RE: Understeer

["Scott Williams" <sfwilliams@home.com>]

> Could my wishbone bushes degrading over time be causing this - The car
> already has a slight shimmy mid corner which somebody told me was the
> wishbone bushes, especially the rear one breaking down

Yup, I'd definitely check the bushings. They're easy to replace and even new
OEM make a great difference. Of course, I'd go with some spiffy delrin-types
but that is up to you.

> So would you recommend something like Eibach ARB's being thicker than
> standard.

ARB is not part of my working vocabulary. What is this? Oh wait, you mean
"anti-roll bar"? Okay, then yes you absolutely need to go this route. Some
will say that for track use you should run extremely hard front sprins with
no bar and then use a monster bar in the back. This set up will give you
great balance on the track (steady state cornering) but you'll be losing out
on the street/autocross (which demands transient maneuverability). Your
tuning method should reflect your driving priority. Keep in mind that front
springs stiff enough to keep the camber from changing radically will be too
harsh for most folks on the street.

> I am wondering whether making the front harder will lose me traction.

To a degree yes and no; see the comments above.

> Will thicker Arb's allow the improved turn in feel whilst allowing me
> the traction of a soft front set up. Ideally I wish to leave the rear
> hard so that under acceleration the car stays planted rather than do
> the speedboat.

>From a high level I'd have to answer "yes" to your question. Turn in feel is
a subjective matter, though. You may wish to experiment with a teeny bit of
toe out -front or rear -to aid rotation. Be careful and expect accelerated
tire wear.

> Come off the gas - Say what!!!!!

Go in like a lamb and come out like a lion, man! Exit speed is everything
(but I'm sure you know that already...).

> Seriously this is a problem that has manifested itself over the
> weekend.

Unless you've hit a major pothole or twisted the frame somehow, your problem
has to be due to wear in some portion of the suspension. Your bushings are
the very first place that I'd look.

> Would an improved lower struut brace - mine is two point only -
> help me such as a triangulated one and an upper strutt brace and even
> a rear upper brace.

These will help in general but shouldn't directly alleviate your problem.
The rear brace will aid in trail braking stability, though. Stress bars
aren't your cure but they're good medicine, nonetheless.

> Perhaps i'm just piling in too fast ;-)

Or, maybe you're apexing too early? Who knows?! Give us a report on your
results. Cheerio.
_________________________________________
Scott F. Williams
Account Manager
GENUiTY
1 Liberty Plaza
20th Floor
NY, NY 10006

scott.williams@genuity.com
212.416.1745


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