Track Suspension Qu?
05-05-2005, 11:58 AM
#1
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Track Suspension Qu?
Firstly hello 
all fellow 951 and 944 owners!
I have just purchased my first 951 after many years of TVR and Lotus ownership. I firstly looked at purchasing a 968 Club Sport but found little or no difference between this and the 951 especially when fitted with the MO30 later package and when weighing up the cost saving and the exhilarating aggressive on – off boost that the turbo provides, so I opted for a 951.
My 951 came about as a stroke of luck… I went to my local salvage auction and up for grabs was an 87 951 with the full upgrade to MO30 spec having been in a extremely light end front impact. Most of the parts to repair the car I sourced from ebay and with me working for one of the leading tuning companies in the UK for Japanese parts I new I would be able to get the work done for next to nothing.
Having now fully repaired the car, I still found the MO30 suspension to be far from up to the job of using for serious track days which the car will be used for mostly so I have opted to change the suspension for Bilstein Racing Coilovers front and rear. My first question is what spring rates would you guys recommend for both the front and rear considering that I am using the car on the track and also what camber plates are the best on the market?
I would like the car to handle with the emphasis on oversteer as opposed to understeer on the limit so was thinking about 500 on the rear and 350 on the front.
I am currently running 18” 993 Turbo 2 hollow alloys which I’m going to change soon for some magnesium Cup 1 type to reduce rolling weight.
Is it also possible to run the rear Bilstein’s inverted on the rear to minimise un-sprung weight which as we know is always an advantage?
I have just discovered the Lindsey Racing website and can only say I will be spending some serious money with them in the very near future and will also be building a website to show the progress of my car as the development continues.
I have attached a few pictures of my 951 when I purchased it for the small sum of £1,450.00 the car had also just had a complete strip re-spray before the previous owner drove it into some static object!
Regards, Mark S.
all fellow 951 and 944 owners!I have just purchased my first 951 after many years of TVR and Lotus ownership. I firstly looked at purchasing a 968 Club Sport but found little or no difference between this and the 951 especially when fitted with the MO30 later package and when weighing up the cost saving and the exhilarating aggressive on – off boost that the turbo provides, so I opted for a 951.
My 951 came about as a stroke of luck… I went to my local salvage auction and up for grabs was an 87 951 with the full upgrade to MO30 spec having been in a extremely light end front impact. Most of the parts to repair the car I sourced from ebay and with me working for one of the leading tuning companies in the UK for Japanese parts I new I would be able to get the work done for next to nothing.
Having now fully repaired the car, I still found the MO30 suspension to be far from up to the job of using for serious track days which the car will be used for mostly so I have opted to change the suspension for Bilstein Racing Coilovers front and rear. My first question is what spring rates would you guys recommend for both the front and rear considering that I am using the car on the track and also what camber plates are the best on the market?
I would like the car to handle with the emphasis on oversteer as opposed to understeer on the limit so was thinking about 500 on the rear and 350 on the front.
I am currently running 18” 993 Turbo 2 hollow alloys which I’m going to change soon for some magnesium Cup 1 type to reduce rolling weight.
Is it also possible to run the rear Bilstein’s inverted on the rear to minimise un-sprung weight which as we know is always an advantage?
I have just discovered the Lindsey Racing website and can only say I will be spending some serious money with them in the very near future and will also be building a website to show the progress of my car as the development continues.
I have attached a few pictures of my 951 when I purchased it for the small sum of £1,450.00 the car had also just had a complete strip re-spray before the previous owner drove it into some static object!
Regards, Mark S.
05-05-2005, 02:30 PM
#2
Rennlist Member
https://rennlist.com/forums/924-931-944-951-968-forum/193574-trackable-944-supension-on-a-budget.html
Take a look here. This was recently discussed in depth. No point in retyping.
Take a look here. This was recently discussed in depth. No point in retyping.
05-05-2005, 06:32 PM
#3
Race Car
wow, great find.
the bilstein coilovers sound like a good option. i would definitely look into the escort cup setup which is bilstein. you can find this on www.paragon-products.com
your proposed spring rates will get you fairly close to neutral, if you remove the torsion bars. the rear spring rate (without torsion bars) will be anywhere from 0.56-0.75 of the actual rate (depending on who you talk to). eg, i have 275 coilover rear springs, which give me a rate of about 154-206. i also have 126 pound torsion bars for a total rate of about 300 pounds. i have 350 lb front springs with 27mm front and 19mm rear sway bars, car is fairly neutral with my driving style, even maybe understeers a little.
my car is set up for a mix of street and track driving, with emphasis on track. i would like to make the car stiffer but my koni yellows aren't valved for it. maybe later i'll swap to the bilstein setup.
the bilstein coilovers sound like a good option. i would definitely look into the escort cup setup which is bilstein. you can find this on www.paragon-products.com
your proposed spring rates will get you fairly close to neutral, if you remove the torsion bars. the rear spring rate (without torsion bars) will be anywhere from 0.56-0.75 of the actual rate (depending on who you talk to). eg, i have 275 coilover rear springs, which give me a rate of about 154-206. i also have 126 pound torsion bars for a total rate of about 300 pounds. i have 350 lb front springs with 27mm front and 19mm rear sway bars, car is fairly neutral with my driving style, even maybe understeers a little.
my car is set up for a mix of street and track driving, with emphasis on track. i would like to make the car stiffer but my koni yellows aren't valved for it. maybe later i'll swap to the bilstein setup.
05-05-2005, 06:52 PM
#4
Nordschleife Master
These bad boys showed up at my house on Tuesday. Got the fronts installed yesterday and the rears are almost there. I opted for the torsion bar delete and still have some parts to put on. I'm running 400 front and 450 rear.
Last edited by Lemming; 08-06-2014 at 09:39 AM.
05-05-2005, 07:17 PM
#5
Race Car
tim, absolutely beautiful. wow, now you just need some nice bushings.
05-05-2005, 07:21 PM
#6
Rennlist Member
Very nice. Awfully expensive though, eh?
Also, there are enough people who feel that doing torsion bar delete puts too much stress on the stock shock mounts, to discourages me from going to coilovers only.
There will always be a difference in opinion, but other than weight savings, and a tiny bit more control over ride height, it's probably best to go with reindexed torsion bars and coilovers. It is definitely the easiest way to go, since you don't have to worry about reindexing the torsion bars.
Also, there are enough people who feel that doing torsion bar delete puts too much stress on the stock shock mounts, to discourages me from going to coilovers only.
There will always be a difference in opinion, but other than weight savings, and a tiny bit more control over ride height, it's probably best to go with reindexed torsion bars and coilovers. It is definitely the easiest way to go, since you don't have to worry about reindexing the torsion bars.
05-05-2005, 07:32 PM
#7
Nordschleife Master
Bushings are on my "needed" list and I would have ordered them but my 968 really needed new brake rotors and pads.
I'm not really worried about the rear coilovers, but then again, my brother had a 70-something Vega that he jacked the rear end up using air shocks. We hit a bump one night and the shocks came up through the hatch area
Pricey, yes, but when you have soo little HP you need to keep you momentum up in the corners. And to be honest, they are not much more than the Bilstein Cups.
I'm not really worried about the rear coilovers, but then again, my brother had a 70-something Vega that he jacked the rear end up using air shocks. We hit a bump one night and the shocks came up through the hatch area
Pricey, yes, but when you have soo little HP you need to keep you momentum up in the corners. And to be honest, they are not much more than the Bilstein Cups.