Lowering the Car

[CMA]

Well, I've just ordered the 15" open Protech dampers from Procomp. Unfortunately I just hit their holiday fortnight so they wont be starting on them until the 12th Nov.

They will be re-valving them to suit a lighterweight car as the damping/rebound on the standard Protech is not suitable for such light cars and they will also be matched on the dyno.

I've got a set of 10" 200lb springs coming and the contact I get them from is far cheaper than Procomp or others can supply so at £30 a pair its not too expensive if I decide to go up or down poundage.

Once fitted I have found a local'ish chap that does corner weighting for a sensible fee. Will give it to him and then see what it feel like on track.

[CMA]

Well, the new shiney Protech bits arrived yesterday and I popped my 200lb springs on

Fitted them last night and set the ride height to something like. Just need to wait for some decent weather and see what they're like.

Procomp have re-valved them for the weight of the car and the intended spring rates. So no idea what damping I'll end up at but popped then on 6 clicks of the 13 for now.

If anyone is interested my old Gaz dampers weighed 3.6kg for the pair. The new protech ones weigh 2.4kg for the pair. (without springs)

[stylussprinter]

Did you buy the 1.9 inch shocks ? How wide is the bush on them Rob

[CMA]

I bought the ones for the 2.25 springs as thats what I had with the Gaz.

The bushes can be a range of lengths. I got the 32mm ones and they are a perfect fit for the brackets, no need to space out with washers at all.

[stylussprinter]

I bought the ones for the 2.25 springs as thats what I had with the Gaz.

The bushes can be a range of lengths. I got the 32mm ones and they are a perfect fit for the brackets, no need to space out with washers at all.

That's interesting ----- my new rear links for travel and or lowering will have a 30mm gap in the lower shock mount , just right for the 1.9 '' shock/springs that I advised for new rear links . Just 2mm wider will easily be squeezed into the same gap though if using 2.25 '' shocks/springs.

The 1.9's are lighter and give more room around the inner steel chassis/fibre body areas which is why I use 1.9's at the rear ----- also very slightly cheaper

[DH2]

Well, the new shiney Protech bits arrived yesterday and I popped my 200lb springs on

P1020989a (Medium).jpg

Nice bit of bling!

Dave

[CMA]

Bush sizes from Protech are the same irrespective of whether they are 1.9 or 2.25s so the 1.9's are 32mm too as can be seen here: http://www.protechshocks.co.uk/build-a- ... ed-bush-19

[stylussprinter]

Bush sizes from Protech are the same irrespective of whether they are 1.9 or 2.25s so the 1.9's are 32mm too as can be seen here: http://www.protechshocks.co.uk/build-a- ... ed-bush-19

OK --- soft enough to allow squeezing them into 30mm's OR I could relieve the inner sides 1mm -- depends on who's having them and if they happen to choose spherical bearings rather than bushes THEN it'll be spacers to slip in as opposed to squeezing the bushes

[CMA]

Don't think it should cause anyone an issue, if it does it's not too hard to "adjust" a little

[CMA]

Well, finally got out for the 1st run on Saturday with the new rear dampers on. Set currently at 6 clicks of 13 with 200lb springs.

And as it was icy and even slushy snow in places and I still had my R888s fitted I didn't push it much but over the bumps and pot holes we have in abundance around here the ride felt far more secure and accomplished than it ever did on the Gaz's, no more crashy'ness just a smooth glide. You can tell they have been revalved for a lighter car compared to the Gaz's damping, so far I'm quite impressed. The acid test will be once I get it back on the track and see how it is then.

[stylussprinter]

Well, finally got out for the 1st run on Saturday with the new rear dampers on. Set currently at 6 clicks of 13 with 200lb springs.

And as it was icy and even slushy snow in places and I still had my R888s fitted I didn't push it much but over the bumps and pot holes we have in abundance around here the ride felt far more secure and accomplished than it ever did on the Gaz's, no more crashy'ness just a smooth glide. You can tell they have been revalved for a lighter car compared to the Gaz's damping, so far I'm quite impressed. The acid test will be once I get it back on the track and see how it is then.

Is that 6 clicks of 13 -- 1st , 2nd or 3rd range . With Protechs , once there's normal driving conditions or on track , you need 8 to 10 clicks range 1 for the front and 5 to 7 clicks range 2 for the rear.
Obviously the front '8' goes with the rear '5' clicks adjustment ----- same all round doesn't give the best balance , if that is , you're using my settings for rake , tyre pressure , toe and camber.

[CMA]

I still have my old Gaz on the front with the 250lb springs, but they will be the next thing to go when I have some free cash.

There is no such thing as "range" on the Protechs from what Procomp told me. And as these are a revalved version of the ProTechs they are specifically valved for the weight of car and the intended spring range and the intended location (rear). So 13 clicks max and it's currently set on 6 clicks. Not comparable to off the shelf Protechs at all.

Once the weather has improved I have found a local'ish guy that can corner weight the car, from feedback from others I know that have used him, one being an ex hobby racer I believe, corner weighting has made a massive difference to his homebrew locost, far better than any attempt he had of setting things on a tape measure.

Just need to get on track now and see what its all like.

But to keep me occupied in the garage I now have a 2nd hand blacktop Zetec I'm stripping and making look pretty......

[stylussprinter]

The set-up I mentioned is seperate from corner weighting , that's always done after base set-up. I do my own corner weighting but those who don't track their cars would notice base set-up much more than corner weighting which would be done afterwards .
So Protech don't make the 3 stage 13 click per stage anymore -- is that what you're saying
Any cars I've set-up here with Protechs on them have all been 3 stage 39 total clicks . Either way , if they only have the 13 then I'd set front at 3 and rear at 7 to achieve the same balance . Only trying to help Rob

[CMA]

Any help appreciated Rob, all opinions count towards the final product.

I'm just going on what Procomp told me about the Protech dampers they supply. I've never had any other experience of them to compare.