Okay last installment!!!
A: Addco sways front and maybe rear ( and polybushings )
B: Techno Toy Tuning Camber Plates
C: Supra wheels or other similar size wheels ( rewinds, etc ) with 195/60r14 tires
D: Limited Slip Differential ( PG Powerbrute, Kaaz, etc. )
E: Alignment Settings
We will go over this stuff today, hopefully i will have time for it all
Addco sways ( and polybushings )http://www.addco.net/Okay swaybars can be added at ANY stage of your suspension. Even if your suspension is completely stock, they can greatly affect how your car handles. Using both front and rear swaybars can increase your amount of grip in corners by incredible amounts. Although if you are setting your car up for a tight track ( like autocross ) or drifting you dont want to really increase all around grip. What i do in this instance ( like everytime i go to autocross, i install my stock rear swaybar, inplace of the aftermarket Addco unit. This increases front grip, and actually reduces rear grip, to allow the rear end to rotate a little more, and help me get through the tight parts of the course easier.
Addco sways come with Polyurethane bushings for the endlinks, and for the spots where the swaybars connect to the rear end/chassis. This is a good start for polyurethane bushings BUT in order to get the most out of your car, you need to replace ALL of the 20 year old decrepid bushings in your car. This includes the front control arm bushings ( one each side ), rear control arm bushings ( also called 4 links ), the panhard bar, and all of the swaybar mounting bushings ( which, if you have the addco kit, you dont need to worry about ).
http://www.energysuspension.com/When installing these components, alot of times, to reduce the amount of work, you need a press, but they can all be replaced by hand. It just takes alot of cursing and a few beers and you will get the bushings out. Installing the bushings is much easier in most cases, but make sure that you use PLENTY of poly grease to help make the installation easier, and most importantly it will reduce squeaking. You may say that squeaking wouldnt bother you, but where there is squeaking, there is binding, and any binding of suspension components is BAD. It can make your suspension not work right, and in some cases it can cause damage to the components themselves. So... use lube... trust me on this one, and there is never too much. As stated before Energy Suspension makes a full set of bushings for us, also a company called Super Pro makes bushings for our cars, and they can be found at 185performance. I would use Energy suspension tho, because i think Super pro bushings are made in Australia, so customer service may suck...
Techno Toy Tuning Camber PlatesOkay, Camber Plates. These can ONLY be used, if you have Coilovers in the front. They WILL NOT WORK if you are using lowering springs ( dobs, eibach, etc. ) because they actually get rid of the upper spring perch, and well, you need that lol. These allow you to dial in more camber on the front of your car which will help you on turn-in and corner grip. If you get this kit though, i would suggest buying the upper hat kit from them aswell. It uses needle bearings on the upper spring perch to allow the spring perch to turn smoothly on the camber plate. It just allows smoother operation and makes everything nice.
One thing about the camber plates though. THey are quite a bit thinner than the stock upper hats. They will lower your car another 1.5 inches or so. THis isnt a bad thing, because you have coilovers and you can just raise them back up 1.5 inches in order to get back to your origional height.
http://technotoytuning.com/^ order directly through them!
Supra wheels or other similar size wheels ( rewinds, etc ) with 195/60r14 tiresOkay wheels and tires. Touchy subject, especially with you GTS guys and your truck tires...
But to get the most out of this suspension setup, you want to get a good set of wheels, Like the supra wheels. These wheels are wider, and have a much better offset than the stock wheels ( the 14x5.5's ) this extra width and the increased offset will actually give you a wider overall track. It wont give you like a Foot of anything but it could give you about a 4 inch wider track from front to back, allowing yet again, more grip. Wheels like the konig rewinds ( which can be ordered through Techno Toy Tuning ) are the same size ( 14x7 ) as the supra wheels, but they have an even better offset, which will give you a little bit more track thus increasing grip more too. The konigs are actually even lighter than the supra wheels, and we all know that lighter is better! The supra wheels are great wheels though. THey arent too heavy, they have a good width, a good offse, and they look great, so dont knock the supras until you try them.
Tires... I have gotten alot of grief on this subject. and i think, that for supra wheels, or konigs ( the 14x7 wheels ) the tire size of 195/60r14 is the best size that you can go with. With this size tire, sidewall flex is decreased by alot ( compared to much wider tires ) and this allows the turn in to be crisper. I did not like the feel of 225/60r14's. They made my car feel terrible, like it wasnt in full contact with the road. the 195's are crisp, and if you have your suspension set up good, they can offer more grip than you will ever need. Also, this tire size is pretty much the biggest tire size that you can go to with out having rubbing issues with the front fenders.
ooh yea and NEVER stagger your tires. like 195/60's up front and say 215/60's in the back. Unless you have alot of power ( which MOST of us really dont ) or you have your suspension set up to take advantage of the wider rear tires ( which you shouldn't ) you do not need the extra width at all. This setup will make you Understeer ( plow ) into corners, and that is just no fun at all, and it makes you really slow in the turns....
Limited Slip Differential ( PG Powerbrute, Kaaz, etc. )This should clear up alot of things. But this can be added at any stage of your suspension upgrades. From stock to wild, this stuff will help.
The Pg Power Brute Limited Slip differential is a clutch type unit that is GREAT for the track, autocross, and everyday. It offers tons of grip ( or allows you to slide easier
), reduces understeer, and eliminates the "one wheel peel" that all of us Gt Lovers have fallen in Loathe with. This MUST be installed by a professional though, it is really not something that is easy to install yourself. I would suggest going to a local 4x4 shop and seeing if they can set it up for you. I got mine done for about 200 dollars and i havent had a problem with it at all.
The Kaaz limited slip differential for the Ae86, is a touchy subject. It has not been tried BUT it SHOULD work. It can work with ae86's that origionally did not have limited slip differentials ( in this case the ae86 owner would have to shave a bit off the ends of the axles in order to get the limited slip from another LSD equipped ae86 to fit, just like we have to do to make a LSD from a ae86 work in our cars ). I do not know if we need the Zenki or the Kouki differential, but it is whichever one can accept axles with 23 splines. Once again, i have personally not tried this but it SHOULD work without a problem.
Alignment SettingsOkay, after you install any major suspension component i would suggest getting your car aligned. This will make sure that everything is setup the way it is supposed to and it will make your car handle like it is supposed to.
With the basic setup i would suggest getting a stock alignment. all stock settings, and you will be good to go. This is actually a pretty good setting for all levels, but when you are racing i would suggest going a little more custom on your settings.
these are my settings right now
camber: -2 degrees
caster: stock
toe: 0
i really like how my car handles at this alignment setting, but on the highway the car does seem a bit twitchy, and this is because of the toe setting. At autocross speeds this really helps improve front end grip, and when i am driving through backroads it really feels good. But i would go more into the alignment settings, but this is something that you should figure out on your own. Each person has a different taste in what they want, and a different goal that they are trying to accomplish so this is something that you must figure out yourself.
That ends this little write up, and well, i just want to tell you guys that this is just a BASIC write up. Like i said with the alignment, i have gone by my personal tastes in how this car should handle, and that is nuetral. Everyone has different goals, so you may want to do some trial and error to help make YOUR car handle the way YOU want, not the way I want, even though my way is amazing
So what do you guys think!? Good?
