Ok being a noob at this i figure this is the best place to ask. Im currently building a 240sx for road racing/drag just plain speeding rather. first thing i did was get a set of adjustable shocks with drop springs (kyb agx + eibach sportlines) my next mod im thinking about is strut and possibly sway bars. but after asking a few freinds ive come to understand that front strut bars hurt weight transfer on RWD cars? which is important to RWD cars when launcing or accelerating

so if you guys have any tips or advice please lmk

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by ferio 95 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote"> but after asking a few freinds ive come to understand that front strut bars hurt weight transfer on RWD cars? which is important to RWD cars when launcing or accelerating</TD></TR></TABLE>

Strut bars reinforce the lateral rigidity of your chassis when cornering; they don't have any effect on front-to-rear weight transfer. You may be referring to spring rate strategies for drag racing, but I doubt you need to delve deep into such technicalities for a daily-driver.


Modified by BOM_RSX-S_HB at 5:06 PM 12/29/2005

 

ah. just what i needed to hear. so would you suggest anything i should try for my setup?

 

Ah, as a FWD owner I couldn't help you much. Best thing I'd suggest is take your car to an autocross, drive the **** out of it, reflect on what you didn't like about the handling, and then upgrade accordingly. Ask around here if you don't know which part(s) will fix your handling situation.

And don't run over any course workers.

 

LOL yea but the nearest autox is about 2-3 hours from me so not sure when ill get to one. me and some freinds are planning a breif session in an abandoned parking lot with a track laid out with some cones we "found".

so far the lack of powersteering and good brakes are my biggest issues. also the body rocking side to side once i complete a turn.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by ferio 95 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">so far the lack of powersteering and good brakes are my biggest issues. also the body rocking side to side once i complete a turn.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Upgrading brake pads may be sufficient to get the grip you desire. Your chassis rocks after a turn, even after the new damper/spring install? Uh oh.

 

im going to do a brake rotor/caliper upgrade soon. the 180sx conversion has 1" larger rotors with larger one piston calipers. and is alot cheaper then the overglorified 300zx conversion. also yes i get body roll even now althought i never had a chance to really drive the car on stock suspension

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by ferio 95 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">also yes i get body roll even now althought i never had a chance to really drive the car on stock suspension</TD></TR></TABLE>

Are we talking simple roll as in your car leans heavily in cornering, or are we talking about your chassis oscilliates back and forth after you've completed a single turn?

The former is common behavior and can be solved with lowering the car's roll center (e.g. lower ride height, widen wheel track), the latter is a symptom of blown shocks.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by ferio 95 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">LOL yea but the nearest autox is about 2-3 hours from me so not sure when ill get to one. me and some freinds are planning a breif session in an abandoned parking lot with a track laid out with some cones we "found".</TD></TR></TABLE>

That's actually a pretty cool way to practice (but i'm not officially endorsing using private property *cough* *cough*). Grab a good set of street tires (Azenis RT-615's are my favorities) and set up a 5 cone slalom with maybe 25 feet between each. Attack it with your friends and have someone time each run - try to get faster every time.

Here's a strategy taught to me for a slalom: As you approach the slalom, loosen up your vision so you see all the slalom cones at once. The goal is steady on the throttle, try to turn in and hit the "back-side" of each cone every time. Stay tight to each cone and turn in early. The most important cone is the first slalom cone -- if you turn in wrong or late on that one you'll be late on all the subsequent ones trying to catch up.

You know you're doing well if you enter at say 68mph and come out going 75mph. You'll learn your car's limits in no time.

And give yourself plenty of room to spin (seriously)! Make sure all obstructions are behind you. I spun out uncontrollably off the concrete into a field once. Luckily there weren't any obstructions in the way (and no alignments needed to be done on the car).