83944

Greetings to all,

At a recent track day at Phillip Island (www.phillipislandcircuit.com.au) a friend took a few long distance shots of my 1980 SC in action. It surprised me to see the the front L/H wheel is nearly off the road surface - other competitors confirmed this as well.
The corner in question is complex, as the track rises over a crest with camber running off to the right, the track curves to the left, loading up the front R/H tyre. The L/Hand side of the track then drops away as the car crests the top of the hill.
Speed here is about 100-110/kmh slowing to about 65-70/kmh at the bottom of the hill. Those that know the circuit will recognise it as MG corner.

My question is this. Looking at the image, does it appear that the suspension, is out of sorts, especially the L/H rear? New Konis/Bilsteins all around??

Considered options appreciated.

Cheers
Andrew

83944

I shot a video last year of the same car at this track - www.youtube.com/watch?v=91B-fLUaOfk
The corner starts 2:10 into the video.
Cheers
Andrew

butzip

It looks perfectly normal for a stock set-up being pushed by a confident driver. You can go nuts with susp upgrades to make thing stiffer and flat though the corners. Just visit Elephant Racing's website to mention just one..... Just remember every step you take towards a better track set-up is one further from a street set-up. The happy medium is up to you to determine.

83944

Hi butzip - thanks for that. This car is mostly used as a road car with 4-6 track days a year. I don't want to kill my kidneys with rock hard suspension so I will stick to the standard setup.
I was just after a second opinion about the way the car looked when pushed hard, she behaves well on the track but I suspect the suspension may be a bit "tired".

Cheers from downunder...
Andrew

butzip

I took a slow evolution approach to upgrading my handling. I started with bushings (rubber) & lowering it, then started running R-compound tires, then sway-bars, strut bar. I have not found it necessary to change the T-bars yet. My philosophy being, I want to know how each upgrade effects the car. Now granted my car weighs in at about 2150lbs.... the dynamics of weight (sprung & un-sprung) also plays a major role. I've seen people make massive changes all at once and wonder why the car is so different and sometimes uncontrollable. Of course, then you have to start undoing things and don't know where to start to correct the issues.

In the below pic, I'm 3rd gear @ 5500rpm through the 'toe' at Watkins Glen. Very close to the limit of the cars cornering capability. You can see there is still body roll because, like you, I still want to drive on the street. But if you take all the compliance out of the susp the forces do not just go away, they start being abosrbed by the body. This is why race cars are tube frame and ultimately aluminum and CF monocoque. It's all about compromise. Be careful or you'll start building a dedicated track car before you know it

83944

Hi buzip - thanks for that - yr '11 looks a sweet little car and you seem to be enjoying yrself. ahhh Watkins Glen - what can I say, almost as good as Bathurst and Phillip Island. You would enjoy both tracks - both are seriously fast and complex, especially Bathurst that track leaves you with a dry mouth.
I was seeking confirmation from fellow SC owners that my SC did not have any suspension issues and not to get sucked into the performance path. I bought the car quite cheaply but have had to spend on a re-freshed engine/replace clutch/replace muffler with a S/S Monty/replace steering box/replace fuel pump/repair the warm up regulator plus a few interior items . Ya gotta love Pelican Parts!

Cheers & thanks for your help.
Andrew

autobonrun

Looks normal to me. It's very common for 911's to lift one if not both tires on the inside.

ricster

22mm and 29mm torsion bars...that will help it and it wont ride bad on the street. Just ask me how I know.

whalebird

R compound tires are the last thing you should do. Shocks and bushings will get the stock integrity back in the legs, properly lowered and an aligned, then go from there.

83944

Hi W'bird,

Thanks for that - have already installed my Dunlop R-spec boots - it gave me an extra 4 sec/lap on this track.

KeithC2Turto

911's seem to be fastest on three wheels. This transfers the most weight possable to the inside rear wheel for max rear hold. After all, the rear tires have to support 50% more weight than the front.

Still, we do not want that lifted wheel to high in the air. It makes it difficult to get enough neg camber on the front tire remaining.

Sway bars from an 86 911 are 22/21 and could be an inexpensive add.