hey guys, ive been reading around on alot of different threads about suspension and coilovers and sway bars and strut braces and such. i want to build my car to go sideways for the most part but still be a daily driver. i know that front and rear sway bars are a great place to start, and that strut tower bars are pointless on our cars? also how is too stiff bad for daily driving?
handling? is stiff bad in some casese?
- Thread starter Wilcox
- Start date
Strut bars are pointless. I'd go with sway bars and a decent set of coilovers/bushings etc. If you want to go sideways and not look ridiculous you're going to want to get pretty stiff. As for daily driving, its all up to what you are willing to put up with. I'd have different setups for the street and the track. Stiff sucks on the street.
I live in montana so i cant be ridiculously low, stiff isnt an issue i can put up with it. My track is the street, we dont have tracks here except for scca which is held in an open parking lot, so old highways and windy mountain roads will be what im driving on. What are stock spring rates, and what is toooo stiff spring rate.
I live in Vancouver, BC and the roads here are pretty bad most of the time. I have H&R Progressive Springs on my car with Tokico Blue struts and they're not all that bad. They're fairly forgiving while driving on the street, and when they need to be stiff (e.g. driving hard through the mountain roads on the twisties) they handle great.
If you make your car too stiff you might not like it. I remember when I first got my Stance GR+ coilovers. I adjusted them as low as they would go and close to as stiff as they would go. I had it set super stiff in the front and a tad softer in the rear (but still way too stiff). When I went around corners it felt like my inner rear tire was lifting off the ground. I went into a parking lot to try and do donuts and I couldn't! I could not get the rear to slide out. So I adjusted the rears to make them nice and soft and that helped out for drifting. And then of course stiff can be bad if you have a girlfriend who wants to be comfortable or something. Technically daily driving should be respecting the laws and never speeding or driving like a maniac. In that case stiff is useless. You would want it all soft for comfort. You would want a Cadillac.
planemos;1922588 said:
oh?? so with stiff supsension your tires grip more?? i thought that stiff suspension was needed for drifting because it helped eliminate body roll to keep all the tires on the ground so the driver was in full controll? and what are stock spring rates vs really stiff?
Nope, bump steer is from the angles in the front suspension. Usually on lowered cars where the tie rod ends aren't perpendicular to the wheel and will pull in when that wheel is bumped causing it to steer.
Wilcox;1922604 said:
He might have had a worn out lsd and the extra body roll (weight transfer) helped him get sideways but for competition drifting you're going to want pretty stiff. Also bump steer, you can get that with lots of caster if I'm correct.
The soft rear will allow you to get more traction. It's like drag racing, where you want the car to squat and dig in. Just start with a sway bar upgrade like you said and it will work good.
Wilcox;1922897 said:
http://www.supramania.com/forums/showthread.php?75269-Stock-Lowering-Spring-Rate-Compilation
There is most of your various spring rates.
If you're seriously planning to drift you're probably best off getting a set of new coil overs that's within your budget.
I blew out my right rear Tokico HP last year, and went with a set of Tein this last Winter. I'll probably never go back to basic shocks and springs again.