coilovers ?

:? So its the spring rate not the dampers which are under damped Our kid was following me the other night and he said that it looked awfull bouncing like mad,
Surly though Dave this is a fault from the manefacturer, If the kit was made for the GTA it should be right

Are you sure there isnt something else wrong with your car, I wouldnt have thought it was that bad. You have got the right springs on the right end of the car?? (just checking!)

Not to bad going down the York bypass which isnt exactly a race circut but going down our road its awfull pitches like mad Springs on the right end of the car i hope so

Annnnnnnnnnddd the ART sticker is peeling off

I've got one you can have, I've got Meca Parts comptetion stickers on my Race Beast

the Guinness Pilot gave them to me on monday...... aparently he can get loads of em

Annnnnnnnnnddd the ART sticker is peeling off

I've got one you can have, I've got Meca Parts comptetion stickers on my Race Beast

the Guinness Pilot gave them to me on monday...... aparently he can get loads of em

Now youve got the stickers isnt it about time you started competing then?!

No......... the stickers will peel off after more than one lap .








Got to go to bed now ,up early to bake some buns

up early to bake some buns

down here, we buy buns from the shops. Sleep well.

Annnnnnnnnnddd the ART sticker is peeling off

I've got one you can have, I've got Meca Parts comptetion stickers on my Race Beast

the Guinness Pilot gave them to me on monday...... aparently he can get loads of em

Now youve got the stickers isn't it about time you started competing then?!

And the car..... no sorry make that 2 cars wiv no bolt on bling innit

Maybe I could stretch to the odd 1 Lap..... oh hold on...... I heard you did 2 laps of Knockhill proper exotic that! you get more laps in on a WSR parade oops not you though eh

sorry mate I did more laps of Mas du Clos on monday than you'll do all on all circuits all year....... and a few of em were in a 3.0 V6 Spider

Circuite de Bresse 28th May come an ava go if ya thinks ya fast enough,

but will ya bling pipe pass the noise regs

Yes, but you've not seen my buns luv

You want me ART sticker or what

bring ya buns to the circuit, we need a caterer there if, Claire don't come

I thought a 'pattering' or bobbing front end was just a trait of rear engined cars. Porsche 911s are said to have a similar characteristic.

Annnnnnnnnnddd the ART sticker is peeling off

I've got one you can have, I've got Meca Parts comptetion stickers on my Race Beast

the Guinness Pilot gave them to me on monday...... aparently he can get loads of em

Now youve got the stickers isn't it about time you started competing then?!

And the car..... no sorry make that 2 cars wiv no bolt on bling innit

Maybe I could stretch to the odd 1 Lap..... oh hold on...... I heard you did 2 laps of Knockhill proper exotic that! you get more laps in on a WSR parade oops not you though eh

sorry mate I did more laps of Mas du Clos on monday than you'll do all on all circuits all year....... and a few of em were in a 3.0 V6 Spider

Circuite de Bresse 28th May come an ava go if ya thinks ya fast enough,

but will ya bling pipe pass the noise regs

I wouldnt want to waste all that money just playing.....besides I should be at a proper race....but I have to go to a bloody wedding!!!!

You wouldnt bother either if you had done something competetive.....once youve tried it you wont go back to those trackdays! I speak to so many people at events who have done trackdays but say going round and round just doesnt give the same adrenalin rush.

I wouldnt want to waste all that money just playing.....besides I should be at a proper race....but I have to go to a bloody wedding!!!!

You wouldnt bother either if you had done something competetive.....once youve tried it you wont go back to those trackdays! I speak to so many people at events who have done trackdays but say going round and round just doesnt give the same adrenalin rush.

oh dear...... blow your budget for the year..... sorry...... you don't go to proper races do you? 2 laps and that's it...... I did the long drive for 5 laps cr@p last year..... 5 minutes of track time don't do it for me I'm afraid..... you need to take off the blinkers and get out of the UK ....... you'd be very surprised.......

over here trackdays aren't like the Sh1t you go to in the UK expensive and boring....... you can overtake on corners...... race whoever you like........ a bit like the LMP1 car the Guinnes Pilot was storming round the circuit in, and of course he nailed us can get a bit hairy at times as it was wet and the crazy french were driving like it was a dry circuit but just after lunch a guy totalled an RX8 and then a few nutters who turned up with sliks decided to go home..... then on to open Pitlane for the rest of the day Superb, got plenty of tracktime in and a good day was had by all except for geezer with the RX8 of course

It all comes down to diffrent stroke for diffrnt folks... I have done a few track days in my time, both here and in France, reasonable fun and a bit of a laugh.
But IMHO trackdays don't compare at all with running the car in a competition, sitting on the line trying to work out how to improve the start, to find the extra tenth to beat someone or just to better your time for a sprint or hillclimb. The discipline of racing takes it to another level, and all that stops me doing it again is the cost.

For me four runs up a hill under pressure is immeasurably better than blasting round a circuit for half a day. It is something to do with it having more purpose I think.

For me four runs up a hill under pressure is immeasurably better than blasting round a circuit for half a day. It is something to do with it having more purpose I think.

whatever flicks your switch mate.....

but I can cane it up a demanding mountain hilclimb route whenever i want, they're in every direction from my house.

the circuit for me is a change and a way of using the car for the purpose it was built for

Back on the subject of the springs, I find it strange that some people seem to be linking the way a GTA bobs about to soft springs. I would say its the opposite...go down to MacDonalds on any given night and watch the chavs in Saxos and Corsas that theyve dropped by 4" and put unimaginably hard suspension onto and see them bounce and bob!
The GTA is going to look a little different on the road to most cars because of the weight hanging out the back.
Ive got the DG coilover set up and I'll admit the front could do with a few more pounds in the springs to prevent diving but other than that its pretty good. If you look at the latest video of my car at Knockhill, its very neutral round the corner...no big under or oversteer just nice drift round. Alter either end too much and that'll be wrecked...make it all too stiff and you will loose grip. The car with the stiffest suspension in the world is probably the original Corvette.....they could spin in a straigh line they got it so wrong!
This months 'Classic Cars' contains a fairly basic article on handling and one of the first things it says is "Already we're getting to a key point:stiff is bad. We asked 2 more handling legends to explain their recipes for a great handling car, and they too exploded the stiff-cars-handle-best myth"
You need some roll to keep the outside wheel planted on any given corner.....unless youve got a nice light car thats been designed or properly set up to take very stiff suspension....and we havent!!!!!!

Coilover Suspensions


Why are they so popular and do they really improve the handling of a car. In theory, when you lower your car, you also lower it center of gravity therefore reducing body roll, thus improving its handling. However, handling characteristic of the car are not only determined by the center of gravity. You also have to consider the dampening system, spring rate, condition of the road, side-walls of your tires, unsprung weight, tire grip, geometry of the suspension and so on. Right now we are only interested in the ever so popular coilover set up. There are a lot of aftermarket manufacturers coming up with different brands and types of coilovers. Coilovers are popular with racers due to their adjustability. You can adjust the right height and in some cases you can also adjust the dampening thus produce superb handling.

There are two type of coilovers. They are true coilovers and sleeve type coilovers. True coilovers are a set up where the shocks have a threaded-body, when as the other one utilize a 'sleeve type' thread. One of the older, well-known manufacturer for coilovers is H&R. Now, there are different companies such as Tein, Intrax, etc also making coilovers. However, Ground Control was the pioneer of sleeve designed coilovers. We have no doubt about the benefits of true coilovers. But what about the sleeve type'? Does it work? In theory, it works the same as true coilovers. In real life, it doesn't even come close to the non coilovers shocks and springs setups.

Ground Control, the pioneer in sleeve design technology' utilizes aluminum body sleeve with Eibach race springs. The base of the spring is supported with a single rotational plate with an Allen screw-locking device. What's wrong with this design you ask? Like all 'sleeve type' coilovers, there is good chance for the sleeve to rotate and thus make the spring slip. This can happen to the enthusiast drivers who like to push the car to the limit. The other thing that worries me is the Allen screw-locking device. A screw that small is given the duties to hold the tension and twist that are generated by the car when an enthusiast drives it.
Weapon-R Tuner 2 coilover conversion. This one is basically the same with Ground Control except it added the extra locking plate (with the same allen screw locking it in place) supposedly for added security.

Skunkworks and Arospeed. These two companies utilize true coilover type locking devices. Double plates interlocking each other. This is by far the best set up yet. But how bout the sleeve? Some thing must be done to secure the sleeve.

These disadvantages not only can create clunking noise, but it can also be very dangerous. Imagine this: you are taking corners very fast, relying on that big buck suspension to do it job, when the sleeve/locking plates shifted thus creating a sudden jolt in your suspension (like when your driving thru rough road surface) and therefore lifted your tire of the ground thus losing traction……….
So why is it so popular? Cause it cheap ($249-$399US) compare to true coilovers ($1,200US and up). It looks cool, it's adjustable, and again it makes your car look cool….

Drivers Beware
The proper way to adjust a threaded coil-over suspension involves using a set of scales. The whole idea of this type of suspension adjustability is to equal out the loads on tires (or bias them for circle track) for cornering ability. The fact that you can lower the car with them is just an added benefit but it is NOT their primary function. You should be aware that you can hurt the performance of your car if you don't adjust them at least reasonably close. At best, the car may not corner as well as it used to. At worst, you may change the handling to the point of being dangerous. This sounds like an exageration but with a threaded setup you could load the front right and the left rear tires and create a car that turns left really well, but won't turn right worth a damn. Even, possibly, spinning out. All this with the car sitting perfectly level. You have the suspension, now take the time to set it up right. Find a tyre shop with some corner scales and work with them to adjust tire loading and ride height. The object is to get the cross weights (diagonal weights) even. It's not as important to get the other weights even. It's the cross weights that will sneak up on you.