Hi all first post here and Im pretty new to S2K's too, first RWD car and all....

The car is lowered 25mm on springs with 17" Gramlights with low profile (40's) tyres. Ive done about 3k on this set up, cars great driving normally but just when im really opening the taps around some of the nice twisties, the shell just dosnt seem quite as 'attached' to the chassis as it should be? Thats prob the best way to describe it..... A bit floaty.

The car certainly isnt one of the newer ones by a long shot, its an AP1 with 145K on it, so im thinking bushes might be worn? ARB drop links? I havnt quite had a chance to look under it yet but I will be doing at the weekend.

Has anyone else experienced anything similar on their car? Whats best to upgrade?

Thanks for any constructive comments in advance.

Oh and here she is.



Ash

 

It could be alot of things, from your suspension setup to driving characteristics. My first guess would be worn shocks, followed by improper alignment settings, or just a mis-match of suspension parts and settings. It could be bushings but without checking them it's anyone's guess. Are you lifting on the throttle in the bends ?, Ap1's don't react well to throttle lift once the car is loaded in a turn. Lastly, too often a dropped ride can perform worse then the OEM setup, but alot of people don't realize that when they slap on parts.

 

Alignment. I'm sure your toe is way out from lowering the car.

You wont find bad bushings. Nothing needs to be upgraded.

 

Alignment and what tire psi? Make sure you have decent tire all around - some cheap all seasons may not grip well and the s deserves good tires more than any car imo

 

Check the alignment and shocks are where I'd start. Is the car lowered? If so, what springs and shocks are being used?

 

I too would say alignment - its out of spec and causing the car to dance when you're going around corners. Spooky feeling. As well, the tires could contribute, especially if the tread is deep.

 

This I have to disagree with.
The front caster / compliance bushing does tear, especially if the bolt through it has seized and one tries to align the car.
All you do that way is tear the inner steel bushing from the rubber.
If more botls have seized a good alignment may be hard to find and if the rubber doesn't tear it creates an unwanted load on the suspension.

An easy way to see if the alignment is way off is to check tire wear.
If the alignment is way off I think one would notice it driving normally.

The car was lowered on OEM shocks?
Personally I found the MY'00 OEM (rear)shocks not the best (in 2006), a change to Koni Yellows did settle the rear at highway speed through corners.

What offset do the Gramlights have, close to OEM?

Like JFUSION mentioned: afermarket suspension parts may not always be an upgrade.
IMO OEM wheels have an offset rarely found in aftermarket wheels, and offset - makes the in-wheel suspension possible - is part of what makes the S2k handle well.