BTW as for upcoming events I know Dan and I (at the minimum) are planning on going to Fayetteville Nov 13th for Force-Fed's southeast faceoff. I was thinking we haven't had the fall cookout like I hosted last year so I can host a breakfast or something similar that morning at my place then we can all caravan down to the strip. Not 100% sure on the details yet but wanted to at least give some notice so you all can start making plans.

 

Hey Jim, saw you scoping out the Evo at Tom Yum Thai in Cary today. I yelled out for you as we came out, but you had already started to pull off...

-Mike

 

Ha!

 

The above explanation is correct. What you do when you have a coil-over set up that allows for height adjustment is get the diagonal cross weights to be as close to 50% each as possible. The common metaphor is that of a four legged table where one leg is a little shorter than the other. Instead of shoving a coaster uder the leg adjustable coil-overs will allow you to lengthen or shorten a corner. What that results in is that your suspension can behave pretty much equally no matter if you are doing a left hand turn or a right hand turn.

Of course there are many other factors such as pre-load on springs or anti-roll bars, but let's not complicate things.

Jim

 

^ so in return, would the the gap between the fender and tire be off a lil depending on the preload adjustment u make?
good explaination guys, learned something new!

 

Could be. Because the driver weight takes effect. So, if your skinny you won't notice. But if you're.......fat like Justin then it will be more obviouse. Lololol

 

hahahah niceee....Justin isn't fat he's pleasantly plump...

 

There are basically three things going on here. First is alignment - caster , camber, toe. That affects grip, steering response, etc.

Second is ride height. That can be a tough one to get right because you never know how a chassis has been stressed or a body has been bent because of rough roads or very hard track use (road racing track). Fender gap is a quick way to dial in ride height, BUT - the best way to measure ride height is on a flat (absolutely flat) surface and measure to known frame points. If the body has been stressed a gap may look correct, but frame to flat surface measurements might tell a different story.

Third is corner balance, which is back to the four legged table metaphor. Unless you can do things like move the engine to the middle of the car or other weight transfers you are pretty much stuck with the front to rear weight bias, BUT you can work on getting the diagonal weights 50/50. IF your car's suspension allows for adjustment.

We can do small things such as move the battery to the rear in the hope of getting some weight off the front and if you have a coil-over setup you can adjust the corners so that (with driver weight) the diagonal is 50%.

If you were setting up a TRACK ONLY Evo you would want to first get ALL the weight out of the car that you can (i.e., sound insulation, A/C, rear seats, etc). The penalty will be NVH (noise, vibration, harshness). You will add weight with an approved roll cage - keeping in mind to minimize weight added to the front. All suspension bushings replaced with poly or metal bushings (lots more NVH).

If the class has a minimum weight requirement you will try to get well below the limit so you can add ballast weight where you want it to be (usually low and to the rear).

Set ride height, align to specifications that will provide you with grip (not a setup you want for the street), and then corner weight to keep handling consistent left to right.

But our cars are going to be street driven (maybe some HPDE weekends) so it is a compromise that we need to strike between ultimate handling and the realities of street driving.

If you ever want to discuss street/HPDE setups, let me know.

Jim

 

There is a good chance that I have what you are looking for in my pile of spares.

Jim

 

Thank you for the write up Jim, very informative!


lol @ bobby and bj's comments!

 

Come and see the Ricer and the bad bish!!!!!!

https://www.evolutionm.net/forums/dr...-face-off.html

 

So who all is planning on going down to Fayettville for the meet next weekend? We are planning on having a meet for breakfast on Sunday and then rolling down to the drag strip. We plan on getting down there when the gates open at 10:30. It would be nice to get a pretty good crew to roll down from the Triangle!

 

especially since we always get flak for not showing up for their events

 

Wish I could, my 2.4 will still be in the building process at Force-Fed, I might slowpoke it down in my dd

 

Some of you Raleigh fockers better come to Fayetteville next weekend...I should hopefully be down, would be good to see some of you guys!