First off, I'm hoping I'm posting this in the right spot.

I have a Tein SS-P suspension in my car which allows for 16 different levels of dampening and rebound. My question is, what would be the best setting for winter driving (ie driving in snow). The car is running on 17" rims with a Dunlop Graspic snow tire.

I know the car is much more likely to hydroplane with the suspension set to a stiffer setting. I just haven't driven this car much in the snow, up until this year I have used a 97 Prelude as a winter beater, so this is my first winter with the Teins and Snow tires on the car and I'm looking to optimize my setup.

So, what do the Aziners with adjustable suspension set ups set their cars for in the winter? Does a firmer set up lead to terminal understeer (which I suspect) or does the extra body roll of a soft set up cause the car to plow straight when you wanted to turn?

Thanks in advance.

 

I'd like to know the same... I'm currently running my KSports on the firmest setting front and rear, so it'd be good to know if change is necessary.

 

Wow, no one knows about proper suspension dampening for the snow?

Well 2000TaffetaTL, it looks like we are on our own. We've got snow coming in tonight so I guess I'll just experiment and see what happens. My first instinct would be that softer (too a point) would be better. You might want to tune yours down a bit the next time you have snow (does it ever stop snowing in Denver?) and see how it feels.

 

Normally i never change the dampening on the coilovers. Just raise the ride height.

Never knew stiffer suspension could lead to hydroplaning though. Whats the reason behind that?

 

Less suspension play? Soft suspension has its advantages.

I have mine at 12F/10R since last year it works very well all year long. You should never have it on the stiffest settings...there is no real advantage. Horrible ride quality and it doesn't "handle" better.

 

Never heard this either, nor do I really buy it. Tires cause hydroplaning, not suspension stiffness.

 

I agree, I have never heard that, plus I am pretty well versed in physics, but don't really see why that would matter, although I certainly allow room for the possability I might be wrong.

 

My car seems to hydroplane more when I'm set higher than 9. I haven't done any real scientific research on it but if it's raining hard, I'll adjust the fronts down to 7 and it seems to resolve the issue.

 

I forget, what do you drive again?

 

I SUPPOSE certain suspension settings could contribute to hydroplaning, I'd be blaming your tires for 99% of that.

For snow driving you want a slightly higher ride height if your town isnt plowing like it should. Otherwise just leave everything alone and keep a set of higher profile/narrower tires for the winter.

 

Isn't it more likely to be that you FEEL like it is hydroplaning less?

Lots of old american cars (Caddys especially) feel like they are doing fine on the road, until it starts to slip and you realize things have gone waaayy too far. On the other hand a car with a stiffer suspension helps you feel what the car is doing way earlier so you can avoid catastrophic failure.

 

I know this is a long shot analogy but I assumed it's like surfing with a surfboard vs surfing with an air-mattress. The more rigid platform would allow the object to "plane" better than the soft one would.

FWIW, it's a CL-S 6MT.

 

The tire is what is making contact with the water. the groves of the tire are either going to go through the puddle or hydroplane over it. The suspension isn't going to be effected, or affect the situation.

A surfboard allows you to cut through the water like a tires groves do (hence why a thin short board is more maneuverable then a thick long board)

Worn out tires and summer tires are more likely to hydroplane because they don't have the depth or amount of groves in order to disperse the water around and through them.

 

the groves in this tire (or syphons) allow it to cut through and disperse water



where as the groves in this tire are built for dry traction, they aren't as deep and aren't focused on siphoning out/ dispersing water