Front splitter S2 worth it?

[Scotty C]

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[j2 lot]

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[Dominic]

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Scotty eventually figured out what his ironing board was for - t'was a pic to illustrate!

[sendmyusername]

I had a S2 exige, and tbh, the only thing the front splitter does is stuff your ground clearance...
Car parks, ramps, etc.
Remember it will also force more air under the car which increases the areodynamics too.

[rossybee]

Oh, by the way, what are canards?

Andy

[Kugaman1]

I did think of ducks when I asked the original question......

Then got a flashback of Del Boy in France ......

[Dominic]

I had a S2 exige, and tbh, the only thing the front splitter does is stuff your ground clearance...
Car parks, ramps, etc.
Remember it will also force more air under the car which increases the areodynamics too.

You are right about the ground clearance, but I think the point of a splitter is it reduces the air going under the car, and forces more over the top. IMHO

[Sanjøy]

Who posted prev about front splitters only being useful if you could stand on them ?

[rossybee]

Who posted prev about front splitters only being useful if you could stand on them ?

Makes sense if they claim to give 80+kg of downforce...

[BiggestNizzy]

You would have to spread the load, I have seen them made from plywood you couldn't stand on it but it will take the load.

If you think of the weight of air your car is pushing out of the way as you drive along at 70mph, you wouldn't want to sit that on top of it.

[robin]

A small amount of lift due to torque of engine might further increase front aerodynamic lift. Though I know nothing about aerodynamics, you can see this easily for yourself if you stick your hand out the window at 70mph. If you hold it horizontal in karate-chop stylee it'll just sit there with little effort; if you rotate it so the leading edge is up, your hand will get whipped upwards; likewise if you roll it down, it'll get pulled down. This is positive feedback - the more lift you get, the more the body pitches up which creates even more lift, etc.

If your front/rear ride height is not right, this might also give more lift than you want.

So, I would start by checking the springs and dampers and all the suspension mounts, bushes and ball joints, then check the front/rear ride height (you want the front a little lower than the back 5-10mm is common), then finally get the geo set.

For the S2 standard dampers I think you can tweak ride height by moving the collars on the damper body between a couple of notches - it's not a lot, but even so it might help to make sure the nose is lower than the tail.

Add to that the fact that lift causes the steering toe angle to change ... if your toe angle is already marginal then you might be crossing over into zero toe (parallel wheels) or even toe-in (wheels pointing inwards). This will deffo cause a change in steering feel which might be it going "light".

Cheers,
Robin

[tut]

Just copy N3's set up and that should be perfect.

tut

[Kugaman1]

A small amount of lift due to torque of engine might further increase front aerodynamic lift. Though I know nothing about aerodynamics, you can see this easily for yourself if you stick your hand out the window at 70mph. If you hold it horizontal in karate-chop stylee it'll just sit there with little effort; if you rotate it so the leading edge is up, your hand will get whipped upwards; likewise if you roll it down, it'll get pulled down. This is positive feedback - the more lift you get, the more the body pitches up which creates even more lift, etc.

If your front/rear ride height is not right, this might also give more lift than you want.

So, I would start by checking the springs and dampers and all the suspension mounts, bushes and ball joints, then check the front/rear ride height (you want the front a little lower than the back 5-10mm is common), then finally get the geo set.

For the S2 standard dampers I think you can tweak ride height by moving the collars on the damper body between a couple of notches - it's not a lot, but even so it might help to make sure the nose is lower than the tail.

Add to that the fact that lift causes the steering toe angle to change ... if your toe angle is already marginal then you might be crossing over into zero toe (parallel wheels) or even toe-in (wheels pointing inwards). This will deffo cause a change in steering feel which might be it going "light".

Cheers,
Robin

Thanks Robin.
There is no wander or pulling to either side, the car tracks straight and true when cruising along at say 60 mph. However, when accelerating upto say 80mph (i.e during overtaking - on private land of course) then because of the way the car follows every single contour of the road, it feels decidedly light, bordering on scary....maybe its me? Ive never driven another Elise to compare it with.
The car has done 20k (2002 s2). There is no sign of any leaks from the suspension and Im not sure how to check the other components.
Maybe next time theres a meet up somewhere in the aberdeen area I can get a go of someone elses car, or they can try mine...maybe Im a touch paranoid???

Andy

[craigs135s]

A small amount of lift due to torque of engine might further increase front aerodynamic lift. Though I know nothing about aerodynamics, you can see this easily for yourself if you stick your hand out the window at 70mph. If you hold it horizontal in karate-chop stylee it'll just sit there with little effort; if you rotate it so the leading edge is up, your hand will get whipped upwards; likewise if you roll it down, it'll get pulled down. This is positive feedback - the more lift you get, the more the body pitches up which creates even more lift, etc.

If your front/rear ride height is not right, this might also give more lift than you want.

So, I would start by checking the springs and dampers and all the suspension mounts, bushes and ball joints, then check the front/rear ride height (you want the front a little lower than the back 5-10mm is common), then finally get the geo set.

For the S2 standard dampers I think you can tweak ride height by moving the collars on the damper body between a couple of notches - it's not a lot, but even so it might help to make sure the nose is lower than the tail.

Add to that the fact that lift causes the steering toe angle to change ... if your toe angle is already marginal then you might be crossing over into zero toe (parallel wheels) or even toe-in (wheels pointing inwards). This will deffo cause a change in steering feel which might be it going "light".

Cheers,
Robin

Thanks Robin.
There is no wander or pulling to either side, the car tracks straight and true when cruising along at say 60 mph. However, when accelerating upto say 80mph (i.e during overtaking - on private land of course) then because of the way the car follows every single contour of the road, it feels decidedly light, bordering on scary....maybe its me? Ive never driven another Elise to compare it with.
The car has done 20k (2002 s2). There is no sign of any leaks from the suspension and Im not sure how to check the other components.
Maybe next time theres a meet up somewhere in the aberdeen area I can get a go of someone elses car, or they can try mine...maybe Im a touch paranoid???

Andy

Not sure where you are based but if you are near Edinburgh you are more than welcome to drive my 111R to see if you feel any diffrance. I felt my old s2 111s was really light at the front end where as the 111r feels more planted. Only diffrance is the 111r is running 888s all round don't know if that's the difrance.

C

[Kugaman1]

Thanks mate, unfortunately Im in Peterhead, so Edinburgh is a bit of a trek....I dont think my ears could cope with the sound of the Janspeed exhaust all the way south!

Yes I know Im a lightweight Sunday driver, the car is strictly a weekend toy!!

Again, thanks for the kind offer,
Andy