CSG and RCE tag-team suspension Q&A thread! Ask us anything!

[cycleboy]

Originally Posted by solidONE

Speaking of alignment. Anybody have some good idea for easy (relatively) do it yourself quick alignment checking devices or methods that they use or recommend?

Here's an idea I thought of that seems like it could get you close estimates of camber. Cut a straight piece of metal to the diameter of your wheel or slightly less. Park on what you believe is level ground. Use your phone's level (on iphone, it's built in as part of the compass) to find how far off from level the ground is right next to the wheel you want to check and in which direction it's off. Put the straight edge on the wheel, use the level to get at least close to vertical placement of the straight edge. Put the phone against the straight edge and see what the resulting angle is. Add or subtract the angle of the ground the wheel is sitting on.

So if you had the ground tilted 1 degree away from the car, and the wheel came out at 3 degrees in, subtract one to get roughly 2 degrees negative camber.

This seems like it would at least be ballpark. I haven't tried it yet and compared against the alignment numbers I have from recently.

Edit: I realized that the phone's level is accurate to within 1 degree. In order to be more accurate, for both the level-ness of the ground and the camber of the wheel, put the phone so it is at 0 degrees and then measure the distance to the ground or wheel as accurately as possible. Convert the distance into degrees using trig (I don't have the formula in my head, but it isn't hard.)

[solidONE]

I actually tried using a level app on my phone (iMetal Box) and it seem to be at least within half a degree possibly less. It lets you zero the level. Although, half a degree is quite a bit when you're talking about camber not to mention 1 entire degree.

[Captain Snooze]

@Andy RaceComp,
Is it possible to make any roll center correction at the rear? When I say "possible" I mean in a relatively inexpensive/easy sort of way.

[7thgear]

found this while digging through the internets...

seems like a cool concept..

[Racecomp Engineering]

Originally Posted by Captain Snooze

@Andy RaceComp,
Is it possible to make any roll center correction at the rear? When I say "possible" I mean in a relatively inexpensive/easy sort of way.

Cheap and easy...not really.

- Andy

[Racecomp Engineering]

Originally Posted by No5ki

I'm planning to gradually make this my track car 5-10 years down the road and it only sees monthly Autox currently (Also DD). Does it make sense to spend the money up front on a $2-3k coilover system, or stick with some decent springs $200-300 for small drop and a slightly more planted feel?


Also considering springs with Konis or Bilstiens, but that gets you into non adjustable coilover $ range(Bilstein B14). And at that point, why not spend the extra and get the fully adjustable.


I should mention i'm new to suspension tuning and auto mods in general but am eager to learn. My gut reaction is to go with adjustable when possible to allow for education and testing, but more important is what makes sense for now vs. down the road.


Edit: Forgot to ask; how are the Eibach Pro-kits's springs?

First try to remember that a coilover isn't automatically "better." They have certain advantages but to hit a low price point they often have to make sacrifices.

A strut + spring set-up is just a non-height adjustable coilover. In the case of Konis they are damping adjustable.

For a fun DD and monthly autox car, a set of quality springs and shocks + a good alignment is a good easy way to go. No muss, no fuss...good choice if you're new to suspension tuning.

It will hold up at the track just fine when you start doing that in the future and be easy to drive fast and learn on (with the right combination). But if you're running r-comp tires and really pushing for fast laptimes, a quality coilover is the way to go.

- Andy

[cdrazic93]

@Racecomp Engineering

Im curious to know a suspension vendors opinion on these thingys...

http://www.cambertire.com/

and how it would effect any sort of alignment?

[Racecomp Engineering]

Originally Posted by cdrazic93

@Racecomp Engineering

Im curious to know a suspension vendors opinion on these thingys...

http://www.cambertire.com/

and how it would effect any sort of alignment?

I get asked about those about once a year.

We had a sponsored driver that was also sponsored by them. At first he was in love, but it didn't take long for him to jump ship and move to a regular r-comp and pick up some speed.. I haven't touched them and I probably won't.

- Andy

[cdrazic93]

Originally Posted by Racecomp Engineering

I get asked about those about once a year.

We had a sponsored driver that was also sponsored by them. At first he was in love, but it didn't take long for him to jump ship and move to a regular r-comp and pick up some speed.. I haven't touched them and I probably won't.

- Andy

Any particular reason why they aren't the bee's knee's?

[Captain Snooze]

Mike@CSG and Andy@RaceComp
This is just for curiosities' sake.
From all the trawling I have done about Tein SRCs it would seem they are not pressurised. Does this mean that gassed dampers are a bit of marketing fluff? I like the theory that pressurised dampers are less prone to cavitation but does this actually make a difference in reality? Is it a case of diminishing returns for added cost and complexity?

Thanks.

[FR-S Matt]

So I have a newbie question since I got my KW V3's on this past weekend. I stole Myles suggestion on settings for street:

Full stiff settings then:

Front compression 7 clicks back
Front rebound 10 clicks back

Rear compression 8 clicks back
Rear rebound 7 clicks back

My silly question is can you adjust this while the car is on the ground pre-loaded or do these adjustments need to be made while it is in the air? I just don't want to damage anything. Thanks guys!

[dp1]

Originally Posted by FR-S Matt

So I have a newbie question since I got my KW V3's on this past weekend. I stole Myles suggestion on settings for street:

Full stiff settings then:

Front compression 7 clicks back
Front rebound 10 clicks back

Rear compression 8 clicks back
Rear rebound 7 clicks back

My silly question is can you adjust this while the car is on the ground pre-loaded or do these adjustments need to be made while it is in the air? I just don't want to damage anything. Thanks guys!

Either is fine

[7thgear]

where can i find some literature on the effects of wheel and tire sizes on performance and the necessary considerations.

Ie, what IS the benefit of going to 18's with 35-40 aspect ratio tires and what modifications would be necessary to extract an improvement.

with such a stiff tire, does it become absolutelty necessary to control dynamic alignment, so more anti-roll, caster, etc.

i keep finding bits and peices of random forum discussion but no papers or articles (other than the crap you find in tuner mags)

[Turkish]

I'll be receiving my suspension tomorrow / Friday depending on how late my apartment office decides to stay open or if brown Santa leaves my presents at my door. My question is if I swap my shocks by myself (the most likely scenario), what is the safest way to remove the old and mount the new? I will try to get some help, but it is unlikely any would be available when I plan to swap. Thanks in advance!