Making an Evo into a race car...the Warrtalon way
Not for things I have no experience with, why? Do you know how to roll fenders properly, corner balance properly, and set camber/toe exactly within spec all while keeping the ride height perfect? I sure don't - most people don't even have this equipment. This was the mechanical engineering department at Colorado State University - world class equipment in there for designing race cars from the suspension geometry to the carbon fiber body panels. They do it all right there, so I went to get it all done right. These guy are who Paul Gerrard works with to design/tune/calibrate these suspension packages.
Anyways looks like you are going to have some fun next race season. I wish i had the moneybags to be able to do it too.
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Nubby, feel free to PM me with your thoughts, good or bad.
Althemean, I got ya...no, I wasn't the one in the pics. It actually took the guy 4-5 hours to do all the fender rolling, because the aluminum is so pliable that it's difficult to press hard on the lip without pushing the whole fender out. He spent a TON of time heating, pressing, heating, pressing, etc etc etc to ensure there were no cracks in the paint while getting the inside of the fender as flat as possible. It took a REALLY long time, so I'm glad I wasn't attempting it myself. I did watch, learn, and participate, but I couldn't have done it without them, that's for sure.
Althemean, I got ya...no, I wasn't the one in the pics. It actually took the guy 4-5 hours to do all the fender rolling, because the aluminum is so pliable that it's difficult to press hard on the lip without pushing the whole fender out. He spent a TON of time heating, pressing, heating, pressing, etc etc etc to ensure there were no cracks in the paint while getting the inside of the fender as flat as possible. It took a REALLY long time, so I'm glad I wasn't attempting it myself. I did watch, learn, and participate, but I couldn't have done it without them, that's for sure.
wait.... so on your corner balancing, you took a very front heavy car, and balanced it to 50/50 F/R? and then 50/50 L/R? so essentially, you have all four corners with the exact same corner weight....?
that sounds like a bad thing to do, as now your rear ride height is much lower then the front. brake bias would tend to lock the fronts up before the rears after shifting so much weight backward, without dialing in more rear brake bias.
the purpose of corner balancing is to get the cross weights 50/50 not the F/R. drastic uneven changes to ride heights are gonna really mess with the suspension geometry...
please tell me you didn't drop the rear to get 50/50 F/R balance....
that sounds like a bad thing to do, as now your rear ride height is much lower then the front. brake bias would tend to lock the fronts up before the rears after shifting so much weight backward, without dialing in more rear brake bias.
the purpose of corner balancing is to get the cross weights 50/50 not the F/R. drastic uneven changes to ride heights are gonna really mess with the suspension geometry...
please tell me you didn't drop the rear to get 50/50 F/R balance....
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Kevin, this whole setup was done meticulously with Paul's instruction and testing. Any mistake in how I described is my lack of understanding or just plain misspeaking, not due to improper balancing. No, the weights aren't exact at each corner, and no, the rear ride height is not lower than the front or anything crazy. The thing they focused on most was the cross-weighting as you referenced.
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awesome, just awesome. those guy def. know what they are doing. knowing how to corner balance and all that is just mind boggling to me. lol but hey good luck with all your events. the evo is looking good, and i kknow it performs even better with you behind the wheel!! 
Althemean, I got ya...no, I wasn't the one in the pics. It actually took the guy 4-5 hours to do all the fender rolling, because the aluminum is so pliable that it's difficult to press hard on the lip without pushing the whole fender out. He spent a TON of time heating, pressing, heating, pressing, etc etc etc to ensure there were no cracks in the paint while getting the inside of the fender as flat as possible. It took a REALLY long time, so I'm glad I wasn't attempting it myself. I did watch, learn, and participate, but I couldn't have done it without them, that's for sure.
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Well, we put the suspension on, then put the wheels/tires on, and I couldn't turn the wheel all the way - it wasn't even close. The rears didn't even fit without some rolling, too. My offset is +40, and I have 25mm spacers up front, so they push out quite a bit.
warr, just out of curiousity what are your thoughts on the KW Variant III's in comparison to the Ohlins?
I'd like to jump on a set of coilovers in the next year, but i'm not sure which of the two to go with...
I'd like to jump on a set of coilovers in the next year, but i'm not sure which of the two to go with...
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I don't have any experience with any other suspension, so I'm not educated enough to answer other than saying that if Robi uses them in his packages, then they must be good. I would go with Robi and his KW3s in a heartbeat, given the opportunity. I went with Paul, because he's local, so I can get direct support for everything without having to fly Robi out here all the time.
