Suspension 101

[Skipson]

Hello everyone. I’m kind of new here. I’ve loved cars and hi performance forever. Grew up on Dukes of Hazard Smokey and the Bandit and yes even Speed Racer cartoons. I have a 3rd gen coyote pp1 car with an a10. I’m in the process of building it to hold 700ish through ess or hellion kit. Naturally I wanted to start at the tires and work my way up. Got 19x10/11 mrr m350 wheels and falken fk510 in 305/30/19-285/30/19. Now I’m stuck and going nuckin futs researching suspension. Bmr with track pack shocks and stock sways. Steeda ultralite linear with pro active. Bilstein b6 etc on and on. And while everybody talks brands and models what I would like to ask is for information about the dynamics of it all. Like how it all works in conjunction. Like what effect does a stiffer spring rate have on other components like sway bars. I have heard that stiffer isn’t always better in combinations up front and can cause massive under steer if improperly paired. So I’m looking for a stiffer than stock pp1 setup with decent ride quality at about an inch of drop. It’s my daily. I don’t drag race or auto x or even road race. Just aggressive commutes and when I can carve canyons and mountains. So some education would be appreciated more so than brand/model info. Plenty of that available. Thanks

Sponsored

 

[TopJimmyCooks]

Hi Andrew,
Check this out. I found it helpful.
https://speedsecrets.com/tune-car-handling/

 

[Skipson]

46 pages! Careful what you ask for. Lol. Thank you. I’m reading it now

 

[MidnightStars]

Hi Andrew,
Check this out. I found it helpful.
https://speedsecrets.com/tune-car-handling/

Thank you for that. Playing Need For Speed: Shift wasn't enough to learn these complex harmonics.

 

[Paul McWhiskey]

For a streetcar that you do not race, you already have a fairly decent one. If you have the money to spend on all kinds of mods that make you happy then spend away. For what you describe at the end of your opening comment I can only come up with a few tweaks that will improve the handling for canyon carving. And that does not require huge amounts of money. You can see what I have done in my signature, and I am very happy. I will be installing a new set of MPS4S on 19X10 square to replace the factory staggered set up very soon and I intend to do HPDE for the first time. I am sure that my car has ability beyond my skill level and when I get to a point that the car does not meet my abilities, I will probably make more changes. You have the right idea, tires first. I would suggest that you just drive it and see how that works then make small changes to solve problems that you think you have.

 

[Skipson]

Thank you Paul for your advice. It’s sound advice. But have you ever heard the tale of the scorpion and the frog? Lol. And now I realized that by ignoring the series tires everybody else runs and going with 30 series I’ve just increased fender gap by 7 1/10” as my overall is now 1.46” reduced. Definitely want some springs now. So probably going with a linear steeda close to pp1 spec at 200/800 with a 1.125/1” fr/rr and bmr sways and see where that leads. Like to finish with fp track pack or Steeda active shocks cc plates and adjust roll center and call it a day. Just want a little stiffer planted feel for the fi setup. Already have bmr cradle lock out kit but am waiting on install. But ya. Probably going to drive it a month or so with just tires before making any mods.

 

[Paul McWhiskey]

Yes, I have been looking at springs and bars, too. And, yes, I know what the scorpion smells like. LOL 30's do create a wagon look and I understand what you are saying. We car guys and gals do chase dragons, of the mechanical kind.

 

[NightmareMoon]

Hi Andrew,
Check this out. I found it helpful.
https://speedsecrets.com/tune-car-handling/

i was just about to hunt that down. Good call.

 

[tj@steeda]

Hi Andrew,

There are pages ... videos ... testimonials & more, lol.

Shoot me an email to tim @ steeda.com - we can set up a consultation with our build team - they are not only experts in suspension dynamics but also well-versed in drag racing, Auto-X, etc.

Look forward to putting you in touch!

TJ

Sponsored