My setup 8611's SWEET

[Your Mom]

I get pics up tomorrow. tonight was the first time i've driven the car in about 6 months. new since then - 8611's and 550 7in springs and helical diff. so got the ecu done and wired. and it started believe it or not. I was shaking, ready for something to go wrong.

so getting everything setup to a bit. i set ride height and then the lower chamber. I'm not real crazy about the ride height. if i put the car where i want it its sitting on the bumpstop. so no travel, wtf. still trying to think if that means i need 6in springs or 8in. its so late and i've been working on this car for 15 hours strait. i'm going ot bed cant think

rides awesome didn't get koni's on the back yet. just so happy to drive it again

[veilside180sx]

We'll meet up today and I'll take a look at it Brian.

[Your Mom]

ok here is the slotted version. they slotted both sides which isn't a huge deal.
http://home.comcast.net/~mobileinstallation/100_0255r.JPG
http://home.comcast.net/~mobileinstallation/100_0256r.JPG

installed pushed all the way in
http://home.comcast.net/~mobileinstallation/100_0259r.JPG
http://home.comcast.net/~mobileinstallation/100_0260r.JPG

ride height all the way up. was there someone that was worried about it not going high enough????
http://home.comcast.net/~mobileinstallation/100_0264r.JPG
http://home.comcast.net/~mobileinstallation/100_0265r.JPG

so i dropped it down to about 1/2 front the perch Perfect!
http://home.comcast.net/~mobileinstallation/100_0266r.JPG

BUT
http://home.comcast.net/~mobileinstallation/100_0267r.JPG

So i moved it up to 1" off the perch. thats where it sits now.
http://home.comcast.net/~mobileinstallation/100_0268r.JPG

[Your Mom]

So during my ride last night. i found out what bumpsteer is. forgive me, i've heard and read alot about it but with my D2s, the suspension never really moved so i never got to experience it. It feels awesome, bumps up front are nothing but once the back hits i pop out of the seat. D2's are still on in the back.

The helical diff is different too. i can feel it switching when i driving strait down the road. its not bad just different. on turns it really does help turn the car almost like i got all wheel steering.

[Def]

I trimmed at least half an inch off my koni bumpstops. They are too long with the springrates we are running IMO.

As for bumpsteer, that's actually toe change with suspension travel. But I know what you mean with the crap dampers in the back. They feel even worse with something good up front.

[vw_nissan]

Let us know what the deal is with the ride height. Even if the bumpstop is trimmed down 1/2", you still have too little suspension travel, is that correct?

[raen419]

You guys are killing me with all these posts of 8611's and 8610's on your cars....

Makes me wish I had already sold the Miata and was throwing money at Koni and Rich.

[Def]

Let us know what the deal is with the ride height. Even if the bumpstop is trimmed down 1/2", you still have too little suspension travel, is that correct?

It looked like I had good travel at my ride height(maybe 1/2" of gap fender to top of tire). You don't need 4"+ of travel at the springrates we run, that's like near 2000 lbs force BEYOND what you get with the car sitting on that corner.

[Your Mom]

so yeah down where i like it the bump stop is very close to touching. i can cut the bumpstop, didn't think about that. and yeah i guess with the spring rates i don't have all the much travel anyway. I'm gonna get richard over here and we'll see what we can do.

Well if it was me i see if you could get richard to make some with the flanges about and inch higher on the strut that would be uber. or even directly below the flange, theres room at the bottom.

[veilside180sx]

This is how it came out after we trimmed the bump stop.

http://www.sr20forum.com/gallery/data/500/medium/brianscoil.jpg

[WishIHadaSilvia]

so yeah down where i like it the bump stop is very close to touching. i can cut the bumpstop, didn't think about that. and yeah i guess with the spring rates i don't have all the much travel anyway. I'm gonna get richard over here and we'll see what we can do.

Well if it was me i see if you could get richard to make some with the flanges about and inch higher on the strut that would be uber. or even directly below the flange, theres room at the bottom.

That is what I was going to request on my set when I order them.

[veilside180sx]

I updated the "spring" thread to include distance to coilbind on the springs. For anything less than a 7" spring above 400 lbs, there isn't any more than 4" to coilbind.

[Your Mom]

So got everything done. bumpstops trimmed and rear yellows installed. car is still a bit high but i can lower it more. i'll get pics later.

The ride is awesome theres a nice bump down the road right before a bridge. i usually have to slow down because the car will kinda jump it. now its just a small bump and i can go like 40mph over it rather than 20 usually.

I will be driving this up to seattle in a couple weeks, so it'll be nice to see how i handle the ride. 550 is rough but not horrible. and i haven't even messed with the settings yet.

oh and i found why the diff seem to feel weird. the camber bolt on the passenger side was loose.

might have to hit the drag strip soon and see how it does.

[a_ahmed]

^Congrats, sounds good bro :)

[Your Mom]

Heres all the pictures i took. Current height. i might take it lower but this doesn't look bad. I'm much a happier with this height. the back matches the front alot better. and omg does it take bumps like a stock car. I find the braking to be a bit better too with a bit less nose diveing. sorry the i work 7-7 so its always dark out when i home.
http://home.comcast.net/~mobileinstallation/100_0277r.JPG
http://home.comcast.net/~mobileinstallation/100_0278r.JPG
http://home.comcast.net/~mobileinstallation/100_0279r.JPG

pics of the rears, theres tons of travel. and i can go down 3/4 of an inch on the perch.
http://home.comcast.net/~mobileinstallation/100_0281r.JPG
Then theres the front. with cut bumpstop. about 2 inches or more of travel before the bumpstop.
http://home.comcast.net/~mobileinstallation/100_0284r.JPG
whats left of the gc kit
http://home.comcast.net/~mobileinstallation/100_0285r.JPG
The struts before install
http://home.comcast.net/~mobileinstallation/100_0272r.JPG
The rears before the tophats. i actually didn't need that spacer just the 15 washers and then the d2 tophats.
http://home.comcast.net/~mobileinstallation/100_0273r.JPG
Installed
http://home.comcast.net/~mobileinstallation/100_0275r.JPG

[Def]

Those look like 7" long 400 lb/in in the rear - correct?

I'm thinking about a 6" 370 lb/in setup with 50 lb/in tender springs to give some more useful droop travel in the back.

[veilside180sx]

Yes Brian's are 7" 400 lb springs in the rear.

[Your Mom]

i guess with autox that would be more useful. All i do are trackdays hpde, so i should do just fine with this setup. can't say i've ever lifted a tire on track. well under hard braking i can get it pretty light on the rear end, enough that when i down shift i brake the tires loose and get a bit sideways. hmmmmmmm, i guess i should learn heal and toe first.

[Def]

I've never spun tires under power after putting in an HLSD, but the inside rear is on the verge of lifting. Start hitting curbs under power and it definitely gets hairy with the lack of usable droop travel(about 1.25-1.5" on most setups given the spring rate and corner weights). Going to a short tender spring will double that at the very least.

[Your Mom]

oh ok interesting. i've only had a vlsd and an open diff on track. so now i'm really interested and see how the hlsd does. and PIR now has real fia curbs instead of just painted burms, so i have to stay off those anyway.

[Epstein]

I really like that comment about riding like a stock car! :) Nice pics, too. That's right where I have my car sitting.

I'd be interested to hear what people say about tender springs. I was considering those as well as I have a tendency to 3 wheel on the street a lot (in/out of driveways/businesses). I found that my rear suspension was pretty bound up. Removing the rear coilover and sway, it wouldn't droop any farther. Just something to look at before spending money. I think my issue lies in tweaking the traction arm length and/or heim jointed spindles. I have almost NO bushing deflection now that I installed all the Nismo spindle bushings.

About the HLSD, I've had no problem breaking traction with it. It can be a handful to control as it torque-biases over uneven roads while spinning. The KAAZ was way more predictable in that respect. Of course, that's not really applicable on a track.

[Def]

Yea, mainly the reason of doing it is for the street, but I think there is time to be gained on the track with some tender springs. The spindles will have full spherical bearings, and probably in the lower control arms too(they'll be for sale here shortly).

I have no problem breaking traction with my HLSD on the street... in fact it almost always spins through 2nd, and sometimes a bit in 3rd. It's just that I typically don't go for the power oversteer at 90mph in 3rd coming out of a corner on the track. :) Without an LSD my car was worthless in T5 at Road Atlanta... nothing but inside wheelspin and slowing down going up the hill. That was on a T25 at 8-10 psi, so not a lot of power.. haha

[Your Mom]

Tonight I was driving down this road that has a horrible bump. usually above 45mph i will actually pop up out of the seat. I hit that bump tonight in the 50s and the car took it like a pro. all of my other 240s one with tein flex and kts both do the same thing(pop out) above 45. same with some railroad tracks.

now for the 550's our highways out here have alot of slick rock in the concrete. which makes the ride rough. its not bad enough to bother me. but it will vibrate some panels in the car a bit. so if you reallly want a stock ride i'd get something with a bit less spring rate.

[veilside180sx]

I think "stock" ride, is a relative comment.

[Epstein]

Yeah, stock spring rate on an S13 is 120 lbs! haha. I'd **** myself if I could get it to ride like a 350Z track or a Z32TT on firm, which are actually harsh for an OEM setup.

[SoSideways]

Yeah, I remember back when I had a Z32 TT, and I accidentally rode around with the shock switch on stiff for a whole night. Was wondering why I was feeling the road a lot more.

It was kinda bouncy though... reminds me of riding around in my Stance GR+ now, but definitely not as harsh.

[Def]

My 8611's up front doesn't feel that far off from my E36 M3 with Koni yellows and stock springs. The ride frequency of course is much higher, but as far as being "jarred" by bumps, it's about the same. I have lighter wheels/brakes on the S13 than the M3(stock 17x7.5 and 17x8.5" wheels), so that does contribute to a better ride on harsh bumps.

[a_ahmed]

Really? Man I would hope the 240 would be faster or something :( but you say its the same as m3 with koni yellows :( If I'm not mistaken m3 is also mcpherson strut front and multilink rear...

[veilside180sx]

He's talking about ride quality

[SoSideways]

^ That, and the M3's suspension geometry is probably in a much better place than the 240's, if his 240 is lowered by 2" or more over stock ride height :)

[Def]

Yea, I was talking about ride quality like everybody else.

As far as being faster, of course the S13 is, but the E36 is waaayyyyy easier to drive. It just gently rolls over and you lose a little front end grip and go towards understeer as the front loses camber. Steer into it and keep on the power and it'll gradually grab back up. The S13 has things happen about 10x faster - which also makes it quicker.

And the fact that it makes about 70% more power and weighs about 20% less helps too.