Hi All,

I have just got myself some new suspension and was wondering about the merits of flat flooring the car.
I'll be the first to admit I'm not the fastest or most competent driver out there which leads me to ask if it would be worth it, especially as I don't use it on the track (or haven't yet anyway)?

Ivan

I would definitely recommend it...
It can transform a bad set-up, and will greatly improve an average one.

And you don't have to driving fast for the difference to become apparent!

Excellent, thanks very much for that

I was never sure whether it was more of a thing to do for track days. I'll go for the usual parallel front wishbones and 15mm rake as a starting point and then get it flat floored, also seem to recall something on BlatChat about giving the OS rear a couple of turns up extra as an adjustment for the driver I shall have a search

Cheers

This is a science and a that just sounds completely the wrong thing to do.
You would be better matching both the rears and both the fronts, then get it flat floored properly with you in the drivers seat or 75 kgs in both seats if you carry passengers on a regular basis.
As Eugene has pointed out this makes a huge difference to the handling characteristics of a 7 and if done correctly will give you great confidence in the car.

Funnily enough I have just found the thread (http://www.blatchat.com/t.asp?id=200438) but I agree about it being a science and one I don't understand so think I'll definitely do the basics and get it done by someone who knows what their doing.

There's a company a mile from home and another 5 away who can do it so not worth cocking it up myself, hopefully a good chance to learn too

Thanks gents
Ivan

Your welcome

Try this info as a start...

https://www.7-dna.com/eugene/suspension.html

and

https://www.7-dna.com/eugene/roadholding.html

A lot of useful info there, thanks!

Built my first Caterham in 1988/89. The car was a live axle Supersprint with non-adjustable dampers and soggy springs and despite what all the magazines at the time said although it was fine on the road it handled like a dog at hillclimbs and sprints. Eventually fitted adjustable platform dampers, SPR springs and on our perfectly level garage floor set it up so that the ride heights were equal and it had the correct rake, total revelation, better than any engine upgrade. After that I fitted the Caterham front top link modification kit and to be honest I never noticed any difference to the handling but it undoubtedly made the car more stable under braking.

When I built my second car, a 1992/1993 De-Dion, I fitted SPR springs immediately and although the Bilstein dampers did not have adjustable collars Caterham did supply shims if you asked. The car was carefully set up to give equal ride heights and the caster and camber and tow in angles were carefully set along with the correct rake. The only problem I found was the rear toe-in, it was much greater than specified or expected. Caterham sent me another de-dion tube but the result was exactly the same. Simply made some suitable shims and its been like that ever since. The car handled perfectly from day one and using the engine and gearbox out of the live axle car (so I knew the power was identical) the car was faster out of the box. In about 2002 I decided to get the car flat floored, it was 10 years old and had never seen a garage other than the MOT. Took it to one of the established race teams nearby who after 4 hours and £200 removed one of the shims from the rear nearside damper and declared it the best set up car that had ever been in their workshops.

So if you have a flat garage and some simple tools and some time its perfectly possible to do it yourself, my experience proved that.

That's good to know, my garage has a slight slope to it (1 or 2 bricks over the length I can't recall) which would need accounting for though.
Front units are on now and by some freak of nature when I lowered and settled it down the wishbones were parallel to the ground!!