Well, I finally got the car out on the track w/ the new suspension bits and pieces. Summit Point held a test day out here, and I went out to figure out the car.

Might as well let the cat out of the bag. JIC strongly suggested that I try 14k front and 12k rear. Combine that w/ the fact that they were out of higher spring rates. So I did decided to give it a whirl. It's setup pretty damn well right now. Corner weights are within 2 lbs of each other, and the front corners are within 70 lbs of each other.

I've got the big Mugen 26mm swaybar on there too. The shocks do an awesome job of soaking up all the bumps on Summit, which has gotten quite torn up over the last year.

But, it understeers... Understeer, understeer, understeer. Braking is awesome. Very stable, and I can go in deep. Just to get the car to turn, I'm running 8 psi higher in back than in front, and I've got the rear shocks turned up pretty high. I'm also going to preload the rear springs by about 1 cm to increase their spring rates.

JIC received my springs today, but they won't be able to get them to me until Monday. A weekend too late.

Anyhow, there you have it. My review of a properly setup JDM suspension. Shocks are fabulous, but the spring rates are off. It's a safe setup in that anyone can drive it w/o a problem, but it's not fast. Fast fwd = loose.

Warren

 

I told you I don't know any fwd racers who run higher front springs than rear.

 

I've read a little about this before, but I'm slow, so help me out. The japanese drivers generally prefer softer rears because they trail brake more, and the softer rear springs cause a more progressive transition to oversteer under trail braking right? I think I understand that stiffer rears cause initial understeer with a more sudden transition to oversteer. Am I totally out to lunch?
<---brandon, who hopes that someday he can afford to drive enough to learn how to apply all this.
Oh, and good luck warren and the other H-T ECHC drivers.

 

I was looking for the thread. It started as a thread about how Mr. Spoon visited AJ racing and turned into a thread about the difference between Japanese and North American suspansion setup.

 

You are such a Spoon *****, George.

Warren, thanks for the review. I'm still contemplating picking up a set of the FLT-A2's. Your reviews are very helpful.

 

Yeah, your a good spokesperson warren. I want to run out and trade my wife for some JIC coilovers now.

 

That's a different story over there. They have big camber up front, usually around -3 to -4 to combat the understeer and the tire they have are different (can withstand the big camber without overheating).

 

BTW - Dave, I created some extra ground clearance on tube #4

I tried turn 3 all the way to the bottom of the hill flat out, and couldn't slow in time. It's very bumpy out in that field

Warren

 

Depends on the car and the setup. I trail braked all over the place today.

Warren

 

This is an interesting post. Good luck Warren.

 

Warren,

Once you get the spring rates to your liking, would you rate these as better than your previous setup?

Good luck this weekend

BTW, FedEx and UPS Saturday Delivery is your friend


[Modified by kengs, 10:46 PM 6/28/2002]

 

 

Cool, that validates my impression also. I intially got my shocks with rates of 10K/8K and found the exact same thing. Understeer!! I then switched to 7K/8K and the car has much better rotation. Thanks for the info!!

 

hahahahahhh

 

I'll be running a new set of BuddyClubs in July at Putnam. I was told by several to swap the spring rates that were shipped. Running 8k in the front and 12k in the rear. That's roughly 450 frt and 670 rear with the factory rear bar. Kind of a big swing but then again RealTime was running 800 frt and 1200 rear! Of course Pierre can drive... Looking to run 12k frt / 14k rear with the Mugen 26mm bar... Thoughts?

Kyle - who likes how flat Putnam is in case he has an off...

 

When using stiffer front springs, the car needs to be setup accordingly (camber, toe, ride height, LSD, etc.) so that it won't plow like a pig.
Thanks George for the info on the Spoon race cars. I remember seeing it somewhere but I can't find it anymore.

 

SHUT UP Wai....nobody likes to listen to you anyway......



maybe it's the lack of available tire compounds stateside that prevents a more "JDM" flavored setup?

mrmmm....dousing more fuel into the fire...

 

trail braking is BAD
never brake in a turn
try that at watkins glen and expect to crash and a very high speed

 

Same here, but the 14K springs are taking a while to get here.
Should be a sweet set-up. Ed

Speaking of the Glen, there's a Grand-Am endurance race on Speed Channel tonight (from the Glen) @ about 7:30 PM till ...?


[Modified by Zygspeed, 12:27 PM 6/29/2002]

 

Cool post This is the first suspension post where the suspension was actually tested for performance and not looks.

You said it understeers... Would you says its better or worse than stock?

 

Trail braking is used to keep the balance of the car biased toward the front wheels - to maximize front end grip during the turn. Trail braking is very different from BRAKING in a turn - and no, it is not bad, it is a well known racing technique.

 

Thank you!

 

Hehe Pat, save your fuel.

 

Mayby after a few more track days I'll try to learn how to trailbrake.

How does adjusting the dampners effect setup? Is stiffing the dampners the same as effectively increaseing spring rate?

 

maybe at slower speeds
trail braking i used to do for autocrossing but it wont work for the way my car is setup
I tried at the Glen and came within about 10 feet of totalling my car before the S turns
im not knocking it its just not my style at all
I for one will never brake into a turn
its just how I learned at Skip Barber