Damper Setting

[R338OY]

Hey guys just asking what the best damper setting is for a bendy track?

I've got Nismo coilovers which have a 1-4 stiffness setting front & rear. Someone told me set the rears stiffer than the front and it'll turn better.

Is this the case?

[Amec]

Hey guys just asking what the best damper setting is for a bendy track?

I've got Nismo coilovers which have a 1-4 stiffness setting front & rear. Someone told me set the rears stiffer than the front and it'll turn better.

Is this the case?

yep to encourage oversteer, the rear must be stiffer than the front. experiment with different settings to see which works best for you, but stick to the general rear stiffer than front rule. also if you are running a front strut brace, it might help to remove it.

[MrStabby]

This is a good start http://www.wtrscca.org/tech.htm.

I leave my Teins on full soft for both street and track. If you need better turn in i'd be looking at alignment or stiffening rear swar bar/softening front sway bar.

[R338OY]

Thanks guys.

Haha that's funny because my mates said i need a front strut brace asap...and you're saying take it off lol.

I do need an alignment by the way, but i'll give the rear stiffer setting a try.

I guess we all know Skylines need it because the heavy nose is a little understeery. I've tried countering that by using the throttle to direct the nose through the apex.

Thanks guys, i'll give it a try before i get the strut brace and make some comparitive tests.

Edited December 18, 2007 by R338OY

[bnr#@]

Strut brace helps keep your suspension geometry constant under heavy loading through corners so a very neccesary thing to have. Stifer rear will indeed help induce oversteer but two things that need to be considered is that the skyline is front heavy and does need more stiffnes on the front to compinsate and also the different spring rates front to rear in the coilovers which will most likely be stiffer on the front then the rear. Sway bars are a much better way of adjusting cornering attributes

[MrStabby]

Thanks guys.

Haha that's funny because my mates said i need a front strut brace asap...and you're saying take it off lol.

I do need an alignment by the way, but i'll give the rear stiffer setting a try.

+1 to bnr#@ - you defiantly want the front strut brace. There's some confusion earlier in the thread between suspension stiffness and suspension mounting point stiffness. You may not feel the difference with the strut brace unless you push hard with sticky tyres, but they're cheap so just get one to give you a good basis to work off.

FWIW i have the whileline adjustable sway bars and run the front full soft and the rear full hard.

What alignment setting are you going to ask for?

[Sydneykid]

Hey guys just asking what the best damper setting is for a bendy track?

I've got Nismo coilovers which have a 1-4 stiffness setting front & rear. Someone told me set the rears stiffer than the front and it'll turn better.

Is this the case?

There is no one rule, try the full combinatiion of settings and feel out which one works for you in your car, on that day and that track. Different day or different track or different driver or different car = different shock settings.

If you can't feel which settings are best for you, then either the adjustment doesn't do anything to change the handling balance (not uncommon) or you simply aren't experienced enough to have bought adjustable shocks.

Cheers

Gary

[Amec]

I can really only comment on how the front strut brace affects our car. with it on, the car understeers to the point where at the apex of turn 2 at QR it feels like I have to turn the steering wheel past 90 degrees to get it round the corner. with it off, I dont need anywhere near as much steering input and the rear will want to step out if I put the power down to early.

like Sydneykid says, experiment and find out what works best for you and your car, using the basic "rules" of suspension setup.

[BHDave]

As much as a front strut brace is good for increasing the rigidity of the front end, you can't discount what Amec is saying here.

Installing/removing the brace will alter the way the car handles, it will be either beneficial or not depending on the situation. Don't discount it because you perceive it as being counter to what you think you know.

Amec did win the 07 QR Sprint series so i would assume he has a fair idea what he's on about when it comes to car setup.

[Sydneykid]

I can really only comment on how the front strut brace affects our car. with it on, the car understeers to the point where at the apex of turn 2 at QR it feels like I have to turn the steering wheel past 90 degrees to get it round the corner. with it off, I dont need anywhere near as much steering input and the rear will want to step out if I put the power down to early.

like Sydneykid says, experiment and find out what works best for you and your car, using the basic "rules" of suspension setup.

The strut brace isn't the problem, either the springs you have are too high a rate (most likely) or the you have too much anti roll (unlikely).

By removing the strut brace you are simply allowing the chssis to flex more, hence compensate for the fact that the spring rate is too high.

But, there is always a but, removing the strut brace has side effects. You loose a considerable amount of camber control because the chassis is flexing.

Untimately the car will be faster (carry more corner speed) if youy fix the real problem, soften the spring rate.

Then you won't need to have the chassis flexing and the wheel alignment settings will hold.

Cheers

Gary

[R338OY]

Thanks for all the feedback fellas.

Sounds to me like 'get the strut brace and have a practice with damper settings' sounds in order.

Re damper, the softest setting is very stiff on the Nismo's. My mate (who has coilovers too) said it was real bumpy, so i'm *guessing* it won't need a very hard setting on the back to get the smidgen of oversteer that i'm after.

Basically i'm after improved balance through corners. I know the best thing is weight reduction up the front, but i'm not looking to spend $20,000 on aluminium and carbon fibre to make it 50/50 weight distribution

Have you guys got advice on improving cornering balance? i.e. Roll-bars? I also don't want to add extra negative camber because it's a daily driven car and chews tires as it is.

ALSO: As a general cornering style in Skylines (the heavier ones with RB25 or 26) i want some comments.

I found because they're nose-heavy when I approach a corner (i.e. 90-degrees or more and needs hard braking which sends heavy load to the front) I need to really focus on 'choosing' where to aim the car, then mash the throttle and watch it suck through the other side as all the weight goes back again. About halfway into this i'll feel a 'perfect spot' where weight transference has given the car perfect balance and gets me high

The times i've casually sent it through a corner at speed and not really felt where it needs to be pointed i need to fight my way through understeer because the car doesn't want to curl around the bend as easily.

Opinions?

Edited December 20, 2007 by R338OY

[MrStabby]

Thanks for all the feedback fellas.

Sounds to me like 'get the strut brace and have a practice with damper settings' sounds in order.

Re damper, the softest setting is very stiff on the Nismo's. My mate (who has coilovers too) said it was real bumpy, so i'm *guessing* it won't need a very hard setting on the back to get the smidgen of oversteer that i'm after.

So start soft and then crank it up. If its already quite stiff at soft you might find you just go backwards when you stiffen it - especially with respect to traction over bumpy bits.

Basically i'm after improved balance through corners. I know the best thing is weight reduction up the front, but i'm not looking to spend $20,000 on aluminium and carbon fibre to make it 50/50 weight distribution

Have you guys got advice on improving cornering balance? i.e. Roll-bars? I also don't want to add extra negative camber because it's a daily driven car and chews tires as it is.

Yep - if you dont have aftermarket rollbars already, get the whiteline adjustables. From what SK told me they're the best way to improve the handling of the car for quite a small amount of money. Now that i have them i see what he meant! Start with front soft, rear medium, then bump the rear up to hard it its still understeering too much.

Re: neg camber, you could consider pulling some out of your rear tyres, which may help with powerdown - just depends on where you're at now.

[DECIM8]

Did I tell you that Omar? Cause when I tell people to add stiffness to the rear over front they always go no thats bullshit.. so if I did tell you im amazed you believed me

Anyways yeah try all the settings and see how you go..

Im my setup which i readjusted yesterday because they got to soft and lifted the settings 3 clicks front and rear and it runs like its on rails .. dont mean much to you .. ive got like 32 settings and its half way front and 3 clicks over half on the rears.

I think ill be upgrading my strut brace as well .. dont know if the stock one is much chop anyone confirm? R34 that is

[Sydneykid]

I think ill be upgrading my strut brace as well .. dont know if the stock one is much chop anyone confirm? R34 that is

Standard strut brace is fine, anybody who tells you otherwise is simply trying to make a sale.

Merry Xmas

Gary

[GTR-80Y]

Oh Gary where were u when my best mate was talkin crap about strut brace thicknesses?

Omar the 33 is a bit of a whale understeer in oversteer out, if u brake too late you'll never get to the apex. I preferred slow in fast out....Just need a lil more patience with the 33.

On another note, Phil brought out one of his mates to the nasho the other week had the SK setup on his 33, not too shabby Gary....not too shabs indeed

[Sydneykid]

Oh Gary where were u when my best mate was talkin crap about strut brace thicknesses?

Omar the 33 is a bit of a whale understeer in oversteer out, if u brake too late you'll never get to the apex. I preferred slow in fast out....Just need a lil more patience with the 33.

On another note, Phil brought out one of his mates to the nasho the other week had the SK setup on his 33, not too shabby Gary....not too shabs indeed

They only understeer if you don't have them set up right, they are pretty neutral until the power takes effect, but even then you can control the oversteeer with the throttle.

The 2005 NSW State Speed event champion for imports, found the SK road kit to be pretty effective. Drove 400 k's to the events, put on the "R" type tyres, kicked some butt and then drove 400 ks' home. Even Duncan was impressed with the kit in the Stagea at the SAU track day. The Group Buy kits were engineered (by me) to give a sporty ride for the street and at the same time suite the sorts of things that Skyline owners use their cars for (road, drag and circuit). It's a great all round kit, 150 or so Skyliners seem to agree.

Merry Xmas

Gary

[R338OY]

Yep - if you dont have aftermarket rollbars already, get the whiteline adjustables. From what SK told me they're the best way to improve the handling of the car for quite a small amount of money. Now that i have them i see what he meant! Start with front soft, rear medium, then bump the rear up to hard it its still understeering too much.

Whiteline you say? Thanks for the tip, i'll look into it

Did I tell you that Omar? Cause when I tell people to add stiffness to the rear over front they always go no thats bullshit.. so if I did tell you im amazed you believed me

I wouldn't have believed it if you told me

Nah Phil said it when i went for a run with him up the Old Pac. I was on his ass WITH a boost leak (all that 200rwkw crap you guys said...maybe he just can't drive!) and softest damper setting.

Got the exhaust manifold fixed (broken stud) and she's boosting purrrfect now.

Omar the 33 is a bit of a whale understeer in oversteer out, if u brake too late you'll never get to the apex. I preferred slow in fast out....Just need a lil more patience with the 33.

That's what i'm after! Thanks dude, slow in --> fast out

I always tried fast in --> fast out

[evil_weevil]

Yeah, I agree with you Gary!

Ive got the full set and its great! I just need a tad more neg camber up front.

Omar - which track('s) and corners at them are you getting the understeer/apex wrong etc?