How to make the 15 handle like its on rails?

[MazzyMan]

thx mazzy and all others who have so far replied to this thread, keep em coming!!

topper: how much power are u running atm? btw in relation to power to grip coming out of a corner, is the biggest problem the torque we have which causes the grip to break traction?

so with alignment, is that just making sure all 4 wheels are pointing at a constant/same direction?

to my knowledge, is toe-in when you put your wheels into each other like this? " / \ " of course not that extreme but you get the idea =D


-- just my opinion about the stock S15 suspension
i feel the rear end gets unsettle quite easily. what i mean by this is during a corner the slightest bump will cause the rear to take a leap and it takes a long time for the rear suspension to 'rebound?" back onto the road and during that time when the rear tyres are not contacting is where we lose quite a bit of grip/confidence to the driver to continue accelerating

the car does have a slight tendency to understeer when u initially try to turn in but when you start applying power it smooths out the line you take and eventually lose traction but im not sure if im correct on this but it feels like the car is not in 1 peice, the front end will go in, but it just takes wot feels like a long time before the rear end follows and tucks inside into the line you want - i guess to help solve this would be to have struts?


this is just the feeling the stock s15 suspension gives me, i could be totally wrong but im just going on how i feel when im driving it. or im just a total noob and hav no idea what is going on =)

S15s can and will under steer. Gotta be carefull especially when you get into a bad weight transfer situation. Example, too much weight at the front than sudden heavy braking followed by immediate hard acceleration.

Again, this happens only when suspension settings are off or if the front end is too soft (ie stock suspension).

Thats why as a couple have mentioned, 1st best step is to go for decently good coilovers. 1st best investment besides anything else.

 

[S1Five]

hoping to get my Tein Flex sooooon

 

[Endless]

I'm about to get an alignment done shortly, right now for my suspension mods, I have a set of Tein Coilovers with Pillow ball, front Caster tension rod, front and rear tower bar....I found the rear get loose quite easily and wants the car to handle better in corners without the back sliding too easily....do you have any recommend settings? I'm thinking of about negative 1 - 1.5 camber in front, and maybe a little toe in on rear, what do you think?

 

[Nicely]

Swaybars and subframe locking collars :nod:

This thread has the recommended alignment setting for the S15.

 

[I-nearly-bought-a-batty]

here's my recipe for handling on rails...

Take one s15, add HKS Hiper Max D's 10kg F / 8 kg R springs, mix in with Cusco strut braces front and rear, Do-luck Room bar and sprinkle with -2.25 degrees front, -1.95 degrees rear. Once baked until golden brown, add some 225/45/17 tyres on a 17X8 rim and 245/40/17 tyres on a 17X9 rim on the rear. Finally garnish with adjustable rear camber arms and presto - one S15 handling on rails!! It works for me

 

[Nicely]

Its not ANZAC biscuits, you know!

 

[A'PEXi]

can post pics when i get home from work, mine sits under the parcel shelf so its fairly stealth

didn't realise they had anzac biscuits in the uk hahaha

 

[Topper]

Here are the settings a currnetly have -

Front:
Caster +7.5
Camber -1.25
Toe - 0

Rear:
Camber -1.10
Toe - 2mm Toe In

Overall pretty happy with it, although i think i need some more front camber and a little at the rear. Other than that its a good road setup.

 

[A'PEXi]

 

[S1Five]

cheers apexi! which one is that? like brand etc

w00t i got my tein flex installed!!

 

[A'PEXi]

cusco type os? i think? lol

 

[S1Five]

Just wanted to write up more of a deeper review after last nights more spirited driving with a few of my friends on private roads~

cars came along were DC5R, RX-8, a brand spanking new EVO9 which my friend just got last nite and my S15 with new suspension.

few things i noticed after driving it for a longer period of time + some freeway driving, the car is slightly more bumpy but i can definately feel the car comes back down onto the road 'alot' faster which in return gives me more confidence in the car overall not just on straights/slight high speed bends or tight corners.

one of the biggest comparison i can say i had given these new suspension is that, i dunno if you guys felt this during your stock sussy is that eg. going downhill and u have the weight on the front wheels, the inside rear wheel just feels so light and almost off the ground and wasting valuable grip levels that it suppose to provide, now the rear just feels more planted and i can have more confidence testing out the rear grip levels.

Of course i still have much fine tuning of the dampening levels to do but im looking forward to doing that because it has made my car feel so much better.


edit: so wot i basically mean with the above is that the rear no longer kind of hopes across the lines you want to choose with the front wheels, its more following and gliding across now.

more driving practice!

 

[ichi-go]

When you are lowering your s15, it's advisable to get adjustable upper rear arms (also called rear camber arms). This is because on stock, the s15 is already squating as it is.... / \

So when you lower it some more, it will make the situation worse and u will be running alot camber to the point of losing traction especially when you lower your car too much which u usually do when you put coilovers, you know u want to look low and good.


So I would say a pair of adjustable rear upper arms and toe rods(increase toe adjustments) would be best for you atm since you got coilovers already. Some say traction rods are for the extreme and not needed for street driven cars but I'm not sure on this one.



I got stock suspension with front strut brace atm and the car doesnt sit firm with the road. Sometimes when I push it too hard, I can feel understeer at turn-in. Will update this when I put in my lowered springs and go for a good alignment see how thing goes.

 

[S1Five]

yeah alot of ppl told me or i read that when u lower u get more camber

i lowered the rear by 1.5cm or 15mm and i can fit probably 1 to 1 1/2 finger between my tyres to the guard and im fine with that height, im no fan of guards covering tyres hehe

 

[Yakozan]

I think alot of RWD car are setup to understeer into a corner because it's safer.

I've also heard of racing drivers prefering understeer at the turn-in and then balance it with the throttle.

It's all hearsay though as I can't remember where I've heard it from or where I read it

 

[S1Five]

in theory wise thats wot you want with a rwd car =)

so happy with the sussy!!! now just for the bride seat and im ready for track! maybe some oil temp gauges..

sigh no money! lol

 

[MazzyMan]

I think alot of RWD car are setup to understeer into a corner because it's safer.

I've also heard of racing drivers prefering understeer at the turn-in and then balance it with the throttle.

It's all hearsay though as I can't remember where I've heard it from or where I read it

You are right, if you can achieve understeer entering than using throttle to re-adjust the car right, you are driving right and you are going to be fast. Thats what I heard too...however tried it and it takes a freaking load of getting used to the feel.

Its like one minute you think you are in a FWD and hit the gas and suddenly you are in a RWD.

 

[S1Five]

Just wanted an opinion on what dampening levels people have set their coilovers to? please say the max clicks the suspension allows and if you are clicking from soft to hardest etc.

ATM im stilll running in my tein flex and im using 22 clicks max
front = 12
rear = 8

went on a more spirited run with my friends dc5r and rx8 and this time i could say i think i need to stiffen them up more =D but cant go overboard else i get too bumpy and lose more traction!

 

[Nicely]

Mine are halfway on about the same number of clicks and I'm running 6/4 spring rate. That's quite hard, but nowhere near running full hard...

 

[MazzyMan]

Just wanted an opinion on what dampening levels people have set their coilovers to? please say the max clicks the suspension allows and if you are clicking from soft to hardest etc.

ATM im stilll running in my tein flex and im using 22 clicks max
front = 12
rear = 8

went on a more spirited run with my friends dc5r and rx8 and this time i could say i think i need to stiffen them up more =D but cant go overboard else i get too bumpy and lose more traction!

I have them dialed in to 10 clicks front and 10 clicks rear. Worked out fine. I had them at about 15 front at 13 rear but during straight line drags i kinda had more problems with losing traction rather than gaining. I guess the rears were too hard.

For track I'd probably go for the 15 front 13 rear set-up.