anybody here running illumina's with the GC coilovers?

i'm just wondering what you set your shocks to?

i have the GC's at 400F & 600R. I'm guessing 5's all around?

also, i have a ST adjustable rear sway bar, are you running full stiff on the bar? i currently have it set up to middle, from when it was a street car.

plus i've been reading that disconnecting the front OEM sway bar i'm currently using will be pretty good for turn in, etc. but experimenting will yield the results best for me.

 

Not sure how much my $0.02 is going to be worth on this but here goes...

I'm running OTS Koni's with GC's right now (450F, 700R) and have been running it at half stiff front and full stiff rear. The car doesn't have a front sway bar and has a stock rear bar. My plan is to increase the spring rates as I get more comfortable with the car and also after I install the LSD.

Without the front sway bar, you may find that the ST rear is a bit of overkill... Good luck with the car setup

Christian

 

My setup is very close to yours.

400f/600r
Illuminas (3 or 4 F/ 5 R)
No front SB
ST rear bar on soft

I plan to put the rear bar to the middle next time out and give it a shot. Right now the car feels pretty neutral overall, with just a *hint* of understeer in some corners. It feels pretty good to me at the moment...but everybody likes things a little different. For my taste, it is balanced enough that a pound or two of air is all it takes to get it happy. YMMV

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by meotter &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">but experimenting will yield the results best for me.</TD></TR></TABLE>

i think you said it best yourself.

when i had 450/900 on illuminas and a rear swaybar and stock front, i think i set my shocks to 5 all around. i know i experimented with the settings, but not much. more of my testing was in tire pressures and just left the shocks alone.

 

I ran the low buck set up when I first built my crx. I had Illumina's but broke them in one weekend with no offtrack excursions. The shocks are not designed to handle the increased spring rates.

I had Lee Grimes at Koni N. America make me up a set of custom valved units for the crx, and now they are an "off the shelf" part no.

I ran 450F 700R with an adjustable rear Progress bar that we developed with Progress, a "pre-production" unit that allowed fine tunning.

I also ran soft springs for rain races and I was pretty successful with this set up.
I have built, ran, and developed parts for the crx since 1995 so take my info for what it worth to you.

Just make sure you get the coil overs to be easily adjustable, I had to rescale my car before every race just to make sure it was balanced and adjusting some of the old coil overs (re: low cost junk found on ebay) made it a real pain.

good luck
Lee's no. is- (859) 586-4100 x-316
He is Kentucky

 

I have the same set up as you, 400/600 illuminas and ST swaybar and stock front bar. I haven't messed around too much with the shocks, as of yet. I have mine set to 5 both front and rear for shorter/low speed courses and autocrosses. I did find the rear to be a bit twitchy at higher speeds, in particular where the turn would have a decent bump, but the car is catchable.

However running on Pocono's South Course running counter-clockwise and turning into the in-field under braking, I found the rear just a tad bit bouncy... actually scary especially with the wall so close on the right. I'll most likely dial down the shocks a couple ticks and adjust the tire pressures next time I'm on a course like this.

So I guess the short answer really is, it depends. Depends on your driving style, ie what your comfortable with, and what type of track/parking lot your running on.

PS, Race valved Konis are on the wish list.

 

Meotter-

I can attest that disconnecting the front sway is in your best interest.
Be sure to check your camber angles as well.

On the rear there are special bushings you can use to get more negative camber to control the "looseness."

Setting the alignment is also of paramount importance as you might imagine. Tires also make a big difference, in terms of age, air pressure, and size.
I ran the 205/55/14 Hoosiers to great effect with the Koni's and stiffer spring rates.
I did not have to adjust the rear bar very often as the car was "stuck" at all the tracks we raced at.

If you'd like more detailed information, send me an email or private message and I would be glad to lend you a hand.

 

thanks for the responses guys! i'm trying to do this build on the cheap, since i'm primarily interested in going to the SCCA schools then actually racing at this point. A lot of the stuff I'm using was left over from when I daily drove/autocrossed the car in CSP. (thus the illuminas & ST rear bar)

In either case, once i can drive the car again, i'll drive it around and see how i like it with and without the front bar and try adjusting the rear bar a bit too. I'll also probably keep my autocross settings for the shocks of 3/4F and 5R.

So many variables to fiddle with now

Appreciate all the advice, keep it coming! I'll update the thread with my findings and progress of the build.

Right now I have to get the rollcage welded in, install new alternator sans siezed pulley, and install the hoodpins At some point i also need to finish installing the rest of the prothane bushings for the upper control arms, radius rods, and compensator arms.

whew... good thing the schools aren't until april

 

I must be the exception here...I have had the same set of illuminas in my car since I bought it in '98 They have seen probably 15k street miles, a LOT of autocrossing, and over 20 track weekends on them. The car still feels and drives the same with them. Granted I was running 350f/400r up until about 2 years ago, they have still seen a lot of hard miles. I keep waiting for them to wear out so I will have an excuse to buy a set of "real" shocks.

I am just surprised, because I know they should not last this long...

 

youre not the exception. illuminas are great shocks.

 

anybody have suggestions on the ride height i should be running? perhaps measured by door sill to the ground or amount of piston showing while the suspension is loaded?

also what alignment specs are you running (assuming you don't eccentric bolts or camber plates or something)