lvcurvs

This is just some ranting about some suspension info that i've read on here and various other sites as well as dealing with people in person. This is NOT directed twords anybody or any particular car and it's more for people that use thier cars for dual duty (track and street) rather then full race. Also, excuse the spelling and the grammar.

Basically the biggest thing is people complaining about blowing struts or shitty ride quality all while sitting an inch off the ground. Now I know that there is a bunch of other factors that play into this but this is just about the strut assembly itself and some mis thinkings on the proper way to modify it.

Here's the deal, the suspension HAS to work. I don't care what kind of driving you do. Drag, drift, road race, street etc... You have to have atleast some suspension travel in order to keep the wheels in good contact with the ground during straight lines and more importantly during cornering. There are very, very few roads that are glass smooth so you have to HAVE a certain amount of compression and rebound in your shocks and springs. If you don't, your ride will suffer and other items on the car will take more abuse and have a better chance of breaking or wearing out faster then they should.

The best examples of what not to do with your suspension are the cars you see bouncing down the road, an inch off the ground and you can hear the suspsension banging when they hit a bump and the driver looks like they're about to break thier neck. You all know what i'm talking about, i'm sure everybody on here has seeing these cars. I would love to see some of these cars go into a corner, fully load one side of the suspension then hit a decent bump mid corner. Only one thing is going to happen. Your going to get wicked bump steer and your going to get "bounced" off line and lose momentum or worse, go right off the track/road and hurt yourself or somebody else.

Now if these same people had a little bit more use from thier suspension rather then doing nothing more then holding the car off the ground, they could enter the corner, load the suspension, hit the bump with minimal interference and roll the f*ck out of the corner with some speed behind you.

Touring cars that run in BTCC, DTM etc.. are perfect examples as to what alot of people see and try to mimic. Big wheels tucked under the fenders, slammed to the ground etc.. and we all know how good that looks. What a lot of you may not understand is that these cars are BUILT for this. (They're also using body kits so they look a bit lower then they really are) The suspension mounting points are modified so they can lower the car this much to improve thier center of gravity as well as help with aerodynamics Also, the other suspension items are designed/modified to work so they can have the suspension travel they need all while the car is scraping the ground. If they're in a class where they cannot move the mounting points, then they are using a spring/shock combo, among other things, that is designed to handle stiff spring rates as well as being low all while maintaining a necessary amount of travel. The valving on the shock will determine the spring loads it can handle at low and high speeds.
These are purpose built race cars. They will NEVER legally see the streets so the amount of travel they need is less then what we do but none the less, they still have to have suspension travel because not all tracks are as smooth as they look on tv or from the grand stands.

So, for example and I'm not pointing out anybody in particular but it's just a perfect example, are the Tokico Hp's (Blues). These shocks were designed as a slight upgrade to the stock suspension. They were designed to use with either oem springs or slightly stiffer springs. You cannot take these shocks, put them on the car with a 500lbs spring rate, drop the car 2+ inches and expect them to last. Basically what happens is that the springs will over work the shock due to the shocks valving and because the rod is now sitting lower then it was designed to, you lose travel and now have increased the risk of bottoming out the shock and/or putting the shock into a "zone" that it wasn't designed to handle. Also chances of coil binding are increased a bit as well as possibly binding up your axles by putting them at angles they can't handle)

One of the easiest ways to keep your shock travel where it needs to be, or close to it, is by using a shock with a shorter rod or by taking a shock, having it cut down and having it rethreaded. Koni can do this and i'm sure there are plenty others as well. Another easy way is by doing research for the right parts and using quality parts and not short cutting anything.

We all know that lowering yor car is 1 way to increase the handling but it has to be done right. You have to take into account the purpose of the vehicle( drag,drift, rr etc..) the weight, the alignment angles you plan on working with, tire sizes, tire pressures, driving style etc.. Just like with a turbo, you have to calculate what your plans are for the car. If you want peak hp numbers, your not going to go with a 10psi turbo. Your going to research and pick the one that fits your application the best. Your not just going to go out, close your eyes and pick one. Same with suspensions. It's one of the most important parts of the vehicle. It helps put the power down and keep it down. How good is 500hp if you can't use it? But the most important thing is that it really is a safety issue. Damaged suspension parts can cause all kinds of problems that can hurt you or somebody else.

Anyways, thats just some stuff i wanted to say. You really need to check up on the parts you buy and make sure they are being used for what they are designed for. You may not have the parts as soon as want them but in the end you'll have a more solid vehicle and save money because you'll break less stuff and have less problems.

Just some stuff I wanted to say. And before somebody starts flaming me, i'm not directing this towards anybody personally or saying that your setup is f'd and it could be better. I'm just stating some general info that it seems some people may not know or may not think about so don't jump my sh*t over something stupid.
Thanx for reading!!

CGTSX2004

iTrader: (1)

No flaming here.

And the rant is appreciated as it is very much the truth.

But you posted it in the wrong section (it's not specific to the TSX).

Please copy and paste and repost in Off-Topic under CarTalk. I think you'll find an equally receptive audience there.