Shock/damper question

[FR-Sky]

Originally Posted by ZDan

How long have you had these on the car? How old are they (date on sidewall)?
I had a pretty miserable experience with the MPSSs on my FD. Initially, they were fine. Great grip on the street and acceptable at the track (if not up to "Extreme Perf" tire standards). But after about a year and a half, they lost all grip on the street. No front end grip, dangerously little rear grip and worse, at the limit the back end would come WAY out. Practically zero sliding grip. Tires had one track day and ~15k miles on them, Barely less than half tread depth remaining in back and more than half up front. But they were TOAST. Seriously, they felt like a late 20th century "performance" tire that had been heat-cycled to death.
After puzzling over setup, I got new tires (B'stone RE71R) and all is well again.

I know people LOVE MPSS tires, but to me they were initially fine, but ultimately utter crap for grip, to the point of being dangerous. Somthing to consider...

I had it for about 4 months now. I would rate it 9/10.
few mountain runs, 0 track use so far, street spirited.

[shiumai]

Originally Posted by FR-Sky

My tire pressure was 32 after heat, i figure that would provide more grip since i was going for mountain road..but i guess not..

No wonder it was feeling vague. I'd go with 35 as a starting point.

[FR-Sky]

Originally Posted by shiumai

No wonder it was feeling vague. I'd go with 35 as a starting point.

After heat is about 40 ? wouldn't it be sliding/drifting mode lol?

Thanks, will try that today and update!

[shiumai]

Originally Posted by FR-Sky

After heat is about 40 ? wouldn't it be sliding/drifting mode lol?
Thanks, will try that today and update!

It's just a good starting point - adjust up or down as needed.

[wparsons]

Originally Posted by FR-Sky

My tire pressure was 32 after heat, i figure that would provide more grip since i was going for mountain road..but i guess not..

The only thing change was some what 7 to 9 clicks from soft on the dampers.
I mean still OK doing high speed freeway and local turns. I can feel the car and body roll,but just not on mountain road.

What was the cold pressure? Sounds low for MPSS hot, but depends how hot they actually were.

If the car felt fine on the old damper settings, why are you not just going back to them?

[FR-Sky]

Originally Posted by wparsons

What was the cold pressure? Sounds low for MPSS hot, but depends how hot they actually were.

If the car felt fine on the old damper settings, why are you not just going back to them?

The old setting was not fine, I felt less grip front and rear is going to slide during corners, so i figure softer damper might give me more grip. I will try higher tire pressure and stiff up my damper to mild and see what sup. Cus right now i am trying to balance my car using damper setting since my spring rate is 8k/8k. Many thanks

According to my memory, last setting was between 5-9 clicks

[FR-Sky]

Originally Posted by mav1178

The problem is that you have no idea what the dampers are capable of. Without them being properly dyno'd and matched to the springs mounted, it's impossible to get proper handling out of the box.

This is why high-end coilovers often cost more, because they are better matched up from the factory out of the box. And it should also be noted that more adjustments doesn't mean they all work well. I've seen 32-way adjustable coilovers with clicks 10-25 all doing virtually nothing on a dyno.

-alex

If i have idea about the problem...i wouldnt open a tread and ask bros to help....I thought thats what forum for...? I am trying to fix it now and get the best out of it before i switch to another proper coilover...

[mav1178]

Originally Posted by FR-Sky

If i have idea about the problem...i wouldnt open a tread and ask bros to help....I thought thats what forum for...? I am trying to fix it now and get the best out of it before i switch to another proper coilover...

I think you misunderstood what I was getting at.

What I'm saying is, the damper settings is very arbitrary and may not do a single thing for you. Or, perhaps winding roads are putting more heat in the shocks, and they are just not functioning properly. "Soft" settings don't mean anything if they don't actually match up to the spring rates.

Either way, it's hard to armchair diagnose this because there's a few variables that can't be ruled out...

-alex

[wparsons]

Originally Posted by FR-Sky

The old setting was not fine, I felt less grip front and rear is going to slide during corners, so i figure softer damper might give me more grip. I will try higher tire pressure and stiff up my damper to mild and see what sup. Cus right now i am trying to balance my car using damper setting since my spring rate is 8k/8k. Many thanks

According to my memory, last setting was between 5-9 clicks

I asked what you changed since the last time it drove fine and you said the damper settings... so what has actually changed since it drove fine?

[FR-Sky]

Originally Posted by wparsons

I asked what you changed since the last time it drove fine and you said the damper settings... so what has actually changed since it drove fine?

It was stock before i changed the coilover, LCA, tires, and alignment.
Ofcus it was fine...cus its stock..but i want more aggressive handling for cornering...

[strat61caster]

Originally Posted by FR-Sky

It was stock before i changed the coilover, LCA, tires, and alignment.
Ofcus it was fine...cus its stock..but i want more aggressive handling for cornering...

What's your toe? That can have a big effect on how stable the car feels.

[FR-Sky]

UPDATE: I did a few hard corner on the street. 30mph for regular right turn.
10 clicks from soft front, 13 clicks from soft rear.
tires pressure 35.

The handling for the front to enter a corner is great, but my REAR is losing grip and the slippery light on my display is blinking for those corner.

[FR-Sky]

Originally Posted by strat61caster

What's your toe? That can have a big effect on how stable the car feels.

0 toe front and rear

[strat61caster]

Originally Posted by FR-Sky

0 toe front and rear

A little toe in the rear will help it feel more stable and predictable.

It sounds like there are other things going on with the suspension that need attention but I think this will be a step in the right direction for you. Going 'stiffer' on the damper adjustment should help reduce the 'floaty' feeling and it's really all you can do without spending money at this point, maybe that's all you need. Good Luck.