Lotus Europa Forums > The Paddock
Lotus Europa Race Car Collection
Mecky:
Hi Jannik,
the shocks are made by Protech (400 series, 2,25id). The length is 11" (front) and 16,5" (rear). Spring rates: 225 lbs/in (front) and 250 lbs/in (rear).
Best regards
Stefan
Serge:
--- Quote from: Mecky on Sunday,November 24, 2013, 03:17:18 PM ---Hi Jannik,
the shocks are made by Protech (400 series, 2,25id). The length is 11" (front) and 16,5" (rear). Spring rates: 225 lbs/in (front) and 250 lbs/in (rear).
Best regards
Stefan
--- End quote ---
Stefan,
Do those springrates feel OK on track? Because that's not a "normal" setup for a europa. I would guess that a good starting point would be 240/190 F/R, maybe a bit stiffer in the rear if you have bigger tyres on the rear like you. But it would be more logical to have a higher spring rate in the front than in the rear. Have you done much testing with different spring rates?
Kind regards,
Serge
Mecky:
Serge,
the rates feel very good. We had softer ones until 2012, but there was so much body roll while cornering. Now it is much better. But we did not test any other rates.
Why is it not normal? In stock the Europa has softer springs in front than rear. The front is much lighter, so why should you choose stiffer springs in front? With very stiff springs in front, the nose will not go down so far while braking. But you need the weight transfer to the front, so that the front breaks will not block so early. Especially in wet conditions this is very very important.
Best regards
Stefan
P.S.: The first picture is from 2011 and the second one from 2012 with new suspension. Same track, same corner.
EuropaTC:
Hi folks,
Ok, I'm not a race guy (and never likely to be) but I am interested in this debate as I'm trying to work out what to do with my car for next summer as far as springs & dampers are concerned.
Stefan, the standard springs (TC) are stronger at the front, 116lbs/ins & 75lbs at the rear, but of course there's more suspension leverage at the front so the effective rate drops.
Most of the info I've gathered point to stiffer front springs than rear although your reasoning seems very logical and is consistent with the TC Race Preparation booklet from Colin Ham, who used 180lbs front & 200lbs rear. It's also consistent with the Elise (my S1 has 240lbs front, 280lbs rear IIRC) although I must admit I haven't worked out the changes due to geometry on that car. But it's possibly even lighter at the front than the Europa at 40/60 distribution and similar road weights.
As a rookie at this aspect of the car I do find the game confusing, hence I appreciate you guys sharing such info.
Brian
ps - Stefan, did you stay with 2.25" spring diameters for both front & rear ? I find the smaller 1.9" springs a real nuisance to compress but the slightly larger ones fit my tools much better and would prefer to use them all round if possible.
Serge:
Original spring rates for an S2 are:
100 lbs.in. (1.15 kg.m.) in the front
72 lbs.in. (.83 kg.m.) in the rear
and most of the europa people (including Jay Mitchell who has autocrossed his car extensively and has tested a lot of springs) are keeping this F/R ratio in the spring rates.
However I do understand the logic behind your choice. I would like to know what Valerio is running as wel, just to compare notes.
Kind regards,
Serge
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