[xrad]

I have noticed that since I firmed up the front end with new castor blocks, I can now sense a new abnormality. when I enter into an even radius curve at moderate speeds, the rear end seems to drift out just enough to feel and take the fun out of the turn. No tire slide, just the type of feeling you get when driving on grooved pavement, even though there are no grooves on these turns.



This car has stock torsion rods, stock castor blocks and yellows all around, and maybe lowered stiffer springs(but i am not sure about the last one)



Rear trailing arm bushings??



Front A arm bushings?



I can safely say that my suspension knowledge is lacking. I will replace everything next spring anyway, but just looking for input.



THANKS

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[flash]

well, the rear end coming out is oversteer, but at any rate, now that you have firmed up the front end, it bites better - this can allow the rear to be looser relative to the front



before doing anything though, i would get it up in the air and inspect everything



it could be a simple thing like "did they connect the front swaybar?"

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[bob blackwell]

Suspension changes work on opposite ends of the car, i.e. if you make the front suspension firmer, the rear of the car will hold better in a turn. If you make the rear suspension firmer, the front of the car will hold better in a turn. As Flash mentions, understeer (what NASCAR calls "pushing") is when the front end will not turn into the corner like you want. Oversteer (what NASCAR calls "loose") is when the rear of the car slides wide on a turn. Read Puhn's book on suspension (available at your local library) and you will appreciate the complexities involved. Good luck and enjoy! Bob Blackwell.

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[S_Cal968]

Another point to consider is tire pressure. I check mine fairly often. If one is low it'll make a noticeable difference in handling.

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[flash]

while the above comments may seem to contradict each other, since they both used the term "firmer", please understand that when i said "firmer" i was not referring to springs rates or sway bar stiffness, which is what i think bob was referring to - i was referring to bushings being firmer, thereby holding things still more, giving the front end more effective control of geometry change, thereby producing more "bite" - this could in turn leave the rear loose relative to the front



i agree about checking tire pressures - schrader valves generally lose about a pound per month - 2 pounds change in air pressure on these cars can mean the difference between holding the road and being all over the place

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[rxter]

I love reading these posts about geometry and such. You guys are too smart for your own good. I'm more like the NASCAR guy. I just hammer it into a turn. If it pushes I slow down a bit the next time around that curve. If it's loose I keep the foot in her, hold on, and smile. Tire pressure??? This car is so much fun to drive and so much more responsive/compliant than anything I've ever driven, that even with a sub par set up (apparently my rear end ride height is a bit low...) and little skill I seem to be able to keep it out of the weeds and still have a blast. X if I ever get a ride with you I'm bringing extra shorts <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/smile.gif" class="smilie" alt="" />



   

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[94SilverCab]

When I put the M030 sways on with Konis in the rear and changed the drop links I ended up with understeer. Changing tires to Toyo Proxies which really helped the handling.



Jay

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[Ryan]

Jay, did you have the rear bar set to the stiffest seting?

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[Duckman]

There is a lot of info available on suspension, tire and air pressure set-ups. Here's one but check the web.



http://www.racing-car-technology.com.au/

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[mattipuh]

One thing good to check is actually how you drive to corner. It's possible that changing driving style will help car to corner, without changing anything in car. For instance, using more trail braking in turn-in usually gives more grip to front tires -> no understeer. One have to be gentle in stuff.

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