How do you judge ride height. Is it the lower the faster or what.
If you lower a pan car to where it is just touching the ground will it increase speed or decrease on a flat oval. Because if you have the car to low it will rub the ground when you go to turn Right?

I know the BRL rules are 3/16 of an inch. But if you ran at a track that had no ride height rule where would you run your ride height.

L$, I believe that all the tracks or orgainzations that have min. ride heights are to protect the rug that is being run on, dragging chassis's on the carpet damage the carpet.

Some of things you have to consider with your ride height is what is your tire dia., you do not want the chassis to touch the racing surface, that will unload the supension and you will loose directional stability. A second thing to consider is your sepension travel, with long kingpins and soft spring again you have to keep the car off the track. You also have to consider the track surface, bumpy, rolly or glass smooth.

The BRL's height, I believe is mainly due to the fact they run on CARPET...TOO LOW on Carpet and you just tear up good rug. Loose screws, and/or chassis components when they drag do real damaga to the rug tracks...

On asphalt/concrete you only damage your car...

The lower you can get the weight (especially on the LH side) the better, but a dragging chassis makes a car hard to control and keep consisitant.

On our HUGE tracks (VELODROMES) we are actually really high. (Mine is almost 5/8")

But, that track is bumpy and we're running 60+ MPH on the faster classes (21.5/LIPO ran over 50 mph) ...and even at that height, we still drag on some of the bumps...

Personally, with foam tires and decent asphalt I shoot for close to .25 inches minimum chassis clearence...but I way too often run my tires really, really low and end up dragging the LR corner on the straights.

all of these things are very true but you also want to make sure that your rear end is about 1.5 to 2.0 mm higher than the front that is called your rake and if your front end is higher than your rear end than your car will handle funny.

I understand. But what if you run a late Model class on carpet flat oval. Wouldent you want to be as close to the ground as possible. I am running about 2/16 of a inch off the ground right now. But if i go 1/16 will it make it faster or just tear up the carpet.
I see a lot of brushless guys have there bodies really low to the ground.
I know Areo has a lot to do with the way you handle and speed but for a stock class does it matter.

Its likely that their body is really low but their car isn't.

But if i go 1/16 will it make it faster or just tear up the carpet.


I doubt there is any way you could ever run a car at 1/16".. :drunk:

That's like 1.5mm.
When I get to ~3.75-4mm, there are spots on the track where
it can rub. And we have a pretty smooth surface.
Slight rubs won't do too much, but at 1/16th, IMO you'd have some
serious draggage. :freak:

Taylor, lower isn't faster. If your car is a 1/2 of the track on a short track maybe. The car will move 1/8 to about 1/4 when cornering or even more at high speeds like a velo. The track surface is the main reason why we have a ride height rule.

Jams where you race late models at doesn't tech that part, although they should. Too many cars are dragging parts and chassis down there.

For me on tracks where they don't tech or don't know how to do it right I like the ride to be where the right front corner just touches the track when cornering. On tracks where they do tech the lowest legal height in front and 1-2mm higher in back. I absolutely hate ride height teching.

I keep the my 13.5 car at 5mm all the way around and 5.5 in the back. The body does look low because its is slammed on the chassis and then the sides are cut so is doesn't touch.

Ride height is a common sense concept. Get the car low enough to not drag and run it, but check after each run if you are that low. Ignore the height and drag on the carpet and tear it up then rule has to be enforced. It costs alot of money to replace the carpet from dragging chassis when it can be prevented.

#1 rule, if any part of your car is touching the track, other than your 4 tires, your scrubbing speed !! :thumbsup:

I also run my rear ride height slightly higher than the front. I like to have some rake not only in the chassis but in the Body. I do try to keep the front of the (body) as low as I can with out dragging the track for aero and cut the sides so they are low to the track but not dragging also.

Good Point Ken!
If they had a ride height rule i wouldent be asking this question.
I need a safe ride height to run with out scrubbing speed but still have it low enough to be fast.
Any Ideas!

5mm to 5.5 is the norm.

"Because if you have the car to low it will rub the ground when you go to turn Right?"

You mean left don't you? :p


The Snowbirds minimum ride height is 4mm for 10th scale oval and 3mm for 12th scale. Same for On-road.
Like everyone else has stated, different track smoothness and suspension setup usually will dictate the ride height.

Taylor, do you have away to measure your ride height? I would recommend getting a ride height gauge from Pete. RPM makes one and so does Dynamite. Anything less than .187 in (3/16) at most tracks here would be enough to clear. I have had .160 in before and rubbed the RF through the corners which will upset the car and slow you down.
I am going to repeat myself but the car will not be faster when it is lower.

I've run some of my fastest runs with a car that sat a little high. At a place like JAM's, ride height isn't such a bad thing... You have two things:

-You're on REALLY tight corners. So, car tends to roll over more. It's one thing to see a little rub on the chassis. It's another thing to be really planting it into the track. The car will tend to slide versus cut in the corners (chassis is essentially taking weight off the tires, in turn the tires don't do their job, car either slides or is inconsistent in the turns)
-Second, you have those glue jobs on the seams in the absolute worst place- upon corner entry. Despite the fact that's a pisser of a place for a carpet seam, I'm sure the lack of ride height rule is contributed to the need to glue the seams in the first place.

On the 4300 cars, we do suck the bodies down. But, we also cut them to where they don't rub the carpet. I'd recommend keeping the car high enough where you have no compound buildup on the chassis.

I have a ride height gauge it a Dynimite gauge i checked it today its about 3/16 right now. I think that will do alright for now wount know till i get on the track.
Will try to make it out to Petes tomarow.

Taylor

I have never really worried about ride height in all my years of racing in dirt oval and carpet. I really belive that as long as you have the proper weight forward and the proper left side weight your good to go. I would usally start with 57 to 60% frontend weight and 55% left side weight. This year I raced a dirt oval B-3 car against gbx's and others like them and managed to stay pretty racy and making the A main weekly. My ride height was almost 1/4 to 1/2 higher than the other cars. So like everybody has said keep it high enough so it doesnt contact the carpet. My suggestion would be to put on the smallest set of tires you have,(1.190 just about junk in my book) then compress the suspention if it touches the carpet hard raise the car,if it dosent touch and clears the carpet by 1/16 or a 1/32 thats good. when you put on new tires say 1st race size would be 2.30 you have the ride height you want and need.

Ride height is for not hitting the track surface.
But ride height effects the center of gravity and roll center of a car. Depending on springs, shocks, weight distribution, including height of weight,(above of below the cars C.G.) and stagger ,to name a few factors. Some cars will handle better high.Others lower. Depends on driving style and track condition. Try experimenting a little. You could be surprised by what you find. More corner speed = faster lap times.