> Any manufacturer-recommended (car manufacturer or tire manufacturer)
> pressures are more designed to prevent law suits than to be genuinely
> helpful, particularly regarding performance use. IMO they are to be
> virtually ignored.
Nice to know!
>
> That's true but it's all about trade-offs (all of it.... suspension settings,
> tire pressures, even driving technique). There is no optimum unless your
>goal
> is very specific (which it can't be here because you have a variety of
>driving
> conditions and driver preferences).
>
Yes, but altering the tire pressure from time to time,according to who
drives the car whould not be to much of a hassle. But the other stuff
would.
> One way to approach it is to decide what type of road surface and quality you
> want to optimize for and then set everything up for that. For instance, say
>(as
> you've indicated) the roads aren't too good and you expect unevenness, pot
> holes, bumps and waviness. That would favor setting the car up the way your
> father likes it, i. e., soft enough to be able to absorb most of that and yet
> controlled (shocks would be key.... probably soft in jounce and harder in
> rebound... unfortunately, not separately adjustable characteristics except on
> two-way competition shocks... very expensive.... that's one reason why on
>yours,
> I recommend soft shock settings... at least you get the soft jounce).
Well I think we have competition shocks at the front, but I do not think
they are two way adjustable :( (The cost of reconditioning the shocks,
cost the PO almost as much as buying new "standard" Koni's)
>
> I believe in softer setups for street performance driving anyway for the
>reasons
> above. A very hard setup will, besides being uncomfortable, be hard on all
>the
> components (everything sees shock loads all the time and eventually, things
> fail, develop cracks, bend, etc.).
Another question: you mentioned that we could compensate for the different
wheel/tire sizes front and rear by adjusting the rollbar. As far as my
father has understood, the only way to adjust the rollbar setting is by
replacing the current with at stiffer/softer one, is this correct? or are
there ways to adjust the current rollbar.
> Thank you. You're on sort of an "island" there without too many people
>around
> who understand or even desire the type of car you have so I wanted to help
>you
> fill the gap a bit.
>
I appreciate that a lot.
There are a few people I know which understand/desire Lotus or similar
cars. The problem is that very few of them have any knowledge of
technical issues which are relevant to such cars(like suspension
settings), or have any technical knowledge of Lotuses.
Tor Hval <torhv@ifi.uio.no>
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