I decided to check the tracking on the car the other day. I measured the location of the vacuum takeoff on the front chassis cross member and found it to be central to the car, therefore I used this with a piece of rope to check out the distance/tracking of the wheel.
After adjusting one side I then measured across between the center of the tire treads. This came up at around 52 1/4 inches.
Looking at the workshop manual it should have been 54 inches!!
I then measured (as best I could) across the rear of the tyre?s and found them to be just over 52 1/2 inches.
Is this OK - Do I need to loosen off the front suspension and then load the weight on until I get to the magic 54 inches? My concern with this would be that the car would be sitting on the ground, as it is I have trouble getting the trolley jack under the car.
I dont think you need worry about the 1/4 inch extra you measured. Where did you measure the track width at the bottom or sides of the tyres ? Track width varies with where you measure it and with the ride height setting. If the ride height is OK and there are no worn bushes or bent suspension or chassis components then the track you have is the right track and a small variation from the Lotus nominal 54 inches is to be expected given all the tolerances in both the components and the measurement.
I miss read your first post sorry. I read your 52 1/4 inch as 54 1/4 inch. 2 inches difference is a lot larger than I would expect just from assembly tolerances.
I just quickly measured my Plus 2 and its near enough to 54 inches both front and rear.
Do you have the original wheels ? Different offsets are about the only thing that could make the 2 inches difference and the car still be driveable.
The 4 1/2 Elan wheels may give the track difference you are measuring
If you have the original wheels then I dont know what can be causing the 2 inch tracking difference without something else being obviously wrong in a major way. Resetting the suspension is not going to change the track signficantly if the ride height is about right.
When I measured mine I measured at about 4:30 and 7:30 on the wheels where I could pass the tape under the car and measure between 2 chalk lines I made on the centre of the tyres. You may want to check measure directly between the 2 wheels rather than using the vacuum tapping as a central referance point as you initially described to confirm your orginal measurements.
Hi All,
Certainly the rear hubs are are per the left hand picture - the right hand hub looks as though its off of the front.
I think I will first check the rear track width and compare it against the manual.
Can anyone tell me the front cross member to road clearence dimension.
Lotus specifies ground clearance as 6 1/2 inches at the bottom of the chassis closing plate with the specified seat loadings. The bottom of the front cross member is at the same level.
As this measurement depends on the tyre rolling radius and specified loadings in each seat you need to also check this and correct for any differences. The drawings in the manual of the front and rear suspenion give the needed dimensions. You can see from the drawings that the lower suspensions arms are horizontal at the right ride height and this is actually the easiest way to check the setting I find
Most plus 2 unless they have had a recent rebuild are low at the front as the standard front springs are over stressed and sag over time.
A number of people have commented that I have too high a ride height at the front by about an inch…
Is the only way this can happen through the fitting of incorrect springs?
cheers
Tim
Most people judge ride height by the gap between the top of the wheel arches and the tyres. If you have smaller diameter tyres they may question the ride height. Also as most plus 2 have too low a ride height at the front people often think a normal ride height is too high.
Without measuring it in detail you dont really know where you are at. If the “right” ride height you are aiming for is suspension in it design static location then the things that normally only affects it is the spring lenght or rate being different from design.
Incorrect tightening of the suspension bushes with the suspension at full droop can have a small affect but the main out come of this is stuffed bushes not a significantly higher ride height.