My predicament on suspension/tires/comfort

[wallstbear]

The sport suspension on my 'Mira has turned out a bit too bouncy for my taste on real world roads, and am trying to to decide among 3 options:

A. Get 255/35/20-305/30/20 tires and get 3-4mm extra tire height. Probably won't do very much, and will raise the (already rather high) ride height by a few mm's.

B. Get 235/40/19-285/35/19 tires and a new set of 19 rims. Pros: new rims, better comfort, 7mm more "meat" to tackle the potholes. Cons: less pretty. Ride height will go down by 4.5mm which could be a plus depending on who you are asking, but tire-fender gap will increase by the same amount.

C. Bite the bullet and get a new set of suspension. That said, I was under the impression that taller tires have a bigger effect on potholes and the like than suspension so not sure if this will have as much impact.

Overall, will need to balance cost, looks, functionality (don't we all).

Thoughts?

 

[seriously]

You could also try stock tire sizes with a more comfortable tire. Ride quality definitely differs between track focused tires with stiff sidewalls and more all around tires like the PS4S. Very comfortable and high performing tire. I assume you’re coming from the cup 2s.

 

[JimH]

You could also try stock tire sizes with a more comfortable tire. Ride quality definitely differs between track focused tires with stiff sidewalls and more all around tires like the PS4S. Very comfortable and high performing tire. I assume you’re coming from the cup 2s.

Wouldn't the obvious choice in this scenario be the Goodyear F1 LTS spec tyres used for the Touring package (or Sport wIth Goodyear) as specified by Lotus?

 

[kitkat]

I’m giving this advice based on how you’re initially presenting the issue of bounciness and what i know of the sport suspension, you should elaborate more on how the suspension feels to you.

Here we go anyways:

Just talk to a performance suspension shop and then dyno the existing damper and revalve them to make them less harsh. This would be a cheaper option and you retain all the stock parts with a damper tuning exactly how you’d like it.

I honestly don’t think changing the tire is going to help you that much. I’ve had an overdamped car with 18s and 20s and large differences in sidewall and you can’t fix that issue with tire.

Alternatively just buy the springs and dampers from lotus for the touring package.

 

[brainf18]

The sport suspension on my 'Mira has turned out a bit too bouncy for my taste on real world roads, and am trying to to decide among 3 options:

A. Get 255/35/20-305/30/20 tires and get 3-4mm extra tire height. Probably won't do very much, and will raise the (already rather high) ride height by a few mm's.

B. Get 235/40/19-285/35/19 tires and a new set of 19 rims. Pros: new rims, better comfort, 7mm more "meat" to tackle the potholes. Cons: less pretty. Ride height will go down by 4.5mm which could be a plus depending on who you are asking, but tire-fender gap will increase by the same amount.

C. Bite the bullet and get a new set of suspension. That said, I was under the impression that taller tires have a bigger effect on potholes and the like than suspension so not sure if this will have as much impact.

Overall, will need to balance cost, looks, functionality (don't we all).

Thoughts?

You can order the Touring shocks and springs from Lotus to swap out.

I said this in a suspension threat. The Sport suspension = Track biased. The Tour suspension = Road biased. If you don't drive your Emira on the track (often) skip the sport(track) suspension

 

[Blackthought_]

The sport suspension on my 'Mira has turned out a bit too bouncy for my taste on real world roads, and am trying to to decide among 3 options:

A. Get 255/35/20-305/30/20 tires and get 3-4mm extra tire height. Probably won't do very much, and will raise the (already rather high) ride height by a few mm's.

B. Get 235/40/19-285/35/19 tires and a new set of 19 rims. Pros: new rims, better comfort, 7mm more "meat" to tackle the potholes. Cons: less pretty. Ride height will go down by 4.5mm which could be a plus depending on who you are asking, but tire-fender gap will increase by the same amount.

C. Bite the bullet and get a new set of suspension. That said, I was under the impression that taller tires have a bigger effect on potholes and the like than suspension so not sure if this will have as much impact.

Overall, will need to balance cost, looks, functionality (don't we all).

Thoughts?

Just curious, have you tried the touring suspension on the Emira? I would think the touring is even more bouncy.

 

[Nova]

Just curious, have you tried the touring suspension on the Emira? I would think the touring is even more bouncy.

I am curious as well, mainly to see how well he likes touring in comparison.

When people describe a bouncy suspension, they are likely referring to how the car transmits more of the road surface undulations and shocks from sudden road transitions/imperfections. Typically, a softer suspension would feel more "floaty", the opposite of "bouncy"

 

[brainf18]

Just curious, have you tried the touring suspension on the Emira? I would think the touring is even more bouncy.

I've driven both back to back. Touring is by far the better suspension choice for a road going Emira. Its sporty yet supple. Firm enough but doesn't beat you up when the pavement is less than perfect. So No...Touring suspension is not at all bouncy.

NA Market Ordered: Sport or Touring suspension

Tested both and will give my two cents later today. Question…. Is the Cup2s softer therefore smoother when riding on the road, meaning F1s would be harsher? I tested sports with cup2 and tour with f1 back to back. Wondering if sports with f1 would feel more bumpy. Sport suspension F1 vs Cup...

www.emiraforum.com

 

[kitkat]

I am curious as well, mainly to see how well he likes touring in comparison.

When people describe a bouncy suspension, they are likely referring to how the car transmits more of the road surface undulations and shocks from sudden road transitions/imperfections. Typically, a softer suspension would feel more "floaty", the opposite of "bouncy"

Yeah this is why i’m asking for more information.

 

[Blackthought_]

I am curious as well, mainly to see how well he likes touring in comparison.

When people describe a bouncy suspension, they are likely referring to how the car transmits more of the road surface undulations and shocks from sudden road transitions/imperfections. Typically, a softer suspension would feel more "floaty", the opposite of "bouncy"

Agreed. I’m coming from a lotus Evora GT and felt the suspension was good in that it soaked up bumps and I considered it a bit ‘floaty’. My car before that was an amg GTS and the suspension on that was ‘jarring’ any time I went over bumps. There was virtually no flex and could make your body hurt. Hoping the sport suspension in the Emira is somewhere in between.

 

[Speedy Emira]

I totally agree that swapping the tyres to different sizes is not the way to sort your suspension out and it will be down to the shocks.
My off-roader with 4c4 big tyres is more bouncy on the road after going for bigger tyres but is better off road. Going narrower is definitely not the way to go because Lotus have tons tons of R&D on road and track for both of their suspension set ups.
Even when I was on the oem sport shocks and Goodyear tyres I didn’t think it was too bouncy in UK b roads and thought it wasn’t far off how a Cayman felt other than more steering feel with the Lotus..
I feel you would be better off getting a suspension specialist to come out in your car so you can explain and see if you could have custom shocks fitted.

 

[wallstbear]

You could also try stock tire sizes with a more comfortable tire. Ride quality definitely differs between track focused tires with stiff sidewalls and more all around tires like the PS4S. Very comfortable and high performing tire. I assume you’re coming from the cup 2s.

Yes indeed it's on Cup2s. Will do some research on this solution.

 

[wallstbear]

I’m giving this advice based on how you’re initially presenting the issue of bounciness and what i know of the sport suspension, you should elaborate more on how the suspension feels to you.

Here we go anyways:

Just talk to a performance suspension shop and then dyno the existing damper and revalve them to make them less harsh. This would be a cheaper option and you retain all the stock parts with a damper tuning exactly how you’d like it.

I honestly don’t think changing the tire is going to help you that much. I’ve had an overdamped car with 18s and 20s and large differences in sidewall and you can’t fix that issue with tire.

Alternatively just buy the springs and dampers from lotus for the touring package.

Maybe “bouncy" is not the best way to describe this. What I meant was due to the rigid suspension, wheels tend to lose traction and go all over the place when hitting little potholes, bumps, seams, joints and other irregularities in roads. They do not "hug" the road as well. Of course on a well paved racetrack it all goes away.

Will talk to a suspension shop and see what they say.

 

[wallstbear]

I am curious as well, mainly to see how well he likes touring in comparison.

When people describe a bouncy suspension, they are likely referring to how the car transmits more of the road surface undulations and shocks from sudden road transitions/imperfections. Typically, a softer suspension would feel more "floaty", the opposite of "bouncy"

That's exactly right. Thank you.

 

[wallstbear]

Wouldn't the obvious choice in this scenario be the Goodyear F1 LTS spec tyres used for the Touring package (or Sport wIth Goodyear) as specified by Lotus?

It would, except ordering parts from the UK will likely be a rather time consuming (and potentially costly) solution at this point.

 

[JimH]

It would, except ordering parts from the UK will likely be a rather time consuming (and potentially costly) solution at this point.

Surely your dealer should be able to supply at least, if not local tyre suppliers?

 

[Speedy Emira]

You could try calling a shock specialist like Nitron who already makes them for the Emira. They can bespoke them for your preference and will undoubtedly unless what needs to be altered with guessing. The good thing with the Nitron shocks is they can be rebuilt a different way in the future if your application changes.

 

[MYFASTEFE]

Changing the tires wont help much. Springs or a new set of coils will. Another Option is go to someone that re-do the shocks but for the money....... Nitron makes good stuff.

 

[seriously]

Maybe “bouncy" is not the best way to describe this. What I meant was due to the rigid suspension, wheels tend to lose traction and go all over the place when hitting little potholes, bumps, seams, joints and other irregularities in roads. They do not "hug" the road as well. Of course on a well paved racetrack it all goes away.

Will talk to a suspension shop and see what they say.

It seems like you are describing how the car is "grabby" and responds to road imperfections. I have no idea if this is true, but I imagine you'll still have some of that with a softer suspension. I think it's a part of being mid-engined, lighter front end, sensitive steering that is less filtered, etc.

 

[wallstbear]

Surely your dealer should be able to supply at least, if not local tyre suppliers?

Sure. Might be worth looking into. That said, last I ordered anything from Lotus (ie the car itself) it took 2.5 years.