Hey guys. I have a question about tweaking my setup. Sorry for the long post.

First of all, I have a G35 Sedan which I know will be a bit different, so just keep that in mind while you read this. My car (much like the 350) was a pusher when stock. I've made many modifications to counter that and at some point, went a bit too far and now I'm loosing my tail powering out of turns. Now I know a lot of that has to do with skill and the fact that my inputs aren't as smooth as they need to be, but I want to do what I can to try and get it a bit more under control.

Here's what I've done to the car so far (in the handling dept.):
Tein Flex Damper Kit with EDFC
Cusco Sways (F&R)
17"x8" Enkei RP02-J Wheels
245/45/17 Falken Azenis

I've done several other power mods as well so I'm at about 310 in the HP dept. but that's not important here.

Now before everyone freaks out about classing and my mods, I normally run in Houston in an ST class, so I've checked and I'm legal.

As far as what I've found to be the best settings on my Teins, I normally run the front at 11 and the rear at 16 (0=Hardest, 16=Softest). Front sway is on the softest setting and the rear is non-adjustable.

OK, now to my question (about time huh). To counter some oversteer, should I:

A) Switch out my rear Cusco sway for the stock bar, then adjust the rear dampers as necessary.

B) Stiffen the setting on my Front sway bar (keep in mind that when I run the dampers harder than 11, my turn-in feels too hard).

C) Try something else that I haven't thought of.

One more question. Has anyone installed Stillens rear Camber and Toe rods to get some desired negative Camber? All I could find in my searches was about people trying to get their car into "proper" alignment.

Thanks in advance for your help.

By the way, I've been autocrossing regularly for almost a year. I usually run against WRX's and Mustangs and lately I've been placing between 3rd and 5th out of 12-16.

 

Here are a few pics:

 

Man your car sure looks low! Are those Teins adjustable height? Can you change your ride height on spot?

Sorry can't help you with your problem, there are lots of other guys here who's smarter than me

 

It looks lower than it actually is since all those pics are shot from the outside while turning. The hieght is easily adjustable, but not electronically. Only the damper stiffness is adjustable from the inside.

Here's what it looks like when I'm not pulling G's:

 

Dude, its LOW.... Looks great though!

 

Thanks!

By the way I have Goodyear Eagle F1 GS-D3s as my daily drivers. Don't know if you've gotten yours yet, but you'll love them. I actually used mine for autocross before I got the Azenis. Had the 10th fastest time at a BMW autocross one time when it was wet because of them. They stick like glue in the rain!!!

 

Too bad it's not from inside... whould be cool and functional to have **** for ride height inside.

So how do you adjust height from outside and what is the range?

What it costed you? somethin between $1600 and 2000, right?

Thanks

 

Vlad,

Cost was about $2200 total with install. The system comes with some special wrenches that allow for the adjustment. Not sure exactly what the range is, but it allows for more than necessary if I recall. Here's what the setup looks like at the adjustment point:



By the way, for those of you interested, I went with option A (switched my rear cusco out for the stock sway bar). Much improved. Helped me stick better around the slaloms and tight turns. Now I just need to keep improving on the driving.

Kicked some butt at the BMW event yesterday. Came in 14th overall out of 70. Only 2.7 seconds off the best time of the day, and only .7 seconds behind the 2003 Houston SCCA champ.

BMW Event Results

 

i think you should get wider tires in the rear. thats probably whats going to help the most.

 

Agreed.

 

Did u also check rear tire temps and pressures after your runs? If you're going to autox regularly look for wider wheels and wider slicks.

I'm getting to that point where street tires are not going to cut it anymore if I want to improve my times.

 

If teh tire pressure is to low in the back tires, mine squirts all over. Try a couple more pounds and see if it changes

 

I did, and it worked pretty well. Helped me get a 4th place trophy at the Solo II National Tour in STX! After day 1 I was in 8th out of 10 so I decided to up my tire pressure and stiffen the suspension a bit. Worked great! I pulled and awesome time the second day pulled into 4th place. 1-3 were all WRX's, but so were 8-10.

 

A) Switch out my rear Cusco sway for the stock bar, then adjust the rear dampers as necessary.

B) Stiffen the setting on my Front sway bar (keep in mind that when I run the dampers harder than 11, my turn-in feels too hard).

C) Try something else that I haven't thought of.

A) sort of. If there is a big difference between the stock bar and the Cusco, then find something in between. I have found that a difference of a few mm is noticeable. If the "in between" bar is still too stiff, you always have the stock one.
B) Can be a problem because on the track at an average speed of 80+ MPH less compliance in the chassis is needed. But, autox speeds are lower and some compliance in the chassis is critical. Thats why your turn in feels off.
C) Air pressure and wheel alignment and tires (in that order) make the biggest difference in with the least amount of effort when it comes to auto cross.