raised spindels, what has been done before? Options

[metalmorphosis]

So I think I want to raise the spindle on the strut tube and I know I've seen some threads about doing this. I did a little searching and didn't find anything useful so I'm hoping you guys can give me some advice or share any links with me. The reason I think I would like to do this is to regain a little suspension travel in the front end. My car is pretty low and currently has no travel to speak of in the front. So I think if I lower the car more by raising the spindles I can lift the car back up using the torsion bars to gain some suspension travel back. Ultimately I want my cars ride height to be about the same as it is now. I'm thinking of raising the spindle 1 inch, is there another standard amount of raise that has been done before? Is there any reason not to do this modification? I assume the tie rods would be fine and all the geometry would be almost the same, right? So what do y'all know about this one?

[metalmorphosis]

My car does have 17" wheels on it, don't know the offset though. I will be taking a look at the gap between the ball joint and wheel tomorrow. And again the only thing I hope to get out of this is some front suspension travel. So Dave why would this potentially cause worse bump steer?

And my car does look slightly better now than in this photo this was just after getting done with some major rust repair 1 1/2 yrs ago.

[Dave_Darling]

So Dave why would this potentially cause worse bump steer?

Bump steer is changed by changing the height of the steering knuckle relative to the height of the steering rack. It doesn't matter how you do it, if you raise the whole strut or just the spindle.

You are talking about raising up the spindle, and then raising the suspension to lift the car back up to where it was. In that case, the arm will be in the same position relative to the rack. The bump steer will be the same as it had been.

If you change the suspension height somewhere down the road (you want it taller, you want it even lower) you will change the relationship between the knuckle and the rack again. Which means the bump steer will change again.

Note that the changes could be harmful, or could be helpful, or could be not enough to notice. I don't know the specifics, and most people who start thinking about those effects will actually measure them on their own car.

--DD