How to lower and stiffen the adjustable ACR suspension to get rid of bounce

[Toronto_ACR]

Can someone please tell me what you have to do to lower the ACR suspension and also get rid of the ridiculous bounce that can cause accidents at high speed. Does someone have a manual that will explain how to do this. I found that the suspension and handling on nthe 2000 ACR is better than the 2002 ACR. Who is an expert on the ACR suspension adjustments

Thanks

 

[Wayne Finch]

Get an SRT

 

[Fast Freddy]

it depends on what year acr u have. 2000 = koni shocks, 2002 = suspension dynamic shocks. lowering the car will not solve the handling problem u have described. u have to much rebound for the amount of compression dampning. set all of your compression dampnings to the minimum both front and rear. then adjust your rebound settings so your car does not bounce.

 

[lleone]

Watch out for lowering... the Viper's relative roll point to its center of gravity is already too close together, meaning that the car is throwing its weight almost straight ahead on a level line and not at the front brakes... one of the reasons why its so easy to lock up them rears (sort of). Anyway, I've found my early-2000 (Koni's) is so much more predictable with the settings at their minimum. While that may not be the bet at the track, it makes everyday life a lot easier.

Lou

 

[cmauro600]

you wont get rid of the bounce i tried the dynamic shocks do not have enough dampening the front springs are rated at 1100lb the koni set up was around 750-800 try and swap springs to some thing in that range you will be happy with the set up then and springs are cheap quick to install just make sure you keep the same ride height or you will need an alignment.

 

[Fast Freddy]

actually the front springs are rated at 550 lbs and the rear are rated at 1100

 

[46hemi]

I would suggest giving Chuck Tator a call. I am sure he can give some phone advice. He set up mine and they feel fine.

 

[THEMASH]

I changed the rear springs (i have the Dynamic) from the stock 1100 rate to 800, it helped a lot.

 

[cmauro600]

it was at the advise of chuck tator that adjusted my suspension and got it much better but still far from the mark. doug levin gave me the info on the shock stats. if by some chance you got yours sorted by by adjusting yours please inform me on your setting.

 

[Toronto_ACR]

What is Chuck tators phone number so i can give him a call in regards to the ACR settings. So I am to change the springs to get the problem solved. can the new springs lower the car. I would like to lower it as it looks much better.

Thanks

 

[safireviper]

You only need to change the rear springs and the ability to lower your ACR remains without buying shorter length springs. You can order 750 - 800 lbs. springs right from Hypercoil. ( they make the springs for the 2001 - 2002 ACR's)

 

[Toronto_ACR]

So you are saying to buy regular size springs but that i can lower the car from adjusting the shocks. Exactly how do you adjust the shocks. Do you have any pictures that i can see with detailed explanations so i dont screw it up

Thanks

You only need to change the rear springs and the ability to lower your ACR remains without buying shorter length springs. You can order 750 - 800 lbs. springs right from Hypercoil. ( they make the springs for the 2001 - 2002 ACR's)

 

[Tom F&L GoR]

Lou, you can lock the rear brakes?

fwiw, 550 front and 800 rear is a nice combo.

 

[safireviper]

You should have a small manilla envelope that came with your ACR. It has all the diagrams that you are asking for. ( springs and shocks -- it's all one unit that goes together) Along with the little tool that allows you to lower or raise your car.

 

[Toronto_ACR]

Hopefully I will have the tool and the instructions you are referring to. If not can anyone post them somewhere with the diagrams

Thanks

 

[Frank Parise]

You don't need any special tools. Put your car on jack stands and pull one of your wheels off. Look at the bottom of the spring and you will see two "nuts" that are threaded around the shock body and holding your spring up. The bottom one is a "jam nut" and is there to assure the one on top of it doesn't move. You will see a little peep hole in side of the jam nut. Use an allen wrench to loosen the tiny screw inside the peep hole. Now you can screw the jam nut up or down on the shoock body. If you screw it up you will raise the ride height and visa versa. Unless you are willing to have your car realligned, I wouldn't recommend you change the ride height for an extended period of time. Before you start screwing the nuts up and down, mark the front of the jam nut with a paint marker and count how many full rotations you make to change the ride height. This way you'll always be able to get back to your starting point if you get confused or don't like how the car handles. Write your adjustments on a piece of paper and keep it in a safe place. Don't try to commit your adjustments to memory. In general, lowering your front ride height or raising your rear ride height will make the rear of the car rotate more easily and if you overdo it, this can be dangerous as the rear end might swing out on you under cornering, accelerating or braking. Raising the front ride height or lowering the rear ride height will make the car more difficult to turn, also known as a push condition. If you want to keep the general balance of the car the same, change both the front and rear ride height the same amount. it will require a different number of turns on the front and rear shocks to make the same change in ride height. Beware that changing your ride height will change your alignment and you may not like how your car handles at all unless you reallign all four wheels. In summary, you can really screw up the handling of your car if you aren't careful. You should be able to feel a significantly softer ride by simply softening the bump control dial on your shocks. Lowering the ride height of your car will reduce the shock travel available and probably result in a stiffer ride, especially if you bottom out your shocks on bumpy roads. So, if you are going to lower your car, you may want to stiffen the bump settings on your shocks to delay bottoming out your shocks.

 

[Fast Freddy]

if you change the spring rate from the stock 1100 lbs. in the rear to the 800 lb. spring from hypercoil wouldn't u have to revalve your shocks to interact properly with your new spring rate?

 

[MtHam ACR]

Freddy, the car is going to sit higher (1100 lbs to compress the springs one inch vs. 800 lbs), so you have to take the ride height down a bit to compensate. I had a shop do mine and re-align. The shocks don't need to be re-valved, you will just get immedate benefit from not getting the huge bounce the 1100lbs springs deliver. The car is still sort of bouncy for these roads here in NorCal, imho.

 

[Toronto_ACR]

So what exactly is the verdict. what are the best springs to install for the ACR. Do you guys just recommend changing the rear springs and not the fronts. If so should I lower the car. How will that effect the car. I want to get rid of the bounce but make it a real performer on both the track and the street. I drove a Z06 2 days ago and although I would not give up my car for it i did like the streetability of the car with performance to go with it.

MtHam are you saying that the new springs you installed is still giving you a bouncy ride. I dont want just a little bit of a change but no bounce at all.

Thanks

 

[Toronto_ACR]

can someone who is an expert in the ACR suspension please get back to me on which shocks to install. Although somem people are telling me that adjusting the shocks will get rid oif the bounce. Is this true.

Thanks

 

[cgmaster]

Do you have koni or dynamic shocks? If you have Konis email me I can help you set them. Everything is in the shop manual. The dynamics can be adjusted also. The dynamics will give a worse ride though since the spring rates are higher.