Setting up suspension mods


civicx3

civicx3

Drop a gear & disappear!
Joined
Jul 22, 2009
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Im starting to build another EG and want to get into fine tuning the suspension to give a great handling car and wondering what other people have done to get the best from their cars

My plan is to remove my sway bars to start with, put the car on meister r coilovers, get some good tires, get it corner weighted and full alignment and then start playing with sway bars and traction bars. Anyone see a problem with this or a better way of fine tuning how you want the car to handle? What camber/toe is best for a b-road car with the odd track day and are adjustable arms really needed to achieve the figures?

From what ive read a front traction bar will keep the tyres more planted on the bends but having never owned a car with one what are peoples experience with them? Good idea to get on a car used for b-roads and the odd track day? Should one be used before playing with sway bars? How will it effect understeer/oversteer?

What have people found the best front/rear sway bar combination is for you? I've got the SiR EG and 96 spec ITR bars so ive got a 24 and 22mm front bar and a 22 and 15mm rear bar to play with

Thrown quite a few questions in there so feel free to pick one and answer it if you can :))
 
I ran a fullrace traction bar on me DC2, would definitely fit one to any car I was serious about the handling on. By far the best £150 (mine was second hand) I spent for making the car go faster.
 
the car hasnt been stock for a long time and i get everyone prefers a car setup differently

Puggie said:
I ran a fullrace traction bar on me DC2, would definitely fit one to any car I was serious about the handling on. By far the best £150 (mine was second hand) I spent for making the car go faster.
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how did it help the car for you? quicker turn in? more/less oversteer?
 
Ive been pondering these traction bars for a while. My only issue with them is how well does the suspension move being held how they do?
 
jesse888 said:
Ive been pondering these traction bars for a while. My only issue with them is how well does the suspension move being held how they do?
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same, it looks like there isnt anything to effect the up and down of the suspension because its just a rose joint at the front connected to the LCA. From what ive read it stops the LCA moving forward and backwards which helps with wheel hop and cornering
 
Yes but as the assembly moves up or down the traction bar is going to follow an arc, trying to push and pull the LCA as it does so.
Is this going to cause a bind once its taken all the slack in the bushes of the LCA?
 
surely would bind if not setup right, hopefully someone on here knows more
 
The pickup point of the traction bar is found by drawing a line through the LCA bushings and that points to where the traction bar mounts the cross member. The other end picks up the LCA laterally awat from this line. This means the bar rotates with the LCA, it never binds and keeps constant tension or compression on the LCA depending how you load it. FullRace have a really good white paper guide on their website.

https://www.full-race.com/articles/traction_bars.pdf

IMHO the effect is just a much more stable front end (even condidering i fitted mine 6 months after a full hardrace rebush) no wheel hop under hard acceleration, just a controlled loss of traction, awesome of rough surfaces. In comparison on hard cornering the front could just be pointed where you wanted it and it was much more stable and controlled.

Awesome mod, even the wife noticed the handling change when i took mine of the dc2.
 
Good info thanks for clearing that up, that link is asking for a password ( for me anyway ) but if it improves traction and cornering speeds especially over rough surfaces im sold

Their well priced compared to others ive seen, did you get yours from the states or is there a UK supplier?

Can it be used with sway bars considering where it mounts to? And do the arms get in the way of anything on the Dc2 such as radiator or manifold?
 
Bolted straight up on the DC2, the front bar picks up on the towing eye mount (unbolt OEM tow eye bracket and bolt the cross brace in its place) then the arms bolt on and run through the LCAs. I think they use the bolts that hold the two parts of the LCA together you you may need slightly longer bolts, or I could be confusing that for when shimmed the arms apart to increase caster a bit (pikey version of the whiteline kit). Nothing interfered with anything on my car. I still had stock ARBs in place.

Mine was second hand so no idea on price.
 
It all depends on your driving style and preference.

For me I like to have a little bit of roll to allow 'feel' before the car steps out at the rear. All too often people buy coilovers that are silly stiff for the road.

A rear ARB made the world of difference on my EK4 for initial turn in.

So many people spend loads of money on suspension bits however spending some money on tuition is the best bang for buck to drive faster with what you have. Improve your skills and they will stick with you.
 
true, i just want to get the best setup and then get used to it, tuition in the car id built would be ideal

will be trying the DC2 24mm / 22mm roll bars soon and heard good things when their bolted to a EG
 
civicx3 said:
true, i just want to get the best setup and then get used to it, tuition in the car id built would be ideal

will be trying the DC2 24mm / 22mm roll bars soon and heard good things when their bolted to a EG
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Give how much praise the DC2 setup gets. I would go for those ARB's, get the suspension setup to a mild setup. Then go for some tuition. People spend lots of money on go faster parts but never invest in the person who is behind the wheel. Tuition is some of the best money I have spent.
 
yeah sounds like the best plan, how much is tuition out of interest?

can anyone tell me if adjustable toe arms are needed? ive got some decent condition oem toe arms and dont want to get adjustable if i dont need them
 
civicx3 said:
yeah sounds like the best plan, how much is tuition out of interest?

can anyone tell me if adjustable toe arms are needed? ive got some decent condition oem toe arms and dont want to get adjustable if i dont need them
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Depends what you want you can get tuition on the road or at racetracks. For a racetrack tuition its about £15 for 20 minutes but you can book them for longer.

Tuition on the road there are numerous people and places. These look good http://catdrivertraining.co.uk/
 
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