rear ride height

[kj31067]

did the adjustment . slid it all the way to the right.. much improved stance.................

[SergntMac]

Cool! Reminds me of the air shock craze of my youth.

[Black 04]

With the car that high are you putting alot of stress on the airbags???

[Bluerauder]

With the car that high are you putting alot of stress on the airbags???
I'd be interested in some measurements like from the ground to the bottom of the exhaust tips. Sure seems like mine rides with that "raked" stance anyway --- and it has been that way from the day I picked it up. :D

[Warpath]

With the car that high are you putting alot of stress on the airbags???

Possible. You'd have to see what pressure they are at and compare it to the max allowable.

[kj31067]

after driving it some and looking at it parked in different spots and at different angles, me thinks i m gonna split the difference between the middle and the far right in adjustment.....as far as stress on the air system ,i would nt think so , but i m sure more informed minds would know for sure............:)..........an yone else have theirs adjusted all the way to the right?

[JamesHecker]

I love this site!

I just got my car back today after having new rear shocks installed. I was dissapointed that the car does not have the same rake that it had and I was going to start a thread to ask if there is an adjustment for this.

How do I adjust the rake?

[ROADWARRIORSVT]

did the adjustment . slid it all the way to the right..



Slid what to the right? I'm guessing we can adjust our rear ride height?

Sorry, I took the short school bus......:rolleyes:

[kj31067]

do a search and there should be a thread outlining the adjustment
with photos...........

[LordVader]

My question would be, was there any difference in the way your MM handled and if so is that one of your reasons for splitting the difference?

[kj31067]

My question would be, was there any difference in the way your MM handled and if so is that one of your reasons for splitting the difference?




that is one of the reasons....i dont think it handles as well and it also seems a little harsher over road irregularities ...i think halfway between center and far right should be about where i want

it as far as rake and it wont be too far from factory as far as ride and handling......will know this weekend ........:)

[EbonyMarauder03]

According to the Ford Service manual the distance from the rear axle jounce cushion to the arch of the frame over the axle should be 118 mm +/- 8 mm. I'm going to look at mine when I can to check it.

[mtnh]

I can see where running at the nearly full extension of the rear shocks will cause the shock to be the active suspension travel extension stop (the opposite of the rebound cushion on the compression stroke of the shock) and that right there would immediately turn the ride to harsh, let alone what it might do to the shocks and their frame mounting points. On my car, the ride was too low, and the rubber cushions were routinely being contacted. Before a recent road trip, I adjusted to raise the height and the ride was much better. I have not yet checked the telltale rebound cushion marks on the contact area, but I would think that with the ride being much better now, the cushion mating surface will be less shiny looking than it was in august. The adjustment also brought my headlights beam pattern down to a normal level, from being up in the air for 4 years.

[MM2]

I adjusted mine to the left for a more level stance,doesn't seem to affect ride or handling.

[BigCars4Ever]

I adjusted mine 1/4 inch to the left to fix the rake after the Eibach front spring install.

[Warpath]

I can see where running at the nearly full extension of the rear shocks will cause the shock to be the active suspension travel extension stop (the opposite of the rebound cushion on the compression stroke of the shock) and that right there would immediately turn the ride to harsh, let alone what it might do to the shocks and their frame mounting points. On my car, the ride was too low, and the rubber cushions were routinely being contacted. Before a recent road trip, I adjusted to raise the height and the ride was much better. I have not yet checked the telltale rebound cushion marks on the contact area, but I would think that with the ride being much better now, the cushion mating surface will be less shiny looking than it was in august. The adjustment also brought my headlights beam pattern down to a normal level, from being up in the air for 4 years.

As far as loads go, upping the rear height may make the loads go down. The wheel will have less rebound (wheel away from the body) travel. Therefore, it won't fall as far into a pothole which may lower impact load. When a wheel falls into a pothole, it hits the other side and shoots up like a rocket. It then hits the upper bumper (jounce bumper) with a great deal of force. With the suspension much higher, there is more travel available to slow the wheel down and it may hit the end of travel with less force. It's just a thought.

[mtnh]

Hi Joe, I see your point. My point was simply that with the high spring pressure and the sudden drop of a wheel into a hole, the only thing that would stop the downward wheel travel would be the shock itself, and I find that hardly a worthy suspension travel stop that would last indefinitely. I totally agree with you regarding the longer compression travel, and I saw that in my own case when I raised the rear up to where the headlights were aimed properly. The evidence of commonplace rebound stops on the rubber with the highly polished steel surface that made contact with the rubber told me that there was too little compression travel, and the ride definitely echoed that sentiment. Very harsh on moderate bumps that you encounter in new england on a daily basis, such as highway bridge transitions and dips in the roadway where sewer drain grates on the side of the road are sinking, for example.

My caution was merely a concern for too little extension travel in the rear suspension with the setting at max height.

[Warpath]

Actually, the only thing stopping downward travel is the shock itself regardless of suspension height. The spring doesn't limit travel as long as the shock and bumpers are in place. I think I see your point though. The higher bag pressure may make the suspension hit the rebound bumper harder in a pot hole. Maybe.

[Marauderjack]

I think the pressure should remain the same since the rear end weight the bag is holdin up is constant.....you just have more air volume inside the bag??:confused:

Now shock travel is a different animal!!;)

Marauderjack:cool:

[MarauderMark]

I love this site!

I just got my car back today after having new rear shocks installed. I was dissapointed that the car does not have the same rake that it had and I was going to start a thread to ask if there is an adjustment for this.

How do I adjust the rake?

Very easy. The position sensor attaches to the Watts link on the driver's side. The Watts link attaches to the frame above the axle and to the linkage on the rear end above the yoke. There is a slotted hole that the sensor attaches to. Loosen the mounting pivot for the sensor and move it from one side to the other of the slot. It's trial and error, the best way to deal with it is to adjust, get in the car and turn on the key (or crank it), then turn it off, get out, and close the door. Check the level and re-adjust 'til you get it where you want it.

[mtnh]

Joe, I think you must have mis-understood me. I was not trying to say that with a higher shock extension that you would come down on the bump stop harder when encountering a pot-hole. I was concerned with the shock having to restrain the suspension travel when it goes into the hole at max shock extension length, as you would see when jacking the frame at a corner and the wheel extending all the way until the shock stops suspension travel downward. I cannot imagine that riding the suspension at max elevation would make the car more likely to have the bump stop on the frame be more frequently exercised.

The area of my concern was, how well can the shock and the shock mountings handle the stress of an outward pounding of a wheel suddenly go down in a hole when that air spring was lifted so high that there was
not much further travel in an outward direction for that shock. I don't know what the weak link would be, but I might think that it could be the piston in the shock or the seals in the shock when the piston bottoms out at full extension. Or would that be called "topping out"? :)

Mike

[LVMarauder]

I adjusted the airbags the same way when I did my eibach springs. Retained the rake but dropepd overall 1.2 front and 1.3 in the rear. Looks badass and handles even better.

[kj31067]

well, i reset it splitting the difference between full on high and the middle. thats the ticket...rides great and has the perfect rake.(imho)
if you are looking for an initial starting point to adjust to, this is probably it...............:D

[JamesHecker]

Very easy. The position sensor attaches to the Watts link on the driver's side. The Watts link attaches to the frame above the axle and to the linkage on the rear end above the yoke. There is a slotted hole that the sensor attaches to. Loosen the mounting pivot for the sensor and move it from one side to the other of the slot. It's trial and error, the best way to deal with it is to adjust, get in the car and turn on the key (or crank it), then turn it off, get out, and close the door. Check the level and re-adjust 'til you get it where you want it.


Thanks! I appreciate it.

[Warpath]

I think the pressure should remain the same since the rear end weight the bag is holdin up is constant.....you just have more air volume inside the bag??:confused:

Now shock travel is a different animal!!;)

Marauderjack:cool:

Good point. I stand partially corrected. ;) As long as the air bag doesn't change diameter and the piston (the bottom mount of the bag) cross section remains constant at any height, then yes, it's a change in volume only. I always think of pressure change incorrectly. I think the piston is not a constant cross section so that spring rate is linear. But, for all practical purposes, volume only changes.

[Warpath]

Joe, I think you must have mis-understood me. I was not trying to say that with a higher shock extension that you would come down on the bump stop harder when encountering a pot-hole. I was concerned with the shock having to restrain the suspension travel when it goes into the hole at max shock extension length, as you would see when jacking the frame at a corner and the wheel extending all the way until the shock stops suspension travel downward. I cannot imagine that riding the suspension at max elevation would make the car more likely to have the bump stop on the frame be more frequently exercised.

The area of my concern was, how well can the shock and the shock mountings handle the stress of an outward pounding of a wheel suddenly go down in a hole when that air spring was lifted so high that there was
not much further travel in an outward direction for that shock. I don't know what the weak link would be, but I might think that it could be the piston in the shock or the seals in the shock when the piston bottoms out at full extension. Or would that be called "topping out"? :)

Mike

Yes, I misunderstood. With the suspension higher, the wheel has less distance to fall. So, it may not hit as hard. That's just a guess. I'm not smart enough to know for sure.

I've had topping described as follows. If you hit a large bump like crossing an intersection, the body/frame is bounced upward. It will continue to travel upward until either the springs/shocks stop it or it hits the rebound bumper. Topping is when it hits the rebound bumper. The body slows down significantly. But, you continue upward in your seat and it makes the ride seem rougher.