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[EVDL] Raising MacPhersons

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E
The good news is that after 9 months on jack stands, the MetroLetrical
(aka the G-zero) is back on the road with an upgraded LiFePO4 battery
pack! The bad news is that the new battery layout has shifted about
100 pounds shifted from the rear to the front of the car, and
unfortunately, this makes the nose ride a little too low. Metros have
MacPherson struts on the front. I'd like to raise the front end 1.5 -
2.0 inches. Someone suggested that the springs on the 1995-1997 model
were a little stiffer than those on my 1993, and that might give me
possibly an inch lift. But are there other options for lifting the
front suspension with the MacPhersons?

Thanks.

Bill

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E

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72,624 Posts
Discussion Starter · #2 ·
Bill, I know this sounds strange, but I would visit the tire and rim store
that does the 22 inch rims on a Chevrolet and they have some sort of lift
accesories to make the rims and tires fit in the wheel wells. since other
cars use MacPherson struts too.
Regards,
Dennis Lee Miles (Director) E.V.T.I. inc.
www.E-V-T-I-Inc.COM (Adviser) EVTI-EVA Education Chapter
Phone (863) 944 - 9913
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bill Dennis <[email protected]> wrote:

> The good news is that after 9 months on jack stands, the MetroLetrical
> (aka the G-zero) is back on the road with an upgraded LiFePO4 battery
> pack! The bad news is that the new battery layout has shifted about
> 100 pounds shifted from the rear to the front of the car, and
> unfortunately, this makes the nose ride a little too low. Metros have
> MacPherson struts on the front. I'd like to raise the front end 1.5 -
> 2.0 inches. Someone suggested that the springs on the 1995-1997 model
> were a little stiffer than those on my 1993, and that might give me
> possibly an inch lift. But are there other options for lifting the
> front suspension with the MacPhersons?
>
> Thanks.
>
> Bill
>
>
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Discussion Starter · #3 ·
Bill,

Back when I started my conversion I went with www.coilsprings.com/
[[email protected]] out of Kansas and they made a perfect set, front and
back, to make my car set within 1/6 of an inch of what I wanted. All I did
was tell them the added weight from stock and they did the rest. Fronts
Coils set me back about $260 for the pair. Michael Chamberlain here on the
list gave me the idea and name and also the local business in VA use them to
do any of the custom spring work they need. Very good to work with. If
fact they were one of the best and most knowledgeable outfit that I worked
with during the whole conversion. I just slipped the new spring on my
existing struts and all was great.

Buddy Mills
[email protected]
Look mom, no gas. http://www.evalbum.com/2887
Disclaimer: No animals were harmed or killed in the process of writing this
email. Any stories to the contrary are, for the most part, either fictional
or greatly exaggerated.




-----Original Message-----
From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf
Of Bill Dennis
Sent: Monday, August 30, 2010 11:37 PM
To: Electric Vehicle Discussion List
Subject: [EVDL] Raising MacPhersons

The good news is that after 9 months on jack stands, the MetroLetrical
(aka the G-zero) is back on the road with an upgraded LiFePO4 battery
pack! The bad news is that the new battery layout has shifted about
100 pounds shifted from the rear to the front of the car, and
unfortunately, this makes the nose ride a little too low. Metros have
MacPherson struts on the front. I'd like to raise the front end 1.5 -
2.0 inches. Someone suggested that the springs on the 1995-1997 model
were a little stiffer than those on my 1993, and that might give me
possibly an inch lift. But are there other options for lifting the
front suspension with the MacPhersons?

Thanks.

Bill

_______________________________________________
| REPLYING: address your message to [email protected] only.
| Multiple-address or CCed messages may be rejected.
| UNSUBSCRIBE: http://www.evdl.org/help/index.html#usub
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| OPTIONS: http://lists.sjsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/ev


_______________________________________________
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E

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72,624 Posts
Discussion Starter · #4 ·
Hello Bill,

Air Ride Technologies makes a air strut that replaces these types of
suspensions. It replaces the springs and you do not need any shocks. It's
a direct bolt in unit and can be pre-adjusted to 12 different positions.

See: www.ridetech.com

I am using the ShockWave air system in my 1977 ElCamino which now has been
on my EV since 2002. I place 2600 lbs in the bed ahead of the rear axil
which lower the front end by 0.75 of a inch. I also can haul up to 1600 lbs
of cargo that can place on top of the very heavy duty epoxy fiberglass
battery box hinge covers and still have a level ride. You can adjust the
suspension for either a soft ride or a harsh ride.

Roland


----- Original Message -----
From: "Bill Dennis" <[email protected]>
To: "Electric Vehicle Discussion List" <[email protected]>
Sent: Monday, August 30, 2010 8:36 PM
Subject: [EVDL] Raising MacPhersons


> The good news is that after 9 months on jack stands, the MetroLetrical
> (aka the G-zero) is back on the road with an upgraded LiFePO4 battery
> pack! The bad news is that the new battery layout has shifted about
> 100 pounds shifted from the rear to the front of the car, and
> unfortunately, this makes the nose ride a little too low. Metros have
> MacPherson struts on the front. I'd like to raise the front end 1.5 -
> 2.0 inches. Someone suggested that the springs on the 1995-1997 model
> were a little stiffer than those on my 1993, and that might give me
> possibly an inch lift. But are there other options for lifting the
> front suspension with the MacPhersons?
>
> Thanks.
>
> Bill
>
> _______________________________________________
> | REPLYING: address your message to [email protected] only.
> | Multiple-address or CCed messages may be rejected.
> | UNSUBSCRIBE: http://www.evdl.org/help/index.html#usub
> | OTHER HELP: http://evdl.org/help/
> | OPTIONS: http://lists.sjsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/ev
>

_______________________________________________
| REPLYING: address your message to [email protected] only.
| Multiple-address or CCed messages may be rejected.
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E

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72,624 Posts
Discussion Starter · #5 ·
One common way to lift a car with McPherson struts is to put a spacer block
on the top of it where the three bolts hold the top bearing to the strut
perch -- this is common on subarus when lifting them for offroading.
Probably impossible to find a professionally designed strut block spacer for
most other cars though, since they are not commonly offroaded. Also, this
will increase the angle of your CV joints, and depending on their strength
and the factory angle, you may need to space the front sub-suspension
downwards in order to decrease the angle -- this is also commonly done on
subaru's when lifting them. Then of course, once you've done all this, the
ground clearance hasn't actually improved, but you now have room for larger
diameter tires to improve that.... Another thing you can do on subaru's is
get longer struts (for example, the forester has 2" longer struts than the
impreza, but is otherwise identical, so will interchange). Perhaps there's
a newer model of metro/swift/aveo that has longer struts that have the same
top and bottom end?

Z

Roland Wiench <[email protected]> wrote:

> Hello Bill,
>
> Air Ride Technologies makes a air strut that replaces these types of
> suspensions. It replaces the springs and you do not need any shocks. It's
> a direct bolt in unit and can be pre-adjusted to 12 different positions.
>
> See: www.ridetech.com
>
> I am using the ShockWave air system in my 1977 ElCamino which now has been
> on my EV since 2002. I place 2600 lbs in the bed ahead of the rear axil
> which lower the front end by 0.75 of a inch. I also can haul up to 1600 lbs
> of cargo that can place on top of the very heavy duty epoxy fiberglass
> battery box hinge covers and still have a level ride. You can adjust the
> suspension for either a soft ride or a harsh ride.
>
> Roland
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Bill Dennis" <[email protected]>
> To: "Electric Vehicle Discussion List" <[email protected]>
> Sent: Monday, August 30, 2010 8:36 PM
> Subject: [EVDL] Raising MacPhersons
>
>
> > The good news is that after 9 months on jack stands, the MetroLetrical
> > (aka the G-zero) is back on the road with an upgraded LiFePO4 battery
> > pack! The bad news is that the new battery layout has shifted about
> > 100 pounds shifted from the rear to the front of the car, and
> > unfortunately, this makes the nose ride a little too low. Metros have
> > MacPherson struts on the front. I'd like to raise the front end 1.5 -
> > 2.0 inches. Someone suggested that the springs on the 1995-1997 model
> > were a little stiffer than those on my 1993, and that might give me
> > possibly an inch lift. But are there other options for lifting the
> > front suspension with the MacPhersons?
> >
> > Thanks.
> >
> > Bill
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> > | REPLYING: address your message to [email protected] only.
> > | Multiple-address or CCed messages may be rejected.
> > | UNSUBSCRIBE: http://www.evdl.org/help/index.html#usub
> > | OTHER HELP: http://evdl.org/help/
> > | OPTIONS: http://lists.sjsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/ev
> >
>
> _______________________________________________
> | REPLYING: address your message to [email protected] only.
> | Multiple-address or CCed messages may be rejected.
> | UNSUBSCRIBE: http://www.evdl.org/help/index.html#usub
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>
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Discussion Starter · #6 ·
> One common way to lift a car with McPherson struts is to put a spacer
> block
> on the top
-snip-
> Also, this
> will increase the angle of your CV joints,

If the problem is low ride due to excess weight, wouldn't using blocks to
restore normal ride height also restore the the CV joint angle to the
factory angle?


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72,624 Posts
Discussion Starter · #7 ·
Yes... thinking about it that way, then if it's riding low right now it
would restore the factory if you restored the factor height... but you'd
have less suspension travel left, because of the extra weight.


<[email protected]> wrote:

> > One common way to lift a car with McPherson struts is to put a spacer
> > block
> > on the top
> -snip-
> > Also, this
> > will increase the angle of your CV joints,
>
> If the problem is low ride due to excess weight, wouldn't using blocks to
> restore normal ride height also restore the the CV joint angle to the
> factory angle?
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> | REPLYING: address your message to [email protected] only.
> | Multiple-address or CCed messages may be rejected.
> | UNSUBSCRIBE: http://www.evdl.org/help/index.html#usub
> | OTHER HELP: http://evdl.org/help/
> | OPTIONS: http://lists.sjsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/ev
>
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E

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Discussion Starter · #8 ·
Hmm, good point. Probably best to get the stronger springs mentioned early.

> Yes... thinking about it that way, then if it's riding low right now it
> would restore the factory if you restored the factor height... but you'd
> have less suspension travel left, because of the extra weight.
>
>
>
<[email protected]> wrote:
>
>> > One common way to lift a car with McPherson struts is to put a spacer
>> > block
>> > on the top
>> -snip-
>> > Also, this
>> > will increase the angle of your CV joints,
>>
>> If the problem is low ride due to excess weight, wouldn't using blocks
>> to
>> restore normal ride height also restore the the CV joint angle to the
>> factory angle?
>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> | REPLYING: address your message to [email protected] only.
>> | Multiple-address or CCed messages may be rejected.
>> | UNSUBSCRIBE: http://www.evdl.org/help/index.html#usub
>> | OTHER HELP: http://evdl.org/help/
>> | OPTIONS: http://lists.sjsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/ev
>>
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