I hate to admit it but........

[VoodooBoss]

What do you mean 4.5?

Half way between 4 & 5.

 

[PeteInCT]

Exactly. If I remember correctly there 2 detents for each numeric indication on the shock. Hence, 4.5.

Rick - Am I dreaming this or is that the way it actually is ? ;D Admittedly it's been months since I set them.

 

[boss1]

Since we are on set up and suspension questions. It ends up Im going to the track this sunday I will probably run 3 good 25 min sessions. Will the stock brakes and pads hold up or should I try to buy and switch out rotors/pads and fluid this week? I will be running my stock tires. Im thinking I can go as is and run 5 hot laps or so each session and get by but wanted feedback from those of you that have tracked your cars. Thanks

 

[CaliMR]

Sorry, very poor choice of words. I think its because I have a purpose built race car that I cant even think about after driving the BOSS. And the boss is a 3600 lb street car! So it blows my mind that I am so excited everytime that I get in the car. So I guess the thread should have really read " Im stoked to be driving a BOSS!"

Very much this.

 

[VoodooBoss]

Since we are on set up and suspension questions. It ends up Im going to the track this sunday I will probably run 3 good 25 min sessions. Will the stock brakes and pads hold up or should I try to buy and switch out rotors/pads and fluid this week? I will be running my stock tires. Im thinking I can go as is and run 5 hot laps or so each session and get by but wanted feedback from those of you that have tracked your cars. Thanks

I would change out the stock brake fluid for DOT 4 at a minimum. I ran the stock setup with DOT 4 and brake cooling ducts with no problem my first time out and I'm a beginner. I wouldn't run completely stock if you have a lot of track experience.

 

[VoodooBoss]

Exactly. If I remember correctly there 2 detents for each numeric indication on the shock. Hence, 4.5.

Rick - Am I dreaming this or is that the way it actually is ? ;D Admittedly it's been months since I set them.

I only remember one detent per number.

 

[Jza1736]

I thought it went into place on the number. I would think by you leaving them in the middle, it would have the chance to move to either 4 or 5 and possibly giving you an uneven amount if rear dampening. Just my opinion.

 

[roketman]

Yeah I need to take it to the track, I am thinking the NASA THill in March. By then it should be broken in pretty well and Track Keyed. I have a couple friends who used to be pro racers, I'll have them help me with the set up. The guy who helped with my E30 dialed it in pretty well.

Anyone do Track Key at a SF Bay Area dealer? The couple I have talked to have not done it before. That is mostly what has held me back from getting it done already.

Pete ,
Basically it works like this .Smooth tracks with modest curbs full stiff front and rear .If you have some understeer at turn in soften the rear to 4 and see if that eliminates or reduces it.If not go to 3 .I ran 5 and 4 at Limerock.let me summarize better.

If you have a track car and find understeer a problem, you can complete some relatively easy modifications which can make the handling more neutral. These include:

Reducing the front tyre pressure
Softening front springs or anti-roll bar
Use softer front tyres
Increase front down force (if aerodynamics fitted)
Might be worth consulting an expert before doing anything too dramatic.
Since we have adjustable dampers we can utilize them for improved handling.The general rule of thumb is to go to the opposite end to fix the handling problem.

Oversteer
There are four major active causes of oversteer, but what you're likely to encounter depends on the car being driven.
Causes include:
Entering the corner too fast
Accelerating into the corner, too early or too aggressively
Braking into the corner or mid corner
Lifting off the throttle mid-corner. This scenario is also known as:
lift-off oversteer
snap-oversteer
trailing-throttle oversteer
throttle off oversteer
lift-throttle oversteer
correcting oversteer - counter steering / opposite lock
Whatever the cause of oversteer it is important to keep the front wheels pointing in the direction you're hoping to go. If you fail to do this, the most likely result is a spin. This technique is known as counter-steering or applying opposite lock . You should apply enough steering lock to point the wheels in the direction of the slide as shown below. Too little and you're likely to spin as the back continues to come round, too much and the car will rapidly over-correct, often resulting in a spin in the opposite direction. The skill can only be mastered with plenty of practice and should become instinct if you're planning to drive fast on a track.
Applying corrective steering needs to be done rapidly to catch the back of the car before it slides to a point which may be difficult to control. Once the slide has been controlled and the back starts to fall back in line, it's also important to get the steering correction off quickly too, otherwise you might find your self with oversteer in the opposite direction due to the resulting pendulum effect.
In a rear wheel drive car you have the benefit of sharing the demands on adhesion between the front and rear wheels. The front wheels do the steering and the rear do the accelerating (and deceleration under engine braking). This usually results in a more balanced vehicle. In most conventional front engine, front wheel drive vehicles such as the Ford Fiesta it is rare to ever experience anything other than understeer.
Rear wheel drive cars can experience oversteer for different reasons depending on where the engine is located
Cause of oversteer
Likelihood of oversteer
Entering the corner too fast
High
Accelerating early or aggressively
High
Lifting off the throttle
Med
Braking
Med

Hope this helps .
Best regards,Ron

 

[PeteInCT]

I thought it went into place on the number. I would think by you leaving them in the middle, it would have the chance to move to either 4 or 5 and possibly giving you an uneven amount if rear dampening. Just my opinion.

I checked, you are correct. There are no detents between numbers. However there is a fair amount of distance between them. I checked my rears and they are still set to 4.5 after 2 days at VIR and some street driving, so I get the impression that the settings don't shift easily on their own even if not at a detent (1, 2, 3, 4 or 5). I could swear that I read somewhere that settings at 'half points' was legit, not sure. Another one of those Boss 302 dreams I guess ;D

So the question for those more in the know is:

1) Is the valving truly progressive, so that there really is a difference in the shock oil flow through it's valving at settings like 4, 4.5, 5 ?
2) Even if it is progressive, is there enough of a difference between settings that are a 1/2 value apart (again, say 4 to 4.5) that it could actually manifest itself as a difference in handling? Or is this difference in valving so small that it's recommended to make adjustments 1 full click at a time?

Maybe someone can get Mark to answer this one ?

 

[hotrodnut]

Exactly. If I remember correctly there 2 detents for each numeric indication on the shock. Hence, 4.5.

Rick - Am I dreaming this or is that the way it actually is ? ;D Admittedly it's been months since I set them.

I only remember one detent per number.

One detent per number on mine, I also put the Tokico 5-way adjustables on my '03 Mach1 when I first got it and they too are only one detent per number.

Pete, I imagine as much track time as you have on your Boss that you have proven there are no issues with them moving to a detent position while in use. That would be good to know if it works that way.

 

[PeteInCT]

I sent a PM to Mark Wilson to see if we can get an answer on the possible progressive valving of the Toniko's. I tried some searching on the web but so far came up with nothing.

 

[Nafod]

I absolutely love the Boss ! But my all time favorite is the Ford GT. Timeless.

Ron,

Ill have to agree with you.. Though I think the the 12 Boss will end up in that category... ;D

 

[CaliMR]

Took the Boss up to my parents' house for my little bro's BD today. My nephew got so excited he was bouncing up and down. I have been trying to get him to go driving with me since I bought it and he hasn't really been interested until he heard it rumbling up the driveway. I think we have another convert ;D

Steep driveways and the Torsen apparently don't get along. What do you guys do, does dragging the brakes work to stop the light wheel from spinning? That is what we do offroad to ghetto lock the diffs, but never had a Torsen before.