anyone taken the time to install / design any lightweight suspension components? my shop is directly across the street from an excellent machinist, and i was thinking of autocad'n some aluminum and titanium suspension pieces. is it worth the agrevation? i know they make billet lca's already for the rear, but what about upper a arms, and steering knuckles? how about the camer adjustment section in the rear? im just trying to lighten my car up nicely, but still keep it's rigidity. (im dropping some pounds too. ) what other suggestions do you guys have to drop some weight? i guess i could pull out the heater and blower motor right? the abs is gonna go bye bye this weekend, (unwanted pedal feel under engaugement) im trying to keep the outside appearance as stock as it possibly be, other than suspension, wheel tire mods and a front lip...

 

The first question is always what the rules of your race sanctioning body allow: Obviously, you don't want to do anything illegal or that will be illegal when you take it to a race down the road.

The second is how $$ translate into reduced lap times and how any given cost results in improvement. Truthfully, there are about a thousand things ahead of really light suspension parts in terms of economical performance enhancement - not the least of which is driver skill.

Even just looking at mechanical aspects, if a person spends money on trick suspension bits rather than running healthy tires, that is bad economy. It's also pretty common.

Yeah - I know that I didn't actually answer the question that was asked. I answered the question behind it...

Kirk

 

no that was a good informative answer.. i beleive i have done every other logical mod that would gain any performance benefit, a nice damper setup, 12" brakes and 4 piston calipers, lightweight wheels & tire setup(s) suspension stiffening equipment (strut bars, sway bars, cage.) and have done alot to my powerplant as well.. im getting to the point where im running outta "store bought" or "brand name" mods that will give me any performance gain... are there higher end parts that i am missing? whats an ideal setup? figure on a gsr body with a well built all-motor powerplant (261whp) what kinda suspension and weight reductions would you preform

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 2k1_ITR_0736 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">i beleive i have done every other logical mod that would gain any performance benefit </TD></TR></TABLE>

What about the driver?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 2k1_ITR_0736 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote"> im getting to the point where im running outta "store bought" or "brand name" mods that will give me any performance gain... are there higher end parts that i am missing? whats an ideal setup? figure on a gsr body with a well built all-motor powerplant (261whp) </TD></TR></TABLE>

Don't take offense but now what you need is a better driver. It sounds like you have a lot of car but the difference between an experience and skilled driver and just another guy in his car are night and day. Even before car mods, improving your driver will probably be the fastest way to making the overall package better. The added benefit is that the driver is you so you get to get better at driving your own car and have fun doing it.

Saving a few ounces on a suspension is going to mean nothing on a 2400+ lb car. I tell my shock cusotmers to skip lunch before going on track versus paying a $1000 to save 2 lbs on the car. Put the money where is will pay in value of performance gain and weight trimming is really the law of diminishing returns. Another current thread references taking a dump to save weight. If this was a 600-800 lb formula car then it is another matter but on a big fendered car, getting faster is more important than shaving a little weight.

Invest in your driver, it will get you faster and be more rewarding.

 

ot: how`s that knee?



If you wanna shed some weight, pull the ac and power steering out

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 2k1_ITR_0736 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">no that was a good informative answer.. i beleive i have done every other logical mod that would gain any performance benefit, a nice damper setup, 12" brakes and 4 piston calipers, lightweight wheels & tire setup(s) suspension stiffening equipment (strut bars, sway bars, cage.) and have done alot to my powerplant as well.. im getting to the point where im running outta "store bought" or "brand name" mods that will give me any performance gain... are there higher end parts that i am missing? whats an ideal setup? figure on a gsr body with a well built all-motor powerplant (261whp) what kinda suspension and weight reductions would you preform</TD></TR></TABLE>

you have 261whp? and you have a motor thats reliable for road racing? or am i in drag racing forum?

Sometimes bigger isnt always better...

i dont think you're missing much

 

its very reliable... i hate dragging, or i would have went turbo. i like all motor applications, because they gain more low end torque, unlike boost where you have to wait for turbo to spool up. my car is a nasty monster, it runs great, my vtec sounds like a nuclear weapon, and its very reliable. surprisingly.

as far as voodoo's remark. well past those things... as soon as i bought the car, those were the first things to go. (a/c, p.s.)

also something i noticed, cars with non power steering racks have more turns to lock but are easy to spin the wheel.. and power steering cars have less turns to lock.. so i left my power rack in there, thats still filled with fluid.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by .RJ &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">What about the driver?</TD></TR></TABLE>

 

I guess that I'm more confused than ever. "Faster" has to be relative to something - other cars in a class (which I'm at a loss to identify here) or a previous best lap time (open-track kinds of things). What kind of racing is the car being used for?

K

 

any amount of $$ spent in driving school will benefit you 10 times more than spending the same money on parts for your car.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Knestis &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">What kind of racing is the car being used for?</TD></TR></TABLE>

 

the car is being used for autoX, hpde's, and eventually honda challenge.. i have some track time now, but wanna up my participation this year majorly.

 

Stop buying parts and start buying Evo school, HPDE, and open track day sessions. Have experienced instructors ride with you, or you ride with them.