The Mustang Forum for Track & Racing Enthusiasts

Taking your Mustang to an open track/HPDE event for the first time? Do you race competitively? This forum is for you! Log in to remove most ads.

Register Log in
  • Welcome to the Ford Mustang forum built for owners of the Mustang GT350, BOSS 302, GT500, and all other S550, S197, SN95, Fox Body and older Mustangs set up for open track days, road racing, and/or autocross. Join our forum, interact with others, share your build, and help us strengthen this community!

First event with coilovers - how to approach adjustment?

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

nickyoobatz

58
29
Exp. Type
Autocross
Exp. Level
3-5 Years
South Plainfield, NJ
Hey guys - so this weekend I'm running my first autocross with my new suspension set up (KW V3's, Vorshlag C/C plates, new track aligment/corner balance). I am not looking to be super competitive but wouldn't mind playing around with it to see what gets best feel/better times.

KW V3's you're able to adjust both rebound and compression, just looking for a simple explanation or good starting point of what to adjust for autocross events. I know every car is different and its largely trial and error, but looking to see what matters more as far as adjustments go. Right now I have both rebound and comp set to KW's recommended settings. Car rides great and doesn't ride that stiff at the moment.

Appreciate all the input!
 
nickyoobatz said:
Hey guys - so this weekend I'm running my first autocross with my new suspension set up (KW V3's, Vorshlag C/C plates, new track aligment/corner balance). I am not looking to be super competitive but wouldn't mind playing around with it to see what gets best feel/better times.

KW V3's you're able to adjust both rebound and compression, just looking for a simple explanation or good starting point of what to adjust for autocross events. I know every car is different and its largely trial and error, but looking to see what matters more as far as adjustments go. Right now I have both rebound and comp set to KW's recommended settings. Car rides great and doesn't ride that stiff at the moment.

Appreciate all the input!
Click to expand...
My first move would be to call KV, or find a similar car as yours and go measure ride heights.
 
I can just imagine KW would say that!! Its only the shops like Cortex etc that give you real feedback since they are more focused on one type of car. Would suggest you drive the car and then see what you feel and then start adjusting. Dont go crazy lowering the car too much as that will create all kinds of weird handling. As a first guide, Lower the front until the A-arms are horizontal with the ground but not any more, for the rears dont let the rear control arms down below horizontal to the floor as a max. I like mine with about 2 degrees down towards the axle. Squat and Anti-squat has several useful threads here in TMO.

Coil overs are great but they add a huge amount of variables to the suspension setup!!! The wrong setup will be slower then stock!!!
 
Mad Hatter said:
I can just imagine KW would say that!! Its only the shops like Cortex etc that give you real feedback since they are more focused on one type of car. Would suggest you drive the car and then see what you feel and then start adjusting. Dont go crazy lowering the car too much as that will create all kinds of weird handling. As a first guide, Lower the front until the A-arms are horizontal with the ground but not any more, for the rears dont let the rear control arms down below horizontal to the floor as a max. I like mine with about 2 degrees down towards the axle. Squat and Anti-squat has several useful threads here in TMO.

Coil overs are great but they add a huge amount of variables to the suspension setup!!! The wrong setup will be slower then stock!!!
Click to expand...
I’ll check this before event, I got the cars height adjusted when I got it corner balanced/aligned, so I wasn’t planning on touching it.
 
nickyoobatz said:
Hey guys - so this weekend I'm running my first autocross with my new suspension set up (KW V3's, Vorshlag C/C plates, new track aligment/corner balance). I am not looking to be super competitive but wouldn't mind playing around with it to see what gets best feel/better times.

KW V3's you're able to adjust both rebound and compression, just looking for a simple explanation or good starting point of what to adjust for autocross events. I know every car is different and its largely trial and error, but looking to see what matters more as far as adjustments go. Right now I have both rebound and comp set to KW's recommended settings. Car rides great and doesn't ride that stiff at the moment.

Appreciate all the input!
Click to expand...
I had KW V3's on my 2008 E92 M3. I set them up following the procedure described on this page: https://www.koni-na.com/en-US/NorthAmerica/Racing/Road-Course-Tuning-Guide/

I had good results with them set that way.
 
JAJ said:
I had KW V3's on my 2008 E92 M3. I set them up following the procedure described on this page: https://www.koni-na.com/en-US/NorthAmerica/Racing/Road-Course-Tuning-Guide/

I had good results with them set that way.
Click to expand...
Thank you for this! Lots of great info and explains it easily enough.

To be honest, this is my first event since May 2022. My 2 year old takes up all my time and money lol. Being that it’s autocross I’ll probably only have 6-7 laps, I probably should just focus on driving as is, I’m sure I’ll be a bit rusty.

Planning on doing a track sprint next month, will be able to follow these notes and fine tune a bit then.
 
Most important part is having fun!! If you have a chance, go to a track day as the longer lap sessions and bigger tracks help you find your limits more comfortably. You can post your videos here on TMO and all kinds of experienced drivers will give you helpful tips.
 
I second what Mad Hatter said, go sign up for a track day. One step better would be find a local track that has an open test day. That way you will get plenty of track time to try different set ups and be able to test them back to back. Typical 20 min hpde sessions spaced hours apart make adjustments harder to measure.
 
We get this occasionally. There is -NO- one size fits all setting that will actually work correctly for everybody.
As a starting point I'll usually put the compression adjustment right in the middle and the rebound adjustment up from full soft/fast by 1/3 of the range. Then start testing.

If you need dial-in procedures I can highly recommend the book "Think Fast" by Neil Roberts. I recommend it to any customer that purchases MCS dampers from us so they can get the most out of them.

Think Fast: The Racer's Why-To Guide to Winning: Roberts, Neil: 9781451558753: Amazon.com: Books

Think Fast: The Racer's Why-To Guide to Winning [Roberts, Neil] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Think Fast: The Racer's Why-To Guide to Winning
www.amazon.com
 
modernbeat said:
We get this occasionally. There is -NO- one size fits all setting that will actually work correctly for everybody.
As a starting point I'll usually put the compression adjustment right in the middle and the rebound adjustment up from full soft/fast by 1/3 of the range. Then start testing.

If you need dial-in procedures I can highly recommend the book "Think Fast" by Neil Roberts. I recommend it to any customer that purchases MCS dampers from us so they can get the most out of them.

Think Fast: The Racer's Why-To Guide to Winning: Roberts, Neil: 9781451558753: Amazon.com: Books

Think Fast: The Racer's Why-To Guide to Winning [Roberts, Neil] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Think Fast: The Racer's Why-To Guide to Winning
www.amazon.com
Click to expand...
Thank you! Yeah I figured everyone has different set-ups, preferences. I just wasn't sure if the S197 chassis itself does better with softer/stiffer settings of any kind. Was just looking for a general starting point, if there was anything different compared to KW's settings.
 
nickyoobatz said:
Thank you! Yeah I figured everyone has different set-ups, preferences. I just wasn't sure if the S197 chassis itself does better with softer/stiffer settings of any kind. Was just looking for a general starting point, if there was anything different compared to KW's settings.
Click to expand...
soft.. very soft
 
Some good general suspension tuning advice I've seen here on TMO, I think it was @Fabman, is to start with big adjustments towards the extremes so you can better see and feel the differences and then start fine tuning towards the middle.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

TMO Supporting Vendors

Apex Race Parts
Competition Motorsport
CorteX Racing
Middleton Motorsports/Middleton Ford
Modular Motorsports Racing
OP Mustang
South Florida Ford Parts
Vorshlag Motorsports
Auto-blip
KNS Brakes
Hooked on Driving
SCCA CAM Challenge

Similar threads

k98dave
Clutch interlock switch adjustment?
Replies
5
Views
2K
k98dave
k98dave
NA 4.6L 3v race car with blown head gasket
Replies
1
Views
131
honeybadger
honeybadger
LS128
Stock k member adjustment
Replies
11
Views
2K
LS128
LS128
2012 Boss 302 P vs t springs to balance ride height?
Replies
5
Views
449
noac
8.8 vs 9 inch? How to laterally locate it?
Replies
9
Views
2K
blacksheep-1
blacksheep-1

Latest posts

Latest lap times

All Upcoming Events

Buy TMO Apparel

Buy TMO Apparel

TMO Vendor Posts

Top