Thread: Wanting to improve suspension setup. Need advice

Alright guys, I attended another track event last saturday and I love my setup, but I think with a few tweaks it could be alot better. Basically the front tires are just not getting enough bite.

So this is what I have:
-Hyperco springs
-KYB AGX struts set a 2f/5r
-Cusco FSTB
-Whiteline 4pt control arm brace
-stock front sway with ES bushings
-Progress rear sway at full stiff
-Active Tuning RSTB
-Falken Azenis 205/50 15 on 15x8 wheel
-Unsure of alignment specs

So I'm thinking about:
-Whiteline or superpro caster bushings
-Alignment settings at 1.5* camber in front, 1* camber in rear
-zero toe all around

Would my setup benefit from these mods? Am I right on the amount of camber? Mind you my car is daily driven so tire wear should be taken into consideration.

heres what i am thinking.

im not convinced the caster bushings will do much to improve front end traction but i remember reading that mike said they do something other than simply add caster so who knows.....maybe it will!

1.5* of camber sounds good however i would suggest running a bit of toe in up front instead of 0* all around.

Spring for the caster bushings. I Put some in this summer and love them. So you are getting understeer?

Dudeman

I see you have the CUSCO FTSB. How well does the rear CUSCO bar do verse the active tuning? I believe I saw one on JUN's car. The brace looks pretty nice and I believe it mounted in a different sport than the active tuning. Also, what about having that sheet metal welded behind the back seats to fill that hole leading to the trunk.

EDIT: HA, Ignore this, I'm new to FWD

I know on my Z, a little bit up toe out in front makes it bite that much harder. Also, toe out in front and negative camber will make the car want to follow ruts more. I doubt it will be too bad with only 1.5* tho.

-3* and 1/16th toe out on my Z and I could let go of the wheel and have it steer itself along the ruts in the road...

I have a cusco in the front and Active tuning in the rear, so can't really answer that question.

basically yes it understeers mainly in the center and exiting corners. this is with the tire pressures at 36f/33r. I think just some front camber will help because right now it looks like there's none at all. but I heard caster bushings help improve turn in response so I don't know.

then what would be the best alignment specs?

toe out up front would make it under steer more. think of this, you are in a hard right hand turn and all the weight is on the left side.

with toe in up front the front left tire (front tire with most grip) wants to pull a tad harder to the right than if it had 0 toe setting.

with toe out in the back the left rear tire (rear tire with most grip) wants to pull out to the left more so than if it were set to 0 toe.


do the math and this will cause the car to rotate better. however dont take this as 100% true as i am not a racer, this is just comeing from personal theory and they seem to work pretty well on GT4 lol.

I'd start with those tire pressures. They seem wrong. I'd try less pressure up front, and more in back.

Also wider tires up front couldn't hurt.

Next would be alignment. Try some negative camber up front, and maybe a tiny bit of toe out in the rear if you're getting frisky.

You're on the right track though.

(I'm not 100% sure about the tire pressure thing. I'm not up on my tire pressure tech right now.)

good advice. i over looked the tire pressures. i would give 32psi up front and 33psi out back. but dont go lower than that.....some people think lowering the tire pressure alot (armature drag racers) gives more traction......with bias ply tires with is true. but with radials this simply "concaves" the center of the tread and decreases the foot print by nearly 30%!!!!!!!! 30/32 cold psi is the most flat a tire can be and 33/35psi in the rear will make it ride "slightly" on the center tread giving a bit less traction on the rear. do that before alignment as you can changes tire pressure easier than alignment.

do you have ES bushings in your front control arms? if not i would do that because it the moment you likely have worn bushings deflecting all the steering angle you are trying to put to the front wheels.

Your tire pressure will go a long way. The caster bushings help mostly with turn in. So initially when you turn the wheel they help it respond faster so not a bad idea. As with any suspension like that the main thing is to set it up right. time and care man but if you track a lot hyperco/agx might not be up to the task.

ps I've heard complaints about lazy turn in with hypercos from some people I respect a lot.