FYI, Ground-Control offerings for the S550

[tyshenry]

How much camber are you running up front and is it maxed out?

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[Nick610s]

How much camber are you running up front and is it maxed out?

It's right about -1.5 to -2, I haven't been able to find a shop local to align it but the measurements they took puts it right about there. Ground controls design has steel insert bushings that you can change out in the top strut bolt location. They got -4 degrees of camber with the max camber insert. Which would be super aggressive on the street but would be good to have that much adjustment for autox/track duty.

 

[BmacIL]

So I was able to take some corners other day that were down from my house, shocks were set full stiff front and 1/2 turn to fill in the rear. No other suspension mods. 285/35r19 nitto555g2 tires on all 4. Spring rates 450f/850r

Body roll reduced significantly!! Bump handling well under control, car did not feel unsettled at any point, entrance, mid, exit. And these were 25-35 mph turns taken at at least twice posted speed. Coulda gone faster but public road. No people on this road due to remoteness but still. Only thing I'm going to do is go up on the spring rate as I felt a touch more roll in the back as opposed to the front. Going to 950 in the rear to get the rear to tighten up a bit more. And then sway bars should all but make this thing stay flat as it can be. Which Ground control is considering doing sway bar kits for these cars.

Overall this is a great coilover set up with top quality components (eibach linear springs,koni shocks, GC camber/caster plates and height adjusters).

For reference, non adjustable KW kit with no camber plates is $2k. Which this kit I'm guessing will come in around there. FWIW, the spring rates I have currently work pretty good for DD duty seeing as I can soften up the shocks.

You may consider leaving the springs as they are and just going up on rear bar. Food for thought. If you're happy with its performance in a straight line (how much rear squat you get), then you can just add bar to take some roll out.

 

[Nick610s]

You may consider leaving the springs as they are and just going up on rear bar. Food for thought. If you're happy with its performance in a straight line (how much rear squat you get), then you can just add bar to take some roll out.

Yeah I get that, but the effective spring rate after leverage ratio is calculated is only a 30lb increase in the rear. I believe I'll have a better balance front to rear with the increase. It was noticeable, to me at least, that the rear was softer than it should be compared to the front of the car. The idea is to get the front and the back to work together and do the exact same thing throughout the corner. It's just a touch off, and that's mostly my fault due to my preference at the time for better street ride. I do not think going up on rates will affect the comfort level since I can soften up the shocks to compensate somewhat.

 

[boardkat]

Ride height can be adjusted from stock to -3", and the system includes linear spring front and rear. Custom spring rates will be selected/included with each system, and the setup will be built around the type of driving, modifications, etc. the customer plans to use their car for. Progressive rear springs are shown in the picture Nick610s posted, however those were one of the many different spring rates/lengths we tested while the system was in development.

I'll be happy to answer any questions here about the system, however most of the technical information will be included in the classified section when the system is available. Detailed pictures as well as pricing should be available in the next week or so.

those rear springs appear custom wound in a non-standard (2.25/2.5") diameter. can you confirm?

 

[GCSystems]

those rear springs appear custom wound in a non-standard (2.25/2.5") diameter. can you confirm?

Correct, the rear springs shown in the picture are progressive. However, those are not the springs we include with our complete system. The springs in the picture were one of the many springs/rates we had tried with the prototype system. The rear springs we include are linear and are available in many different rates.

So I was able to take some corners other day that were down from my house, shocks were set full stiff front and 1/2 turn to fill in the rear. No other suspension mods. 285/35r19 nitto555g2 tires on all 4. Spring rates 450f/850r

Body roll reduced significantly!! Bump handling well under control, car did not feel unsettled at any point, entrance, mid, exit. And these were 25-35 mph turns taken at at least twice posted speed. Coulda gone faster but public road. No people on this road due to remoteness but still. Only thing I'm going to do is go up on the spring rate as I felt a touch more roll in the back as opposed to the front. Going to 950 in the rear to get the rear to tighten up a bit more. And then sway bars should all but make this thing stay flat as it can be. Which Ground control is considering doing sway bar kits for these cars.

Come on back whenever you're free! I'll be happy to install the 950lbs springs and go for a ride with you. We're working on the sway bars now as well as some other products for the S550 chassis.

Overall this is a great coilover set up with top quality components (eibach linear springs,koni shocks, GC camber/caster plates and height adjusters).

For reference, non adjustable KW kit with no camber plates is $2k. Which this kit I'm guessing will come in around there. FWIW, the spring rates I have currently work pretty good for DD duty seeing as I can soften up the shocks.

We don't have exact pricing just yet, however I will say it's going to be less than the price stated above.

 

[boardkat]

Correct, the rear springs shown in the picture are progressive. However, those are not the springs we include with our complete system. The springs in the picture were one of the many springs/rates we had tried with the prototype system. The rear springs we include are linear and are available in many different rates.

ok, i guess i wasn't clear enough. am i able to use 2.25"/2.5" springs with this setup? if not, do you have 1600/1800/2000/2200/2400 rates available in the ID necessary to mate with your perches, or able to custom wind?

 

[tyshenry]

Yeah I get that, but the effective spring rate after leverage ratio is calculated is only a 30lb increase in the rear. I believe I'll have a better balance front to rear with the increase. It was noticeable, to me at least, that the rear was softer than it should be compared to the front of the car. The idea is to get the front and the back to work together and do the exact same thing throughout the corner. It's just a touch off, and that's mostly my fault due to my preference at the time for better street ride. I do not think going up on rates will affect the comfort level since I can soften up the shocks to compensate somewhat.

I think you might want to go up even more than 950. Maybe 1050 or even 1150. I would think those rates would pair better with a 450 front rate.

 

[GCSystems]

ok, i guess i wasn't clear enough. am i able to use 2.25"/2.5" springs with this setup? if not, do you have 1600/1800/2000/2200/2400 rates available in the ID necessary to mate with your perches, or able to custom wind?

I apologize for the misunderstanding. We use a much larger diameter spring on this rear system, and you would not be able to use a 2.25" or 2.5" inner diameter spring. We do have rates up to 2500lbs available, and most springs are available in increments of 50lbs.

 

[Nick610s]

I think you might want to go up even more than 950. Maybe 1050 or even 1150. I would think those rates would pair better with a 450 front rate.

If I was going strictly autox/track for this car I would go up, and I would probably run 600lb in the front but I am not. We are going to test with the 950's on Tuesday to see if that changes the rear in any noticeable way. I still have to maintain some comfort for DD.

You have to also weigh in the weight bias of this car too, f/r 53-47 as ford puts it but I've seen f/r 54-46 in the autox section. We'll see how it feels.

 

[Nick610s]

Well went back up the hill today to Ground Control to swap out to 950lb rear springs. I wasn't sure how much of a difference it would make. But I am sure glad we went with a higher rate to match the front! The car feels balanced now, the front and rear turn into the corner equally, the sensation of the additional roll over in the rear was gone.

I believe we got a good middle of the road setup out of this, with the 450F/950R springs.

I wanted a setup that was still good for DD and occasional track use if I wanted, I think we nailed that. We have got a good baseline setup from which they can work and Taylor the spring rates to each customer need.

They are planning on making more than just coilover kits for the S550, and that will be updated in the vendor section once they build it out. They have gone into production of their kits and they will be available for purchase soon!

They are a sponsor of the forum now so check em out!

 

[BmacIL]

Well went back up the hill today to Ground Control to swap out to 950lb rear springs. I wasn't sure how much of a difference it would make. But I am sure glad we went with a higher rate to match the front! The car feels balanced now, the front and rear turn into the corner equally, the sensation of the additional roll over in the rear was gone.

I believe we got a good middle of the road setup out of this, with the 450F/950R springs.

I wanted a setup that was still good for DD and occasional track use if I wanted, I think we nailed that. We have got a good baseline setup from which they can work and Taylor the spring rates to each customer need.

They are planning on making more than just coilover kits for the S550, and that will be updated in the vendor section once they build it out. They have gone into production of their kits and they will be available for purchase soon!

They are a sponsor of the forum now so check em out!

Thanks for feedback on the development!

 

[Agent_S550]

Pretty much sold on this. Waiting for availability and installed photos

 

[Nick610s]

Thanks for feedback on the development!

Someone's got to do it! I have autox experience had a full built ESP camaro, and track day experience in multiple vehicles, so I am aware of what a vehicle starts to feel like at the edge. Which I haven't come close to it yet in this car. I'm sure I will find it at the track at some point. But for now, the setup does exactly what I asked for.

 

[Nick610s]

[/ATTACH]

Pretty much sold on this. Waiting for availability and installed photos

Here's my car with them installed. Available very soon! They had parts going out for anodizing, camber plates being machined etc. they are in production!

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