Help with chassis upgrade

[wheelhaus]

Instead of bolting on a bunch of flashy bits in attempt to meet some preconceived effect, try looking at it from a different perspective...

To me, it sounds like you're getting kind of bored with street driving and are looking for ways to improve the experience without resorting to driving like an asshole. some public roads can still be fun, but it sounds like you're trying to make the 86 meet the expectations if what you think it should feel like, even worse, make it feel like a COMPLETELY different car... The car (86) is being praised by world class drivers, and journalists are ranking it above supercars for it's handling and feedback.. Let me repeat that... it is being rated ABOVE supercars for it's handling and feedback.

You would be surprised how much you can learn from the car and from yourself when you're at a track. Without instructional feedback from professionals, its difficult to gauge your own techniques and methodology, so you look for ways to improve the machine instead. Until you can get some track time (it will get addicting, trust me), maybe try to recalibrate your expectations and learn from what the car is telling you. After some track time you begin to look at things differently, and that may be all you need. Zero body roll doesn't necessarily make it a better car, and at legal speeds on public roads, the chassis is plenty stiff. Bracing and doing a bunch of suspension upgrades for the street would do nothing more than stroke the ego with a placebo.

[crimespree]

can't a vendor please jump in, sell him what he wants and make some profit...

[pr0j]

[yomchi1989]

Originally Posted by LeftFootBrake

Based on your comments, I think what you are trying to achieve is the best setup for driving The Pace. Although written for motorcyclists, it is also an adaptable technique for cars and one that probably most aligns with my own method.

I can tell you from ~3,500km of 86 experience on the following NSW roads...

• Palm Beach
• McCarrs Creek
• Ku Ring Gai Chase
• Peats Ridge / Wollombi
• Old Pacific Highway
• Macquarie Pass / Kangaroo Valley
• Wiseman’s Ferry
• Royal National Park / Grand Pacific Drive
• Putty Road

...that I think the stock setup already generally has too much grip for this state's road laws. After all, most NSW roads have extremely slow posted limits, where corners would be safely negotiable in these cars at higher speeds than the allowed limit (sometimes very significantly, such as with the Old Pacific Highway, which at 60 is now the most boring road on earth) . However, if you are in Tassie, with arguably the best roads in Australia, then I would probably have a different view re some mods.

Hope that makes sense and encourages you to at least try the stock setup before purchasing changes to it. Of course, all of this assumes the type of driving you enjoy, the laws of your locale, and that you put function over form.

Very helpful!

[yomchi1989]

Originally Posted by crimespree

can't a vendor please jump in, sell him what he wants and make some profit...

Hahaha :P

[llama_au]

^ you may laugh, but that's all they are doing. Money is far better spent on the part between the seat and the steering wheel. Do some advanced driving courses, take an instructional track day and learn your limits before you start throwing money at handling upgrades which really won't benefit you at all in a street application. The car handles plenty well enough for any street application.

[LeftFootBrake]

Agreed. Another option is to invest in a proper racing simulator (eg. iRacing, NetKar Pro, etc.) and some good race driving books and then practice, practice and practice. For many people, simulators provide the best return of investment. I can tell you that I generally get more enjoyment competitively racing on the simulator than driving the 86 on NSW public roads.

[Captain Snooze]

Originally Posted by LeftFootBrake

Agreed. Another option is to invest in a proper racing simulator (eg. iRacing, NetKar Pro, etc.) and some good race driving books and then practice, practice and practice. For many people, simulators provide the best return of investment. I can tell you that I generally get more enjoyment competitively racing on the simulator than driving the 86 on NSW public roads.

Forgive me; I have spent about a total of 15 minutes playing race car games so I am not in a position to question your judgement but....
They are games. I am not suggesting they are not fun but how does an inexpensive simulator (i.e. non 6 axis multi million dollar) help drive on the road? You have no feel of what the chassis is doing beneath you.

Once again I speak from inexperience so please be gentle.

[70NYD]

Not games exactly, and not 'gaming simulators' like gt or forza,
But a actual simulator, where setup properly with a feedback steering wheel, it simulates dynamics of a car quite well. Graphics are usually sacrificed for a very good simulation engine.
My uni formula SAE division had a proper sim setup (forget which one it is) with actual tracks from competitions and our car modeled, with settings for gearing, suspension etc exactly the same.
Apart from not feeling forces on the body, it did a very good job simulating the actual events, and put priceless experience with no cost for mistakes
It is never a substitute for real driving but

[crimespree]

Go and play iRacing, it "simulates" probably the best out of commercial sims, but i think it is harder than real life...it is tough work.. but rewarding..
Gran Turismo 5 with a proper 900 degree wheel in my opinion "feels" the best but with so many cars, corners had to be cut and you can feel that some cars don't quite handle like they should..

[LeftFootBrake]

Originally Posted by Captain Snooze

... how does an inexpensive simulator (i.e. non 6 axis multi million dollar) help drive on the road?

Answered here.