what height do you guys recommend for a track only civic 1994.
no driven on the street.

4inches off the ground? measuring from jack points?

 

I'd say probably as low as you can go without bottoming out the suspension while on track...

Christian, who's car is still street driven so this is all speculation...

 

Depends on the track and the stiffness of the suspension... you just don't want to hit something if the front end "squats" or you go off course.

I'm at about 4.25" between the bottom of my side jack points and the ground. It was fine for me last season on a pretty soft suspension (276 lbs/in), and it was still somewhat streetable (but not my daily driver).

 

I have a "ride height adjustment road" that I use. It has quite a few quick dips in it. When I first put on the coilovers/koni/GC sleeves I drove down it. Way too much big "Chaaching" on the header skidplate. Went home and adjusted the ride height a little higher. Went again and now just lighter scrapes on the skidplate in the dips (with a B18c in a CRX you have to watch what hangs out the bottom). So that was my ride height adjustment. Low enough that there is contact. High enough not to leave car parts on the road or track. (450fr/550r spring rate on a stripped interior car)

Barry H.


Modified by apexinghonda at 5:05 AM 2/1/2005

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Xian &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote"> as low as you can go without bottoming out the suspension while on track...

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perfect answer. couple of things will determine the height for your car. spring rate, shock damping & mechanical clearance.

you need enough travel, without hitting things like the a-arm to inner fender (mechanical clearance) to allow your suspension to work. if you have suficient damping, you can run higher rate springs. if you run high rate springs, you can have less travel. the tracks you run will make a difference too. bumpy tracks require more travel than glass smooth ones.

 

be care ful of being so low as to run the risk of exhaust damage

 

keep in mind that a big drop in ride height will do some interesting things to your suspension geometry.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Greyout &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">keep in mind that a big drop in ride height will do some interesting things to your suspension geometry.</TD></TR></TABLE>

I was waiting for someone to say that you definitely want to look at the angle of your lower control arms. I wouldn't want to be any lower then at least having the lca level to the ground or angled down towards the ground.

 

For SCCA IT, your minimum right height may be 5", which is as low as the rules allow you to go. GCR ITCS P-9, sec 17.1.4.D.5.A

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Greyout &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">keep in mind that a big drop in ride height will do some interesting things to your suspension geometry.</TD></TR></TABLE>

with all due respect, that is quite absolue statement there. what specifically is it going to do to your geometry and have you measured it? i've measured bumpsteer and camber curves. a big drop doesn't hurt either one of those. maybe i'm missing what you're getting at?

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by DMF &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I was waiting for someone to say that you definitely want to look at the angle of your lower control arms. I wouldn't want to be any lower then at least having the lca level to the ground or angled down towards the ground.</TD></TR></TABLE>

if it were a mac strut car, yes, i'd agree with this statement. since it is not i don't think this is a valid statement. true, the track does get narrower once the lca moves past the point where it is parallel to the ground but it isn't a major issue. a mcstrut car on the other hand actually begins loosing static negative camber and sees MAJOR movements of the rc.

nate - somewhere near 19" measured to the jack tab...