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Best shock settings for track

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I was wonder what most people set their shocks to when tracking their car with factory tires, I have no suspension mods. I know what the manual says but is that the most neutral setting? This will be my first time out so I want it as balanced as possible.
 
I forget what the manual states but start with full stiff front and rear. If the front is pushing go softer on the front and if the you have oversteer go softer on the rear. I think anyway. ::)
 
I'm sure the track is stickier then public roads but as it sits now I'm at 3f 3r, I have a little understeer so I should go up a notch in the front. The manual says 5f 5r for the track but I wasn't sure if someone knew off hand what the best setting was. I just go the manual like dg suggested and see what happens. Thanks
 
racered302 said:
I'm sure the track is stickier then public roads but as it sits now I'm at 3f 3r, I have a little understeer so I should go up a notch in the front. The manual says 5f 5r for the track but I wasn't sure if someone knew off hand what the best setting was. I just go the manual like dg suggested and see what happens. Thanks

If you have understeer then one of two solutions. Reduce the front or increase the rear.
 
racered302 said:
I'm sure the track is stickier then public roads but as it sits now I'm at 3f 3r, I have a little understeer so I should go up a notch in the front. The manual says 5f 5r for the track but I wasn't sure if someone knew off hand what the best setting was. I just go the manual like dg suggested and see what happens. Thanks
When/where did you have understeer if this will be your first time on a track??? I'd go with the manual and start full firm front and rear and then adjust accordingly once you have a few laps in. You'll also want to watch your tire pressures and shoot for 40-41 hot with the stock Pirelli's when you check them as you come off the track.
 
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Well, tire pressures are a huge factor as well--so don't discount that!

And correct me if I'm wrong, but Tokico Illuminas actually adjust bump and rebound simultaneously. Being a strut car, the conventional theory of softening the front to yield more traction will not always hold true. There are other factors at play here, and applying basic theory without considering the geometry and limitations of a strut front end will not necessarily yield desired results.

A strut car has very little dynamic camber, and especially if you're rolling a lot, you can get into the areas in suspension compression where bump steer starts to be a factor, and your outside front tire starts to toe in (which is adverse to the ackerman btw). In addition, the minimal camber curve is only good for a small range of motion on a strut car. So to preserve ideal front end geometry and yield increased turin-in (if the beginning part of the corner is what you're trying to get more steering on), then you'd actually want to stiffen the front end. Ditto with front tire pressures.

I've experimented a lot with my car (a BMW--but same front end as a Mustang), and my first few sessions were frustrating, as stiffening the rear end did little in my battle to tackle corner entry understeer (yes, even with trail braking). What ended up working is increasing front roll stiffness.

Increasing resistance to bump will increase roll stiffness--so the stiffer the front shock setting, the more turn-in you'll have. Not sure how the car behaves mid corner or corner exit, as I do not own a Boss (yet), but you can always adjust cornering attitude in these areas with the right foot :) Turn-in is most important IMO. The reason why increasing roll stiffness (and front tire pressure) helps so much is that:

1) Keeps camber curve "ideal" (that is, as far away from positive as possible--as you'll get positive with ease w/ stock camber settings). The more the car rolls on the front end, the more positive it'll get.

2) Higher front pressures keeps the sidewalls from rolling...it'll actually maximize your front contact patch.

3) Drive hard enough and you'll get the loaded end into the bump steer area (the stock springs are ultimately really soft), which will affect mid corner balance (it'll start to push once the outside toes in)...Stiffening the front end will delay this, as it's more resistant to rolling.

Make small changes only, as they have great effects on the behavior of the car.
What I describe above is the reason why you see many fast driven strut front-end cars lift the inside wheel while cornering. There are yet even more factors at play when the car is lowered, but essentially, the huge front roll stiffness is necessary to combat the lower front roll centers (sometimes they are even extreme) and yet still be in the good spot of the camber curve.

All I've written about is only speaking about the front end!

When tackling the rear, keep in mind that conventional theory most certainly does apply. And having a stiffer rear end will yield more rotation especially in off-throttle situations. However, being a rwd car, this also limits when you can put power down in a corner. So adjusting the back end of the car is largely dependant on your driving style.

For me, I like to get power down as soon as possible. The sooner you can finish cornering, the faster you can be (to me anyway). I actually keep the rear relatively soft--as long as I get the desired transient balance I desire. Being able to get on the power earlier in the corner is beneficial.

All this is just setup talk though--and keep in mind that driving style can combat a lot of undesired handling characteristics as well. If battling corner entry understeer, be mindful of balancing the car, and keeping the weight on the front end as long as possible. When you start to release the brake, and how swiftly you release the brake will be a large factor here.

Good luck and have fun out there!
 

PeteInCT

#LS-378 - So many Porsche's, so little time....
Moderator
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Connecticut
On my LS I run 5 front, 4 rear. With those settings and NT-555R-II's 285/35-18 there ain't any understeer...

-Pete
 
NFSBOSS said:
When/where did you have understeer if this will be your first time on a track???

I know a few good safe roads around here with long sweeping curves and some slightly banked es's very good forward visibility. I play when no one is around.
 
---> bor92, Thanks for the lesson, I'll have to read that again I'm sure I missed something the first time through.
 
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racered302 said:
---> bor92, Thanks for the lesson, I'll have to read that again I'm sure I missed something the first time through.

Not a prob. LMK if you have any more questions!
 
racered302 said:
I was wonder what most people set their shocks to when tracking their car with factory tires, I have no suspension mods. I know what the manual says but is that the most neutral setting? This will be my first time out so I want it as balanced as possible.

I ran 5 in front and 1 in back but was using square 275's all around and had a lot of over steer. These cars are so front heavy going square makes them very loose. If you have a staggered setup try 5-4 or 5-3 and adjust depending on how the car handles. There is so much brake dive on a factory setup I wanted the front as firm as I could get it.
 

batman48195

I never get tired of driving it!
PeteInCT said:
On my LS I run 5 front, 4 rear. With those settings and NT-555R-II's 285/35-18 there ain't any understeer...

-Pete

I think I saw Pete post these another time and I used them last year on my first track day and my stock Boss (Pirelli's) and had great results. The car handled well and the tire wear patterns were very good.


Brian
 
So 5F-4R with a hot tire pressure of 40-41 psi sounds good to me. I'll give that try. Would be nice to have a little easier access to the rears without laying across the back seat. I had to take a pic my phone to see where it was set. Thanks fella's. I will let you know how it goes.
 
Well I'm back from my visit to Summit point, had the shocks set at 5F 4R the car was perfect. I was passed by no one and I passed many. It is truly a great feeling when you can stay on a vett's ass through the turns and get a point by when you hit the straight. I love this car more the ever! Can't stop grinning, I've been bitten by the bug.

A couple of pic's

bosstrack1_zps37c87fa0.jpg

bosstrack3_zpsbe8f68bf.jpg

bosstrack2_zpsbee8a693.jpg
 

GB899

NO REGRETS
588
722
Nebraska
yesterday I was at MidAmerica Motorpark for the NASA Race...
asked Bill Pemberton what he had done to be so fast...
"not much...it is pretty much stock"
axle backs, MGW, camber plates and brake ducts & pads..

he runs 5 in front and 3 in back...
I will use that as a starting point for myself
 

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