KW Variant 3 Settings?
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From: SoFlo
Originally Posted by Taseas,Oct 29 2009, 05:17 AM
Since we managed to get both of you into this conversation... 
May you please give us some advice about how much we can drop the ride height without messing with the RCs, having to use RCAs etc.? I Remember Robi said that 30mm is a tuning point. Using the lower edge of KW's recommended settings my car sits 35mm lower. Although it never hits the bumpstops at this height, since we clarified that raising the car will not have a negative impact on the way the spring operates should I raise it to lets say 25mm drop to be on the safe side ragarding RCs?
-of topic- BillJ, Ohlins are neither cheap or Asian and the do have a separate adjustment for preload. I understand that this is a totally different design, are there any reasons someone would like to use Ohlins instead of KW v3s? (i am referring to the DFV model which does not have separate compression/rebound adjustment, not custom versions which cost a fortune)
May you please give us some advice about how much we can drop the ride height without messing with the RCs, having to use RCAs etc.? I Remember Robi said that 30mm is a tuning point. Using the lower edge of KW's recommended settings my car sits 35mm lower. Although it never hits the bumpstops at this height, since we clarified that raising the car will not have a negative impact on the way the spring operates should I raise it to lets say 25mm drop to be on the safe side ragarding RCs?
-of topic- BillJ, Ohlins are neither cheap or Asian and the do have a separate adjustment for preload. I understand that this is a totally different design, are there any reasons someone would like to use Ohlins instead of KW v3s? (i am referring to the DFV model which does not have separate compression/rebound adjustment, not custom versions which cost a fortune)
I have had the NSX suspension geometry put into a computer model and mapped out the roll center at various ride heights and degrees of roll - to determine the question you are asking as well as where the RCAs will put the suspension geometry at. I have not done this for the S2000.
Let me know what your ride height measured at the jacking points are, and I would venture to say that it is probably fine where they are at now. The more you lower the car, and as your roll centers go even lower, you loose roll resistance and thus the car can roll more than at a higher ride height (to a certain point). If you have really high spring rates (1,000lbs like on some coilovers) then the reduction of roll stiffeness (when slamming your car) isn't as important.
I havn't worked with the Ohlins but I would imagine they are of higher quality than most of the coilovers out there.
Billy
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On my setup, left hand turn has more tendency for the rear to break loose, I have tried to compensate in alignment and uneven perch settings. Either this is the characteristic at the limit or something is wrong with the frame due to the previous spin-out into gravels @90+mph (left hand turn).
A- Distance from Lower bolt to the spring contact area
Fronts A = 14.2"
Left Rear = 9.4", Right Rear = 10"
At this settings:
B (Distance from wheel center to fender edge) heights are:
Left Front (Driver) = 13.5", Right Front = 13.75"
Left Rear = 13.75" and Right Rear = 13.5".
To measure B, I first measure from bottom rim to the fender edge = X. Then B = X - (Rim Diameter /2) . For 17" Rim the outside Rim Diameter is actually 18.5". So B = X - 9.25".
Floor to jack stands height are : 4" Fronts and 4.5" Rears.
215/45/17 Fronts
255/40/17 Rears
NT-01
Front Toes: 0
Left Front Camber : -1.8 ; Right Front Camber: - 1.5
Left Rear Camber/ Toe: -2.9 / .14 (IN) ; Right Rear Camber / Toe: -2.7 / .18 (IN)
A- Distance from Lower bolt to the spring contact area
Fronts A = 14.2"
Left Rear = 9.4", Right Rear = 10"
At this settings:
B (Distance from wheel center to fender edge) heights are:
Left Front (Driver) = 13.5", Right Front = 13.75"
Left Rear = 13.75" and Right Rear = 13.5".
To measure B, I first measure from bottom rim to the fender edge = X. Then B = X - (Rim Diameter /2) . For 17" Rim the outside Rim Diameter is actually 18.5". So B = X - 9.25".
Floor to jack stands height are : 4" Fronts and 4.5" Rears.
215/45/17 Fronts
255/40/17 Rears
NT-01
Front Toes: 0
Left Front Camber : -1.8 ; Right Front Camber: - 1.5
Left Rear Camber/ Toe: -2.9 / .14 (IN) ; Right Rear Camber / Toe: -2.7 / .18 (IN)
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From: ||-|| (()) ||\|| ||)) //\
Asin, did you also crash or just spin? Spinning alone should affect alignment at worst... The machine that my alignment shop has can take cross measurements from the centre of the hubs with the accuracy of less than a mm. You should do something similar to make sure.
BillJ My car sits at 4.3" at both ends.
BillJ My car sits at 4.3" at both ends.
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From: SoFlo
Originally Posted by Taseas,Nov 2 2009, 07:33 AM
Asin, did you also crash or just spin? Spinning alone should affect alignment at worst... The machine that my alignment shop has can take cross measurements from the centre of the hubs with the accuracy of less than a mm. You should do something similar to make sure.
BillJ My car sits at 4.3" at both ends.
BillJ My car sits at 4.3" at both ends.
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From: Plymouth
With stagger I also tried some forward rake and this worked well.
The car was a lot more 'pointy' and loosened the back end on entry / trail braking niceley.
A small lift at the apex also helped rotate the car, this was 12.8" front and 13.2" rear height (wheel centres to fender edges).
Now the car is level and there is a little less turn in response but more mid or exit traction.
Steve
The car was a lot more 'pointy' and loosened the back end on entry / trail braking niceley.
A small lift at the apex also helped rotate the car, this was 12.8" front and 13.2" rear height (wheel centres to fender edges).
Now the car is level and there is a little less turn in response but more mid or exit traction.
Steve
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From: ||-|| (()) ||\|| ||)) //\
Thank you BillJ!
-So what do you think is the lowest (at the jacking points) that someone can go without starting to mess with the RCs?
-Regarding the stiffness, for the road i use 7/9 clicks of rebound because it is the softest i can go without the shock being undervalved. However our roads are VERY bad in Greece and the ride is still harsh on these settings. I have the bump set to 1.5 out of 3 turns. What should i do in order to make the ride better without sacrificing the handling. I will not soften the rebound for sure but what if i soften the bump? Any suggestions?
-So what do you think is the lowest (at the jacking points) that someone can go without starting to mess with the RCs?
-Regarding the stiffness, for the road i use 7/9 clicks of rebound because it is the softest i can go without the shock being undervalved. However our roads are VERY bad in Greece and the ride is still harsh on these settings. I have the bump set to 1.5 out of 3 turns. What should i do in order to make the ride better without sacrificing the handling. I will not soften the rebound for sure but what if i soften the bump? Any suggestions?
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From: SoFlo
I've run KW Clubsports at 3.75" (3 3/4") without any issues.
For street use, I like a little more compression which may increase the harshness a little of the initial hit, but can possibly improve the ride quality by not letting the damper compress as much (as contradicting as that might sound). LA freeways are terrible and I still set the compression 2-3 turns/clicks out from full stiff (0.5 out of 3 -the way you look at it).
Billy
For street use, I like a little more compression which may increase the harshness a little of the initial hit, but can possibly improve the ride quality by not letting the damper compress as much (as contradicting as that might sound). LA freeways are terrible and I still set the compression 2-3 turns/clicks out from full stiff (0.5 out of 3 -the way you look at it).
Billy
