I've recently added a lot of adjustability to my suspension: Leda's, RDR camber plates, H-Sport Lower control arms and adjustable end links for the front and rear sway bars.

I'm looking for advice on what adjustmenbt(s) solve different problems. I was OK when all I had was the rear sway bar to adjust. Now that I can also adjust the shocks, ride height and camber I feel I need some help in understanding the dynamics of setting up all of these pieces.

My initial set up, per Randy's recommendation: corner weight the car, -2.5 camber front, -1.4 rear, Ledas full soft on the street 6 clicks ft/12r track; 9f/18r autocross, rear Alta sway bar full stiff.

After running this set up I raised the car equally on all corners two turns on the coilovers to eliminate some rear rubbing, softened up the rear sway bar and set the shocks at 15/15 at the last autocross. The car felt OK but it still wanted to rotate. Part of the problems is my getting used to driving the new set-up coupled with a much finer line of "forgiveness."

One problem I would like to solve is that the car feels like it wants to keep turning when exiting a corner. Is this a front toe problem?

How can I adjust the shocks to best effect for various problems? I know that the shocks are important in the transition state when the weight of the car is moving from corner to corner, but I don't know where to set them to. For instance, where should they be set to solve initial turn-in understeer? Oversteer?

Any thoughts or resources would be appreciated.

Mark

 

What are your toe settings for front and rear?

Front
zero to 1/8" toe out, can also be 1/16 out

Rear
zero to 1/16 toe in

You can also go less on the camber like
Front -2.2 and rear -1.2 degrees

And then it takes time to get adjusted to driving with the changes.
You can adjust tire pressure to control for some understeer.
A tire pyrometer will give you an idea on how your tires are heating up with runs.

 

Mark:

I have a set of Leda's and understand the new diminsion to suspension setup you get by having 24 position rebound adjustment per corner.

Use your rear bar for the big adjustments and the shocks for fine tuning. I made the mistake of setting the rebound too firm at the beginning. Find the right amount of rotation for your driving style and venue. Too much rotation on the autocross course is one thing on the track it can have serious consequences.

I ended last season running fronts at 10 and rears at 15 (1=softest) That's with consistent tire pressures, front and rear camber, and F & R toe, and rear sway settings. Depending on the surface -- autox venues aren't as smooth as tracks - I would go stiffer if the surface was smoother and softer if the surface was choppy.

I also made up an excel template for keeping track of all of the suspension settings and adjustments made and why. I have a pocket pc cell phone, so I have it with me all the time and record all this stuff, because it was too difficult to remember.

Let me know if you have further questions. BTW I'm switching to PSS9 Bilstein coilovers soon as I'm less than ecstatic about the Leda's.

David

 

I'm just getting ready to play around with my Leda's (with gas assist) and found a bit of slop in my passenger side steering rack! traced it to the rack (not the ball joint of tie rod locknuts.)
I found out that Mini has recalled a few racks for pre-2003 cars and is selling a newly designed rack with new ball joints and tie rods in the $750 package, which is what I got.

I had about 1/8" shake (in the "toe" direction) for the passenger side wheel; the driver's side was tight.

My dealer wanted to look at the car to determine the problem and whether the warranty would apply, but the earliest appointment was 3 weeks away. No doubt he would have voided the warranty, due to my coilovers, brakes, urethane mounts, camber plates, and then wanted an inspection charge or a huge install/part price, so I forked over the $750 and at next opportunity, will be dropping the subframe again!

 

guys,

thanks for the help. I have the toe set at zero f/r right now.
Do you think adding some toe out will help the turning problem?

"Too much rotation on the autocross course is one thing on the track it can have serious consequences." It did - I went into a tire wall with cold tires during qualifying at the RMR Solo Trials at 80+ mph; $1600 damage to the body.

Pyrometer is showing pretty even temps on the track with the current alignment setting.

I think going a little softer on the Leda's is the way to go. It might also widen the envelope a little which will be a good thing while I'm getting used to them.

I did discover that my $40 tire pressure gauge is now reading 8 lbs high at last weekends autocross, I wonder how long THAT's been going on?

 

Some Toe out in the front will allow quicker turn in and does not make the car unstable. If you are still getting too much rotation with the softer rear sway bar setting try some toe in on the rears. Also experiment with softer rebound settings on the rear leda's than on the front. That should impede rotation.

I get my car aligned about 3 or 4 times a year and I also have toe plates and a camber guage of my own. The shop I use is much more accurate than in my garage, but I always check the settings with my hand tools after a professional alignment. That way I have a way of measuring when things are out of wack.

Also what kind of spring rates are you running?