Ride height

[Magicman]

Are we assuming these cars out and about now are now production ride height? It's not terrible but it's not great either... or am I just used to seeing blue show car and my GT4 ride height/stance?

 

[mjw930]

It isn’t high for a touring setup but IMHO a sport setup should be at least 20mm lower. Also hoping maybe there will be a track pack available by the time I get to order that will include adjustable spring perches for ride height and corner balance but that’s probably a pipe dream.

If not then I’ll simply have the shock bodies machined so the spring perch is 20mm lower. That’s an easy fix with Bilstein’s. Just machine a new groove for the lower perch clip to ride in.

 

[Green]

It isn’t high for a touring setup but IMHO a sport setup should be at least 20mm lower. Also hoping maybe there will be a track pack available by the time I get to order that will include adjustable spring perches for ride height and corner balance but that’s probably a pipe dream.

If not then I’ll simply have the shock bodies machined so the spring perch is 20mm lower. That’s an easy fix with Bilstein’s. Just machine a new groove for the lower perch clip to ride in.

Tom mentioned these for the Evora. I’m sure there will be the same for the Emira. https://www.gregsraceparts.com/products/evora-suspension-lowering-cups-by-boe

Before and after pictures on link. It will be my first mod when available.

 

[kitkat]

Keep in mind that simply lowering the car via spring perch height and keeping spring rate the same isn’t the most ideal thing for handling. You’re moving the roll center of the car likely further away from the center of gravity and increasing the moment arm. This has the effect of increasing dynamic body roll and slowing handling response. Additionally you’re giving up damper travel and BOE has you cut a bit of the bump stop to get a bit of it back. I’m not sure how much damper travel Lotuses usually have but on a lot of cars it’s not uncommon to see just over an inch or two of travel before leaning into a progressive bump stop.

 

[VL3X]

Tom mentioned these for the Evora. I’m sure there will be the same for the Emira. https://www.gregsraceparts.com/products/evora-suspension-lowering-cups-by-boe

Before and after pictures on link. It will be my first mod when available.

That's great and all, but I don't really want to have to mod (and void the suspension component warranty) on my brand new $100k sports car. Especially one from a brand that's known for sublime handling. The ride height should look identical to the configurator, otherwise it feels like false advertising.

 

[NicolasB]

Maybe the FE wheels will help a bit.

Did we get a confirmation (like 100%) that ride height between touring and sport suspension is the same??

 

[VL3X]

Maybe the FE wheels will help a bit.

Did we get a confirmation (like 100%) that ride height between touring and sport suspension is the same??

Not 100% confirmed, but that's what's been reported verbally from Matt Windle at these various Emira events. Though he is also on video saying the Emira's 2GR V6 makes 416HP and not 400, so who knows...

 

[TomE]

Maybe the FE wheels will help a bit.

Did we get a confirmation (like 100%) that ride height between touring and sport suspension is the same??

Yes they’re both the same ride height. Direct from Gav Kershaw.

 

[mjw930]

Yes they’re both the same ride height. Direct from Gav Kershaw.

Yes but the VP cars and all the show cars they shipped all over the world we at least 20mm lower in the front than the latest batch of pre-production cars we’ve been seeing, the rears seem to be about the same except for the static models which are slammed. I guess we all get to wait until production cars hit the street to see who was telling the truth.

Think about it, Matt and others have been quick to let everyone know the show car seats are 1” higher than production but no one has said the show cars suspension is 1” lower, have they?

I’m not talking about slamming the suspension and I seriously doubt a 10-20mm drop is going to have any measurable effect on handling, cause the shocks to bottom out or void any warranties. I did notice in the BOE pictures the Evora had close to a 50mm drop from stock, there was zero gap from tire to fender, I’m not looking for that. I just want the same stance as VP007.

 

[Cachaco131]

The answer to the OP's question is "no one knows". It's all speculation right now.

 

[dgrace]

If someone at a factory tour could peek under the car and see if the shock bodies are threaded as on the grey prototype car, that might be informative as to how much we can trust the height of the latest preprod models. I’m thinking unthreaded shocks are likely production parts.

(I’m also thinking that the Lotus rep’s promises to me at the dealer roadshow that the grey car represents production height are likely meaningless)

 

[MCS]

😛

 

[TomE]

Yes but the VP cars and all the show cars they shipped all over the world we at least 20mm lower in the front than the latest butch of pre-production cars we’ve been seeing, the rears seem to be about the same except for the static models which are slammed. I guess we all get to wait until production cars hit the street to see who was telling the truth.

Think about it, Matt and others have been quick to let everyone know the show car seats are 1” higher than production but no one has said the show cars suspension is 1” lower, have they?

I’m not talking about slamming the suspension and I seriously doubt a 10-20mm drop is going to have any measurable effect on handling, cause the shocks to bottom out or void any warranties. I did notice in the BOE pictures the Evora had close to a 50mm drop from stock, there was zero gap from tire to fender, I’m not looking for that. I just want the same stance as VP007.

Yes they have. They have said numerous times the Seneca Blue show car is riding about 20mm lower than production height and the Shadow Grey dynamic prototype is running about 5mm above production height.

 

[DenzilP]

Yes they have. They have said numerous times the Seneca Blue show car is riding about 20mm lower than production height and the Shadow Grey dynamic prototype is running about 5mm above production height.

Where do you think the current configurator sits ? To me it looks like 10mm above the blue show car.

 

[mjw930]

Yes they have. They have said numerous times the Seneca Blue show car is riding about 20mm lower than production height and the Shadow Grey dynamic prototype is running about 5mm above production height.

Sorry, I haven’t read every single thread here

Then every almost complete car I saw on my factory tour last week is riding at least 20mm higher than what they claim will be stock ride height. And that’s why these threads exist. New cars coming off the line are dramatically higher than this claim.

And I’m really pissed at myself for not taking a closer look at the front and rear clips they had assembled but I don’t recall noticing adjustable perches. I’m hoping I’m wrong which makes these threads entirely moot.

 

[TXEMIRA]

Silly question, but is this another small win for DV? Does a darker color help with ride height compared to a lighter or brighter car which would show the gap as “larger”?

#ForTheDV

 

[digilotus]

Silly question, but is this another small win for DV? Does a darker color help with ride height compared to a lighter or brighter car which would show the gap as “larger”?

#ForTheDV

Yes it does but another colour does it best.

#ForTheShadow

 

[TXEMIRA]

Yes it does but another colour does it best.

#ForTheShadow

Just thinking out loud here. DV with black pack will just make that gigantic gap look like part of the design right? DV with black pack could be called “Gap Pack”.

I’m not saying it’s “Subaru Outback” gap but it’s definitely not “show car” gap…

#ForTheGapPack

 

[digilotus]

Just thinking out loud here. DV with black pack will just make that gigantic gap look like part of the design right? DV with black pack could be called “Gap Pack”.

I’m not saying it’s “Subaru Outback” gap but it’s definitely not “show car” gap…

#ForTheGapPack

Based on this thread I think we need to find the #NoMoreGapsPack !

 

[TomE]

Where do you think the current configurator sits ? To me it looks like 10mm above the blue show car.View attachment 5594

It depends which environment you use in the configurator. I agree your screenshot looks about halfway between the blue showcar and grey dynamic prototype. But switch it to Sunlight or Studio and it changes slightly - in some views the gap also looks different between front and rear. In Video it looks different again (although harder to tell even when you pause it) and in the final few seconds when stationary it appears to be riding higher.

I appreciate in the absence of a definitive statement and pics from Lotus it's tempting to analyse every picture in minute detail. Unfortunately that's not going to solve it, we need Lotus to tell us and show us.

What we know so far is the two main cars shown at roadshows before Australia (Seneca Blue and Shadow Grey) are below and slightly above production height by amounts Lotus have stated. We also know lots of other prototypes, cars mid-build at the factory and in various spyshot/leaked photos are not at the final production height.

It's obviously frustrating we haven't got a clear answer yet. Maybe someone at Bathurst or Lotus Queensland this week can ask the Lotus team again.