sweanders

I had a great time, but Corvettes suck. It pleaded for mercy by displaying a warning for hot transmission temperature after 16 minutes, by that time the engine oil temp was way up there and oil pressure was low as well.

I'll be back, these events are just a ton of fun. And 205 actually felt kind of slow, can't wait to go real fast sometime.. Richard Hillie offered me a nav. seat but I want to go fast in a Porsche type of car even though his Camaro certainly is capable..

Bill Ball

I will just say quickly, my car is FAR from perfect. I could toodle along at 170 indicated (167 actual) in the straights, but as soon as I hit a high-speed sweeper and put some serious pressure on one side of the suspension, the car would weave, flexing above the wheels , changing direction and exaggerating steering inputs. I had to be VERY careful and often drop 10-20MPH to make it through the turn. So, I made it through the first leg of the race slightly ahead of schedule by flogging it hard on the straights. The second shorter leg just did not have enough long straights and I lost gobs of time, even getting passed by Tim and Cheryl (me doing 150, them 165). It was very disappointing to see these suspension problems.

So, since the car was without these gross turning abnormalities last year with bad shocks, and I have put on good shocks, and my set up is essentially identical to George's, the only other variable is mileage and bushings. Very few people race cars with 170K miles on them. You wouldn't appreciate how awful the handling is until you load up the suspension on a long sweeper at 140+. There is no way to test this in daily driving. Coming home Anders thought the suspension wasn't bad, but we didn't take any turns at 140+. I could have demonstrated the problem at 100 or so with the right turn.

The front A-arm bushing were suspected by the last alignment tech, but I couldn't see the problem...it requires too heavy of a load. The bushings may not be worn, but softness may be the issue and even aggressive daily driving doesn't put enough lateral force over long enough distance to see the problem.

So, I'll be going after the bushings now that the season is over.

AO

Bill- Sorry to hear the car wasn't quite up to snuff. I know you'll get it dailed in... eventually. And hopefully next year you'll have a much better story to report!

edco

Hey Guys,

Thanks for keeping us posted please post more photos when you get a chance.

Bill I look forward to taking you up on your offer for next season
let me know when we’re changing the front A-arm bushing.

mark kibort

Hey Bill,

Care to elaborate on the type of changes from last year that could have contributed to the lack of handling? what shock package did you go with this year? Still have the weisach (unpinned)?


mk

Bill Ball

MarK:

The only thing that happened since last year is more miles and time. I have checked everything. The steering rack is good and locked down. The balljpoints are good. I swapped out some defective, worn out Konis for new ones on my stock sport springs. Last year with the previous Konis I just had some minimal wallowing on fast hard turns, although I didn't like them in slower twisties and they weren't right based on a simple fender push test. This year the handling fell apart. Wallowing all over the place including straights. New Konis on the same springs, the straights improved, the fender test improved, but I now have this severe wallowing in turns with the sense that the body is not connected to the wheels and terrible overshoot on steering. Tires are sticking, but the car changes direction. MUST be the bushings have gone mushy. Everybody else has much lower mile cars. George is just over 100K on a similar setup. His rides much better. At 170K I think the bushings must be done. Otherwise I don't know what it could be. The deterioration was rather sudden. The car is essentially undriveable pushed hard into a high-speed sweeper.

AO

Could it be that your defective Konis comprimised your springs? I guess it's pretty much a moot point as you're installing new ones. Anyway, just a thought.

SMTCapeCod

Nice write-up, appreciate the details.


But...No video of 928s spinning/spooling at/about speed?


That's it, next year we're sending Olsen d*m* it!

Bill Ball

SORRY TO HIJACK THE PONY EXPRESS THREAD. I WILL OPEN ANOTHER THREAD FOR FOLLOW-UP ON MY SAD SUSPENSION.

mark kibort

maybe the spring rates are just too soft now. the eibachs for racing were a little challenging, but obviously handing at 150 vs 100mph is a little different.
Still, got to wonder if it was someting else. dont think the bushings can cause that kind of handling issue. was the " wollowing" more like a suspension softenss issue? how does it compare to Georges car at speed? maybe its alignment. are you toed out a bit, that would cause some wondering at speed.

Sorry to hear. Thats got to be frustrating. I would say, cut a spring loop out of the eigbachs. It really made scots car handle well and i drove it last night on some speed runs, and it is really smooth compared to mine (holbert car cranked down devek level II koni/hypercoil) with your heavier weight, it should be even softer and will certainly handle better.

ride hight? could be too high in front? it looks realy high in front, based on your picture. since i run at 112/135mm front to rear, i would think that any proportions higher for your car would work well.


MK

Ron_H

Bill, do you have aftermarket upper control arm bushings or are they the original stock bushings? Devek installed aftermarket bushings in my car after not being able to find original type bushings with the steel inserts. They seem too soft to me. But they do alright at 160, and seemed solid in turns. However, recently I have noticed the same behavior: sudden overreaction to steering inputs and little changes turn into drastic movements. I noticed it alot in Oregon and I haven't been driving the car since. Scary. I have Konis also, but on stock springs. They have about 45,000 miles on them, but don't do what you described yours as doing: the Cadillac bounce after a bump. They snub and damp most bumps in one cycle like they should, though I would like them to do it faster. I think I agree that it is the bushings. I have tried to find some original bushings in Germany, but unsuccessfully so far. It seems what is left on the remaining cars is what we have. If the source I know can't get them I doubt they may be found.

dr bob

Bill--

My memory is that you made a tire-and-wheel change since last year. How's my memory?

Bill Ball

REPLIES TO MY SUSPENSION WOES IN NEW THREAD...
https://rennlist.com/forums/928-forum/295386-my-sad-suspension.html

Bill Ball

BTW, I have most of a jack rabbit somewhere in the engine compartment and undercarriage of my car.

While I was bombing along at 155, I saw the ill-timed attempt of the rabbit to cross the road. He never knew what hit him, but I felt a hard hit. As I drove on, I looked back to see his head bouncing down the road, but nothing else.

When I got to the end of the first leg, I got down to survey the damage. He displaced the spoiler downward and tore off a 1 foot section of the bellypan. I can see parts embedded around the AC compressor.

Full story and pictures at 11.

dr bob

Good idea taking the rabbit down the middle. At 150+, they are really slippery if they do a few 'spins' in the wheel house there.

-----

There's a 'Loyal Order of the Squirrel' group that's a subset of the SoCal928 group. At 160, a rabbit probably looks a lot like a squirrel. Membership in Order of the Squirrel group is presumed to be an honor, but only by its members it seems. We could probably stretch the charter to include you. We will have to do a little crayon work on your t-shirt though.

Be happy that you don't have any more serious initiation process to survive. There are only a few of us that survived to claim rightful membership in the Fraternal Order of Garlic Wharf Rats. For instance...