4" Ride Height & good ride quality?

[BANKO]

Hey guys, I would like to build a '66 Chevy II or '65 Chevelle with a 4" rocker to ground height and was pondering how to achieve a great handling car without it being a back-breaking car to drive. I have seen some pretty sweet rides being done by the top car builders in the industry and want to know how to design a properly working suspension that is not under-damped. Some guys use air bags to get this sweet looking stance. With air bags the system cost is high and the "parked" height is much different than the operating height. I would like to know what you guys have discovered in terms of suspension travel vs. ride quality. Is 3" of suspension travel even feasible on a 4" ride height car and it still be drivable for a few hundred miles in a stretch?

Thanks! Josh

[CamaroAJ]

i don't see why not. my old C5Z was just under 4" rocker hight. its all about the springs and more important the shocks. cheep shocks will ride rough compaired to higher end adjustable shocks.

also your talking about compression only when you say 3" of travel, you also have rebound. you could have say 2" of compression but 3" rebound for a total of 5" travel.

[wellis77]

I have to agree that I don't see why not. I am planning 4 1/2 inch ride height for my project. I'm building the chassis around the suspension geometry. I'll be using Ride Tech Shockwaves with Viper suspension components. I am setting up a jig to adapt factory pick-ups and building my chassis at 4 1/2 inch rocker height around the jig. Shouldn't be a problem to do 4 inches as long as long as you maintain correct geometry. With 3 inches of total suspension travel, you should only see 1 1/2 inches at full extension or rebound which would be the roughest of road conditions if daily driving. Granted, I'm no engineer but this is what I've learned in my research. Someone else may have different/better information for you.

[Thomo5150]

The C5 has a 104 inch wheel base the others would be longer? I am using C5 Running gear but with a 114 inch wheel base. I'm keeping the bottom rocker at 5 inches cause of speed bumps and drive ways.....

[CamaroAJ]

even with 104" WB as low as my car was i had frame saves on it and it would drag on them over speed bumps. then again my front air dam was only 1.5" from the ground, it would scrape on the freeway if the bridge joints or dips were big enough

[Merlin]

One of the most important factor is that the roll center should be just above the ground. If a 4" ride height put the RC below the ground, you are going to have handling issue. Also, one must have enough suspension travel/shock travel to eliminate harsh jolts due to the bumpstop hitting. Talk to Mike Maier, located in Hayward. They are mustang specialist, but he knows how to design suspension.
Check this out.
https://lateral-g.net/forums/showthread.php4?t=23997

Cliff
70 Chevelle

[Vegas69]

If the car is setup with proper compression and extension then it can ride just as good as any car.