Tarmac Zero question / issue
 

Maybe this is all useless but Ifigure I'd ask...

So, I have Tarmac Zero's on my car, and they kind of rides terrible. I kind of just accepted it, but I drove a car with Tarmac 2's and it didn't have the problems my car has.

The main problem is when the car "lands". Like, if there is a drop in the road, my car feels like it lands like it has no suspension travel. I noticed with the tarmac 2's it didn't beat me up like mine did. The place mine really kills me is over undulations, like a longer bridge. Its like riding a bucking bronco.

My car doesn't have a really low ride (I actually have it at about the same height as the car with the Tarmac 2s).

Is this "normal"? is there possibly an issue with my rear dampers? (it really seems to be the rear end having the issues not the front).

I've emailed RCE a few times about this and never really got a real answer. And I read a few times people saying these Zeros rode well, and I can't imagine if they ALL ride like this anyone would ever say that.

Just figured I would ask!

The most likely answer is that you're riding on the bump stops, possibly as a result of setting the car too low. Saying "about" the same height as the T2 doesn't impart much confidence - do you have ride height measurements, or did you just guess? You might be lower than you think.

You can do the zip tie test to see if you're riding on the bump stops. Put a zip tie onto the bottom of the shock shaft and drive around for a bit, then check the position of the zip tie. That'll tell you how much of the shock travel you're using. If the zip tie is up into the bump stop, you don't have enough travel.

I drove an FRS once that was too low in the rear and it's exactly as you're describing it - hit the right sequence of bumps and the rear is a bucking bronco.

My T0's are certainly stiff, but they're paired with MPSS which have a really stiff side wall for a daily driver. I got my ride quality to a decent level by playing with the tire pressures. I ended up at 30 psi all around.

Saying your ride height is similar to a previous setup doesn't tell us anything, you need to measure either from the spring perch to the strut bolt or from the middle of the wheel to the top of the fender. Or even just post a pic of the car so we can see how low it is.

You can adjust the collar an inch, and have less than that of actual ride height change. Parked next to each other on a flat parking lot isn't even indicative of actual ride height, (differences in tire sizes, offset, lips, etc,) can all make it hard to tell which car is doing what.

Do the zip tie test, and email RCE and ask how much space between the bottom of the strut body, and the bottom of the collar there should be. Measure. :)

OK, well the "about" I guess is not the right thing to say, I measured the cars in the same garage spot hub center to fender lip. I'll double check but they were within an 1/8th of an inch last time I checked.

I attached two pics of the current rear end ride height. I don't think its that low at all?

And Yeah i guess I need to ziptie test, just wondering what other people were experiencing, just wanna figure out what's up.

I have PSS but his car had Rivals, I would guess his Rivals ride harder than my PSS?

No idea. I've never tried Rivals. Sorry

That looks pretty damn low to me. I'm guessing, but that looks like it's down about 2-2.5 inches to me.

I think you might be looking at things wrong. If it was that low it would be tucking tire, not have an inch of space between the tire and fender. From my measurements from stock to this, its less than 1.5". I measured center hub to fender before, after, and after a day or two of driving.

To get it this high, it actually feels like there is a LOT of preload in the coilover.

Maybe it's the perspective of the picture that's throwing me off.

Huh? That looks like 1" lower than stock... maybe a little bit more...

ok. :thumbsup:

I've got HKS Hipermax 4 GTs and I have similar complaints with them and I'm only ~1 inch lower than stock. They are fine over regular bumps and cracks but big bumps or dips in the road like sunken manhole covers and things are extremely jarring. It's fine when the front wheels go over them but when the rear wheels go over them, I can feel my teeth vibrate it's so jarring. Mine have damping adjustment so I set them to 5 clicks from full soft in the rear which has helped but I find this makes the rear really bouncy and still not as comfortable as I'd like.

I'm going to have the car up on jack stands this weekend to replace my broken front end links and I might take a closer look at the rear suspension to see if I can identify the source of the problem.

3 possible things going on:
1. Bump stops are engaging making the suspension stiffer than the rates would suggest, either raise the car up, cut up/shorten the bumpstops, or maybe find softer ones to swap in.
2. Something isn't right, either the dampers, springs, or assembly isn't as it should be, likely impossible to diagnose for the average person, the only cheap way to find out is find someone with a similar setup and go for a ride.
3. Everything is fine, that's how the setup is supposed to work and it's just not a good match for what you want.

Good luck.