Ride Height

[AL G]

How do I lower the ride hight ?

 

I have a 97 S1, and all I know about suspension is that my car had "New" rear shocks about 10k miles ago. They were replaced with the same red Koni's. I presume the fronts are 48k miles old. . . .

 

Holiday is coming up, so cost is an issue - Nitrons are out of the question.

 

Are Koni's adjustable?

 

P.S. This is mainly for aesthitic reasons. This is my first Lotus, and I have no need(yet) to make it faster or the handling even better (It is perfect as is).

 

 

Thanks as usual.

[Rus]

I think the bracket can be changed that holds the shock absorber to the chassis, being a different size/shape it lowers the car a little.

 

The red koni's aren't adjustable but do have some small grooved rings below the spring plate where it attatches to the shock. Apparently the spring plate can be moved on the shock to one of the lower grooves to give a lower ride height. Not sure how this is done or if it is actually possible though.

 

LSS koni's are adjustable in ride height but i think they are yellow.

 

Other options are s2 kit thet comes with a lower ride height setting.

 

A geo will be needed if the ride eight is changed.

 

Rus

[AL G]

Thanks Rus - S2 looks like the best option..

 

Any idea of cost + Geo?

[Scott_Mac]

Wow, perfect timing... check my for sale ad i've just placed.

 

Geo + fitting from Horizon is £170 approx.

[AL G]

Spooky !

 

My question is also just speculative, got a holiday in 5 weeks to pay for first . .

 

I'm finding the handling fine (for a novice) on the standard Koni's, but it looks like a 4x4 from the side . .

 

You mention they are LSS ? Who are they ?

[Scott_Mac]

Mine are the Yellow Koni's as mentioned above... it was basically the official upgrade for the S1 Elise... LSS stands for Lotus Sports Suspension.

 

Handling... the main benefit of the LSS is that the springs are stiffer and the dampers react much better to bump and rebound.. consequently minor bumps don't feel like jumping on a water bed and you can feel even more of what is going on.... the last point can be a drawback as the car can follow road cambers, potholes more, but you do get a great sense of feel. It is a big upgrade and well worth doing... especially if you ever plan on tracking it.

 

Also worth mentioning that the LSS was actually well built too - which is something no-one can say about the std Red Koni's! I have known of sets with over 50k miles on them....

 

As for ride height, it makes next to bugger all difference to the handling, but it certainly does look better

[AL G]

thanks Scott..

 

I'll PM you when I'm back from France to see if you've gone to Nitrons yet or not , and have the LSS still for sale (I'm assuming that is the next logical step if you don't like the S2 gear)

[Rus]

Alisdair, Just incase Scott's sold his before you get back, Aguy called Steve Butts Sell the s2 stuff ready to go straight onto the s1. (geo still needed when fitted if changing ride height). If you do a search i'm sure his e mail address will be posted somewhere.

 

Scott, What are you changing the suspension to? Do you know about the suspension Mike @ horizon has in the pipeline? Ohlins, adjustable for ride height and damping, according to him it should rival the nitrons performance but cost a little less if there's enough interest in them.

 

Rus

[Scott_Mac]

Rus... and there i was about to post that i wasn't fitting Nitron's but something else in the pipeline.

 

Is there anything they do i don't know about... i'm the Guinea Pig for the Ohlins kit so expect a full report soon.

 

Alasdair... can't promise it'll still be here but that's not a problem. The Ohlins are going on this week so would be looking to shift the LSS fairly soon

[Rus]

It occured to me after posting that they might be going on your car! Saw the shocks on sat at horizon(Bob had a looky also), they look good quality. Thats about all i can tell from looking at them! Mike says they should do a good job, and who am i not to believe him!

 

Rus

[Tango190]

i'm the Guinea Pig for the Ohlins kit so expect a full report soon ...

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

The O's construction looked superb, light weight (in keeping with the Elise) and almost infinite adjustment.

 

Think a few guys who went straight to S2 conversion bandwagon will wish these babes were an option at the time.

 

Think Mike and other non converted Elise car owners might just be on to a winner here, nice to have a choice of options.

 

Wonder if they fit the backend of the Excel ????

 

Anyway Scott, why do all your 6000 posts have to involve animals

[Scott_Mac]

I'm not sure all of the S2 upgrade folks would have gone for the Ohlins, as they ain't going to be bargain cheap... good value yes, cheap, not quite!

 

Certainly are light and adjustable though!

[AL G]

Thanks Rus/Scott

 

These Ohlins will deffo be out of my league - looks like it will be Yellow Koni's or S2 after the summer ( we had about 4 days of summer up here )....

 

 

Cheers again.