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

[wootwoot]

Picked up a set of Racecomp T2's with 450lb springs. The car is mostly a daily driver that will be seeing the track this season. Lowered under an inch.

1. Was going to run PSS for tires. What size would be good? I was thinking 225...
2. Would I be better suited to buy 400lb springs given my application?
3. Was planning to go with -2 front and -1.5 rear with 0 toe. Does that sound acceptable?

[Racecomp Engineering]

Originally Posted by wootwoot

Picked up a set of Racecomp T2's with 450lb springs. The car is mostly a daily driver that will be seeing the track this season. Lowered under an inch.

1. Was going to run PSS for tires. What size would be good? I was thinking 225...
2. Would I be better suited to buy 400lb springs given my application?
3. Was planning to go with -2 front and -1.5 rear with 0 toe. Does that sound acceptable?

1. We ran 245s with good results.
2. Try the 450s first.
3. A little more camber will make you happier on the track but you start seeing a little more uneven wear past -2. I'd be happy with -2.25 front and -1.8 rear for a mostly daily driver some track.

Enjoy!

- Andy

[SomeoneWhoIsntMe]

Originally Posted by Marchy

Thanks Andy! and by a little bit of toe, are we talking positive? (like 0.01 or 0.02)

toe out in the rear is generally a very bad thing, it makes the car unpredictable and perhaps dangerous. you usually always want a little bit of toe in in the rear to add stability.

a textbook exception is old porsches with trailing arm rear suspensions... the rubber bushings would flex and allow the outer rear wheel to toe out under braking... an experienced driver could use this to help get the car to rotate on corner entry.

[PoWn3d_0704]

Originally Posted by was385

Depends what your goals are with the car. Are you just looking to have fun or be competitive? What kind of competition are you going to see in your events? I run a small local club so the RCE Yellows were not only very fun to drive with but pretty competitive (all three of the competitive STX twins have them). If I went to a more competitive event, the car would be totally outclassed (as would the driver ). Personally, I'm moving from yellows to Bilstein B8s/Tarmacs but the yellows were a huge improvement over stock and I would absolutely recommend them to anyone.


And just as a side note, if you're already going 9 inch wide wheels, just go with 255.

I seriously apprecaite the input. I'm looking to be competitve, but I have a lot of buddies in different cars that all 'compete' even though we are all very different. My main competition is a Turbo MR2 on Racing Slicks.

I'm just looking to get the car somewhere where I, as a driver, can continue to improve for a long time coming.

On the subject of 17x9 with 255's, what am I going to need to make those fit? All I know is that there is a set of RCE yellows that come with camber bolts, but I dont even know what those do. (Other than give me camber adjustment? I heard that -2.5 is good for AutoX?)

Long story short is that I know a little bit about a lot of things, but suspension is NOT one of those things.

[gramicci101]

As far as wheels go, check out this thread to see what offsets fit. You can also look at known good 17x9's (Mach V's Awesome wheel is a good example) and base your offsets off those. Assume the RCE Yellows will lower the car around .75-1 inch.

Camber bolts will not give you -2.5 degrees camber. You'll need strut top mounts for that. A camber bolt replaces one of the two bolts attaching the strut to the wheel hub. It works by being a little smaller than the OEM bolt (Subaru crash bolt) or having an offset lobe (SPC/Whiteline camber bolt), which allows you to push the top of the wheel hub further in towards the engine, increasing the camber. A strut top mount/camber plate achieves a similar result of increasing camber, but it accomplishes this by moving the top mounting bolt of the strut inwards, effectively tilting the entire strut, spring, and wheel hub. For examples, look at RaceSeng or HVT camber plates on RCE's site.

Keep in mind that adjustable camber plates will change your auto-x class. If you want to be competitive, research the rules for the specific class you want and build your car with that in mind. Some classes might not allow 255's, for instance.

[wootwoot]

Originally Posted by Racecomp Engineering

1. We ran 245s with good results.
2. Try the 450s first.
3. A little more camber will make you happier on the track but you start seeing a little more uneven wear past -2. I'd be happy with -2.25 front and -1.8 rear for a mostly daily driver some track.

Enjoy!

- Andy

Thank you!

Last time I brought up tire size on the forum the consensus seemed to be that the 225 was typically faster. It seemed, at least at the time, that track guys ran 225's and the autox guys were running the wider sizes. Is this no longer believed to be the case? Are the T2's just that stiff that they will over tax the smaller tire? Just trying to understand

[Racecomp Engineering]

Originally Posted by wootwoot

Thank you!

Last time I brought up tire size on the forum the consensus seemed to be that the 225 was typically faster. It seemed, at least at the time, that track guys ran 225's and the autox guys were running the wider sizes. Is this no longer believed to be the case? Are the T2's just that stiff that they will over tax the smaller tire? Just trying to understand

With a stickier compound I might have recommended the 225. The MPSS are sticky but not quite on the level as a stickier RS3 or ZII starspec or whatever and definitely not an R-comp.

The 245 MPSS will be consistent as hell, last a long time, and be damn fun. A 225 or 235 would be just fine too, but if you have the wheels for the 245 I say go for it.

- Andy

[Racecomp Engineering]

Originally Posted by PoWn3d_0704

I seriously apprecaite the input. I'm looking to be competitve, but I have a lot of buddies in different cars that all 'compete' even though we are all very different. My main competition is a Turbo MR2 on Racing Slicks.

I'm just looking to get the car somewhere where I, as a driver, can continue to improve for a long time coming.

On the subject of 17x9 with 255's, what am I going to need to make those fit? All I know is that there is a set of RCE yellows that come with camber bolts, but I dont even know what those do. (Other than give me camber adjustment? I heard that -2.5 is good for AutoX?)

Long story short is that I know a little bit about a lot of things, but suspension is NOT one of those things.

To be competitive nationally, you'd need coilovers. To beat your friends...that's a different story.

I do like the RCE springs as a first step to learn to drive fast and learn the car.

-2.5 (or more) would be good, but camber bolts won't get you there as gramicci said. you would need front camber plates instead (though I would still recommend the RCE Yellow package with the cheap front OEM camber bolts so you could fine tune with the bolts).

255's would be pushing it but would probably be okay depending on offset...more important than width is compound so make you get a quality tire.

- Andy

[juliog]

I'm running 225/45/17 RS3 on 17x9 #becauseracecar... the stretch is not too bad.

[PoWn3d_0704]

Originally Posted by Racecomp Engineering

To be competitive nationally, you'd need coilovers. To beat your friends...that's a different story.

I do like the RCE springs as a first step to learn to drive fast and learn the car.

-2.5 (or more) would be good, but camber bolts won't get you there as gramicci said. you would need front camber plates instead (though I would still recommend the RCE Yellow package with the cheap front OEM camber bolts so you could fine tune with the bolts).

255's would be pushing it but would probably be okay depending on offset...more important than width is compound so make you get a quality tire.

- Andy

Thanks, I'm going to get 245 or 255 Hankook RS3's. Just need to see if they will fit on the car.

[was385]

Originally Posted by PoWn3d_0704

I seriously apprecaite the input. I'm looking to be competitve, but I have a lot of buddies in different cars that all 'compete' even though we are all very different. My main competition is a Turbo MR2 on Racing Slicks.

I'm just looking to get the car somewhere where I, as a driver, can continue to improve for a long time coming.

On the subject of 17x9 with 255's, what am I going to need to make those fit? All I know is that there is a set of RCE yellows that come with camber bolts, but I dont even know what those do. (Other than give me camber adjustment? I heard that -2.5 is good for AutoX?)

Long story short is that I know a little bit about a lot of things, but suspension is NOT one of those things.

Is this going to be an STX car? If so you shouldn't be directly competing with anyone on slicks. I want to say that 17x9 +45 with 255 and bolts rubs only at full lock but don't quote me on that. I would look at the figment guide in the wheels and tires section. And you'll need plates to get anywhere near -2.5.

[andrew20195]

Originally Posted by SomeoneWhoIsntMe

old porsches... experienced driver

These are the key words to that exception.

[PoWn3d_0704]

Originally Posted by was385

Is this going to be an STX car? If so you shouldn't be directly competing with anyone on slicks. I want to say that 17x9 +45 with 255 and bolts rubs only at full lock but don't quote me on that. I would look at the figment guide in the wheels and tires section. And you'll need plates to get anywhere near -2.5.

STX, yes. Very informally competing with guys on slicks.

In my Actual STX class we have a WRX, Two more 86's and a 300zx.
So far i'm just a tenth or two behind the WRX and beat the rest.

[gramicci101]

Originally Posted by PoWn3d_0704

Thanks, I'm going to get 245 or 255 Hankook RS3's. Just need to see if they will fit on the car.

17x9 and 245's are a pretty common pairing. As long as you get the right offset you shouldn't have any problems at all.