Sachs Supspension is Back for Lotus!

5286 Views 19 Replies 11 Participants Last post by kestrel74, Jul 11, 2009

shinoo

Discussion Starter · Feb 24, 2009

We're reintroducing what we believe to be the best street oriented sport suspension for the Lotus. Sach's Single Adjustable coilovers are a fantastic solution that adds comfort and ride height ability to your Lotus. They are a priced well at $1495. Superb quality! See more info here: Sachs

Plenty of adjustment to set the ride quality to your liking. :coolnana:

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erics75218

· #2 · Feb 24, 2009

I know that on my Ducati, the stock Sachs shock is the first thing to replace to get it to handle better. Do they make a few different "quality" levels, because I thought their products were more "oem" quality than top notch aftermarket?

Thomasio

· #3 · Feb 24, 2009

A lot of companies have OEM - class products as well as upgrades. I can't speak for Sachs, but it is not uncommon for manufacturers to produce lower-spec products for mass production, such as Sachs on Ducati.

shinoo

Discussion Starter · #4 · Feb 25, 2009

erics75218 said:
I know that on my Ducati, the stock Sachs shock is the first thing to replace to get it to handle better. Do they make a few different "quality" levels, because I thought their products were more "oem" quality than top notch aftermarket?

Yes, these are OEM-like in their build quality and expected longevity. Most race shocks need regular rebuilds. Note how the eyelets have rubber seals - this is great for those people who live in inclement weather - an OEM feature.

Since these are adjustable for compression/rebound and ride height adjustable, they provide better tuning capability that the stock suspension.

kestrel74

· #5 · Feb 25, 2009 (Edited)

I have them on my car.....great handling...but they DO bottom out once in a while on bad bumps. TVACC I believe you have the same symptoms ? ( may be the setting....any suggestions ? ) ( 8 - 10 )

erics75218

· #6 · Feb 26, 2009

ahhh nice. I'm a bit confused...so compression/rebound are both adjustable, but only AT the same time, hence "single adjustable" ??

shinoo

Discussion Starter · #7 · Feb 26, 2009

erics75218 said:
ahhh nice. I'm a bit confused...so compression/rebound are both adjustable, but only AT the same time, hence "single adjustable" ??

Correct. No tools required.

tvacc

· #8 · May 18, 2009

kestrel74 said:
I have them on my car.....great handling...but they DO bottom out once in a while on bad bumps. TVACC I believe you have the same symptoms ? ( may be the setting....any suggestions ? ) ( 8 - 10 )

Yes...I have the same setup. Love the ride and love the handling. But like on our ride today I hit several spots where it bottomed out terribly.

I am contacting Sachs about this. It is not acceptable to me. I have tried every setting I can think of. I am worried about damaging the mountings for the shocks. That is how HARD the bump is.

ErictheBastard

· #9 · Jul 3, 2009

tvacc said:
Yes...I have the same setup. Love the ride and love the handling. But like on our ride today I hit several spots where it bottomed out terribly.

I am contacting Sachs about this. It is not acceptable to me. I have tried every setting I can think of. I am worried about damaging the mountings for the shocks. That is how HARD the bump is.

I just ordered the last available set and THEN discovered this thread....

I'm wondering...Does it bottom out in the front or the rear? The minimum spring rate in the front is much softer than stock and the minimum spring rate in back is much stiffer than stock. I'm mainly getting these for ease of ride height adjustability, so I'm wondering if they can be used with the stock springs?

apk919

· #10 · Jul 3, 2009

ErictheBastard said:
I just ordered the last available set and THEN discovered this thread....
I'm wondering...Does it bottom out in the front or the rear? The minimum spring rate in the front is much softer than stock and the minimum spring rate in back is much stiffer than stock. I'm mainly getting these for ease of ride height adjustability, so I'm wondering if they can be used with the stock springs?

They are progressive rate springs (as are the OEM Track Pack springs), so they start out at a lower rate and then increase rate as they are compressed. I'd guess that you wouldn't have to worry about "bottoming out" with these springs. If the springs are the same diameter as the OEM springs, it may be possible to swap springs... I'm sure Shinoo could answer that question.

kestrel74

· #11 · Jul 3, 2009

AutoEurope is supposed to be checking mine out ( whenever I can get it IN )... Tom said that they adjusted the front end too low. So, it's not a shock problem, it was in the setup.

tvacc

· #12 · Jul 3, 2009

kestrel74 said:
AutoEurope is supposed to be checking mine out ( whenever I can get it IN )... Tom said that they adjusted the front end too low. So, it's not a shock problem, it was in the setup.

I am going to have to bring mine back as well. I hope it is not the shocks for except for the bottoming....they are great.

I have been talking to Tom as well. He was going to work on your car before he tackled mine. I am in Buffalo, so it is not just a quick drive over.

JnC

· #13 · Jul 3, 2009 (Edited)

I've had a set of Sachs for about a year. They bottom out frequently. Too frequently. The front spring coils are touching for nearly half of the spring out of the box. Coils that touch offer zero compression. If they touch out of the box, add zero rebound.

To get a sense what I'm talking about, here's a photo that Tony (tvacc) provided in another thread. The coilover in the foreground is for the front.

However I notice with the photos posted by Shinoo, the coils don't appear to be touching as badly although perhaps it's perspective.

Shinoo, can you read the part number that is on the springs in the Sachs setup? I want to compare them to the ones I bought last year. Thanks.

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JnC

· #14 · Jul 3, 2009

Here's another photo with the Sachs mounted on the car.

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tvacc

· #15 · Jul 4, 2009

I find that both the front and rear bottom.

I would also like to know if the springs are different from what I have. If they are, I would have them replaced.

shay2nak

· #16 · Jul 4, 2009

wow, are the springs too soft?

apk919

· #17 · Jul 4, 2009

JnC said:
Here's another photo with the Sachs mounted on the car.

shay2nak said:
wow, are the springs too soft?

Sector111 quotes the rates of the front springs on the Sachs setup as 177/531 lbs/inch... while the Track Pack springs are 180/271 lbs/inch. Still I don't recall the shorter coils on the Track Pack being so completely compressed.

Just for comparison, here's what the Nitron DA/Eibach combination looks like uncompressed (single rates at 525 front/650 rear... unfortunately I have no pics of the springs installed under load). You can see that the fronts have only about 2" of travel, but its entirely at 525 lbs/inch.

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spf4000

· #18 · Jul 4, 2009

I've dealt with bottoming springs in a previous car, and the constant "clack clack" noise got annoying after a while, enough to make me want to swap the springs out for a non-progressive setup.

It helps to split clear tubing and cover the offending coils with it--it greatly lessens the noise.

R T

· #19 · Jul 4, 2009

The closed coils serve as Tender Springs to keep the springs seated during full droop ..... they are suppose to be touching when loaded.

If the stock springs do happen to be the right diameter they'll most likely be loose at full droop (at your desired ride height).

kestrel74

· #20 · Jul 11, 2009

OOPS...........May have had major shock problems at this weeks track day... possibly a blown shock ??? AutoEurope will be checking out next week. ( Sachs )..........I'll keep you posted.

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