I had my suspensions lubed up yesterday at Centre Gravity,

The idea here being prevention before needing a cure for the bolt and bush seizing issue. I've read on this forum that even Danny (Boab01) had 3 siezed bushes/bolts on his 06 and so had decided to just get it sorted now.

I also had ARB's fitted (Cusco, front and rear) as I will be tracking the car and felt this would be a good and relatively cheap improvement; also a road-package re-alignment to my preferred setting which is leaning a tad towards understeer.

My intention here is to simply pass on the facts as well as my own thoughts of the outcome of the modifications made. I don't intend to deify Chris but I will comment on the way he works and the extra that you get from going to CG.

My knowledge of car suspension and handling settings is quite basic; I own a few books on the subject, understand the basics, but there's no substitute for seeing it in the raw and what I got at CG was a days lesson from someone who clearly understands his area of expertise and who enjoys educating.

To be able so see up close just how all of this works on your own car using precision measuring devices that give realtime feedback to a PC screen, and in the hands of someone who not only knows his subject inside out but who genuinely is passionate about it, is just such a great way of clearing up all of those questions and quite frankly was a privilege.

The precision and tolerances that Chris works to (and imposes upon himself beyond the acceptable tolerance ranges that the manufacturers specify) simply gave huge confidence to me. I was so glad I'd driven down and paid the extra over what my local Honda dealer would have charged. I know the job was done properly and to a high level of accuracy, but best of all I saw it all happen and learned so much.

To me personally; I'd rather pay someone like Chris that little bit more (which is not a lot more than a Honda dealer would charge to give you the basic no-frills setup) and to be allowed to see it all happen and to be educated at the same time.

Again, let me just say plainly here that I'm not suggesting Chris is a divine god, or that there aren't other people elsewhere who could offer a similar level of service; but to not mention the fact that Chris is passionate and goes beyond the expected level of service, would in my opinion be wrong as most people on this forum want exactly this. I do for one.

On a more personal note, Chris and Jayne are both lovely people who made me feel right at home and the whole experience is more akin to a great day out, getting your car sorted to precision quality levels and being educated, all in a warm friendly but professional environment.

OK, to the work itself and the difference it has made; Or at least the obvious differences so far.

The biggest and most obvious difference so far is that the car feels really stable and true on bumpy roads, dare I say planted Previously the front end felt skitty and the steering would jolt around, go light and feel very vague at speed over broken and bumpy surfaces. Big improvement here. It may be that the previous setting was very bad and Chris has put things right, but either way the car now feel very stable over bumps, ruts, cambers, pot-holes etc.

Another thing I have noticed, and I believe this to be as a result of the car now being correctly sat on the road with all 4 corners set correctly to maximise the contact patches; is that the car somehow now feels softer and more pliant; By this I dont mean the suspension feels softer but the overall ride genuinely feels as though the suspensions are now keeping each tyre properly in contact with the road, so as to have eliminated the bouncy-ness and subsequent light/vague/skitty-ness. The car now feels 'stickier' Perhaps not the best description but the word springs to mind as a good description of the overall feel.

The car also now feels true under hard acceleration and hard braking; again, previous settings had the car feel a tad light and skitty under hard acceleration and hard braking. I suspect the new toe settings are responsible here.

One of Chris's post-alignment tests involved using a small roundabout close to where he operates from; the roundabout is very quiet regards traffic usage as it's part of the backroad network; it is unusual in that it appears to have a narrow drainage ditch/groove right in the centre of the lane itself which you'd naturally see and be wary of, especially in the wet as it was yesterday.

Chris waited till it was void of traffic and then progressively circled, ever faster until traction broke, noting the speed at which the traction actually let go (which is relatively low due to the tightness of the roundabout); The car slid a tad but was easily caught.

I know that with my cars 'before' setting that it would have broken away MUCH sooner than it did. The new camber and toe settings that Chris recommended for my needs were evident in making a big difference here. I was (am) amazed that the car can now hold on like this on a surface such as this and in the wet.

In general the test drive was thorough and was all carried out at road-legal speeds as well as with road conditions in-mind. Nothing scary to report here at all; all very professional and analytical.

Overall I'm very pleased with the work and the way it was carried out and will definately go back to CG in the future.
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I should add here that all of the supension bolts and bushes on my car were thankfully OK; they were all still silver and relatively clean, however you could see where water had collected as a thin whitish stain on one side of the bolts; apparently the start of the process of cementing the bolt and bush together.

Another thing that Chris recommended was to have the whole of the underside of the car Wax-Oiled with a clear wax oil so I'll be looking at doing that soon.

 

High praise indeed and seems to be in the majority. The message of professionalism in the workshop and friendly approach seem to be the thread that runs through these reports.

 

did you notice the "04" understeer has gone as well?

 

To be honest Soulcrew I've not yet had a proper chance to really push the car in corners myself; There's been nothing but non stop rain since I had the work done yesterday and I tend to shy away from pushing on too hard in the rain.

It was understeer on turn-in that prompted me to have the Geo looked at though as well as adding the Cusco ARB's so I'd be suprised if it hasnt affected the car in a positive way in that respect but I'll get back to you on that one once I've had the chance to push it in dry conditions.

It's absolutely caning it down in Yorkshire today; flooded roads everywhere.

 

i need a fecking submarine to even get out of my house.

 

I wonder what the news will be all about this evening, hmmm

 

" Honda sports car written-off by Polaris submarine in rural Cardiff "

 

Bit of dry road feedback as per new settings.

Well, Blimey O Reily, the sun came out midday-ish so I took the opportunity to take the car up into the Yorkshire dales along a few roads that I know in order to see what the new settings feel like on dry roads.

Superb; What a difference.

I know that I had an issue with a bad toe setting on the rear right and so am convinced that some of the newfound stability is due to Chris having sorted this out.

I now also have a full 1 degree negative camber to the front which combined with the stiffer ARB's has made a big dent in the turn-in understeer issues I was having and the roll is noticceably reduced giving a lot more confidence in pushing towards the threshold of traction which also now seems to be better signalled.

The car is a different experience now when pushed. It feels planted and is signalling information to me. Previously it was quick but vague and skitty and on occasion a bit lairy.

From my limited experience I'd say that the stiffer ARB's combined with a judicial setting to match my skills and ability at present have been a bloody good investment and has transformed both the car as well as my confidence in the car.

A nod to Chilled here for his guidance as well of course to Chris Franklin. Cheers Fellas.

Still got a mountain to climb but am enjoying it immensely.

 

You will have Chris' new revised setup ( like me )

It is a improvement over his old fast road setup

Have you noticed how deep the car digs in mid bend yet?

 

Another happy customer from the CG crew

I had a lovly " oversteer " setup from him

which i then trashed at the drift day

now goign to take to TGM Sports for a comparison in geo.

And i will ask for exactly the same setup as i asked chris

Ready to be trashed again at the next drift day