Aside from my "damn, this feels way better!" and basically knowing that it IS better, I have no data to back up my feeling that the SPSS valved, shortened Konis I recently installed (just before the Peru National Tour) made any real difference compared to my OTS Konis paired with 600/800 lb/in springs and Comptech rear swaybar.

The following pictures were taken at STLSCCA events on the same surface:

60 degrees, relatively worn (2 track days, 30 autocross runs, 180 or so street miles) Yokohama A032R-S 205/50-15:



85 degrees, 6-run 225/45-15 Hoosier R3S03's front, 205/50-15 R3S03's in the rear:



The inside rear isn't lifting, on much grippier tires in warmer weather with approximately the same inputs being made (no brakes in either picture, steering input is about the same, and I don't believe I was on the throttle yet in the second picture). Other pictures show a dramatic decrease in body roll in similar situations vs. earlier events.

A little setup info for the archives: Since I have yet to spring for some wider front wheels to work with the 225's, I have to make some compromises on setup to deal with the pinchiness. I'm going to go to 1/8" toe after I replace one of my tie rods.

Pressures: 47f 40r works well, a few pounds more in the rear for concrete
Shocks: half turn from soft in the front, full stiff rear
Alignment: a little over -2* camber front, -1.5* rear, 1/16" total toe out in front, zero toe rear.

Just a little friendly info sharing since we're all caught up in discussions about where to buy the best show car dusters. Thanks Lee!

 

Hard to make a determination in different corners on different courses at (presumably) different speeds and amounts of lock. BUT....rest assured that the SPSS stuff is way better than the already quite good OTS Koni. Especially at 800lb rear...which IMO is a good bit beyond the envelope of an OTS shock on an EK/DC2 Honda.

I'll put it this way. I never knew I was underdamped until I went from 600lb rear on OTS to 1000lb rear (!!) with the SPSS goodness.

BTW, and somewhat off topic...I would think 800lb is terribly stiff for autocrossing, with the event sites often being bumpy. On a glassy-smooth racetrack my 600/1000 setup is brilliant...but at a bumpy airport autocross site, the car will actually get airborn at times and basically jumps all over the place and feels like it's falling apart. What have been your observations?

 

I wouldn't be surprised if dampers make a bigger difference on an autocross car than they do on a road racer. Since the car never really "takes a set" into steady-state cornering, the chassis is always in transition so damping plays a proportionally larger role in roll rates...

K

 

Yeah, like I said, very UNscientific.

I agree with you that the car is "on the damper" more at an autocross since so very few of the corners are done with more than a second of steady-state cornering.

Mr. Schultz:

It's not too stiff, it's just about perfect. The car does pogo if it's being overdriven over bumpy stuff, but as long as you don't toss the car or stand it on its nose it behaves itself very well. I've had it at Peru, Indiana's Grissom Aeroplex with this setup, and it's got a heaping helping of both grip (very grippy concrete) and serious bumps (very very old taxiways/plane parking) and it hasn't done anything to make me want to soften it. I think it's just right for the tires I'm using right now. My car is heavy; it weighs somewhere around 2550 with me in it, so the rates aren't super high. Still acceptable to daily drive too. Well, tolerable...