Always seems strange to me to combat little front grip (understeer) by removing rear grip.......... Cummulative bodging Better surely to try and fix the problem at source and get more front grip ? Rob
OK Guys, we are going for stiffer springs. 350F 650R 2.5 degs neg camber leave the roll bars alone. The considered opinion is that as we can't legaly change roll bars or bushing, hard is the way to go. The spring rates should reduce the roll to such an extent we think the roll bars (for sissy road drivers) will be almost redundant. Any opinions??
well if nothing else it will give you an idea of how it goes with a hard setup. i would definitely go with harder rear than front, keith should like the change in balance from that - as to how far to go with hardness at each end - only experience and testing will show
Qwite a jump in spring rates, personaly i think ther's a big difference between front and rear spring rates considering theoreticaly the rear shouldn't need such a hard spring as the corner weights are lower. I have been thinking about running 450F 375R on my Mk1 which runs a larger rear ARB only. May be worth trying it them removing the roll bars, only dead weight to carry arround otherwise. unsprung aswell so it hurts.
Blimey you dont mess about, after saying that you definately did not want to increase spring rates thats a massive jump. At least you'll be able to tell the difference! Why the change of heart? Also are the springs expensive, i know standard 2.25" coilover springs are like 13 each, i take it they'll be dearer than that as they will be specially made to standard diameter, but if they are not too dear then i'd consider getting some others for testing, maybe 300's for the front and 400's for the rear. Good luck with it and let us know how you get on.
If you dont mind me asking 'Keith's Dad', where did you get those springs from so promptly and what dampers are on the Mk1? Were there quite a few off-the-shelf spring rates to choose from?
I happen to know a couple of the guys at Aurok, and I trust their ability enough for their damper rebuild guy to sort my suspension - whilst mine is a road and track car, I put my faith in their ability to make it work One thing that you do have to remember though, is that what works for one person doesnt necessairily work for another
In the end we just had to go for the harder setup. So many people, particularly in the Stock Hatch fraternity have advised on HARD being the way to go so we have gone that way. (If it handles like a pig afterwards there could be some @/*!! language on here). I talked it over with Aurok who said "christ thats almost touring car rates!", and they are not convinced. But when all said and done we can only go on advise given, and the majority are saying hard. And by the way we have only made the descision, we havn't done it yet. I spent most of today on the phone trying to locate a set of springs. The only people who look like they can deliver is LEDA who make them to our spec. It's really complicated though as we don't wish to change the ride height. So if anyone has got a set anywhere near our requirements please let us know!
FRONT - 55.10.05F 275 lbs-300 lbs Free length 11.5 inches REAR - 55.10.05R 270 lbs Free length 12.5 inches That is the spec of the neuspeed race springs for a Mk1, can get them from Awesome GTI.
Slow response but just spotted your question. It was Andy at AW Tracksport who finally convinced me after several calls and a very informative discussion to go for our higher rates. Still not as high as he goes (850 on rear) but obviously much higher than at present. He has also advised to remove or disconect the front roll bar as:- a) it's not needed any longer and b) with it fitted the unloaded front wheel lifts off the ground. Disconecting it allows it to drop a bit more and remain in contact with the road. As he has raced a championship winning MK1 I guess his advise is worth acting on. Just hope we can get and fit the springs before Donny.
We are using single ajustable Koni dampers, modified by Aurok to produce a soft rebound for kerb hopping. These are suitable for the uprated springs according to Aurok but we need to start again collecting data regarding soft/hard settings I guess. We realy need a day track testing before Donington but we think this maynot be possible. Aurok have a couple of places we may be able to use for testing without going to a circuit. Apparently the touring car boys go there with Aurokto test as well.I think it's part of the old MOD RARDE test facility at Chertsey. Quite handy for us!
Cheers Keith's Dad. And the springs you say will be from Leda, which I believe will use Eibach springs?
Not sure about that, they are to be made to our spec rather than an off the shelf job. But due to time I will be shopping around Tue as we really need em by next weekend. A tall order I recon. Any spring manufacturers that anyone can recomend will be called tomorrow for sure.
Another thing to bear in mine when ordering very stiff spring to go on non-adjustable platforms is that the usual free lengths (for example above) will need to be reduced as the springs will not be compressed as much by the weight of the car, hence raising the ride height. IIRC when i was running 250 fronts and 400 rears on a standard type strut (with a coilover conversion kit) i think used 8" fronts and 9" rears,the only problem with this being the spring is not held in compression when the shock is unloaded.
