Ride height/stance actual measurements with photos with different springs and shocks

Bmachine

Bmachine

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There are lots of discussions about ride height but I have found very few actual numbers tied to corresponding photos to quantify that. Things like "Springs from XYZ lower the ride height by x inches/mm" don't mean much since they don't say relative to what. (Compared to 50 year old original springs with varying degrees of sagging?)

It would be useful to compile a list of the measurement from the floor to the top of wheel arch with matching photo for as many setups as possible. Then indicate what springs, tire size and inflation, plus rear spacer thickness since they all impact ride height. Various iterations of the Carl Nelson springs have been used, stock springs, coil overs, H&B, and I am really interested in the looks and measurements of the Paul Baker springs which look really good in the thread below. I know @HB Chris has installed them so if you could post pics and numbers, that would be awesome

The goal would be to have a repository where anyone could go and say "If I use these springs with these wheel and tires, this is approximately what the stance/ride height will look like"

PBCM lowering springs

I've been through the European offerings for lowering springs (Jaymic / H&R) and have finally found my optimum solution in springs manufactured by Paul Baker, who may of you in the UK will know for his restoration business, and his knowledge of E9's and CSL's. Previous springs were either too...
e9coupe.com e9coupe.com
 
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One post I found was from 2013 where @deQuincey posted these numbers:

Lan-suspension new shock absorbers and springs front and rear

Hey dQ, I'm impressed like always when you generate a "How To Do It" for the community. The result looks quite great at the front end, but what happened to the rear ? Looks way higher now than before. Or do the springs need some certain kilometers to sit a bit deeper ? Great car, but imho...
e9coupe.com e9coupe.com



ALL DIMENSIONS IN (mm)

...............................LEFT SIDE: ..............RIGHT SIDE:

GAP FRONT ...................35 ..........................35
GAP REAR .....................32 ..........................35

FLOOR FRONT ...............275 .........................280
FLOOR REAR .................300 .........................300

WHEEL CENTRE FRONT ...350 .........................352
WHEEL CENTRE REAR .....347 .........................350

(EDIT: my original totals below where wrong because I misread where the Floor measurement was ending in the above photo. Here are the correct numbers. Thank you DQ!)

Which gives a floor to wheel arch measure of 665mm / 26.2in front and 662mm / 26.0in rear
He said in that post that he was using the CN springs at the time.
 
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Mine is using Hardy and Beck springs in the rear and B&G in the front.
Tires are all 215/55/16.
Inflation is 35psi front, 32 psi rear
Rear spacers are W&N 2 dots

1696102297821.jpeg

Measurements are 664mm / 26.14in front

1696102493541.jpeg 1696102514515.jpeg

and 635mm / 25in rear

1696102547831.jpeg 1696102566827.jpeg
 
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Good point @boonies. Thank you for that link. I am hoping to build on that excellent spreadsheet idea to include photos which illustrate what those numbers actually result in, as well as to include numbers for the rear setup. I also want to include name/brand for the springs so people know what each of them does. Paul also says he was looking for data "on stock front springs originally fitted to the E9 Coupes" while this would be for any of the currently available alternatives.
 
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Bmachine said:
One post I found was from 2013 where @deQuincey posted these numbers:

Lan-suspension new shock absorbers and springs front and rear

Hey dQ, I'm impressed like always when you generate a "How To Do It" for the community. The result looks quite great at the front end, but what happened to the rear ? Looks way higher now than before. Or do the springs need some certain kilometers to sit a bit deeper ? Great car, but imho...
e9coupe.com e9coupe.com



ALL DIMENSIONS IN (mm)

...............................LEFT SIDE: ..............RIGHT SIDE:

GAP FRONT ...................35 ..........................35
GAP REAR .....................32 ..........................35

FLOOR FRONT ...............275 .........................280
FLOOR REAR .................300 .........................300

WHEEL CENTRE FRONT ...350 .........................352
WHEEL CENTRE REAR .....347 .........................350

Which gives a floor to wheel arch measure of 650mm / 25.6in front and 647mm / 25.4in rear
He said in that post that he was using the CN springs at the time.
Click to expand...

you took a bad reference, because my floor measurement is from floor to body panel not to wheel centre,


so to compare with your dimension you must do the following :

FRONT
350-35= 315, this is wheel radius
and now 315+350 = 665mm same as yours

REAR
347-32=315 well done !
now 347+315= 662mm, higher than yours, but my spacers rear are the thick ones
 
deQuincey said:
you took a bad reference, because my floor measurement is from floor to body panel not to wheel centre,


so to compare with your dimension you must do the following :

FRONT
350-35= 315, this is wheel radius
and now 315+350 = 665mm same as yours

REAR
347-32=315 well done !
now 347+315= 662mm, higher than yours, but my spacers rear are the thick ones
Click to expand...
OK, it took me a while to understand this. Because the picture is dark and that Photobucket graphic is in the way, it looked like your Floor measurement was going to wheel center. But now I see what you are saying! It is only going to body panel. Thank you for clarifying!

That is why I like a simple measurement from floor to wheel arch. There is no ambiguity or calculation needed there. And, when we judge the stance of a car that is really the simplest way to put a number to that visual quality

One additional variable that should be mentioned is, as you pointed out, which rear spacers are used. I will add that to the original post
 
Pirelli 205/70-14 tires, PBCM lowering springs, three dot rear pad (required!)

24 3/4” front, 24” rear measured from floor to arch
IMG_7067.jpeg
IMG_7069.jpeg
 
Nice Chris!!! Those are really good numbers. They seem to match the photos posted by Paul Baker in the link above very nicely. Do you have a profile shot of your car by any chance?
 
I just installed the @Paul Baker springs. I used the 3dot rubber pad in the rear. Here are the new measurements;

Tires at 205-55 front, 225-50 rear. Pressure is 32lbs all around. Shocks are the usual Bilsteins B6

Front: 647mm/25-1/2" Rears: 615mm/ 24-3/8" with spare tire and some tools, 623mm/24-5/8" with no spare tire or anything else
I did that second measurement because Paul told me that these springs were originally designed for the lighter CSL. This may account for the slightly low stance in the rear that @HB Chris had noticed. My car, being a US '74, has several additional structural reinforcement pieces which add weight and most likely account for the lower stance.

IMG_5045.jpeg IMG_5046.jpeg

Here is what it looks like:

IMG_4966.jpeg IMG_4967.jpeg
 
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