Lets talk some suspension

[lostkuase]

i noticed no ones talking suspension tech, i wanted to start it up. Any road race / autocross peeps on here?

i was curious as to what peeps know about unsprung weight.
and what parts make up a good portion of the unsprung (percentage wise)

ive lightened my lower control arms, wheels, lugs, i know axle weight plays a part but not sure the percentage, nor am i able to control that. Maybe if i found titanium axles :eek:, my sway bars are upgraded as im running an bigger motor, that is alot heavier vs. my stock, ive also reinforced my front unibody crossmember. i have full body coilovers, with 12k springs front and 10k rear, however i might switch for when i run down the 1320, for less travel and a full preload as i am fwd.
All help is greatly appreciated.
thanks

[GetawayInMoscow]

It depends on what you want to do.

If you autox you will never be competetive because those mods are either not allowed or will put you in a class with crazy ass drivers.

Road racing I don't really know what the rules are though.

For street driving I would say look at getting different brakes. I was running the Wilwood brakes up front on my Civic and they were A LOT lighter than stock. I will see if I can get you a pic.

Most road race/autox guys in the Honda world run stiffer springs in the rear that the front....not really sure about the logic behind it, I just know they do. Ground Controls + Koni Yellows would definitely be a step in the right direction if you wanted to improve your suspension as the Taiwanese coilovers are only good for hardparking (it's cool that all I've owned).

[BlackMagic]

Its the same reason a whole host of VW guys remove the front sway bar during autox. Creating "some" body roll in the front of the car and limiting it in the rear allows you to plant the outside tire coming into a turn forcing the car to follow the tire angle (unless your car just sucks and then you push through the corner anyway). The draw back to a stiff rear spring is that you can go too far and the ass end will want to slide out as you come through the corner.

As far as drag racing is concerned I run a stiff spring in the rear in addidtion to a crazy stiff rear shock. On the fronts I am running a strut with "softer" compression characteristics but the rebound is set at near max. This controls wheel hop while maintaining contact with the pavement. That is how I snag low 1.5 60ft's in a FWD car.

[lostkuase]

nice. some people know thier stuff.

i know about the fwd drag suspension characteristics, im more into the road racing idea, my buddies dad has a red fully built (suspension) mustang gt, and the thing is only putting out 300-400 hp, he told me about road race out at srp, and got me interested in it. Id love to play with corvettes out there. Not sure if my civic will play with them or spin out.
The idea of the sway bar removed doesnt sound good to me at all, having it there for extra strength, also not needing to align my frame every 100 miles sounds good. as im a honda, our cars mostly depend on everything for their rigidity, HOWEVER i have an 8 pnt roll bar being installed here shortly. I wonder if i might be able to minus that part and keep my rigidity. also im swapped to a motor that weighs alot more.
wolf pack racing

[GetawayInMoscow]

Hondas don't have frames....its not an F250.

Hondas (even the Pilot and Ridgeline!) are all unibodies.

[jbracefan1977]

Hondas don't have frames....its not an F250.

Hondas (even the Pilot and Ridgeline!) are all unibodies.

+1 here. thanks for starting the suspension tech discussion rolling :)

[lostkuase]

i have removed my rear swaybar, as it is now unessecary weight, i now have the 8 point roll cage, and ive reinforced my front crossmember, and i havent adjusted my coilovers yet, they are still loose! not preloaded. I have sat on my car, and seriously there is no body flex, i never truely knew what that was til night and day difference with the roll cage! My car is a stiff bitch, with 3 people all on the same area of the car it doesnt squat whatsoever, and if any flex with more weight its because of my 50 series tires. so.... just thought id update everyone. this week i will be driving her for the first time, with weather permitting.
austin

[lostkuase]

i am leaving the front swaybar, i will see how she handles before i decide to throw back on my rear sway bar, i upgraded the front naturally as she is now holding around 80 more lbs

[lostkuase]

okay...
heres an update car feels amazing, with all the unsprung weight lightened to the best of my knowledge, i can tell you right now, all ive heard is peeps saying that without power steering the car will be hard to drive, this drives sooo much better than the stock version of the car w power steering i had a year ago!!!!! weather permitted today! :)

went and weighed it at the recycling place- 2328lbs not too shabby! oh.. and they tried telling me i cant go there anymore just to weigh my car lol. ill see about that next week if weather permits!

[the rod]

Just finish your dam car lol

[lostkuase]

car sold...

[Jetblack]

went and weighed it at the recycling place- 2328lbs not too shabby! oh.. and they tried telling me i cant go there anymore just to weigh my car lol. ill see about that next week if weather permits!

Just bring a sandwich bag, to recycle, with you :)