Who uses all the settings on their Coilovers?
Dec 9, 2005, 02:27 PM
#1
Who uses all the settings on their Coilovers?
I am curious about the coilover issue. I have a Tanabe set, and there is 7 settings on the rear, and 4 in the front. I think that is plenty for what I use them for.( Daily Driving and road-racing) Daily driving I set them mid-way. harsher than stock, but I can set them up to a "stock-like" setting. I road race at closed racetracks, where I set them at their tightest settings. The car sticks like a ****. I will be upgrading with the Tanabe coils possibly over the winter (still with TANABE, but the higher dollar ones). I Plan on doing ALOT of road racing next year. The question I have is this:
1. How many people with the JIC coilovers,or other coilovers with more that 20 settings, actually use all or most of the settings?
Initially I got the Tein s TECHs because I liked the "stance" of the car being lowered, then I heard they throw off the stock suspension geometry, and can mess up the struts etc... That is why I chose the coilovers, but dont know if all the extra settings would be used, ie 30 settings as opposed to 7 or 15 etc...
Again, I refer back to Question #1. Thanks in advance.
1. How many people with the JIC coilovers,or other coilovers with more that 20 settings, actually use all or most of the settings?
Initially I got the Tein s TECHs because I liked the "stance" of the car being lowered, then I heard they throw off the stock suspension geometry, and can mess up the struts etc... That is why I chose the coilovers, but dont know if all the extra settings would be used, ie 30 settings as opposed to 7 or 15 etc...
Again, I refer back to Question #1. Thanks in advance.
Dec 9, 2005, 02:31 PM
#3
Originally Posted by dafarmer69
ot.. I road race at closed racetracks.. that wont be fun with a 35r, unless its a big track..
Dec 9, 2005, 03:57 PM
#5
I cant speak for everyone obviously...But I rarely every touch any of mine...JIC's by the way. I do the same thing you do...Full stiff at the track and about half stiff on the street. Frankly, I really think that you have to be a suspension guru or a very experienced racer to bother screwing around any more than that with them. I honestly wouldnt know what else to bother doing.
Dec 9, 2005, 05:32 PM
#6
Originally Posted by 2GDSM
I cant speak for everyone obviously...But I rarely every touch any of mine...JIC's by the way. I do the same thing you do...Full stiff at the track and about half stiff on the street. Frankly, I really think that you have to be a suspension guru or a very experienced racer to bother screwing around any more than that with them. I honestly wouldnt know what else to bother doing.
Dec 9, 2005, 07:00 PM
#7
Depending on how each setting is valved, you may or may not have use for all of them. Often times, the coilovers with the very numerous number of damping settings have dyno-charts with a bunch of lines overlaid on one top of each other, with very little variation between each. So you effectively have half or less than the advertised amount.
Also dependent on valving is how effective each setting is. A progressive low-damping curve is fairly useless for any kind of driving unless you enjoy the feeling of being underdamped. On the other hand, the astronomical high-speed damping rates found on some of these coilovers are fairly useless for any sort of driving unless the track/road is mirror smooth and the car is setup properly.
Honestly, the majority of buyers should be well-suited with just one damping curve, given:
1. The damping is well-matched to the springs, and
2. They are like most users who don't have the knowledge to properly use damping to control a car's handling characteristics.
Also dependent on valving is how effective each setting is. A progressive low-damping curve is fairly useless for any kind of driving unless you enjoy the feeling of being underdamped. On the other hand, the astronomical high-speed damping rates found on some of these coilovers are fairly useless for any sort of driving unless the track/road is mirror smooth and the car is setup properly.
Honestly, the majority of buyers should be well-suited with just one damping curve, given:
1. The damping is well-matched to the springs, and
2. They are like most users who don't have the knowledge to properly use damping to control a car's handling characteristics.
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Dec 10, 2005, 08:10 AM
#9
Originally Posted by smokedmustang
That explains it, thank you very much for that info. I will go check your site now, and see what goodies you have there! Thanks again.
Dec 10, 2005, 09:58 AM
#11
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All of those settings are useful to get your car set up in the first place. I don't think many people tinker with them all the time.
On the Impulse I have 21 adjustment points, I used hundreds of different setting combinations until I found the right setup. Now I don't ever touch them unless it is wet out.
On the Impulse I have 21 adjustment points, I used hundreds of different setting combinations until I found the right setup. Now I don't ever touch them unless it is wet out.
Dec 10, 2005, 11:24 AM
#14
Originally Posted by Impulsoren
All of those settings are useful to get your car set up in the first place. I don't think many people tinker with them all the time.
On the Impulse I have 21 adjustment points, I used hundreds of different setting combinations until I found the right setup. Now I don't ever touch them unless it is wet out.
On the Impulse I have 21 adjustment points, I used hundreds of different setting combinations until I found the right setup. Now I don't ever touch them unless it is wet out.
Dec 10, 2005, 04:47 PM
#15
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I set mine, every track. not just once. Based on the track design, I will put wedge in or out, and play with the dampening to optimize the car. Usually, there is only ~.5sec more, but in timetrials, that can be the difference between first and third. I will also go up or down +/- 2k on the springs, depending on whether I am running rain tires, or R compounds, but that is something new for this season, I didn't have all the stuff I needed last season.
But, for the most part, I don't know many people who will go through all the trouble I do for less than one second at a track.
But, for the most part, I don't know many people who will go through all the trouble I do for less than one second at a track.
