so ive got coils on my car and i want to continue with my suspension mods. does anyone know of a site or a post where i can read up on what certain suspension mods do to the characteristics of my car. what i want to know is for expample, if i get a front sway bar, what type of change would i expect. same for the rear and so on. i just want to understand these mods more so that i know what i want and i can mod my car properly and not just throw every kind of bar and reinforcement on my car and basically ruin my handling.

Jairo j

 

Take off your front sway bar, remove the rear, lighten up the springs, see if you can get some caddy deville shocks, maybe a hyrdrodive front end....should be good considering what your needs are.

 

You're going to need to pick up some books (or at least do some heavy research on the internet) to find how different suspension pieces affect the dynamics of a car. Try anything by Carroll Smith.

 

I have "Chassis Engineering". It gives insight on how the suspesion components affect handling. I'm not sure about the author. it is a very easy book to read. Some of the stuff in the book is overkill, but very informative.

 

http://spda-online.ca/modules/newbb/...m.php?forum=10

check out the stickies. Particularly the articles by Dennis Grant and Brian Beckman.

Learning how springs/shocks/sways affects your handling is a very interesting topic, it's one of those 'the more you know the less you know' things. At first it seems simple enough, until you learn more about it and then find yourself with a caculator in hand trying to figure out the formulas lol.

My advice, do not upgrade everything at once, test and tune slowly and you will have a much better understanding of each element.

 

or read the autocross setup FAQ. I find myself only having the time and money to autocross so that's how I'm setting up my car.

oh and I just got Chassis Engineering too and have to say it's a great book!

 

This is an incredibly good idea. Nobody has the time or money to turn their street car into the all out track monster they envision in their heads. Picking a spec and building to it (like A-Stock autocross) will save you a ton of money by putting in a limit, provide you with guidance from people that have already been there on mods that actually work, and give you some satisfaction when you build a competitive car. If you just go out and try to make your car "fast," you will never be happy.

 

And ... no one here has mentioned it, but I think it's obvious. You need to experience the car in a setting where you can drive it at least 9/10s to understand what these books are talking about, and what effect any of the changes to the car you make have.

The street is not the place for that. Take it to an autocross, or a track. Since you already have coilovers, I'm assuming they are adjustable. I'd take it to a "test and tune" or practice day put on by an autocross club or an HPDE event on a closed course. Somewhere you can get lots of seat time, and where you have time between sessions or runs to make adjustments to your current set up and feel the differences. Even if all you can adjust is rebound, it will help you get an idea of how to go about making changes and testing them.

You get bonus points for using datalogging, such as a MaxQ, DL1, or even a Gtech. Real data > Butt Dyno. An autocross practice with timing is better for that too, as most track days don't allow timing. So you can actually measure your changes.

Oh, and if you don't take it to the track or autocross, post in S2000 talk next time.

 

i do and im actually goin to street of willow in a couple of weeks so i can tweak stuff around and get a better feel for the car and my settings. thnx for the info and ill look into that book.