[Cthulhu]

Hi guys,

While installing new front tires I noticed a grubby anodized aluminum ring and bilstein shocks, wiped it off, and holy-crap-awesome, my car has the track pack :nanner:

I'm not going to be able to track this car for a while (haven't been successful in finding many tracks around New York), but was thinking about adjusting the rigidity of my suspension. I'm not going to mess with camber and toe until I find a place with an allignment machine my car can actually fit on.

I read that the suspension damper should be set to 2 in the rear and 3 in the front for normal road use, but to 7 rear and 8 front for track use. Is there any harm in playing around with my suspension and adjusting it to track settings? Will minor potholes be even more likely to do damage? Will it potentially be damaging to the car, or will it just rattle me around more?

 

[spectre]

Well any pot hole is never good...

Play around with the settings, try to always keep the front one notch higher than the rear. For normal driving the 8f 7r setting can be harsh but if roads are smooth by you go for it. I typically do either 5f 4 r for normal driving and you will feel quite a difference when you do the 8f 7r. It's easy to do so give it a shot.

 

[apk919]

Hi guys,

While installing new front tires I noticed a grubby anodized aluminum ring and bilstein shocks, wiped it off, and holy-crap-awesome, my car has the track pack :nanner:

I'm not going to be able to track this car for a while (haven't been successful in finding many tracks around New York), but was thinking about adjusting the rigidity of my suspension. I'm not going to mess with camber and toe until I find a place with an allignment machine my car can actually fit on.

I read that the suspension should be set to 2 in the rear and 3 in the front for normal road use, but to 7 rear and 8 front for track use. Is there any harm in playing around with my suspension and adjusting it to track settings? Will minor potholes be even more likely to do damage? Will it potentially be damaging to the car, or will it just rattle me around more?

If you stiffen up the suspension and hit a pothole, you will put more stress on tires, wheels, shocks, wishbones, etc, but otherwise have fun! You'll also feel every expansion joint on the LIE, etc. I usually leave my suspension at 4f/3r for the street, and then stiffen it once I get to the track.

 

[Cthulhu]

ok, thanks

I'm about to reach through the wheel and dial em up at lunch time, lol. I'll try 8F* 7R*, but I'm headed back to Penn State for the weekend, so I think I'll dial them back down for the 270 mile drive to avoid losing teeth. If I can do it without taking the wheels off I will be sooo happy.

 

[apk919]

ok, thanks

I'm about to reach through the wheel and dial em up at lunch time, lol. I'll try 7F 8R, but I'm headed back to Penn State for the weekend, so I think I'll dial them back down for the 270 mile drive to avoid losing teeth.

Hmm... you mean 8F/7R, right? And you'll be glad you had them set softer for the long ride...

 

[Cthulhu]

yeh, edited to 8F/7R

It's nice to know I can make my ride nice and soft, at 1/0 or 2/1 (whatever the lowest is) I bet it feels like a mercedes saloon rotfl




BTW, APK, how do you like the limited slip diff? I've been reading the millions of posts about them and have started thinging about getting one aftermarket as my next big upgrade (rather than... say, a better exhaust). Aside from improving powering out of tight turns, which would suit my driving fine, it seems like it would make the car more stable, espcially in low traction conditions. I had my TCS scare the crap outa me on a little S bend with puddles on it in the rain yesterday, although I was surrounded by grass on both sides anyway. It seems to me that TCS on its own would function worse without wheel torque boundary conditions (from a programming/computer modeling persepctive). It also seems that more even power distribution to the wheels would make the car more controlable if traction is lost.

 

[apk919]

yeh, edited to 8F/7R

It's nice to know I can make my ride nice and soft, at 1/0 or 2/1 (whatever the lowest is) I bet it feels like a mercedes saloon rotfl




BTW, APK, how do you like the limited slip diff? I've been reading the millions of posts about them and have started thinging about getting one aftermarket as my next big upgrade (rather than... say, a better exhaust). Aside from improving powering out of tight turns, which would suit my driving fine, it seems like it would make the car more stable, espcially in low traction conditions. I had my TCS scare the crap outa me on a little S bend with puddles on it in the rain yesterday, although I was surrounded by grass on both sides anyway. It seems to me that TCS on its own would function worse without wheel torque boundary conditions (from a programming/computer modeling persepctive). It also seems that more even power distribution to the wheels would make the car more controlable if traction is lost.

Since I've never driven a Lotus without LSD, it's a bit hard for me to say how effective it is, but I've certainly never spun an inside wheel on a tight corner. It is supposed to contribute to a bit of understeer on higher speed corners, and admittedly I've been trying to dial out high speed understeer for a while now.

As far as the TC goes, I've really only had it come on during auto-x (when I forgot to turn it off), or on the street when conditions are less than ideal (wet roads or sand/gravel). Why did it scare the crap out of you?

 

[Cthulhu]

*comes back from lunch with hands all dirty and stupid grin on face*

All I had to do was reach into the wheel and twist

mmm... track suspension. I can definately hear a harsher rattle on the road, but everything feels much less jarring, surprisingly. Before, it felt like I had less suspension, and small bumps made me feel like I was killing my car. With the increased damper setting, everything feels so much smoother. That's the opposite of what I expected. :shrug:

Oh, and the TCS scared the crap outa me when i blipped the throttle too hard coming out of the S. I felt like I wouldve been able to easily stabilize it manually with countersteering and a smooth increase in throttle. Instead, it produced oversteer and my back end instantly spun out. anic: Cautious, cautious driving in the rain from now on... A048s and TCS hate puddles.

So, my thinking is, that a LSD would allow for better slide control and oversteer recovery than open slip (especially with TCS on, since wheel torque would have boundary conditions). That thought can't be dumber than buying a new exhaust because it adds 2 hp and makes you car sound cooler, right?

 

[Frips_Girl]

Owning a Lotus is like Christmas every day... you always get a surprise gift. How awesome!!!

 

[apk919]

*comes back from lunch with hands all dirty and stupid grin on face*

All I had to do was reach into the wheel and twist

mmm... track suspension. I can definately hear a harsher rattle on the road, but everything feels much less jarring, surprisingly. Before, it felt like I had less suspension, and small bumps made me feel like I was killing my car. With the increased damper setting, everything feels so much smoother. That's the opposite of what I expected. :shrug:

Oh, and the TCS scared the crap outa me when i blipped the throttle too hard coming out of the S. I felt like I wouldve been able to easily stabilize it manually with countersteering and a smooth increase in throttle. Instead, it produced oversteer and my back end instantly spun out. anic: Cautious, cautious driving in the rain from now on... A048s and TCS hate puddles.

So, my thinking is, that a LSD would allow for better slide control and oversteer recovery than open slip (especially with TCS on, since wheel torque would have boundary conditions). That thought can't be dumber than buying a new exhaust because it adds 2 hp and makes you car sound cooler, right?

I haven't had the TCS <b>induce</b> oversteer on the Lotus, but it has done that on another car (involuntary trailing throttle oversteer).

I guess my thinking is that LSD (with TCS turned off) allows you to induce power oversteer much more easily than an open diff, and probably gives you more control over it once you're into it.

 

[richw350]

What does everyone run at the track? Do you stay with the recommened 8F/7R or higher?

 

[Cthulhu]

Cool, I'll be saving up for one The company I contacted told me that could hook up the part for 1300-1500, and a race clutch that can handle 300 hp for another $600 (since I'll have the car apart). I'll post more info, but if that's a good deal on this clutch (list is 900 or something, he said) I will just sell it here on the forums for what I paid. The place I called knew their stuff with lotuses, they were also helping me out with my reverse-light issue since they had some on the bench.

This car isn't conducive to saving money... my stupid supercharger keeps takin' all my gas money. It laughs at me sometimes (goes: wwhhhHHHEEEEEEEE-HEEEE-HEEEEEeee!) :no: