suspension options for road course

[hispanicpanic]

I'd like to understand what suspension mods people have on their rex's for track driving. Just picked up my HF to use as a DD but would like to do an occasional trackday in it if the evo is ever down. It needs bushings and basic stuff and i'm looking to replace with things that are track worthy.

Do they make koni race shocks in a coil over application for these cars??? I'd probably lean towards something extremely cheap yet effective. bang for buck, if you will.

[kevbo82]

You can use ground control kits with the koni's. That's what I have in my autocross car. Great bang for the buck.


http://www.ground-control-store.com/pro ... =877/CA=55

[Dave_Darling]

Throw enough money at someone, and they'll make shocks for any weight of vehicle with any spring rate and any range of travel you want. But you'll have to tell them all of those details. Places like Truechoice will re-valve Konis custom for you; other places will re-valve Bilsteins, and still others the really high-end stuff like Ohlins.

That said, just about any mod you make that knocks off lap time will make your car a worse daily driver. Stiffer springs (and/or shocks) will make the ride harsher, as will big anti-roll bars (sway bars), solid bushings, etc. And a very stiff suspension will reveal weaknesses in the chassis, as it starts flexing and introducing unplanned movement into things.

Compromise is the name of the game--what are you willing to live with in order to go faster, and how much faster do you need to go?

--DD

[Mista Bone]

OTS Koni yellows, Ground control top hats, H&R Race springs (a little rough for DD) and ST anti-roll bars from and rear.....and done with the suspension other than normal bushing and parts check/replace as needed.

Then focus on the brakes...

How my 89 CRX HF was set up by previous owner. It has been tracked in Colorado and elsewhere as well as quite competitive in autox, before I bought it.

[hispanicpanic]

Good info guys, thanks.

I saw some valving of an MR2 koni race shock last month and i was really impressed by its damping curves. Wasn't a fan of their regular version of their shock (yelllow maybe??). I have MCS 2 way coilovers on my Evo 10, and though its a 7k setup with springs and hats included, it is actually smother than anything else i had ridden in despite being twice the spring rate of the KW V3's they replaced. I'd have no qualms dailying that setup with the adjusters turned down, 800 in/lb rates included. Its not the springs that'll kill you in a setup, its the dampers.

Anyways i digress...... Does anyone have shock dyno's of any CRX setups? I'd ideally like something with a digressive high compression region.

Anyone have an idea of what a GC setup would cost them?

[hispanicpanic]

Also looking beyond springs/dampers, What about adjustible arms?? My crx's bushings are all shot. The steering pulls hard during accel/decceleration so i think the radius rod bushings are dead.

I like the ability to adjust geometry and i have a lot of experience doing this before so i know what i'm getting into.... But i much prefer a spherical bearing over rubber/poly. Anyone have any advice to share in the bushing/arm realm?

[kevbo82]

Here are two great links, both are STS autocross focused, but still lots of good info for the EF chassis. I believe the redshift page goes into adjustable arms/joints in there someplace. And I'm pretty sure Andy Hollis posted lots o' shock dyno's around the net at some point?

http://www.redshiftmotorsports.com/RedS ... 20Page.htm

https://www.facebook.com/HollisRacing?sk=notes


maybe i'm getting old and cranky, but I don't much enjoy being in my CRX on the streets. I have Koni race, GC coil overs with 400/600ish usually. I drive 15 minutes to my local autocross, with shocks set (soft front stiffer rear) with Bridgestone RE71's, sitting in a Kirkey seat and I can't wait to get out of the damn thing! For all other events where I drive an hour plus I swap on stock Si wheels with cheapo all seasons and leave the car the same and it's a much better ride. Some longer trips I've made I swapped the stock seat in for the commute and I guess I wouldn't mind DD it in that form

[ColdLumpen]

I run spherical on the front crossmember and also on the rear trailing arm. Spherical for the rear trailing arm helped immensely in keeping the rear end stable under heavy braking. Everywhere else I run fresh-ish OE rubber. I did previously run poly in the control arms. The rubber has worked well for my current driving ability, especially at the limit and steering with the throttle on long fast sweepers. It seemed to slow down what was happening and releasing the rear end or bringing it back in line just became more fun than scary. With the poly, things seemed to happen more quickly and it was more frantic for me to make corrections.

Don't know if any of that helps or makes sense, but that's my experience. For reference: OTS Koni yellow, GC (400/500), Si front sway bar, ST rear on middle stiff, autopower race roll bar, RE-11 tires. Daily driven. Road course only; never autocrossed.

[Mista Bone]

Here are two great links, both are STS autocross focused, but still lots of good info for the EF chassis. I believe the redshift page goes into adjustable arms/joints in there someplace. And I'm pretty sure Andy Hollis posted lots o' shock dyno's around the net at some point?

http://www.redshiftmotorsports.com/RedS ... 20Page.htm

https://www.facebook.com/HollisRacing?sk=notes


maybe i'm getting old and cranky, but I don't much enjoy being in my CRX on the streets. I have Koni race, GC coil overs with 400/600ish usually. I drive 15 minutes to my local autocross, with shocks set (soft front stiffer rear) with Bridgestone RE71's, sitting in a Kirkey seat and I can't wait to get out of the damn thing! For all other events where I drive an hour plus I swap on stock Si wheels with cheapo all seasons and leave the car the same and it's a much better ride. Some longer trips I've made I swapped the stock seat in for the commute and I guess I wouldn't mind DD it in that form

For current STS info I would look up Hilary/Jason's setup on her CRX if they have posted much.

Can't wait to see Tipple's new fleet to come out and play, been building his and others transmissions, including the one in the STS car as mentioned in Redshift article.

My H&R Race 460F/370R are just too much on the street on Koni Yellows. Lee mentioned the valving could be changed, but at a hefty price for buying new revalved shocks. I'm going to be putting on H&R OE Sports and normal shocks as the above setup has beat the chassis up quick badly....it "only" has 378k miles on it.

[hispanicpanic]

Anyone have thoughts on the aftermarket traction bar systems versus sticking with the stock radius rod setup??

Is the front part of the chassis stiff enough to direct braking and cornering forces through it? I like the idea of using a rod end with this style of arm setup VS a spherical under radial load with the stock radius rock type setup. I really want to use a spherical here vs rubber or poly if i can. Found an ebay traction bar setup for cheap..



edit: Decided this topic deserved its own thread. viewtopic.php?f=6&t=206513