negative camber due to weight reduction
 

i recently went to a single setup. along with that i removed the pwr steering, ac compressor , and main cat. as you would assume there was a great deal of weight removed from the front of the car. now my car looks like its almost doing a wheelie parked i have gained 1.5 to 2 inches between my front tires and the fender.

my question is : if i was to buy front lowering springs would this put it back to the factory stance? if so what springs would be the best for my situation? has anyone else corrected this problem in their own cars?

I had the Eibach lowering springs originally which apparently lower the car about 1 to 1.25", and after all the weight removal, my car was sitting at or even a little above stock height. The H&R springs are supposed to be a more aggressive drop, in the range of 2", and Koni shocks offer three perch positions to choose from for even more height options.

However, I don't think it's wise to adjust just the front of the car for the sake of appearance. You'll be better off with a matched set of springs at all four corners, although you could probably find individual springs in Eibach's arsenal that would fill the job of just replacing the fronts.

not only for the sake of appearance. tire wear is also an issue. it now also rubs on the inside of the front bumper on sharp turns. by the way its an r1, i know they have different suspension than the other models

Raising your car a little should not make anything rub. BTW, your tires are cannot rub your bumper.

I really doubt that you gained 1.5-2" in height. You also probably haven't gained any negative camber, especially that you can see.

Buy matched lowering springs, ideally you'll want coil overs so you can adjust the height of your car exactly where you want it.

Reducing sprung weight will not give you more negative camber, maybe positive camber, but definately not negative.

i may have negative and positive camber mixed up. anyhow the tires are slanted in rather than out like they are supposed to be. and the tires do in-fact rub on my front bumper now. i dont have a stock front bumper and i can see the marks made by my tire rubbing. i didnt say i gained that much overall height it just appears to have gained that much distance between tire and fender

what you guys are saying all 4 lowering springs will bring the nose back down regardless of the weight loss in the front and none lost in the back?

yes/no?

Given the same set of 4 springs and two cars that differ only by how much the front of the car weighs, there will be a difference in the handling balance between the two. However, I would guess that you won't care that much unless you are really into handling.

If you want ultimate control over ride heights and spring rates, adjustable coil-overs are the best way to go. You can get tons of different spring rates to mix and match front and rear, and you can set the ride height at each corner individually.

If appearance is your main focus, the adjustable coil-overs can really be of great use. You can choose very stiff springs which will allow you to lower the car more to reduce the fender gap. And the adjustable ride height will allow you to set the ride height precisely to get it as low as possible. If you rub a corner, raise it up -- that is a nice option to have.

-Max

93R1 is correct. one of the most key aspects of the FD suspension that makes it a real racecar is that the unequal front A-arms trace different arcs and as the front (outside) tire in a turn compresses up into the fender well the top of the wheel is pulled in so that the tire remains near it's static slightly negative cambered setting even though the body rolls. therefore if you were to raise the front of the car by removing weight the tires would tilt out at the top not in. (positive camber). camber gain is about a degree per inch of wheel travel. i recommend a 25 inch at the top of the wheel well ride height. what is your current measurement? depending on where you are heightwise i will give you a suspension suggestion...
howard coleman

[ i recommend a 25 inch at the top of the wheel well ride height. what is your current measurement? depending on where you are heightwise i will give you a suspension suggestion...
howard coleman [/B][/QUOTE]

do i measure from the ground to the top of the wheel well?

Yes, that is what he means. From the ground to the top of the wheel arch (fender lip).

-Max

when lowering the car you will actually gain negative camber and by lifting or raising car you will gain positive camber. with positive camber the outer edge of your tires will wear whereas too much negative will wear the inside edge
because different people have different wheels setups it would be a more accurate measurement to measure from the center of the hub up to the wheel well lip. if you have an underinflated or overinflated tire, measuring from the floor to the lip would be off.

i had the positive and negative camber confused. my car has positive camber. i will get the measurements tomorrow. it is too dark to do it now. thanks for the help so far guys.

True, but I am surprisingly not too anal about this one and "ground to wheel arch" is a much simpler measurement to explain. :) You also might need more space to reduce the chances of rubbing if you have significantly larger than stock diameter tires.

-Max

from the ground to the fender it is 26 3/4 inches

from the center of the wheel to the top of the fender it is 15 inches

first i want to compliment you for removing the power steering a-c etc from the car. it is a win win as the engine compartment will be considerably cooler w the enhanced airflow, the car will lose some frontweight which is always a good thing. power steering reduces one of the greatest sports cars ever built on an assembly line to the equivalent of a video game roadfeel wise. or more simply stated power steering sucks.
i raced for 22 seasons and suspensions are my strong suit. i have a shock dyno and a very accurate spring rate checker. i have analized a number of fd suspension setups. with the caveat that there are a number of good options for you i offer you two. i know they both work. if you want to keep it simple and inexpensive i highly recommend the Eibach Pro Track springs. stock fd springs are 263 front and 195 rear. the Eibachs are 350 front and 255 rear, up 33%. i know pettit sells this setup along with other vendors... somewhere around $200. the stock shocks work well with these springs. do not underestimate this setup, it transforms the car. i know people w lots of mods that say the Eibach springs were their best mod. if you want to spend approx $950 i recommend buying Tein model HA coil-overs. spring rate 566 front and 422 rear.... just close to being too much rate, but not. you get a very nicely made spring/shock combo and since it is a coil-over you can dial your own ride height as well as shock settings (16 settings). i have dynoed the shocks and they are excellent. as mentioned there are other options... i like these and they work. you would be happy with either. the Eibachs set your car around 25.5 front and 25.7 rear at the wheel well.
both packages transform the fd.
howard coleman

thanks for the info i will definately take your advice and go with the eibach because of the $. i will probably go with the teins at a later time after i have built back my savings. i am lucky to have caught the attention of sucha an authority on suspension. thanks again,

mike b