Gene

iTrader: (1)

This is a repost of my thread in the racing section ( https://www.rx7club.com/race-car-tech-103/suspension-setup-question-790699/ ) that isn't getting any bites.

So I purchased a set of Tein Super Drift coilovers for my FC based on the spring rates, but I later found out that the damping curves are actually designed for super-dorifto-ness. I use the car for DE and TT, not drifting. TEIN tech support gave me this dyno sheet comparing them to the Flex, I've posted it below. The rebound is on the top of each chart, and the bump is on the bottom. Front shocks are on the left, rear on the right.

I haven't installed them yet, but I'll be putting them in this weekend in anticipation of a track event, as the old K2RD setup I've got now has seen better days.

Do you guys think I'll be able to dial out the oversteer or am I going to be sending them in to Tein when the season is over to get them re valved? Is anybody running this set who can give me some pointers?

Sandbagger

Drift and grip setups are very similar in that they are designed to increase response and driver feel. The 8kg/6kg combo is really nice.

I would suggest starting out on the softer side of the valving. Maybe 12 or 10 clicks back from full stiff. If your really worried about the car oversteering, you can remove the rear sway bar or use a stock rear; if you have aftermarket ones.

I don't remember the ride height suggestions from TEIN, but make sure you have sufficient travel instead of just dumping the car to the ground.

What is your wheel and tire setup on the car?

Hypertek

iTrader: (3)

dude... just put them on..
Alot can also be in your tires, air pressure, chassis stiffness *play with strut bars, try one on the front and none on the rear, or vise versa*.

I could sell you Tein Super Grip coilovers, doesnt mean its gonna make you grip.. its just a marketing name..

I used to rock tein HE on my s13 *the model prior to the super drifts* and they where fine for grip or drift, it just depends on how you set the car up..

Gene

iTrader: (1)

No, drift shocks won't make you magically drift, but they will make the car less stable in transitions, since that's how you start a drift. If you look at the rebound curves on the drift shocks, you can see that they're actually much softer than the Flex, but on the bump they're stiffer in front. Because of the softer rebound, when you unload the car they're going to "boing" more and launch the weight off the formerly loaded springs.

Currently I have the RB front swaybar and the stock rear. Tires on the street are 225 Kumho MX all around, on the track I have 225 front and 245 rear BFG R1s

SpideyFan6010

I heard Flex is the best way to go Cause you can setup for what ever type of racing you are doing them go back to make them for daily driving. The Super Drifts were cheaper than the Flex last time I checked for some reason. I guess you have to pay more for Comfort than Performance.

aznpoopy

that dyno kind of sucks. it doesn't show you how the curve changes at each click. we don't even know what setting that shock is at. is that full stiff?

naturally it's too much to assume that the shock steps linearly between each click and retains the same average curve.

see if you can't get that info out of tein. maybe the curve you want is in the adjustment.

ilia

iTrader: (4)

Just drive the car. You should be able to drive around a minute difference in rebound damping.

Gene

iTrader: (1)

That dyno is with it at full stiff. The Tein guy I was talking to emailed me back and said that the dyno in their shop is currently broken so he can't get me ones at the other settings.

Last I looked the price of the Flex and the SD were very similar, but the SD had the spring rates I wanted and looks to be more a more beefy construction since they are intending for you to mistreat them. They also have a little negative camber built into the front struts so you don't need as extreme a tilt to get the camber you want, and space the shock inwards slightly for additional wheel clearance.

Black91n/a

Just put them on and adjust them as best you can. Lots of people do just fine with much worse, so you'll be fine.

Gene

iTrader: (1)

Just got back from a 3-day event at Thunderbolt in NJ with this new setup on the car and figured I'd post a followup so anyone who finds this thread later can see how it turned out.

The EDFC was a great investment, I could mess with the settings without having to pit and get out to twiddle the *****. I can also easily crank them back to street settings (13F and 14R seems to be best so far) so my GF doesn't kick my ***. She actually said the ride seems smoother than my old KYB setup.

The hot setup with my BFGs, RB front swaybar, and no rear swaybar seems to be 3 out of 16 on the front struts and 4 out of 16 on the rear. (lower # is harder) The car is wicked fast and has tons of grip, I was seeing 1.1-1.2 G in the corners with a borrowed GPS data acquisition box, and turn-in is excellent.

I can't comment on the adjustability of the spring preload and ride height so much. I set the adjustments up to match what the manual said they should be to start, and with me in the driver's seat and a half tank of gas the cross weights were within 5 lbs, so I left them alone. My car isn't exactly stock weight-wise though, it has a rollbar, half an exhaust, racing seats, no AC or PS, and the battery is in the passenger side storage bin.

Also thanks to Rishie at Auto RND for his excellent sales support.

Black91n/a

Interesting, for me the EDFC would have been a complete waste of money since I run the exact same adjustments for the street and the track. It rides ok on the street and handles well on track, so I see no reason to change. My dad used to fiddle around with the damping on his Flex's in his Miata and has found that the street settings seemed to be best. Stiffening the camping can give more immediate reactions, but it'll also tend to make the car less stable over bumps and such, or inversely, softening it for the street might give an overly bouncy ride.

Just my $0.02.

Gene

iTrader: (1)

Eh, I'm getting older, and my girlfriend is a female who isn't particularly into cars, so the softer settings on the street are a bonus. Different tracks have different characteristics too, so the optimum settings for NJMP may be different than Summit for example, or even different at the same track day to day depending on temperature, rubber on the track, etc.

Black91n/a

Not necessarily. Basically there's an optimum damping setting for the given spring rates, car weight, unsprung weight, etc. What you'll be seeing more from a track to track difference is the car wanting more or less spring. To me, the $380 (? going off memory) is worth a lot of times getting in and out of the car. I set mine up on the street when getting out doesn't mean lost track time and haven't looked back since.

Like I said, just my $0.02 that for me, it'd be wasted money.

Gene

iTrader: (1)

Heh, I guess I'm just lazy, plus the computer geek in me can't resist such gadgetry. What I was getting at with the track to track comparison is bumpiness. Some tracks are bumpier than others depending on when they were last repaved, and you might need to pull a little damping out to get the best grip.

Black91n/a

My point is that if it gives you more grip on the bumpy track, you'll be getting more grip on that setting on the smooth track too, it just might not feel as good because the reactions will be slightly slower.

Tofuman FC3S

iTrader: (1)

I always wondered what the big deal of EDFC is. Spring and dampner set-up should be a match right, so what if you will change you dampner from inside the car, the spring wouldn't match anymore, making it crappy to drive. Or am I wrong here?

Black91n/a

More or less once you've got the dampers set up properly, you shouldn't have to touch the ***** ever again. Doing so will give you less grip if you stiffen, or more bounce if you soften. If you insist on having different presets for track and street, just adjust once before and after.

It can be useful though to try and get the car to behave differently, like if you want it to oversteer more.

FortyFiveD

iTrader: (2)

I run the SD on my car and I do road course and they do fine I actually use the same setting as street, although I have noticed if I stiffen it up in the rear too much the back wants to kick instead of grip (which is a given). So just keep an eye on how stiff you make it. Hope they work out for you.