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Re: suspension pros & cons
On Sat, 24 Nov 2001 22:12:42 -0500 "Brian Haygood" <Scirious@hotmail.com>
writes:
>I'll pretty much just chip in with others here, but I'd like to try
>and take
>a little bit of the opinion out of it, and sub-in some enginerd speak.
>
>What makes for bad handling with a car that has been lowered too much:
>-can't get the alignment in spec because the adjustments weren't meant
>to account for that drastic a change
>-shock/strut bottoms out.
Well, not true on both counts. This is your opinion and, you can pretty
much set up a Roc to be on the ground and you wont necessarily have the
problems you describe. Coilovers can set the car at a 3" drop and you CAN
(not that its usable. Just for the point of my reply.) still have 4"
suspension travel. you can compensate for the ride height with high
spring rates. (keeps it from bottoming out and also makes the suspension
work better.)
I would basically agree with your comments in regards to a stock
strut/spring combo.
>The range of shock travel doesn't change
>much with almost any normal suspension modification.
Sure it does. Anytime you use a lowering spring, you are in effect
shortening the spring height which makes the static ride level lower
which in turn moved the shock rod down in the housing. (like my "run on
DeLong" sentence? Props Chris!) Using a coilover will eliminate most of
the rod travel loss of an aftermarket lowering spring. (or worse, cutting
a spring, GADS.)
>As Scott mentioned, big
>bucks can overcome that, but its hardly practical.
Naw. You can get a kit from GC that's in the $400 range. Use it with
whatever shocks you want to save big bucks but if your into the
suspension thing, your already into a set of Bilsteins or Koni's or the
like. it just depends on what your tax bracket looks like for what you
want.
> Stiff
>springs
>are a necessary evil for cars, and certainly makes them feel better and
>transmits "feel" to the driver and instructions from the driver more
>quickly, but when it comes right down to it, the springs should only
>be as stiff as they need be to keep the car from bottoming out.
I completely disagree here. Completely.
>Lower the car 2"
>and it may be nearly impossible to keep the car "suspended" -even with
>super stiff springs. Those stiff springs may feel fine to you, but they
>decrease the ability of the car to keep its weight evenly distributed as
it
>travels over bumps and dips.
Nope, I again completely disagree here too. I get the feeling that you
might be speaking from a textbook point of view and not of one having
experienced driving a Scirocco with a 2" or + drop on stiff springs. I
invite you to come visit me and drive both my 82 Scirocco (with Group G
springs 425#F 250#R spings. 2" drop.) and my 84 Scirocco. (with Neuspeed
Race Springs @ 300#F 175#R springs and 2.5" drop.)
Both cars are not only daily driven cars (my wife drives the 84) but they
also exhibit great handling on most any surface. We do have a wide
variety of road surfaces out here in so-cal. Im sure its nothing like
what all of you 4 seasoners get. Still, id never have a stock
suspensioned VW again. (my GLi has NS Lowering springs too. LOL!!) Its
just a drivers preference thing more than cosmetics.
>So if all you do is race on smooth tracks and drive on really great
quality
>roads, you can probably get away with stiffer springs than those of us
>who drive in the real world.
I dunno. I think this depends on what your definition of "Real World" is.
>Lowering the Center of Gravity is the point of most attempts to lower
>a car
>for performance. This helps reduce load transfer during turns,
>acceleration
>and braking, but if you can't keep your tires on the ground, even the
>theoretical gains of lower CG don't work.
Id say the detriment was more of one that didn't allow the suspension to
work properly. (shock travel.) that's basically it.
> (preference almost never relates to performance, and
>anyone who tells you that a setup works "for them" though it doesn't
>for another is at best relating the poor driving skills of himself or
>someone
>else) -so much for reducing the opinion content, huh! -at least note
>that I
>don't claim to be on the upper end of the good driving scale - I
>pretty much suck in fact.
Well, ive had alot of different setups on VW's over the years. I fell I
might be qualified in posting on this thread. Ive been lucky enough to
have the opportunity to drive alot of different makes and models on a
track environment. Id love to have the brute force of a Z06 Vette mixed
in with the brakes of a 911 and the handling of a Ferrari all in a VW.
(medley of "Super Tramp playing in the background..... Dreamer... nothing
but a dreamer....! )
Reality is, most of what you can do with a VW is actually pretty good
considering how shitty VW's are in the suspension-performance aspects to
begin with.
Anyways. Not flaming anyone here, just seeing some interesting comments I
thought id... uh..... comment on. :)
Shawn Méze
86' Jetta GLi 8V 84' Scirocco 8V 88' Corvette -SS 30-
82' Scirocco GTi -FSP 54- 79' "Project FSP Scirocco"
The Fastest, Quickest, Cleanest and best looking Scirocco(s) in all of
San Diego!
http://www.Geocities.com/MotorCity/Speedway/1308/index.htm
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