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Thanks for the info everyone. I think its good we have more real tech questions being asked now.
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Yeah I'm glad we have Alex here to answer some questions. He probably knows more about suspension than anyone here (being a fabricator and having real racing experience). No need to apologize man, we love to hear your input.
You are probably right Mranlet, I doubt those springs I bought were custom rolled just for me. More likely they were already made, then cut and measured to my specs when I ordered them. I meant custom in the sense that I was able to specify what height, rate, etc I wanted. But not really in the sense that I have a "one off" set of springs. I imagine that would be very expensive. My setup has seperate springs and dampeners (Macpherson Setup). The adjustable pertches sit between the bottom of the spring and the lower A-Arm. They work pretty good and allow the ability to cornerweight, but I think GC overcharges for these pertches. I think they were over $100 from GC. When I got them in the mail it looks like they were just re-packaged and re-badged. I was able to replicate the units with $12 in parts from a stock car racing supplier (and a few welds). You could get pre-assembled units for $30 from the same supplier. I have 7 sets of springs (ranging from 500# to 900#) that I can swap in to experiment. Our local track is very bumpy so I've been using the softer springs. I use a set of shortened Carrea dampeners with custom length shafts and custom valving (these are custom "one of"). Alex might have heard of Carrea out of GA, they were involved with Porshe USA at one point and time. These dampeners were previously used by Reese Cox to race his 3rd Gen Camaro @ SCCA A-sedan series Robeling Road (Savanna GA) and he even set a record in 1997. Rumor has it, he had over $2,000 into these dampeners before they were sold to the guy I bought them from (freshly rebuilt, and mad cheap). Only problem is I have to somehow get ahold of Reese and ask him what his ride height was to take full advantage of these dampeners (they were built for a specific ride height, and I dont know what it was). Lucky for me I have some special made strut mounts with a raised top, so if I want to lower the car more than Reese did, I can do it and still prevent bottoming out.Comment
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I meant cornerweighting, I just couldn't remember the term.Originally posted by mranlet
or compensate for an imbalanced car by raising individual ones
I know of Carrea and their dampers are pretty much legendary! I'm sure Reese is somewhere online, those domestic guys sure love the high-tech gadgets (hinting at how Alex and Andy JUST got a computer
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Do you have some speedy way to change springs or do you throw your F-body up on a lift or jackstands and do it?
My feeling is that Ground Control totally rapes you on the price of their parts, especially springs. A used set of GC springs and perches would have cost me $260 while I could get an entire Zeal setup including adjustable dampers for only $100 more!
I still lust for Daiyama's or Silk Roads though...
Good thread here but it needs more rice
...that's better, now it's consistent with the rest of the board
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Great link Alex. Proper balance is definately important. Only problem for me is getting ahold of some scales. I'm hoping I can rent them from this guy who brings them down to the track.
To change my spring rates I have to put the car up on jacks and swap em. It could be done at the track (without a spring conpressor even), but I usually run what I brung (change it up next session).Comment
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Sometimes you can get a set of 4 750-lb postage scales on E-bay for not that much money, but you'd have to supply your own ramps or jack your car up on each corner...
I could use bathroom scales for my CRX - gotta love light weight!
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