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thinmyster
04-20-2005, 10:06 AM
hey what suspension setups are you guys currently running? stock/aftermarket (spring+struts) (coilovers)?

Redlyne_mr2
04-20-2005, 10:14 AM
Cusco zero 2 coilovers for the track and for the street i replace the front cusco coilovers with tein HA's as they the are more suited to rough roads.

jvillain
04-20-2005, 11:35 AM
Tein STech springs, Tokico shocks, TRD bars, Sarge bushings and end links. -2 degrees of camber front and rear. I need another 1/4 degree in the back.

Here is a picture of my co-driver wheeling my car around at a test and tune last weekend. This is hard on the gas pulling big G's with R compound rubber.

It is just getting ready to lift the front inside but there is very little body roll. Look at how far the rear tire is being pulled in and that is at ~37psi. Some cars going through this section were almost rubbing their fenders on the pavement from roll. My car is very well balanced right now.

http://img23.imageshack.us/img_viewer.php?loc=img23&image=mr23uo.jpg&gal=img23/6738/vette7ay.jpg

Redlyne_mr2
04-20-2005, 11:49 AM
Damn so that was you, I was going to come and talk to you at the test and tune and promote our little club but I had no idea who you were. Nice car btw, it was extremely balanced through the cones, nice and flat around the corners. definitely appeared to be one of the best handling street cars there.

lude_boy93
04-20-2005, 12:23 PM
Eibach Sportlines / Koni Yellows.

thinmyster
04-20-2005, 01:27 PM
okay so for something in the price range of 1000 - 1200 what would be the best set up for my car. Mostly for street use but something competetive for down the road?

thinmyster
04-20-2005, 01:31 PM
I was looking at the tein basic damper "kit" any comments?
http://www.tein.com/badamp.html

jvillain
04-20-2005, 06:54 PM
The Tein stuff from a bang for the buck perspective is very good. A really good driver would never mistake them for say a TODA setup, but any one who doesn't compete regularly wouldn't know the difference. Besides if you are gonna drive on Calgary streets you don't want to trash a set of really expensive coil overs.

The up side to this setup over the basic spring shock setup is the springs and the shocks are built to work together. You also have the ability to alter your ride height and it is cheap to swap out the springs for different spring rates if you want. You also get the ability to do corner weighting.

One possible down side though is that the spring comes down lower than it does on a stock strut setup. Because of that you may not be able to get as much rubber in the wheel well as you would like. That is especially true if you are running a lot of negative camber.

Lots of people talk about their car handling like a go cart. Mine really does and I am not running as advanced a system as what you are looking at. The key is stiffing up the parts that count and then doing lots of tuning. I got 4 alignments last year and 5 the year before that.

Let us know what you do.

jvillain
04-20-2005, 07:50 PM
Damn so that was you

There were 2 second gens up there. Mine which was the 91 and midship's which was the 93. After doing a bunch of runs in his I let midship take mine out and he knocked 3 seconds off his time. randedge also had his first gen up there.

Were you running? If so what were you driving? Will you be running all season?

Those Fieros with the V8 swaps were entertaining, especially the got that also had NOS.

thinmyster
04-20-2005, 10:43 PM
so its not really worth upgrading to their "type flex" damper system? is this for a harcore setup.. its near double the price!
http://www.tein.com/flexdamp.html

Redlyne_mr2
04-21-2005, 06:54 AM
Originally posted by jvillain


There were 2 second gens up there. Mine which was the 91 and midship's which was the 93. After doing a bunch of runs in his I let midship take mine out and he knocked 3 seconds off his time. randedge also had his first gen up there.

Were you running? If so what were you driving? Will you be running all season?

Those Fieros with the V8 swaps were entertaining, especially the got that also had NOS.
I was just watching this time around, Ill be out there all season with my 944 once I bring it out from storage. Yeah it was cool to see 2 sw20s out there. I always see ambrose there but that was the first time i ever saw you there.

thinmyster
04-21-2005, 08:37 AM
Cusco zero 2 coilovers for the track
WOW :eek: :eek: Big baller haha

Ek9Max
04-21-2005, 09:15 AM
eibach sportlines/koni yellows

jvillain
04-21-2005, 09:25 AM
Some thing I forgot to mention is that the shocks in the Tein Basic kit aren't adjustable. That is something that I need but I don't know if you do.


so its not really worth upgrading to their "type flex" damper system?

If you want to do any form of racing where you are gonna be turning and want to be competitive in the upper classes I would go for the flex.

Even though it is twice the price the flex system is still fairly entry level in the grand scheme of coil overs. They would be enough to run with any one you are gonna come up against in Calgary outside of a national event.

One nice/bad thing about Teins is they are steel. That means more weight but they are tougher on the street.

jvillain
04-21-2005, 09:35 AM
I always see ambrose there but that was the first time i ever saw you there.

I have had a job that has owned me almost every second of my life for the last 5 years. When they moved most of the events up to Red Deer I couldn't leave town because I was on call so couldn't go. Now that I am not working there any more I hope to make all of the events this year.

My lack of racing really showed at the test and tune as I was the one that over cooked it in the decreasing radius turn. :banghead:

Any chance your duece will be ready for the Corvette challenge up in Edmonton? I have been trying to put an all MR2 team together to go up there and whoop some Vette ass. :burnout:

thinmyster
04-21-2005, 10:12 AM
so for that price range would there be a better setup?
and the basic is not dampening adjustable just ride height adjustable i guess thats what you mean hey?

jvillain
04-22-2005, 09:40 AM
okay so for something in the price range of 1000 - 1200 what would be the best set up for my car. Mostly for street use but something competetive for down the road?

Taking that statement here are the questions I would ask.

First is if you want to be competitive down the road, what kind of racing are you looking at? Are you looking at solo1, solo2, drag racing etc.

How competitive do I want to be? Do you want to stay in the stock classes do I want to build up to a higher level etc. What will the rules allow me to run in the class I want to run in.

What does my car really need to be competitive at that level? Can I afford that?

Now lets look at them seperatly.

The first is pretty easy. If you want to do some kind of road racing like solo1, solo2, hill climbs etc you need one type of setup. If you want to do drag racing then some thing else is appropriate. For the rest of this I am going to assume some type of road racing because that is what I know. If you are looking at drag racing then some one who knows more than me should chip in.

The second one is where it gets interesting. More people run in the stock classes so there is more competition. It is also a lot cheaper to run in the stock classes. The higher a class you want to run in the stiffer your suspension is going to have to get and the less fun it will be on the street. Also just because you start in one class does not mean you can't move up later. If you want to run in any class except modified then there are limits on what you are allowed to run. That may make your decision very easy.

The third one is the one that hurts. This is where you sit down and ask your self what do I really need to compete? This answer may not be as simple or as pleasant as you think.

I want to run in the SM2 class in solo2. SM2 is just one step down from a fully modified car. It also means that I need to be able to compete with any closed wheel car that shows up. That includes 911s etc. We pull drivers from all over Alberta to our events so the competitionis tough. Lets go through the usual mods and see what from a bang for the buck perspective will make me more competitive this year?

Top of the list? Taking one of the evolution driving schools and more track time. (ouch that hurt). The truth is though that my driving is giving up more time than all the mods in the world could give me. I would say that is true for most drivers.

Even if your car isn't built to the level you want it to be, start competing today. There is no valid excuse why you can't. You can always buy parts later but you can't buy experience. A single solo2 event will teach you more about your driving and your car than 5 years of street driving. It will help you answer what do I need. Every time I run I learn some thing important.

Next is normally R compound rubber. The most expensive suspension in the world won't do as much for you as a set of proper R compond rubber and the wheels to mount them on. You don't have to run R compound rubber in solo2 but if you want to be competitive you do.

In my case I have Rs but I also have more power than I can stick so I need more rubber. The problem is though that I can't fit more rubber without rolling my fenders or other radical surgery that will have to wait till atleast the fall.

An alignment is next. Any money you spend on suspension is just being flushed down the drain if you don't have atleat a factory alignment. Here is a question if only 5% of your tire is actually touching the ground in a corner, how much benifit are you getting from your $5000 suspension? Don't laugh. I rode in a neon on factory tires that rolled the tires over so far that the chalk marks were scraped off of the side walls to within an inch of the rim. At that point it was driving entirely on the sidewall.

If your alignment does not match the setup of the car you are not getting the full benifit of your parts. Crash bolts at $3 a pop are one of the great deals in racing. You need 4 to go around the car and another alignment. But the extra camber you gain is worth far, far more.

Alignment also includes inflating your tires properly. Not only does it help prevent rollover but it also can be used to help balance the car. Best of all it is free. Most of the time we are running within a couple of pounds of the max allowable tire preasure. Sokme guys one year were running theirs so hight that they blew the glass out of the front of the tire gauge. They were running good times to.

Next is a 4 point harness. If while you are driving you find yourself sucked up againt the glass of the passenger door (in a NA not a JDM), you probably aren't as focused as you could be on nailing the exit of the next turn. When you go road racing in any form you should expect a lot of Gs. If you have never ridden in a car with R compond rubber you would be surprised how hard the car wants to throw you around. If you aren't anchored properly you are gonna be spending more time trying to brace yourself than you will driving.

Finally we get to suspension. It seems like a long way down the list doesn't it. So what do you need for a suspension? The best person to answer that is you. One of the best ways to answer that is to have taken the car out to the track and run it hard. That will start pointing out your weaknesses very quickly.

I have let a few of the top drivers run my car lately and they all agree my car should be competing for FTD at every event exluding the open wheel cars. Yet I am running on a pretty cheap suspension. Running $5,000 coilovers would probably make me slower than my current setup. There are 2 reasons for that. First I would have to run narrower rubber and second I would have to start tuning my system all over again. Until I am able to do some thing about getting more rubber I am just as well off without coil overs.

Keep something in mind. A cheap system you can tune is a lot more effective than an expensive sytem that you can't. A 48 way system adjustable for compresion and rebound with endless spring rate settings etc is real cool. If you know how to set all that stuff up. The point I am trying to make is maybe you need an expensive suspension, maybe you can use the money some where else. Maybe you want to start with some thing more basic today and move up later when you can take better advantage of it. Only you can answer that. Maybe your best spent money would be a book. Your call.

In my opinion you need 4 things to make these cars handle. Stiffer springs, shocks that can control the springs, stiffer sway bars and poly bushings. It isn't until you have all 4 that the car truly comes to life. The beauty of the MR2 is how well it will handle after those simple mods. Don't worry about strut tower bars etc until you have done those 4 things and dialed them in.

Also make sure all your stock suspension stuff is in good shape. If your tie rods or ball joints are hosed then nothing else really matters.

Next comes power. I redid my entire fuel system last winter. I also swapped out the stock exaust for a 3" TKO. After I took my car out of storage this spring I started road tuning. I haven't been able to get on the dyno yet so I have been unable to tune above 10psi and my timing is running fairly retarded. I usually run 17psi on my CT-20b with more timing so I am probably down 60 - 70 hp from where I could be.

Yet we could not stick all of the power that I have now. The up side is that I have no turbo lag at all right now. If all I want to do is run solo2 then after I am done tuning there is really no point in adding more power because I can't use it. If I want to do solo1 or hill climbs then there is a case to be made for more power. Again if I can get more rubber under the car then I can run more power.

Next is the brakes. The great news is that these cars have hellacious brakes from the factory. I threw in new rotors and a set of porterfield pads last winter. One thing that stood out at the test and tune is that I also need steel braided lines. Atleast they are cheap. But even a fully stock brake system will out brake pretty well any car out there.

I will probably upgrade to the 95+ 4 channel JDM brakes next winter. Going to a big brake kit would be nice but that usually means having to go to 17" wheels. When you do that trying to find R compound rubber that will fit becomes very difficult and expensive.

Thje last thing is weight savings. There is no part of your cars performance that doesn't get better when you save weight. You can't say it enough. You will be hard stressed to find more than 200 - 400 pounds to save on your car. But when you do find it your acceleration gets better, your handling gets better, your braking gets better etc.

My last point up top is can I afford all this? Trying to build your car to the max in all of these areas at once takes a huge anount of money. If you know how to use it a top end TODA coil over will do more for you than the Tein Flex. The Tein Basic and a spring/strut combo will do equal but different things for you. On a spring/strut my shocks are adjustable on the basic your spring rates and corner weighting are. On a better system all of it is. I can tell you that my car handles great but it will also rattle the teeth out of your head on the highway. It also hunts like a hound dog.

So finally getting back on the topic of this thread. What is the best setup for your car? Look at the list above and decide where you really want to spend your money. Then what to get becomes an easier question.

jvillain
04-22-2005, 10:03 AM
so for that price range would there be a better setup?
and the basic is not dampening adjustable just ride height adjustable i guess thats what you mean hey?

My setup is almost half the cost of what the basic is. However there is a major problem with my setup and the basic setup. Both if set up right will make you very competitive but if you find you need to stiffen your shocks or I want to change spring rates or do corner weighting then we both have to sell our systems to do that.

I have never run on the basics but if they show up and the damping is to stiff you will spend a lot of time in the air going over bumps and the ride will be really harsh on the street. If they are to soft then your car will spend more time bouncing and sloshing around. In either case you are hosed. Another down side is I don't know if the damper is rebuildable. If it isn't you are throwing the whole setup away in a couple of years after the shock wears out. The up side is the system should be fairly well tuned. But tuned to what is the question.

In my case if I want to change my ride height, spring stiffness, corner weight or change my rebound seperatly from my compression then I need to swap out at least part of my setup.

If you get into some thing like the flex system it is definitly rebuildable and you will have the adjustability you need for pretty well any situation.

stealth
04-23-2005, 07:54 PM
When is this vette competion here in Edmonton?

I may have to try for the first time some of this autox.

jvillain
04-25-2005, 09:47 AM
The corvette (http://www.corvetteclub.com/Events.htm) challenge is June 18.

If you are up in Edmonton and would like to try some solo2 the events up there are run by ASA (http://www.telusplanet.net/~jamiefox/) . You can check out their scedule.

The Corvette challenge requires teams of 4 and most people are looking for other drivers with lots of experience and fast cars.

For a normal solo2 event any one with a car that is in good working condition and has a helmet that meet the specs can run. The Calgary club even has loaner helmets.

stealth
04-25-2005, 04:25 PM
O ok sounds good.

I have only been active in the drag racing aspect of motorsports since i got the MR2.

Redlyne_mr2
04-25-2005, 11:03 PM
I agree with absolutely everything Jvillain said. His setup is perfect to be a competitive car in solo2 yet still comfortably on the street. Jvillain let me know when you get the 95+ brakes, if you find 2 sets Ill get in on the buy with you

thinmyster
06-11-2005, 08:51 PM
I think im going to go with the tokico illumina and eibach prokit combo... I think it would be cool to say i have "coilovers" but not really worth all the hassle or money.

But ill keep you guys updated... Im trying to do some reseach right now but ill need to do the upgrade right away...

keeping that in mind ive ruled out the sportlines because the drop in them seems way to low for street use. And no coilovers but anything else im still open too.

thinmyster
06-11-2005, 09:18 PM
hey where did you guys buy your suspension from aswell.. Im not sure if i should order over the internet or just go to a local shop? which one would have the best deal?

thinmyster
06-11-2005, 09:39 PM
actually what would be better the illumina's or koni yellows? with pro kit springs?

jvillain
06-13-2005, 10:51 AM
I don't know about the eibach's but the Tokikos require you to remove the side panel every time you want to adjust the passenger rear panel.
I don't know if you are planning on tweaking them much so this may not be an issue.

Do a seach of froogle and see what kind of price you can find.
http://froogle.google.com

jvillain
06-14-2005, 03:07 PM
I am pulling my TEIN STechs out tomorrow and can let you have them for $130 if you are interested. They are ~ a year old.

thinmyster
06-14-2005, 11:32 PM
how low do they make you sit.??
why are you taking them out?

jvillain
06-15-2005, 08:58 AM
They are only 1/2 an inch lower than most other aftermarket springs. I have taller and wider than stock tires and they have never rubbed. They are fine on the street as long as you have a slightly stiffer than stock set of shocks. They don't need to be rock hard though.

I am pulling them out because I need some thing stiffer for the track. We have a G meter we use at the events and we were pulling 1.4 Gs at the last event. With the TRD sways front and rear and the shocks set to 5, I still have to much roll for some events. Unless you are running R compound tires though that won't be an issue for you.

Here is a side shot.

http://members.shaw.ca/jvillain/images/f3d270cb.jpg

thinmyster
06-15-2005, 10:54 AM
yeah its just that i dont want to go too low.. I scrape my bumper enough as it is.. let me get back to yah...
but how long and how many k's have they seen so far?
and where did you purchase them from?

jvillain
06-15-2005, 01:14 PM
I bought them off the net. They have less than 7000km on them.
Teins have a life time no droop warantee.

thinmyster
06-16-2005, 12:34 AM
so are they out of your car?? where are you located and when could i come take a look?

jvillain
06-16-2005, 09:26 AM
I sent you a PM.

jvillain
07-04-2005, 12:23 PM
Just a reminder that if any one wants to see or try an autox without having to go up to Red Deer to do it we are having one of our 2 events this year at Race City on Wednesday night. If you come bring bug spray.

thinmyster
07-04-2005, 03:21 PM
this wed?

jvillain
07-05-2005, 04:17 AM
Yup, July 6.

thinmyster
07-05-2005, 08:44 AM
im off work at eight im not sure if this works though?

jvillain
07-05-2005, 01:13 PM
If I remember right we start setup at 5pm, course walk can usually start around 5:30, then we get rolling around 6pm and then stay out until the sun goes down. Depends on how many people show up. I've had to turn the head lights on a few times to do my last runs.

Guess it depends on how far your work is from the track. You could probably make it to see some runs but you wouldn't be able to run yourself because tech closes before we start running.

thinmyster
07-05-2005, 08:59 PM
yeah im in midnapore.. who all is planning to attend?