Hi all,

I face some balancing problem when I do autocross, in particular those U-shape turn with typical speed around 2nd gear 60 to 70km/h (about 40mph). When it is a right turn I can add throttle in mid-corner and result in a progressive slide which is easily corrected, but when I do exactly the same on a left turn the car either grip hard or suddenly go sideways, in some extreme the car will slide immediately in the turn-in (with a little brake to load the front) phase.

What could be the potential problems? Below is some info of my car;

Year Made: 2001

Suspension: Ohlins DFV single adjustable F10K R8K, running close to stock ride height approx. 10mm lower all round, not corner-weight yet as it is expensive over where I live.

Tyre: F 205/55/R16, R 225/50/R16, which is stock size with RE01R.
(Both rear tyre are worn and need replacement in about a month, by inspection both side are worn out roughly to the same degree)

Alignment:
F 1.7degree, 0 toe
R 2.2degree, 3mm toe-in
(Done 4 months ago, but have done some ride-height adjustment since then, in particular raise the right rear 5mm.)

Rest of the car is stock.

So, what should I check first?
Would it be the ride-height adjustment I have done which screw up the rear alignment? I kind of suspect the right rear's toe-in is off but not entirely sure.

Any ideas? Many thx.

(If I post in a wrong forum please feel free to re-direct me, thx.)

 

check dampers first
and then alignment

 

You really should corner weight the car. Where do you live, I've got some scales lying unused in the garage...

Rob

 

Sorry for the late reply, was busy.

Bor Bor
Those dampers are new, about 3 months old without apparent leakage so chance of a broken damper are small. Thus I don't have access to suspension dyno so there is no way for me to check anyway......
Then again I have check all linkage and suspension bolts last night, everything seems to be in order.
Alignment will be done after changing my tyres, which should be in 2 weeks or so.
(I kind of recognize you name in a HK base forum..... forget it if you have no clue what I am talking about. )

Robrob
Thank you very much for your offer.
Unfortunately I don't actually lived in US.
Then again I hope I'd get it done properly one day.

 

he'll REALLY have to screw up his weights (from ride height) for the car to do that.

he's getting progressive mid-corner on throttle o/s in turns where the driver's side is the loaded tire, and aggressive o/s the other way; that doesn't make sense unless the guy's driving a rhd honda in a rhd country.

Not that I'm saying he doens't have to corner weight the car; speaking of which it blows my mind how you can buy a set of DFVs (which are pretty high end dampers @ 3100 bucks from a certain vendor online), but consider a 4-500 dollar (if that) corner weight job expensive.

and yes, i am from RG

 

How long and how many miles between the time you put the coilovers on and when you aligned the car? If the new springs were still settling, then your suspension geometery has probably changed so that your alignment settings are significantly different than when you originally set them.

 

First of all, the DFVs is not as expensive as you think. I bought it directly through a friend of mine in Jp and he then sent it to me. The whole thing cost less than HK$17,000.- (a bit less than US$2200)
In contrast, the Ohlins Flag-S IS expensive.

>>driving a rhd honda in a rhd country
Actually I am..... !

Speak of the conrner weight, I would very much like to get it done and I can certainly afford the 4-500 dollar. The thing is, there are only a few so-called "tuner shop" in HK who got those equipment and they are not that trust worthy if you don't really know them personally. (ok I should rephrase myself, it is expensive if I pay the money and still couldn't get it right.)

Do you know any trustworthy tuner in HK so to speak? If so please PM me.

 

[QUOTE=negcamber,Jun 30 2007, 09:53 PM] How long and how many miles between the time you put the coilovers on and when you aligned the car?

 

Well since you ARE in HK, then the culprit is probably corner weights that are WAY off.

I do'nt have any experience with the guys over there, but Hubert seems to love TW; go PM him in the other board

 

The important part is how many miles you drove the car after installing the new coilovers before you went and got the alignment. If it was less than 200 miles on various road surfaces (ie, not all highway), then your alignment specs have likely changed since it takes some miles to let new springs settle.