Tuning Lowering, what dampers? anyone with experience?

[vitorio]

Hi guys,

After driving my recently acquired 500 around for a bit, ive arrived at two conclusions 1) the dampers are shot 2) i'd like it to look a bit lower, especially in the front, and roll a bit less in the corners.

So im considering a lowered leaf spring, the "eyes on top" type (id love the coilover/wishbone setup, but that is twice the cost of a decent 4 corner setup), a pair of 19cm springs in the back. Im just not entirely sure on what to do on the damper front. I kind of assume just getting new stock dampers will be a decent improvement over the current ones, but i can also get a set of harder/shortened dampers, the only catch being that they cost twice as much.

Basically, given the simplicity of the car (and the 650 engine giving it a bit of poke), i want to get it feeling as much as a road legal go-kart as possible, without breaking my spine on every single ridge (and breaking the bank)

 

[Goldnrust]

I've not much to add, but what I can say is that I've new stock dampers on my 500 and they are still relatively soft, so I think it might be wise to look into the sports damper options. Which of those are the best bet I cannot really advise.

It would be great if you could post some before and after pictures, to see how your car sits on the new springs. I've been eyeing up lowering spring options myself, and unsure which length of rear spring would get me to the height I'm aiming for.

 

[vitorio]

@Goldnrust

Yeah, just waiting for the next paycheck to get the budget up to level, then ill order a full set of sports damps, springs and some other bits and bobs (horn broke, rocker cover gasket leaks a bit etc..). Ill take measurements of the arch gap/ground clearance pre/post fitting. Looking at its current stance though, i think either my rear springs are extremely old and saggy, or lowered already, not sure if the 19.5 springs will accomplish much there.