Re: [DML] ground to wheel well measurements

["Walter" <Whalt@xxxx>]

It might be possible that someone put taller rear springs on your front
suspension and then tied the nylon straps on to keep the front end from
being too high as a result. I would suggest crawling under your car and
checking the springs more carefully. The front springs on my car have a
diameter of 0.486 inches, and there are about 7 coils visible. The rear
springs are slightly larger in diameter (0.512 inches) and there are about
10 coils visible.

Your suspension is only slightly higher than mine (at most 3/8th of an
inch), and my car's suspension already appears to be the standard 1.5" too
high anyway. It doesn't make sense for someone to go to the expense to make
the front of the car higher still in order to accommodate slightly larger
tires.

About the nylon strap on the front springs, I don't think it belongs on
there at all. If it were compressing the springs, I would think something
like that would break off easily after hitting a bump. I don't see such a
strap on the front of my car. If those are rear springs on the front of
your car, it may be that the straps were put there to adjust the suspension
height. Sounds like a real stupid idea to me.

My Delorean is not lowered, and I intend to lower it the usual 1 1/2 inches
in the future. Does anyone know how Rob Grady's suspension lowering kit
compares to the hack & swap method of suspension lowering?

I've noticed that the left side of my car is about 1/2 inch lower than the
right. Do I have a problem with my suspension?

I got curious and measured my car. Here's what I found:
Right front fender is 25 5/8" off the concrete and the top of the wheel to
the bottom of the fender is 3 7/16".
Left front fender is 25 3/16" off the concrete and the top of the wheel to
the bottom of the fender is 3".
Right rear fender is 27 3/8" off the concrete and the top of the wheel to
the bottom of the fender is 2 5/16"
Left rear fender is 26 13/16" off the concrete and the top of the wheel to
the bottom of the fender is 2 1/8".

The front tires are Goodyear NCT HR60 195/60HR14 with average tread depth
of 2.5mm
The rear left tire is Goodyear NCT HR60 235/60HR15
The rear right tire is Radial GT SLX 5000 235/60R15

I think all the Goodyear tires are the factory originals. The car is a Sept
'81 VIN 03633 with 10K miles. The 'off the concrete' measurements were
taken from the floor under the center outside wall of the tire to the bottom
of the black trim molding on the bottom of the fender directly above the
center of the wheel. If your car is missing the black trim inside the wheel
well, then adjust your measurements by 1/16th of an inch. I believe these
measurements to be within 1/16th of an inch. There was no one in the car
when these measurement were taken, and there was no significant non-factory
weight affecting the suspension. The car was on level pavement. Am I being
too technical? I thought so!

Walt