensate for any body roll.

I have a mini that is frankly too low - its a pain when you are driving it because you have to be constantly looking for irregualarities in the road surface that may take out the sump. Its also too rough a ride on most roads because there is not enough suspension travel before it hits the bump stops.

It handles great but I suspect its only 10% better than a higher mini which would have a much better ride.

if you've have put everything adjustable on at once, i'd get the ride height set at the same time as the geometry.. as lowering the car affects the camber, which in turn affects the castr, etc...


as for ride height, the best height is the lowest you can go before it's a) illegal or (if that doesn't matter) b) bottoming out on the roads that you intend to drive on..

for keith calver's motto... "a compromise between what's possible and what's necessary"

if it's for the race track, they're bound to be rather smooth... so you can afford to go as low as you can..

but for the street you need a level of movement in the shocks.....

the lowest point being 100mm is a fair call for the street, since it's legal and most "street furniture" (cats eyes, bumps,etc) are likely to be under that...

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I'd have to Agree on that

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Stop Licking the Dog...I Don't Care Who Started It

If the floor pan was flat my car would be 100mm at the lowest point....but of course it isn't, so it isn't! It's actually too low - floor pan at 80-100mm means exhaust is more like 50-60....way too low and it hits stuff. Even if I avoid speed bumps there's always road works or something. I'm in the middle of re-doing suspension etc and will raise it some. Only takes a few mm to make all the difference.