Suspension settings

redline

Well-Known Member
I am looking for a starting point for settings on both the front springs and dampening and for the aftermarket rear coil over assembly that DF sells. anyone have any measurements? I know it is driver preference but a starting point would be great.
 

Briann1177

Goblin Guru
I was kind of wondering that myself for the rear suspension. Not really knowing, I set my pre-load to the factory recommendation of 3-5 mm. Basically the width of the wrench. As far as ride height, it should definitely be set ~7.5" to the bottom lip of the subframe. I think anywhere from 7-8" is fine.
 
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Briann1177

Goblin Guru
And for the front suspension you need to adjust the height so that the lower control arms are pretty much level with the ground with you and a passenger in it.
 

Silverback

Well-Known Member
I'll weight the car with me and half a wife ;) (no reflexion on the wife, she just won't be riding shotgun often)
 

redline

Well-Known Member
ok so Front

Caster = 8-9%
Camber = 3% neg
tow = 1/8" in (I found a calculator and for my tires this is .155*)
Dampen setting = 6 clicks off of soft
tire pressure 12 lbs
ride height = 3" clearance to bottom of frame tube where hose comes out (bottom arms perfectly level.

Rear

Camber = 3% neg
tow = 1/8" in (I found a calculator and for my tires this is .155*)
Dampen setting = 6 clicks off of soft
tire pressure 14 lbs
Ride height = 5 1/2" but I may bring up to 6-7" to get the arms point up towards body more. What do you think?

this will be the base setting for the stock front suspension with the 150 lb rear suspension unless any of you have any other suggestions!
 

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redline

Well-Known Member
Please keep in mind my rims are 15" with the Hoosier 295 slicks so that is why my ride height is so low.
 

redline

Well-Known Member
we did worse with this setup. the front springs were the stock 400 lb and we had 150 lb in the rear. I will try some spring stiffeners and try to get 450 lb in the front along with taking out a little camber. maybe 2.5 and see where that gets us.

On a bad note the transmission has gone out on us so I plan to install a 4.05 instead of the original 3.85. this should be stronger and give me better acceleration.
 

redline

Well-Known Member
I am playing with the idea that I may want to get to only 5* caster as I don't really care if the wheel returns to center on its own. I also have now have my tow plates so I can better set that up. It was suggested to try neutral or a little bit of tow out in the front. and keep the 1/8" tow in in the rear. If anyone has thoughts I am all ears. I don't know if this suspension stuff is fun or just frustrating. lol
 

ncgoblin

Goblin Guru
  1. My ride height in the rear is 5.5" stock suspension SC I have a spare set of springs but they are not powder coated should I go higher or am I fine?
  2. I have 295s in the rear with 17" wheels and am thinking of cambering to -1.0 degrees because about 2 inches of the outer tire is not being used, thoughts?
 

George

Goblin Guru
-1 might be better but you need to measure the camber gain when the suspension is collapsed 2" and compare that to body roll angles. The strut suspension does not have a good camber curve to keep the tire perpendicular to the road so you have to compromise. I may take some trial and error setting to find what give the beset traction .

Brad
 

JERMzSS

Well-Known Member
I've been looking into what some of the Porsche race teams are doing with their spring rates as well as Ariel Atoms. They are running the higher rated spring in the rear of the car. Has anyone tried this?
 

redline

Well-Known Member

well I ended up at 2.5* camber which wore the paint perfectly. The link was a tire warmup lap my son took. we placed 3rd and 4th overall and had Fastest time of day but hit the last cone on the course. these settings were much better than ever before.
 

JERMzSS

Well-Known Member

well I ended up at 2.5* camber which wore the paint perfectly. The link was a tire warmup lap my son took. we placed 3rd and 4th overall and had Fastest time of day but hit the last cone on the course. these settings were much better than ever before.
Looks quick! It feels good to see small changes lowering your times dosen't it? I'm also at -2.5 in the rear. I still have the 300lb springs in the rear and 400 in the front. So far it's working great with the A7s
 
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