Ride height suspension assistance please

must go faster

Junior Member
Messages
74
Hi all,
Is anyone able to tell me what the ride height is on their ghibli please?
Wheel size and gap between top of wheel and bottom of arch or at a specific reference point underneath to the floor.
I’m not happy with the roll and the amount of times the car bottoms out at the front and middle.
I’m trying to work out what my options are and whether I can just fit stiffer springs or whether I need to go the full hog!!
don’t want to spend too much as only intend to keep it for another 12 to 18 months before trading in for a younger model (or maybe a GT ).

cheers
 

must go faster

Junior Member
Messages
74
Anyone got 20” wheels fitted to a non skyhook setup? Just wondering if it would be too firm, especially on uk roads!
 

keith

Member
Messages
624
It's not unusual perhaps if going over a speed ramp or steep driveway to hear a scrape sound from the front. This is just the aerodynamic flaps that hang down in front of the front wheels hitting the ground. They are flexible and causes no damage.
But more care must be taken generally, as the Ghibli does seem to sit lower than other equivalent saloons.
By the way my car has 20" wheels with Skyhook.
 

P R

Member
Messages
1,382
Anyone got 20” wheels fitted to a non skyhook setup? Just wondering if it would be too firm, especially on uk roads!
My previous Ghibli had the 20 " Uranos without the skyhook and it was fine. If anything I found it a tiny bit soft. Current one has 21 with skyhook. It's a little too soft normally.. and quite hard in sport mode (which i like). The 20s without skyhook were about right I thought

Sent from my SM-G980F using Tapatalk
 

must go faster

Junior Member
Messages
74
Definitely think that the springs were shot!!! Looked into replacements and Maserati wanted £500 for originals, the Novitecs and FD items were a little over £600 however would take weeks to turn up and the H&R’s are under £300. Went will H&R as I’m impatient and they had next day delivery. Fitted with the original 18” wheels and the car handles significantly better, no longer pitching into corners. Down side is it scrapes, and badly. It no longer hits on the flaps from the undertray but the undertray itself before it even gets to the flaps. I couldn’t even get the trolley jack underneath it.
Toyed with getting the novitec or FD springs however that would only raise it 10mm and would incur more fitting costs (approx £500).
Applying some man maths to the problem enabled me to realise an appropriate solution.... new alloys!!!
I like the 19” proteo wheels however if I went with the Maserati tyre recommendation on the 19” wheel it would only raise it approx 5mm. Man logic in full flow now, 20” must be the way forward. Looked at a few sets including GT options however finally went with the ghibli urano’s.
Now for the tyres. Not wanting to totally eradicate the luxury feel and wanting to raise the car up, I started researching possible tyre size combinations against what was made by the premium brands. Thought I would use an old lotus trick of using higher sidewalls to compensate for firmer suspension. Finally went with Dunlop sport maxx RT 2 as they were good in the wet, only 69/70 db, and were available with a larger side wall. Final dimensions were 255/45/20 and 285/40/20.
Car now has higher ride height, wheels now fill the arches, still looks standard, and haven’t had to cut the flaps off.

Before on standard springs and Pirelli’s:
79899
After with H&R’s, Uranos & Dunlop’s:
79900
More than I wanted to spend however this coupled with fixing the misfire issue might mean that I keep it a little longer than originally planned.
 

Gazcw

Member
Messages
7,700
If I did my h&r springs again I would not do the 20mm drop all round. 20mm back and leave front standard length. That would flatten it out but give the undertray more of a chance of missing the lumps and bumps of todays roads.
 

Zep

Moderator
Messages
9,110
That is a 4.25% increase in circumference. For an indicated 70 mph, you will be going an extra 3 mph faster. Worth considering as you approach a camera van!
 

Scaf

Member
Messages
6,513
Definitely think that the springs were shot!!! Looked into replacements and Maserati wanted £500 for originals, the Novitecs and FD items were a little over £600 however would take weeks to turn up and the H&R’s are under £300. Went will H&R as I’m impatient and they had next day delivery. Fitted with the original 18” wheels and the car handles significantly better, no longer pitching into corners. Down side is it scrapes, and badly. It no longer hits on the flaps from the undertray but the undertray itself before it even gets to the flaps. I couldn’t even get the trolley jack underneath it.
Toyed with getting the novitec or FD springs however that would only raise it 10mm and would incur more fitting costs (approx £500).
Applying some man maths to the problem enabled me to realise an appropriate solution.... new alloys!!!
I like the 19” proteo wheels however if I went with the Maserati tyre recommendation on the 19” wheel it would only raise it approx 5mm. Man logic in full flow now, 20” must be the way forward. Looked at a few sets including GT options however finally went with the ghibli urano’s.
Now for the tyres. Not wanting to totally eradicate the luxury feel and wanting to raise the car up, I started researching possible tyre size combinations against what was made by the premium brands. Thought I would use an old lotus trick of using higher sidewalls to compensate for firmer suspension. Finally went with Dunlop sport maxx RT 2 as they were good in the wet, only 69/70 db, and were available with a larger side wall. Final dimensions were 255/45/20 and 285/40/20.
Car now has higher ride height, wheels now fill the arches, still looks standard, and haven’t had to cut the flaps off.

Before on standard springs and Pirelli’s:
View attachment 79899
After with H&R’s, Uranos & Dunlop’s:
View attachment 79900
More than I wanted to spend however this coupled with fixing the misfire issue might mean that I keep it a little longer than originally planned.
That does look much much better and if you get the clearance you were looking for it’s a win win