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

[wparsons]

Might be a pipe dream, but what about an adapter that essentially moves the mounting point at the knuckle inward? It would depend on how much longer you were making the LCA, but something could bolt to the knuckle, then have the strut bolt to that.

[7thgear]

doesn't matter, the point of axis will stil be the relation betwen the top mount and the balljoint

moving the strut mount-mount-at-upright inboard i think will only affect the motion ratio, but the relative steering and bump characteristis will stil be the same

[Racecomp Engineering]

Originally Posted by glamcem

I was doing some research on the forums to see if there is a way to gain more negative camber to use my R compounds (something close to -2 with stock suspension) but it looks pretty hard to do that ( I'd much rather avoid the camber plates and LCAs ) and it looks the coilovers like Fortune Auto 500 with swift springs might be a good entry level option so that I can use with my tires and wheels. Since these cars don't have the double wishbone suspensions (like my previous Vettes and Miata) holding the camber during the cornering might be a bit harder, I think.


Has any of you tried these coilovers? FYI, I have Enkei RPF1 17x9 +35mm wheels with Nitto NT01 tires (235/40/17).
What kind of camber can I expect with a 1.5" drop ( assuming that's the ideal drop without hurting the geometry of the car)?
What would be an ideal spring rate for front and the rear? 8k for both front and rear or different setup for front and rear? Why should or shouldn't I consider different rates for front and rear?

Thanks in advance

There's been a bunch of discussion about them on this forum lately. Some of us are skeptical, some positive reviews though I think. I have not tried them.

With a 1.5 inch drop, you'd have over -2.0 degrees camber in the rear without any other parts.

8k/8k is firm but will work well on the track. Do you like an oversteery car or a more stable car? Also, do you daily drive the car?

- Andy

[glamcem]

Originally Posted by Racecomp Engineering

There's been a bunch of discussion about them on this forum lately. Some of us are skeptical, some positive reviews though I think. I have not tried them.

With a 1.5 inch drop, you'd have over -2.0 degrees camber in the rear without any other parts.

8k/8k is firm but will work well on the track. Do you like an oversteery car or a more stable car? Also, do you daily drive the car?

- Andy

Thank you Andy.
Yes, as you mentioned it's been discussed here and there but I can mixed reviews from people. Some people mentioned that 1.25" drop all around whereas others mentioned 1.5" drop for front and 1" for the rear.

I personally like the neutral feeling since I tend to believe it yields better track times but I hate the understeer more than manageable oversteer. Since I am also new to my BRZ I didn't get a chance to use it at the track yet but hopefully I will be attending two different events within the next 3 weeks so I believe it will be a good benchmark.

What would be your advice on the ideal drop for occasional track use that doesn't hurt the geometry of the car where I can get -2.5 _ -3 negative camber up front? (Nitto recommends between -2.5 and -5 camber for their NT-01 tires, FYI)

What kind of camber settings I can use for the rear to match those numbers?

Having same spring rate for both front and rear is ideal or should I stick to OEM ratio (f 2.7kg/mm and R 3.4 kg/mm IIRC)? Ohlins RT uses 6k/6k as a default setting and FA uses 7k/6k I believe.

I always thought having a slightly stiffer springs for front might be ideal since this is front engine car but there may be things that I am not aware of and Subaru has their own reason to use stiffer springs in the rear.

Thanks again

[Racecomp Engineering]

We prefer even spring rates for track use but sometimes go with a stiffer rear if we use very high spring rates. For your uses you don't really need to.

25 to 30mm drop is a good place to be for you as well.

The fine details of your alignment will depend on your spring rates. Around -3 front and -2 or so rear is good.

OEM ratio of spring rates is not very meaningful IMO but people love to talk about it. Yes the motion ratio means a stiffer rear makes sense but remember the front of the car is very bumpstop active when stock, plus the both ends just react differently to changes in spring rates.

- Andy

[7thgear]

Originally Posted by wparsons

Might be a pipe dream, but what about an adapter that essentially moves the mounting point at the knuckle inward? It would depend on how much longer you were making the LCA, but something could bolt to the knuckle, then have the strut bolt to that.

this will not affect geometry though

[*KID*]

I have a question.

When I accelerate on my car, it pulls to the left slighly, when I let off it starts to pull to the right. I have HKS coilovers, got it aligned, and I have new tires.

My question is, do I need a corner balance to balance the weight on each corner or is it question of not a good alignment.

[Racecomp Engineering]

I would question the alignment. Did you get a printout?

- Andy

[7thgear]

Originally Posted by Racecomp Engineering

I would question the alignment. Did you get a printout?

- Andy

severly off balanced cross weights wouldn't apply here? or would they be secondary to alignmnet?

[Racecomp Engineering]

Originally Posted by 7thgear

severly off balanced cross weights wouldn't apply here? or would they be secondary to alignmnet?

They'd have to be pretty severely off. Alignment seems more likely.

- Andy

[glamcem]

Originally Posted by Racecomp Engineering

We prefer even spring rates for track use but sometimes go with a stiffer rear if we use very high spring rates. For your uses you don't really need to.

25 to 30mm drop is a good place to be for you as well.

The fine details of your alignment will depend on your spring rates. Around -3 front and -2 or so rear is good.

OEM ratio of spring rates is not very meaningful IMO but people love to talk about it. Yes the motion ratio means a stiffer rear makes sense but remember the front of the car is very bumpstop active when stock, plus the both ends just react differently to changes in spring rates.

- Andy

It's really hard to decide between 7k or 8k all around.

What would be an ideal drop for 8k springs or 7k springs and would that give me enough camber?

Thanks again.

[SubieNate]

@*KID*

Have you checked the tire pressure?

[Racecomp Engineering]

Originally Posted by SubieNate

Tire pressure?

Derp, yes that too! Should be the first thing to check.

- Andy

[Racecomp Engineering]

Originally Posted by glamcem

It's really hard to decide between 7k or 8k all around.

What would be an ideal drop for 8k springs or 7k springs and would that give me enough camber?

Thanks again.

Honestly some of it will depend on the damper as well. Higher spring rates means you need better damping if you want a smooth ride (and the ability to soak up mid-corner bumps on the track).

- andy