lowering my 451

[oldgit]

im not happy with the suspension handling on my 2009 451 .
very twitchy & drifts.
ive ordered a complete lowering spring / shortended shock kit to fit to it
my local independent smart repairer will be fitting it .

MY QUESTION IS :-

what i would like to know would it pay me to also fit a rear anti-roll bar aswell

this is the kit :-
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/H-R-29067-...item1a02e41c5a

thanks .
tony / oldgit .

[Evilution]

£400 for some shocks and springs!

There is no rear anti roll bar on the 451.

[oldgit]

evilution .
i know there is no rear anti-roll bar on the 451 .

ive heard that several smart owners have put after-market ones on .
ive seen a few advertised & wondered if they would improve my handling .

handling on mine is frightening at time , tried to explain it to my smart repairer
but he did not understand , then last week he had two 451,s in for minor work [ not suspension related ] .
on them , he took them up the road after & found they handled the same [ his words / ATROCIOUS ]

bought my 451 cabrio 12 months ago with 53,400 miles on it , its now done 83,650 miles .

nearly lost it once . frightened the life out of my good lady .
im aged 69 & a sensible driver , take no risk .

tony / oldgit .

[Big Performance]

Try some different tyres FIRST. See if someone near you would swap wheels and tyres for a day

[oldgit]

Big Performance .

been down that road , smart repairer let me try several sets from cars he had in

have already changed the origanal wheels / tyres because of the problem .

bought slightly bigger width wheels & tires . made a slight difference .

so has to do with the suspension layout .

at the moment would be afraid to sell it to someone else the way it reacts on the road .

had all the bushes / tracking / plus other things underneath checked & no play anywhere .
problem starts after i get above 50 miles per hour .

tony / oldgit .

[Thrumbleux]

handling on mine is frightening at time ,

Exactly which aspect is causing you concern (remembering the distinction between handling and roadholding/grip)?

[10:45PM]

No mention of tyre pressures ???

[oldgit]

10:45PM . been down that road , tried different tire pressures / no different .
my friend had a 451 orange / black one [ orangeglo ] that handled the same as mine . he sold his as quick as possible

its hard to explain unless you have drove it yourself , does not handle right & on bends you end up on other side of road .

if this kit does not cure it , i have a friend who has a scrap yard which ive spoken too & will get him to smash it up in front
of me so nobody else has it .. ive done it before years ago with a car i was not happy with . cant take the risk of someone
having it & kill themselves .

tony / oldgit

[Thrumbleux]

its hard to explain unless you have drove it yourself , does not handle right & on bends you end up on other side of road .

Do you mean push-the-nose-wide understeer?

If so, (assuming the 451 responds as per a 450) the lowering kit will flatten the angle of the rear transverse arms which are a source of understeer due to causing the axle to toe-in during roll.
A rear anti roll bar will always shift the balance toward oversteer but overdoing it can be lethal. I wouldn't start with anything thicker than the 11 or 13mm 450 bars. See what difference the lowering makes first though.

[Thrumbleux]

bought slightly bigger width wheels & tires . made a slight difference .

.

Perhaps substantially wider tyres would make a substantial difference?

My 450 started out on 145 fronts and 175 rears and was to me, nearly undriveable. I eventually got the knack (get the nose in then power on) but on roundabouts etc the understeer was so bad as for the ESP to constantly intervene and cut the power at even moderate speeds.
Put the 175s on the front and 195s on the rear - useful improvement. Now have 195s allround. Much better. It still understeers in extremis but at a speed no one has ever outcornered me at. Braking very late to an apex will see the back start to step out, Set-up: Lowered 25-30mm, 13mm rear ARB, 195/50-15 Michelins on Roadster steels.

[10:45PM]

Maybe the front roll bar bushes are fooked ?

What brand (and sizes) tyres are they ?

On my recently chopped 2009 451 I could throw it round corners and know full well where it'd be steering and gripping , right on the limit of ESP kicking in , it (and I) loved it on roundabouts

[oldgit]

these are the wheels i have fitted at the moment
tires :- 175 / 55 r15 front & 195 / 50 r15 rear .
Wheel: Keskin smartie KT9, 5x15 front and 6x15 rear

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Alloy-whee...item54051e277c

all bushes / linkarms / front roll bar have been checked , also last m,o,t had complete swinging arms replaced [ both sides ] slight worn bushes

tony / oldgit

[oldgit]

a big thankyou to andew at smart-automotive for fitting my lowering spring kit including shortened shocks on my smart 451 cabrio , got rid of the twitching & drift that was happining . now 100% better handling . pleasure to drive now .
footnote :-
as my daughter says .. im the oldest boy racer in newquay .