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Originally Posted by 98'Lude
Hey man whats up. I was wondering if you could give me any suggestions for a good suspension set up for my daily driving routine. I drive a lot of back roads that tend to have a lot of turns, banks, and hills. My style of driving is very spirited and I like to push the limits of my suspension and tires although I know when to stop pushing. Im currently running a set of H&R race springs, I know I atleast need new dampers and possibly sway bars. What I'm wondering is if you think I should switch over to a coilover set up or if I should just stick to my springs with, say some koni yellows. Also if it helps at all I notice that there is quite a bit of understeer when driving my car hard around tight corners. Oh yeah and my car is a '98 Honda Prelude base model.
Thanks,
Joey
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im not sure what spring rate those H&R springs are rated. us nissan guys have a certain 'range' we use and find our sweet spot from there and the application to suit. the suspension pinion and flex angles are different for each chassis so im not too familiar with the prelude HOWEVER, im not sure of the integrity of the roads u are driving on while spirited
there springs should be stiff 'enough' to level ur car and keep chassis balance but its useless if its too hard and bumps make ur car nervous (obviously when u dont have the rubber on the ground, ur car is no longer in control). so u have to find that balance.
if ur roads are really bumpy with potholes and rubble all over the place then the softer the better HOWEVER if its generally like most roads where its mild quality with bumps here and there, then u would know where u stand in terms of how nervous ur car is.....i'd have to be there and drive ur car to see the 'give' in ur spring rate. but if u feel u get good road contact then so be it.
alot of ppl go coilovers. and alot of coilovers have quite high spring rates (track ones anyways), but the likes of SS and flex from tein for example (im using this as an example since everyone has heard of these entry level coilovers) are decent, quite 'soft' spring rates relatively (relative because stock suspension is simply SHIT SOFT...anything more rigid will seem 'stiff' when its really not).
if ur car is on the limit of nervousness the way it is. dont listen to anybody else. koni actually make good dampers and are quite complex. bilstein make better damper housings than tein for example. just make sure the valving is suitable for that spring rate of H&R coils. otherwise ur going to have trouble with the suspension complimenting each other. it would be an excellent idea to get adjustable pillow ball mounts also to mount onto the koni's. pillow balls give more rigid structure to let the suspension geometry do its thing. while at the same time u can adjust ur camber accordingly to suit ur needs for ur spirited runs.
understeer is a trait of FF cars as im sure u know. which makes me think that the spring rate at the front is good enough. u may want to change ur camber settings (as i mentioned above) to help enable turn in. possibly 1-2mm toe out compliment the camber.
as i said im not familiar with the spring rate at the rear but it should be hard enough to help bring the rear end out. some FF cars even have 1-2 mm toe out at the rear to help eliminate the understeer trait of FF cars by enabling the tail to kick out a bit more. straight line stability is a trade off but its nothing u wont get used to and slowly consider 'negligent'.
increase the tyre pressure on ur rear tyres to help ur rear end get out.
BUT BE CAREFUL
u'd rather have a car that has a tendency to understeer at the limit (or just a bit beyond) rather than oversteer. simply for saftey reasons.
if u dont have too much adjustability right now, tyres and their pressures can play quite the part
i highly recommend u get good rubber. ur grippin it afterall, so dont care about wear....it'll last ALOT longer than us EastRUN guys anyways. what's ur tyre pressures?
just remember u have to build what's right for you. i like gettin on my turn and car balanced early and throttle modulate throughout. i steer with my right foot but thats more a rwd habit. i would still get on my line early even in grip and that goes for either FF or FR.
weight distribution is also a factor but i take it that does not need discussion at this stage as im sure weight saving is not considered at the particular stage ur car is in. just remember. u'd rather lose weight at either front or back rather than the centre of the chassis. it helps reduce flex on lateral load and lets ur suspension do its job.
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