Set-up advice

[peterrosey]

On Paul at Playskools recomendations I've had my Megabusa set up as follows: the front camber -1.5 degrees, rear camber -0.5 degrees, front toe in 0.5 degrees, rear toe out to 0.5 degrees, with the ride height set to around 5-inches rear and 4.5 inches front.

The trouble is the car feels quite twitchy at speed - is this a geometry setting problem (have tried reducing front neg camber but to no avail) or do I need to look at suspension settings? The stock factory-supplied Gaz damper/springs seem quite soft and there's plenty of dive under hard braking.

Or am I just going through 'Westfield Acclimatisation' having only had the car on the road for three weeks?!!!  

[Nick Algar - Competition Secretary]

Peter,

My busa is set nearly the same, what tyre pressures are you running? I'm running 16PSI all round at the moment. Also when you are in the corner is it solid then and only twitchy on the straight?

Have you got anti-roll bars?

Nick

[Al Yupright]

toe out on the rear? really? I've got a smidgen of toe-in on the rear.

Twitchy as ####, such is the nature of the beast though.

[peterrosey]

Thanks for the feedback...

I'm running 20 psi (set hot) all round on 185/60-14 021Rs with no anti-roll bars fitted.

It's not too bad on the straights, but in fast sweeping corners under power it seems to sway about a bit (not wheelspin!. I'm thinking maybe that the factory supplied springs are allowing the back to get a bit wayward. Is it worth trying stiffer springs? Or is it worth slotting on an anti-roll bar?

Or am I just being a big Jesse who can't handle the power?!!!!!      

[stu999]

I must admit, I am surprised to see toe out on the rear. This will give the car a tendency to oversteer when cornering, possibly giving the 'wayward feel' you describe. Also, what are your tyre pressures when they are cold? It can be difficult to assertain what is going on with 'hot' pressures due to the difficulty obtaining consistantancy. IMO 20 psi *may* be a tad high especially on a stripped out 'busa.

This may be a silly question, but have you tried altering the damper settings to see what difference that makes?

[mb893]

My Megablade is set to:

Front... Toe out 0.5deg, Camber -0.5deg, Ride 90mm, TP 12psi cold

Rear....  Toe 0deg, Camber -1.5deg, Ride 110mm, TP 14psi cold

This seems to work very well for my car.

Regards

John

[Fast Westie]

Peter

Make sure your car does not toe out at the rear. It makes the car very twitchy hence makes it difficult to get the power down without spinning.

[catflap]

Who do you guys use to set the cars up? Can my local garage do it? Or is it better setting it with some of the lazer type people?

What how much for a set up?

[Blatman]

Laser alignment type palces = Kwik Fit..........don't bother.....they are only good for confirming what you have after setting up..............

Your local garage.....if they are used to settiing up race cars with a flat floor, camber guages, and some corner weight scales, then yes. If it's your local back street, non franchised car repair place, then no.

I do mine myself with some string, some wood, 4 axle stands, and if my mates flat floor scales are busy, some bathroom scales. It's time consuming (2-4 hours, start to finish), but not difficult. You WILL need a camber guage too. I normally borrow one off the same mate with the scales................

[peterrosey]

Hmmm that's given me lots to think about! I'll set the rear toe to zero and drop the tyre pressures down as a first step and take it from there.

Will let you know if it tames the twitch!! Thanks for your help!

[windy]

Peter,

Try this:

Front

Camber, -1.5°

Toe, out by 2 mm total

Rear

Camber, -0.5°

Toe, in by 1 mm total

The advice you've had for your current settings is totally wrong! You might find it works if you are driving backwards but will be like a dumper truck if you are driving forwards!

Regards

Windy

P.S. Dumper trucks usually steer from the rear!

[Blatman]

From what I've seen of Windy's driving, his Westfield usually steers from the rear too...........  

He's right though.............

[windy]

Just had a thought!

Is the figure for the rear toe quoted using a Dunlop Tracking gauge reversed? If so you would need to measure toe-out on the gauge to achieve toe-in in reality.

Blatters

I did measure my rear recently and found things have moved towards toe in. It certainly makes it more progressive when approaching the limit and makes it easier to drive with the back end hanging out for long periods. Obviously suits my style!!!!

Windy

[Blatman]

Yup. I have mine toe-ing in at the rear, and toe-ing out at the front. If my first run on Sunday was anything to go by, then it's much easier to control things when the back end gets a bit wayward. I'd have struggled to control what was going on with it before I made the changes. Now, I feel just like Tiff Needell.........or Windy.......    

Powerslides don't make for quick times though. I reckon we should get points for style too.............

[windy]

A club member in our area has recently returned from a few years in Australia. He says they are all into Jap cars over there in a big way and one of the motorsport disciplines is "Drifting" which combines setting good lap times around a circuit with marks for how sideways you can get the car round the corners. Most of the cars are Skylines with over 1000 hp so they tend to set them up for a corner with all 4 tyres smoking whilst travelling at 100 mph - sounds like fun.  

Windy