The way you worded that made me laugh. Good news, youre not the first. So theres lots of info out there. Bad news, you have to search, search, search. Call vendors. Research more. There isnt one solution for everyone. So we say be patient. Start off simple. Do HPDEs. Then do more HPDEs. The more active you are the better. Try to do 10-20 HPDEs a year. As you grow, so will your perspective.

 

I *think* GTW is authorized to do bilsteins now. GTWORKS, forget the dude's name but he's a regular on the suspension sections.

 

If you live close enough, sure I am interested

My opinion, wait untill you have money for a good set up. You will save money and headaches in a long run. Also you will be MUCH happier.

 

If a HPDE novice. Get proper brakes and fluids in the car first. Good set of tires. Learn to drive that setup to 11/10ths. When you can out drive the cars abilities - upgrade.

To correct the D2 coil-over "choice" of the cars previous owner, Swift SpecRs or GTWorx on KYB or Bilsteins will get you to a step above OEM and the lower end coil-overs. RSB can be kept. But put it to full soft. Too much RSB makes the car tri-pod. And too many people tired to correct handling with RSBs on full stiff, when they should have been doing that with spring rates first.

And I strongly suggest reading the suspension sticky index:
https://www.evolutionm.net/forums/ev...ead-links.html

JDavenport is a great person to talk with about going from a DD Evo to a HPDE3/4 car this season. I am sure he'd be happy to talk about the steps he took.

I AX'd, DD, and HPDE drove my Evo on the Swift SpecRs, Bilstein HDs, and Swift front/rear sway bars. Extremely well balanced for the mix of driving I did on the car.

 

IMO there is a general misconception that the stock suspension understeers like a ****. The #1 culprit of understeer is the rear diff. On the '03/'04 Evo VIII a lack of a front LSD also doesn't help.

Assuming that you want to end up with a neutral handling car that can still be slightly tweaked, I'd start with the following approach:
1. Bilstein / Swift Spec-R combo
2. Bushings, etc. - at minimum: rear trailing arm bushing, rear bumpsteer correction kit
3. Rear diff - TRE or Shep (I'd usually put this as #1, but with your existing suspension issues...)
4. Alignment

Optional, less so if you're going to run r-comps:
5. Front and rear adjustable swaybars
6. Whiteline Front roll center correction kit
7. Front LSD
8. Perrin PSRS
9. Adjustable camber/caster plates (may want to wait until you get coilovers, though - IIRC stock struts and COs require different plates).

I'm in a similar boat as you, experience wise, and I run all of the above except for #9 and it is a night-and-day difference to the way the car used to handle. As a driver, I'm really not that close to pushing this setup to its limits, even on a set of R1's. This setup is very neutral and allows for some tweaking via the front and rear adjustable bars.

l8r)

 

Thanks Smike! Yes I started on stock suspension and OEM alignment. Did two events on bone stock setup. I won't lie, it has some serious shortcomings if you really start to push. IMHO the stock KYB's are as much an issue as the stock srpings, just crappy dampers.

I then moved to the Bilstein/SpecR combo with an APC 27mm rear bar (Adjustable). Maxed the stock camber bolts (front, 2 degrees). The extra spring rate and the superior damping of the Bilsteins were a very nice upgrade. Combined with the alignment, I got a good deal less roll-over on the fronts and much more even tire wear. Taking rumble strips upset the car a lot less than it did with the KYB's. Braking was also much better with the higher front spring rates, less nosedive, smoother/quicker transition from hard braking to turn-in. I drove 6 events on this setup. The real kicker was the car rode waaaaaaay better even with the stiffer springs.

Some pictures from CMP last fall combined with what I was experiencing in the car led me to start considering coilovers. The pictures I'm talking about showed me coming out of 12-13 at CMP with the front facia on the pavement (suspension compressed down to the bumpstop on the outside front). BUT, It took me many events and hours on track to reach this point. The picture confirmed some of the issues I was having with the car.

A member on here sold me a set of Muellerized JIC's in good condition for a price I couldn't turn down. They have been a nice step up from the Bilsteins/SpecR's, but I could not have made much use of them before. but I would aslo call the car a little less forgiving. Everything happens a little faster and you get less warning as you approach traction limits. Before the body roll and such were easy to read indicators of how hard you were pushing the car. With the coils, it breaks away more suddenly, reacts quicker to inputs, both good and bad.

Doing it again, I would still go to the Bilstien/SpecR setup from stock. You can learn a ton on this setup and still get around the track very well.

And like SMike said, Brakes and Tires, Brakes and Tires. Good brakes are the smartest money anyone can spend on a track toy. Our cars can attain some high speeds and they are not light.

 

I will be upgrading to either Girodiscs or DBA 5000s with either ST-43 or some other close variant pad (Still undecided as there's a LOT of information on this site alone). I'm running Ferodo DS2500's at the moment, those seem to be doing pretty well for AutoX, but are not enough for the track.

See, I never thought in my wildest dreams that the Bilstein/Spec R combo would ever come close to a 1500-1700 dollar set of coils. I always thought that at that price point you'd end up with a something that would be better in many ways.

Will do.

Again, this car is not a DD, my single aim is to make this thing into purely a track car, gutted, caged etc. But I know as a driver HPDE's are going to offer me a HUGE amount of driving experience and are the next step in my progression as a driver until I have enough experience (and money) to commit to a short competition school to earn a license.

Ultimately it comes down to what will help me develop as a driver. I'm too hung up on equipment when equipment isn't really going to help me be better.

I can't thank you enough for your input everyone, I'll update this later with whatever choice I end up going with.

 

Realizing that just moved you up to another level and towards becoming a better driver much quicker.

 

Correct, DS2500 are good AX. But will get too hot on the track.

You'll have to be in the $2000-2500 range to better the Bilstein combo. Seriously. And it will be more car than you'll be able to push at 11/10ths on the track.

If this is a full-time track car. Then prepare to spend the money on top components. No two ways about it. Or going to a platform thats cheaper to run and mod. Motorsports is expensive. Evo is expensive.

You have it right. Driver > equipment.

 

It's GTWORX.

 

As many have pointed out, the stock suspension is pretty good on an Evo, but it just doesn't rotate enough for anyone beyond a novice. I ran my first season of SCCA Nationals on a bone stock GSR suspension, ECU tune and Hoosier Rs and was able to set the track record at VIR so it is very capable. I would bet the TRE rear and an adjustable rear sway bar (which I had neither at the time) would be a great place to start and you will not have to upgrade them when you eventually have money for a proper aftermarket suspension. The front sway bar really helps the car from rolling over and saves your tires and keeps your car much flatter. And remember track time is only if you are doing it right. Study film, read books and ask lots of questions.

With money being a big object and after fixing or replacing your broken struts.

1. Adjustable rear sway bar (dont go crazy big). I run mine on the softest settings for most tracks.

2. TRE rear end-single biggest handing improvement added to my car.

3. Save up for aftermarket coilover set up (Yes, I have and prefer JRZ) and maybe a front swaybar.

Good luck and make sure that track time you get is quality track time and have the mindset to learn something new and practice being smooth and consistant.

Marty

 

I certainly enjoy my Megan Tracks on and off of the track for $850 (6 track events this year already with them) At a regular track event I was second fastest out of 80+ cars, and was only 3/10th of a second behind the fastest car which was a fully tracked out Z06 with a roll cage, full buckets, big gt wing, and slicks I am even/slightly faster than other drivers in evo's running r-compounds/street tires that are running KW's and Ohlin's as well. I wasn't running r-compounds either, I was on Federal 595rsr's Will I go to KW's, Ohlin's, or JRZ's one day? Of course, but for now I will do my best to beat others running better tires/suspension at the track with my "crappy" suspension.

 

Its worth posting you make 70 more whp than the Evo that has the fastest lap times on proper suspension bits.

 

^This. Kinda where i'm at right now. I could pay for track time but i'd have to just relearn the car over once I get my different Diff, brakes, and tires. I guess once you get to a certain level it's like this. But in your case track time, even if it's in a rented Accord, is most important so you can hit the "line" in anything. Then worry about going faster.

 

But has 50+ track events under his belt, compared to my 10!!!! The two guys behind me on the list are making similar power (within 10-20whp) and are running KW's and Ohlin's so suck it Mike!!!!