Delorean review and question

[08087]

Just back from a short stay in California. A good friend of mine offered me his Delorean to drive around during my stay! Now that's a friend!

My friend has 35K invested in the purchase and upgrade of his Delorean, it does not have a stage II but he has done extensive work on the eng. and exhaust. The eng. puts out about 200HP with the new exhaust system, aggressive cams and whatever else was done (his wording not mine). It's a 5 speed w grey int. frame has been completely gone over and powder coated, new leather seat covers from DMC, headliner, luvers and much more. (I'll get the VIN from him as again I forgot this is important to many of you.

It was a blast to drive this car up and down the 101 for a few hours at a clip! Yippy!!! Much faster than I expected, not mustang or Camaro fast but plenty fast for me.

Now for the questions concerns, I notice the car gives a great deal of feedback to the driver, so much so that this spoiled driver got annoyed. Every bump you could feel and being this is not meant to be a performance car as much as a cruiser I'd like to find a way of softening the ride a bit. Is there any practical way of accomplishing this without making it into a "boat" like ride of a 1970's Cadillac?

At the same time I tried a little accident avoidance test of my own and found that body roll was excessive, any way of correcting this aspect of the car? I felt rather unsafe with the way the car responded.

Don't get me wrong, I love the car and cannot thank my friend enough for the treat he bestowed upon me, but this treat also opened my eyes more to the problems I find get in the way of my future enjoyment of a Delorean.

All feedback is certainly welcome, even from Sean!

[SoCalDMC12]

Sounds like you had a fun time.

There are many things that could affect the car's ride and handling:

- Was it lowered?
- What shocks does he have?
- What tires?
- is everything in proper working order?

10718 has a stock suspension and Cooper Cobra tires, and I like the ride/handling balance. 16423 has a stock suspension and Yokohama tires... I think it handles better, but rides a bit rougher... I might switch to Cooper Cobra's this year and add a front strut brace to see how it affects the car.

[08087]

Sounds like you had a fun time.

There are many things that could affect the car's ride and handling:

- Was it lowered?
- What shocks does he have?
- What tires?
- is everything in proper working order?

10718 has a stock suspension and Cooper Cobra tires, and I like the ride/handling balance. 16423 has a stock suspension and Yokohama tires... I think it handles better, but rides a bit rougher... I might switch to Cooper Cobra's this year and add a front strut brace to see how it affects the car.

The car was not lowered, it had B.F. Goddrich tires, model I do not know. The car is in very good working order, as stated he has some 35K invested and that may be a low number as you always forget the little things you add over time.

[sean]

The car was not lowered, it had B.F. Goddrich tires,

IIRC, those BFs are pretty hard tires. I've driven on them and they are good about transferring the road to your butt.

[Dracula]

Lowering the car really cuts down on body roll and the harshness of the ride. The way I figure it, the front shocks are nearly bottomed out and have an extremely limited range of travel at stock height, but by dropping the front end, the car becomes more aerodynamic, increases shock travel, and leads to a more pleasant ride.

Though, what's wrong with 1970's Cadillac feel? There are few things better in the world than the ride in a '70s Cadillac.

[08087]

Lowering the car really cuts down on body roll and the harshness of the ride. The way I figure it, the front shocks are nearly bottomed out and have an extremely limited range of travel at stock height, but by dropping the front end, the car becomes more aerodynamic, increases shock travel, and leads to a more pleasant ride.

Though, what's wrong with 1970's Cadillac feel? There are few things better in the world than the ride in a '70s Cadillac.

The "Cadillac" feel is fine for a marshmellow Cadillac not for a Delorean, just as the harsh ride of the new style Vettes that came out in the 80's is not right either. There should be a happy medium IMO for the ride of a cruiser, a BMW comes to mind, maybe not that refined but you get where I'm shooting.

[louielouie2000]

DMC Northwest has been working on developing a rear antiroll bar for some time. That should dramatically help with the excessive body roll the DeLorean exhibits, especially if you consider that 65% of the weight of the car is over the rear wheels. That's an awful lot of polar inertia which is not being reigned in.

Like others have said, modern shocks & tires help dramatically too (as does lowering the front end). I see you stated the car has new(er) tires... but is it still running on it's original (or NOS) Girling shock absorbers? They have an odd combination of hard ride with little aid in controlling unwanted body motion. 21st century shock absorber technology performs staggering wonders for both ride & handling on DeLoreans.

[Chris Burns]

The Eibach suspension kit offered by DMCH seems to work pretty well. I know one vendor sells a strut bar for the trunk that mounts between the shock towers. Rear engine cars always have the "swing out" feeling, due to all the weight being in the back. Lowering the Delorean does help with handling (and plus the car looks great lowered!).

Remember the car is 30 yrs old. No traction control, no ABS, no power steering. Just a pure driver's car!

[Dangermouse]

I know some folks who invest $$ in polybushings have found them too hard and jarring and have switched back to rubber. Perhaps your buddy's car has a full set of polybushes.

[Bitsyncmaster]

The front shocks are the key to the ride. My 30 year old originals (still working) you would feel every pebble in the road. Installed John's easy riders and the ride will put a smile on your face for days. My car has been lowered a little by Gradey's front springs but that never curred that hard ride.