...

 

I would say that it is highly unlikely that your installer would have done a corner balance without you asking.

It is the process of putting your car on four independent scales, adding weight to compensate for a driver and equalizing the weight from side to side by using the coilovers to raise or lower each corner. Obviously you need adjustable coilovers to do this.

I don't remember what I paid last time I had it done but you should plan to spend several hundred dollars. It requires special equipment and a fair amount of labor.

 

How much differently will the car handle if this is not done?


For argument sake, assume the adjustable coilovers had the same characteristics as stock suspension parts..... How much would the corner balancing improve the cornering?

Is there any way to approximate corner balancing with a stock suspension?

 

Doug, I've got an 02 C4 Cab that I've been toying with lowering. Can you give us/me more detail on what parts you bought and a general idea of the cost. TIA

PS: I know nothing about corner balancing, but how to they do it at the factory. Do they assume certain passenger weight? <img src="confused.gif" border="0">

 

I couldn't imagine making suspension changes without checking the corner balance. If they're height adjustable shocks then this would surely have to be done.

What difference does it make? Well the easiest way to answer this is to explain that NASCAR uses it on oval tracks to preload the suspension for left-only corners. It is a trick you can use to make the car favour one direction over the other.

So having the corner balance correct is very important. Even on my stock suspension the dealer will check this.

S.

 

I'm sure the factory suspension comes balanced based on some assumptions on passenger load. I don't think there is any way to adjust a standard suspension and I don't think it would be of much value if you did. Given that it's going to be pretty close from the factory, I doubt corner balance is going to be a big factor in the performance of an OEM suspension.

Assuming that you aren't interested in setting your car up for an oval or a particular track, corner balancing is primarily about making sure that all corners are doing their job. Think of the instability of a chair with one leg too long. When adjusting ride hieght with coilovers, it is possible to set up your car with one corner (leg) too long or too short. This is, of course, worse with a stiff suspension. It should be pretty obvious the negative effect this will have on performance. Simply stated, corner balancing makes sure that each tire is carrying the appropriate amount of weight. This is done by adjusting height/weight across and diagonal.

 

Didn't mean to suggest that the dealer was corner balancing the factory set-up, only that he would check it. Really this is more of a test to make sure nothing is broken or more so, that the car hasn't been bent in some strange way. Bend the chasis and of course the corner balance will change.

The only set-up you would ever want on a street car is neutral corner balance. NASCAR and oval racing is a very special application.

Oh, Doug, it is very important that you not have the front raised higher than the back. The front downforce comes from the fact that it is not. It isn't that big of a deal on a street car but still you want to have it right.

S.

 

As Fixed wing and JimB said, you need a height adjustable suspension to corner balance the car, so its either a coilover or coil spring setup. The Winston Cup cars and many other race cars use weight jacks (this is what we called them on our old race car) which is basically a coil spring that you can crank down for more "weight" on a particular corner of the car, this is what occurs when you hear them talking about "half a turn on the right rear..." during a pit stop. This is actually a very economical racing setup compared to the coilovers (if you're not buying the latest hot spring setup$$), but hardly applicable to a Porsche. <img src="graemlins/xyxwave.gif" border="0" alt="[bigbye]" /> <img src="graemlins/drink.gif" border="0" alt="[cherrsagai]" />

 

Just wanted to state what a great thread this is, and a great board with knowledgeable posters rennlist is. Just by lurking, I learned a lot. THANKS.

 

[quote]Originally posted by dpblessing:
<strong>
I am glad to hear that the car should have a neutral balance. It was starting to worry that after the coilovers are installed that I could only make (fast) left hand turns.
</strong><hr></blockquote>

Don't worry Doug, once your car is set up properly, it is going to spin just as readily to the right as it will to the left!

[Sorry, just couldn't resist.] <img src="graemlins/icon107.gif" border="0" alt="[icon107]" />

S.

 

Several years ago I put new Bilstien's on my 911SC on all four corners. I drove the car a couple of months and then had the ride height set along with corner balance. The difference was very notable. I haven't had this done on my 996 yet but I definitely would do it if I ever put an adjustable suspension on the car given past experience. I don't remember the cost but given the improvement, it was money well spent.

 

Doug:

I had the ride height set at the stock height. The SC had torsion bar suspension and is more sensitive to corner balance. When you enter and exit turns the suspension is constantly loading and unloading. Having the corner balance set makes the car more predictable and less susceptible to breaking loose. Very noticeable on loop ramps!