Folks,
The title is SEO'd for easy finding in the future as many searches on t'interweb found little.
It's a year since I last had my geo done and all was not quite right. At very low speeds when entering quite tight but smooth bends - like a roundabout - the back end would be slow to turn, sometimes dragging/hopping a bit. In addition the car felt a bit too safe, too steady, too heavy.
So I set about some research. I wanted to make the rear chase the front round bends and I wanted the front to be a lot more reactive, more pointy, lighter. Of course I didn't want to lose high speed stability but I know there is a trade-off.
There is lots on the web that explain camber, castor, toe (in and out), thrust, etc. But only really in engineering terms and not in my hunting did I find anything that prescribed a solution for my needs. So I decided to figure out my own edits. Crazy? Maybe...
My previous settings (per wheel) were:
FRONT: Toe-in +12'. Camber-50'. Castor=4degs.(Max achievable)
REAR: Toe-in +15'. Camber-1deg50'.
To make the front more pointy we cut the toe-in by 33%. This aids turn in and makes the front react faster. To keep the rear stable we kept the Toe the same. To 'lighten' the car we reduced camber front and rear but maintained an offset, albeit a smaller offset front to back to stop the rear exiting the bend before the front.
My new settings (per wheel) are:
FRONT: Toe-in +8'. Camber-25'. Castor=4degs.(Max achievable)
REAR: Toe-in +15'. Camber-1deg.
The car now feels more like Mohammed Ali than Joe Bugner. It's up on its toes at any speed which makes for much more pointy driving. It's a lot more fun in the twistes and its way more fluid. It is a little bit less stable at higher speeds but that's no worry as my fun driving is not had at jail-bird speeds on public roads. The trade off is well worth it.
I should also say I have H&R springs with Bilstein B6/HD shocks set just above RS height.
Last thought, man these things are so subtle when being setup. The slightest edit to one setting changes everything on the ramp. Takes a lot of patience. The guys prob spent 3 hours on it with me 'helping'.
The title is SEO'd for easy finding in the future as many searches on t'interweb found little.
It's a year since I last had my geo done and all was not quite right. At very low speeds when entering quite tight but smooth bends - like a roundabout - the back end would be slow to turn, sometimes dragging/hopping a bit. In addition the car felt a bit too safe, too steady, too heavy.
So I set about some research. I wanted to make the rear chase the front round bends and I wanted the front to be a lot more reactive, more pointy, lighter. Of course I didn't want to lose high speed stability but I know there is a trade-off.
There is lots on the web that explain camber, castor, toe (in and out), thrust, etc. But only really in engineering terms and not in my hunting did I find anything that prescribed a solution for my needs. So I decided to figure out my own edits. Crazy? Maybe...
My previous settings (per wheel) were:
FRONT: Toe-in +12'. Camber-50'. Castor=4degs.(Max achievable)
REAR: Toe-in +15'. Camber-1deg50'.
To make the front more pointy we cut the toe-in by 33%. This aids turn in and makes the front react faster. To keep the rear stable we kept the Toe the same. To 'lighten' the car we reduced camber front and rear but maintained an offset, albeit a smaller offset front to back to stop the rear exiting the bend before the front.
My new settings (per wheel) are:
FRONT: Toe-in +8'. Camber-25'. Castor=4degs.(Max achievable)
REAR: Toe-in +15'. Camber-1deg.
The car now feels more like Mohammed Ali than Joe Bugner. It's up on its toes at any speed which makes for much more pointy driving. It's a lot more fun in the twistes and its way more fluid. It is a little bit less stable at higher speeds but that's no worry as my fun driving is not had at jail-bird speeds on public roads. The trade off is well worth it.
I should also say I have H&R springs with Bilstein B6/HD shocks set just above RS height.
Last thought, man these things are so subtle when being setup. The slightest edit to one setting changes everything on the ramp. Takes a lot of patience. The guys prob spent 3 hours on it with me 'helping'.