coop

Hello,
I have a question about the suspension of my FD...it is a 1993 R1, so I know it has a tighter ride, but it seems to scrap the ground a fairly often. Just the front fender (the black lip under the bumper). Like if I am driving on the highway (so 70 mph or so) and the road changes from level to an upgrade, the car will scrape the ground.
Or if I am taking a hard right (like a fast 45 degree turn at 30+ mph) then it sounds like the drivers side (in the front) of the car scrapes.
It almost sounds like the wheel rubs on the plastic guard in the wheel well.
And when driving on a bumpy road, it sounds like a 'thuding' coming from the rear, like when I hit the larger bumps (like cracks in the pavement).

Anyone have a suggestion of what might be going on?
I didn't know if this is normal for a R1 or not.
Thanks
-Dave

fluxen

Your car must be lowered, right? My first thought is "Are the springs cut?". How much clearance is between the top of your tire and the fender? If it's less than 2 inches, the car has been lowered, and it sounds like too much.

skunks

i agree, its problally the tires rubbing due to a drop/rim combo. mines use to rub as well so i gave my wheels to my brother. he had stock wheels and i had a 2 inch drop with 17 inch rp-01 rims . this solved the problem for me.

coop

I will measure the distance, I know on the rear tires it is definitly more than 2 inches between the tire and car, the front would be close.
If it has been lowered, it wasn't by me.
the only thing is that it doesn't sound like the passenger side is rubbing...and the rear definitly arn't rubbing....

fluxen

If it's only one corner it's 90% likely that you don't have any damping in that one shock, meaning it needs to be replaced. If you press down on that corner of the car with your weight, observe how quickly the car comes back up to ride height. It should come back up in a controlled, slightly slow fashion. It's hard to explain, but all corners should come up controlled, and similarly, rather than bouncing back up immediately. The two fronts should be damped exactly the same, and should return to ride height at the same rate.

Anyway, on the lowering, don't get me wrong. Lowering it isn't a bad thing, and you should be able to run the car with about 1 1/2" - 2" between the tire and the fender without rubbing, if the wheels are original.