Who do I gotta go see to get my suspension and tire settings straightened out ? Anyone here in the tri-state area an expert on it ? I really need some help with this.

Basically my biggest problem is... when I switched from 18s to 19s, even though they're very light Volk Racing 19s, the car now exhibits alot more body-roll during LANE SHIFTING. Like, there's actually lag from the time I turn the wheel to the time the car actually turns... and that pisses me off. It gets worse at higher speeds.

Someone suggested I install sway bars, as they should absorb the energy that the taller 18" sidewalls originally absorbed during this sort of cornering... so I did so.

I've got Hotchkis in the car now with "medium" settings front & rear. The car seems to make sharp turns better, but it certainly didn't help the lane shifting issue! I still feel like I'm driving some pile of sh*t whenever I have to change lanes quickly, because the steering response is horriffic.

I hate it so much that I'm thinking of selling the 19s and going back to 18s just for the handling. But somehow I feel there MUST be some sort of solution that will allow me to retain my 19s and get the same kind of sharp razor-edge handling as I had with the stock 18s.

Thanks much boys.

 

coilover?

 

that's strange... have you tried increasing the PSI in your tires? I run with 37 cold on the street (facotry spec is 35) and it warms to about 39/40 and the handling gets noticeably better as the PSIs go up... (ride is bumpier but it's definitely worth it for the tighter feel)

 

I have exact same wheel setup as you do and I feel the same thing. But I don't think it's the body roll though. When I put those volks with Toyo tires, I felt very weird when I make turns or quick lane changes like you said. I heard that sidewalls of Toyo's are relatively softer than other tires, and I feel that sidewall is actually being pushed when I do quick lane change or cornering.

I have KW Variant 3 coilover and 350EVO swaybars. I also thought that the reason might be the tire pressure as Strife stated because I set my tire pressure at 36psi, which will be another good reason for sidewall being too soft, so I'll try to set the pressure up to 38psi and tweak the damper setting of my KW coilover. And I'm thinking to drop the height a little as well. (Right now I have the highest setting, which is pretty much stock height) I also set my 350evo swaybar for mid/mid setting, and I'm considering changing them to hard/hard

I'm not exactly sure what's causing this, but will try to solve it and let you know. Something's changed after I got those Volks, and I don't like that either.

 

Sean,

Thanks for the reply man, I'm really curious if we should have just gotten a 8.5 front and 9.5 rear... maybe that would create more sidewall to flex during cornering, since it wouldn't stretch the tire so much ?

I definitely need to do something about it.

 

if you're running toyo t1s, then they have kinda soft side walls.

 

Hmm, I don't know. Heck, I couldn't think of the word "flex" since my vocab is limited. (English is not my first language. ) Well, I think the main reason that we feel more body roll (or something similar feeling) is because the sidewall of Toyo tend to "flex" more than other tires? I don't know. That was why I thought I'd try higher tire pressure to 38psi. (It's recommended to set it at 38psi because we are running 35 profile on 19" tire so need a little more tire pressure for better rim protection.)
But I'll install kinetix camber/traction rod soon and drop the car, and then set the damper little harder and see how it does.

You have stock suspensions except swaybars right?

We also need some input from other people who has 19" rims and same size Toyo tires and see how they feel.

 

Yes we do, and yeah I'm all stock except sways.

 

check tire pressures.

check alignment.

get coilovers.

holy **** that's high. im running 32-33psi cold, front and rear for daily driving on my 19s.

 

My rear tires look like they toe-in quite a bit! They aren't vertically flush with the car. Anyway, what good are coilovers exactly ?

And my tire pressure is around 35 cold.

 

It's the Toyos, if you want sharp response get Michelin pilot sports, S03 or good year equivalent.

 

it is the side walls,

jerk your steering wheel back and forth, slightly, when your cruising and if it feels like your car is "floating" its the sidewalls. I had the toyo's before and now switched to falken's.

the sidewall on the falkens are stronger in my opinion thus getting rid of that "floating" feel.

good luck bro


sang

 

Keep in mind that if you do decide to run a tire with a stiffer sidewall, the ride quality will degrade somewhat (read: harsher). I agree with the guys above on the Toyo T1's soft sidewall issue but consider it a nice compromise for daily driving on 19" wheels.
Also, I'm guessing that your running a 245 or 255 series tire up front. Going with a wider tire up front does provide more stick but at the cost of steering feel and turn in response. That's why you'll find a lot of European cars (Porsche, Lotus, Ferrari) running fatty's in the rear and skinnies (usually no more then a 235 series) in the front.

 

toyos suck dude. they save you money in the short term but in the long run they are sure loosers. toss them and get good quality rubber.

 

You need a Tein flex system and much stiffer settings

 

i think that might be an illusion...mine also seem like the tops of the tire leans into the car


but when i get on my stomach and look from the back its straight

its the illusion from our rear fender and aftermarket skirt

 

Hmmmmmmm..........I just replaced my rears because of a recent flat. I replaced my Michelin Pilot sport with BF Goodrich g-force. Man, what a difference in handling. Michelin may be expensive but worth it. Now I experience that same body roll you're talking about.

 

you can measure your toe yourself.

1.Find a level parking place (It's important that you drive the car straight forward to the place where it will be aligned -- once you turn the wheel, or jack the car up and then set it down again, you've changed the static alignment and the numbers you measure will be wrong)

2. Get two straight pins and stick one into each front (or rear, if you're checking rear alignment) tire on the front of the tire at some constant height H above the ground. H should be lower than the ground clearance of your car in the neighborhood of the wheels.

3. Have a friend hold one end of a tape measure against the tire starting at one pin. You stand on the other side of the car, pull the tape measure so that there's no slack and measure to the other pin.

4. Roll the car back (not forward, you'll roll over the pins!) until the pins now stick out the back end of the tires and are again at height H.

5. With friend, again measure between the pins.

6. The difference between these measurements is your toe.

 

Interesting you guys seem to all think it's the Toyos.

However I have experienced a similar problem with my last set of tires (and rims). My last set of rims was a set of ADR M-Sports in 19" 8.5 front, 9.5 rear. Tires were a set of Dunlop Sport 9000 245/35/19 and 275/35/19.

1. Are you saying the Dunlops are as "bad" as the Toyos in this regard ?

2. If I switch to Michelin Sports, should I maybe change the sizes as well ? Since the 275/35/19 and 245/35/19 Toyo combo is actually too narrow for 9.5 front and 10.5 rear. Are there Michelins or S03's in the correct size that will fix my "shitty-handling" issue ?

3. On the issue of toe, should I care that my car maybe out of spec ? Is handling affected in any way ?

 

Anyone?