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Getting right suspension spring rates ,shocks etc
The Knobs - 16/2/15 at 07:05 PM

Fiddle about or just take it to Procomp and get new shocks, springs, geo in one hit? Is it worth trying to guess spring rates and what spec shocks to order, anyone tried themselves and actually got it right?

Car will be 10% road and 90% trackday live axle Birkin with front arb

daniel mason - 16/2/15 at 07:17 PM

Where did you find a Birkin? They are stunning.
Also take it straight to procomp and don't guess on anything! They will sort it out

The Knobs - 16/2/15 at 07:30 PM

quote:
Originally posted by daniel mason
Where did you find a Birkin? They are stunning.
Also take it straight to procomp and don't guess on anything! They will sort it out


Believe it or not ebay about a year ago.

I will have to get it together and get it over to Procomp then

Fatgadget - 17/2/15 at 10:40 AM

quote:
Originally posted by daniel mason
Where did you find a Birkin? They are stunning.
Also take it straight to procomp and don't guess on anything! They will sort it out

where is the locost and fun aspect in that?

The Knobs - 17/2/15 at 11:02 AM

quote:
Originally posted by Fatgadget
quote:
Originally posted by daniel mason
Where did you find a Birkin? They are stunning.
Also take it straight to procomp and don't guess on anything! They will sort it out

where is the locost and fun aspect in that?


I have messed around with kit cars since 1982, the fun now is driving it not crawling around in my garage changing springs 5 times to get the right ones.

Fatgadget - 17/2/15 at 02:34 PM

^^
I hear you. BUT. Isn't that veering ever so slightly away from the original ethos of this group? Might as well go further and say go and buy a ready built Caterham for 5 figures! .

I think what would be more welcome is locost homebrew solutions rather than being directed to companys that will charge an arm and a leg...And yes, I do believe a Lotus 7 replica is doable for £250.00 !

The Knobs - 17/2/15 at 03:14 PM

Arm and a leg? £760 max for 4 new Protech shocks dyno balanced valved to the car, 4 correct poundage springs, and a full geo, all done by someone who knows what they are doing. I assume you have built a few kit cars yourself then that worked perfectly in the handling department? There is locost and there is loquality. Value for money is what i want, and a car that handles the way it should do.

theduck - 17/2/15 at 03:23 PM

If that is your attitude then why did you start this thread at all???

The Knobs - 17/2/15 at 03:41 PM

quote:
Originally posted by theduck
If that is your attitude then why did you start this thread at all???

I suppose it was rhetorical

Ben_Copeland - 17/2/15 at 09:26 PM

quote:
Originally posted by Fatgadget
^^
I hear you. BUT. Isn't that veering ever so slightly away from the original ethos of this group? Might as well go further and say go and buy a ready built Caterham for 5 figures! .

I think what would be more welcome is locost homebrew solutions rather than being directed to companys that will charge an arm and a leg...And yes, I do believe a Lotus 7 replica is doable for £250.00 !


Can you please stay out of kent and the surrounding areas. Handling is something you only get wrong once. Then someone has an accident gets hurt or worse dies. If you want to mess with suspension do it on a track where at least you'll only hit gravel!!

Sam_68 - 17/2/15 at 09:37 PM

quote:
Originally posted by Ben_CopelandHandling is something you only get wrong once.


So where do you think that Matt (Procomp), and (the late) Allan Staniforth and the other 'specialists' got their skills and knowledge?

Do you think there's an academy for Suspension Gurus, like the Wizard's School in Harry Potter?

mark chandler - 17/2/15 at 09:56 PM

I've got 4 bathroom scales, 8 springs and 4 GAZ gold shocks, the car has never been dangerous, just set up with string, lasers, careful measurements and the handles really well.

You can pay your money or develop what works well to your car and yourself, still playing with camber based on tyre heat on track days I think it's just there now and it's been an enjoyable journey.

I guess that's the point of making your own!

Irony - 17/2/15 at 10:23 PM

Considered getting mine setup but then I wouldn't learn anything. For me half the fun of kitcars is the learning of new skills. I have learnt more building my car than I did doing a degree. Also the car was cheaper

Ben_Copeland - 18/2/15 at 07:08 AM

quote:
Originally posted by Sam_68
quote:
Originally posted by Ben_CopelandHandling is something you only get wrong once.


So where do you think that Matt (Procomp), and (the late) Allan Staniforth and the other 'specialists' got their skills and knowledge?

Do you think there's an academy for Suspension Gurus, like the Wizard's School in Harry Potter?


As I said. THE TRACK they are racers, as are most other suspension tuners.

Ben_Copeland - 18/2/15 at 07:10 AM

quote:
Originally posted by Irony
Considered getting mine setup but then I wouldn't learn anything. For me half the fun of kitcars is the learning of new skills. I have learnt more building my car than I did doing a degree. Also the car was cheaper



Most good suspension tuners will talking you through what they are doing and why. I learnt a huge amount about the car and suspension when I had mine do the other day.

Sam_68 - 18/2/15 at 07:30 PM

quote:
Originally posted by Ben_Copeland
As I said. THE TRACK they are racers, as are most other suspension tuners.


Allan Staniforth was a hillclimb man, as was I.

If you rely on the time you spend on the hills to gain all your experience - at maybe 10 or 12 minutes total track time per weekend, when you're competing - you'll need several lifetimes to build up any worthwhile knowledge.

You don't need to drive at 11/10th to begin to analyse a car's handling, and a car won't switch from being completely benign at 5/10th to an evil monster at 6/10ths. As Mark says, a good set-up with basic tools and careful measurement is easy to achieve, and it's actually quite difficult to set up a car so badly that it's dangerously unpredictable at any speed. You can learn plenty, perfectly safely, on public roads if you adopt a measured and intelligent approach.

Your statement that 'handling is something you only get wrong once' is simply wrong, I'm afraid. In fact, handling is something you never get completely right - there are always improvements to be made, no car is ever perfect and you're always learning.

If you want to pay an 'expert' (though the stuff that Procomp do is actually little more than basic good practice, and they operate very much at the lower end of the food chain in motorsport terms), then that's fine, but if you ever want to really understand your car's handling, sooner or later you'll have to start experimenting yourself.

[Edited on 18/2/15 by Sam_68]

theduck - 18/2/15 at 07:58 PM

Lets not forget you can also customise your suspension to suit your use of the car, and driving style.