RCE Tarmac 2 Owners: What's your street setup?

[smg1138]

I installed some Tarmac 2's a few months ago on my FRS. The recommended settings are good for autox/track, but I'm trying to soften them up a bit for street use. I'd like to hear what some other people are using just to get some ideas. I'm basically trying to soften them up as much as possible with minimal bounce for daily driving.

[Silverspeed]

I always ran mine at 2 clicks from full soft front and rear on the street. I had 400# springs front and 450# rear. They rode sweet. Very comfortable.

[Pat]

Originally Posted by Silverspeed

I always ran mine at 2 clicks from full soft front and rear on the street. I had 400# springs front and 450# rear. They rode sweet. Very comfortable.

I'm considering T2s in a year or two and live in Denver. One of my concerns is street comfort. I wish I would have had a chance to ride in your car with the T2s before you got rid of them.
Sooo....why DID you get rid of them?

[Silverspeed]

I just bought a set of T3's! I can't seem to leave well enough alone. Loved the T2's so I think I'll love the T3's even more. Going to try some stiffer spring rates this season and I think the T3's will support that plan a bit better than the T3's.


You should come out to some of the local SCCA autocrosses as there are two other guys that will be running T2's with 400/450 rates. You should be able to do some ride-alongs with them or see how the T3's are working with me.

[smg1138]

Originally Posted by Silverspeed

I just bought a set of T3's! I can't seem to leave well enough alone. Loved the T2's so I think I'll love the T3's even more. Going to try some stiffer spring rates this season and I think the T3's will support that plan a bit better than the T3's.


You should come out to some of the local SCCA autocrosses as there are two other guys that will be running T2's with 400/450 rates. You should be able to do some ride-alongs with them or see how the T3's are working with me.

Any particular reason for the staggered spring rates? RCE sells them 400 square as stock.

[Pat]

Originally Posted by Silverspeed

I just bought a set of T3's! I can't seem to leave well enough alone. Loved the T2's so I think I'll love the T3's even more. Going to try some stiffer spring rates this season and I think the T3's will support that plan a bit better than the T3's.


You should come out to some of the local SCCA autocrosses as there are two other guys that will be running T2's with 400/450 rates. You should be able to do some ride-alongs with them or see how the T3's are working with me.

Thanks, Silverspeed. I'd love to do that. I have only driven in one autocross. I enjoyed it, but doubt I'll drive in another one. I would like to meet you out there to go for a ride, though. Or buy you a beer sometime.
Do you or the other guys on T2s ever make it out to tracks around here? I'm regularly at HPR.
Thanks again!

[wparsons]

Originally Posted by smg1138

Any particular reason for the staggered spring rates? RCE sells them 400 square as stock.

If/when I order T2's I'd be getting them with 400/500 to keep the balance closer to stock. Spring rates will be preference on how you like the car to be balanced.

[kch]

Hoping for some more responses as I'm looking for the same thing. Ride quality on downtown roads is a little brutal at recommended settings.

[Silverspeed]

Originally Posted by smg1138

Any particular reason for the staggered spring rates? RCE sells them 400 square as stock.

Yep. 400/400 is the standard set up but the T2's can handle more spring rate with no issue. I ran 450's in the rear to create a bit more rotation. I think it's a personal preference/sway bar thing. That is personal preference regarding how loose you like your set up and the type of bars you're running that figure in creating that set up. If I was running more bar in the rear I might have been happy with less spring rate. Maybe even less than 400.


I've also found out the hard way that our air (or lack there of) in Denver lends itself to a looser set up because of having less power to drive the car into oversteer at corner exit. When I went to Lincoln this year I was running a lot of rear bar and while the car was fine in CO, in NE the car was loose off. 15% more power will do that I guess.

[Pat]

Originally Posted by Silverspeed

I've also found out the hard way that our air (or lack there of) in Denver lends itself to a looser set up because of having less power to drive the car into oversteer at corner exit. When I went to Lincoln this year I was running a lot of rear bar and while the car was fine in CO, in NE the car was loose off. 15% more power will do that I guess.

Heh...I learned the same thing. After many track days at 5,000 feet I took the car to Topeka. HELLO. Very different driving experience.
Then I returned to my high-altitude home. [Price is Right losing horn]
Setting up a car for race tracks is different than setting up cars for autocross. Knowing this, for a track car at altitude, would you keep rates at 400 all around?

[Mad_Mike]

I've been running my T2s on the recommended settings since I got them over a year ago. I drive it every day and don't find them uncomfortable, then again I live in florida

[Racecomp Engineering]

These were my settings after about 90 days of doing everything under the sun.

For what the OP is asking for just take out 4 clicks of rebound FIRST from what this shows. THEN , if thats not enough, remove 2 clicks of compression( bump).





Hope that helps.

Myles

[Racecomp Engineering]

For whatever its worth, in THIS case I am suggesting tuning for comfort by using rebound as the factor. If we were tuning for performance at the track or while auto crossing it would normally ( not always) be compression.

With the Tarmac 3's I find myself tuning with compression ( low speed and high speed) more-so.

On the T3's the compression side is mono tube and the rebound side is twin tube.

Myles

[smg1138]

Thanks, Myles! I'm going to give that a shot.