Update: 1st Track Day With New Suspension Set-up

[justinfox]

Just thought I'd write a little update/review on my new suspension set-up.

I went to a Circuit Club day at Wakefield a couple of months ago, forgot to write a review up so here it is now.

New engine, not dyno tuned. Just road tuned. I had 2530's in the car, very very laggy, so much so I couldn't get the tail out at all, just no power at low/mid rpm's.

I initially had the complete Whiteline works package in my R32 GT-R. And took it all out for Tein RA coilovers as well as Cusco front and rear swaybars.

With the coilovers on the middle setting all I got was understeer. Complient in comparisson to the Whiteline package on the road to Wakefield and back, and also on Wakefields bumpy track surface but now I have to really spend some time to get the suspension set-up right and it's a pretty daunting task for a newb like myself.

Anyways, it's made me realise that although I didn't like the Whiteline set-up's rough and crashy ride, it sure was set-up better than my current set-up!

Here are the one hot lap time attack times from the day:

http://temp.australianinfront.com.au/skyli...st-25-04-06.htm

I'm looking forward to setting up the car properly, both the engine (I just took out the 2530's and regressed to GT-SS's now + cams + camber/castor kit too) and the suspension.

Nothing quite like a track day to make you realise what you have to sort out on your car huh?!

[Guest Mashrock]

Good stuff! i wish i could make it to eastern creek with you guys but i've got so many things to do before i can get out.

[r33_racer]

not to be negative mate...but we just ditched out teins for SK's whiteline/bilstein setup and its about a million times better and evertything is just guess setup at the moment. I didnt get a chance to try it out in the races. only in practice and qualifying. But i believe the new suspension lead to the tailshaft shitting(shearing uni's in half) itself as we were actually getting some rear squat off the line now, the teins didnt let anything do anything, and we would just get wheelspin.

Anyway i hope you can get it setup just as good as before if not better. Might take sometime to adjust to the stiffness of them, if they were anything like ours everything will be firm and stiff, youll get heaps of wheelspin and understeer and no body roll at all and absolutely no weight transfer front or back.

Apologies if i sound rude or biased, but i really dont like teins anymore after past experiences with them in road cars and race cars.

[justinfox]

No I don't think you're being negative at all dude. It's information like this that helps people to make decisions.

My experience has been a little different though. The Tein SS's I have in my MX-5 are way too soft (in comparisson to the super crashy Bilsteins I had in there). I replaced the springs in the coilovers with stiffer Swift springs and even then I have to have the coilovers on their absolute hardest damper setting to get the suspension just right. I leave it like that for daily driving too, bump but not at all crashy. They are called "Super Streets" for a reason I suppose.

The Tein's on the GT-R are much more complient than the Whiteline set-up I had. It actually absorbs the bumps well where I found the Whiteline set-up actually making me bounce off some bumps on the street especially.

For example, there's a corner near my house that's got a bump right on the apex of it. If I went through that corner at 45-50km/hr in the GT-R I literally almost get airborne! Not so in the Teins... then again my Teins are set up too soft I feel.

But, yes, the Whiteline set-up felt very complient on the race track, there was a small amount of body roll, it made for a very forgiving ride and you could really feel the tail coming out when you pushed it a little harder in corners. I just thought it was totally wrong on Sydney roads.

Anyways, the Whiteline kit's gone now. Teins are on and yes, it's a bit of a daunting task ahead! I hope I can find the right settings.

[r33_racer]

your whiteline setup wasnt Sydnykids kit was it? I think i read somewhere else that you got it from fulcrum or somewhere and you havent really liked it.

Obviously our cars are going to be different, as we race an r33 gtst...where youve got an almighty GTR. I wish i had a gtr haha...*cries*

[justinfox]

Right, the kit I got was NOT SK's kit. It was direct from Whiteline. And I also have Whiteline's tech guy who designs their products test it around his Minto "test track". He came back with a grin on his face and said "nice car" lol.

[r33_racer]

everybody is different...all i can say when it comes to these things...some people favour firm/hard others soft/wavy and so on. It really comes down to whose actually driving the car and how they want it setup.

[djr81]

Justin,

It is not actually that daunting. I would recommend the following:

Front sway bar to full soft.

Rear sway bar to full hard.

Dial as much -ve camber into the front end as you can/as your temperature gauge tells you you need.

Don't go nuts with the caster as it doesn't help much on an R32.

Don't use too much -ve camber on the rear, no more than -1 degree.

Get the rake angle sorted. The front ride height should be +10mm on the rear.

That should get you well within the ballpark.

Remember that GT-R's will typically turn in well, wash out through the middle of the corner (ie across the apex) & then get the power down well. Understter will kill you times by preventing you from getting on the power early in the corner. Get rid of that & your lap times will improve massively.

[Roy]

Understter will kill you times by preventing you from getting on the power early in the corner. Get rid of that & your lap times will improve massively.

And those swaybar setting will sure help the thing oversteer.

[justinfox]

djr81: Thanks for that info, fantastic. Will try it step by step.

So far I just let Doug at Heasmans set it all up for me, he's done my wheel alignment a fair few times before, and did it just recently once I got all the new adjustable gear on.

Ride height is wrong though, when the GT-R is balanced, the gap between the tyre and the guard is greater at the front than it is at the rear. Me being the designer/fool I am I wanted it to LOOK great by having the front a little lower than the rear for that mean stance.

Anyways, silly really... I'll be sure to raise the front up a little more so the car's balanced again. Then I have to get ANOTHER wheel alignment done again damn... maybe I'll just lower the rear 10mm lol. Done.

[djr81]

The other thing to note is that if you want to run 255's you will need to have the rear guards rolled to take the lip out of them. Otherwise they scrape & annoy the shit out of you.

For whatever reason GT-R's need to look like a dog with worms, ie dragging it's arse on the ground.

What ride height (More correctly centre of wheel to underside of guard measurement) are you running? I am presently wondering whether 350/340 or 355/345 is better although in truth I am leaning toward the latter because I don't like what it is doing to the rear suspension geometry at the lower setting.

[justinfox]

I've lowered the front 10mm since this picture (see below) but I am just going to drop the back 10mm now to even it all up. I'm also running on the thin side at 235's. Will go fatter next time. At least 245's.

Edited August 9, 2006 by justinfox

[MANWHOR3]

what is your guard to centre of wheel measurement? It looks slightly too low.

[justinfox]

I'll measure it all up Friday as the car's at the workshop and I'm at the track all day tomorrow in the MX-5 w00t!!!

[morlock]

hey mate....i see you are still not happy with the 32's setup.

I've done a fair amount to my 33 since moving over to WA.

Just put in a set of HSD HR coilovers, whiteline front/rear swaybars, pineapples, camber kit rear and a hicas lock kit.

I also put in a set of Splitfire D1 ignition coil packs and she purrs a lot better now.

I had the suspension all setup by Wilkinson Suspension Center here in WA and they know their stuff. corners amazing and the ride is liveable. Im running 6kg springs on the front and 4kg on the rear, firm but not spine shattering.

The roads in WA metro are much better quality than in Sydney and much wider.....very fun.

When are you gonna upgrade the brakes on that thing?

My driving has improved a hell of a lot since the burrows drive days....motorsport over here is really cheap and there are a heap of driving centers/ tracks close by.

Anyhoo just thought i'd say hi

[Roy]

Bastards....how did you score entry to the Burrows days?

[justinfox]

morlock: Man long time LONG TIME no speak! Good to hear from you, and that you're really into still!

Roy: I had an Alfa 147 when they 1st came out, it was perhaps the only on in Sydney at the time that had wheels, coilovers, tuned etc. A guy came up to me on the street, literally one day and invited me to a Burrows Day Gave me his card and I've been going ever since (in my Alfa, GT-R and MX-5).

Nothing quite like overtaking Ferarri's and GT3's on Eastern Creek's straight in the GT-R That's for sure, it's gold!!!

[Roy]

Cool! I use to drop in and watch as i worked around the corner and have pretty flexible working hours.

I wouldnt be overtaking any, but i would loved to have t-boned a few of the exotics

[morlock]

Yeah....I entered the Burrows days when i saw them advertising it on the web.....cost a fair amount though....in the region of $400 i think....but was worth it in my opinion.

What are the days like now? Must be much more popular and harder to get a place i imagine?

Roy: I only have an R33 GTST and was still having a lot of fun amongst the porsches