Suspension Geometry Before/After

[jonamv8]

Way out!! Bit dissappointing as car had been 'set-up' twice since I bought it by the main dealer or whoever they outsource it to... Didn't have time to wait 2 months for Centre Gravity so paid £160 to a local garage who had the Hunter machine that people rave on about.



Bit more like it!! Car feels much more planted and is turning in much faster/sharper. The rear end certainly feels more planted which in turn inspires a little more confidence through the twistys!!

May be worth getting yours checked out if you've bought used.

[Jockman]

Love the pics, with all the colours etc.

No idea what they mean, so I shall follow this thread for it's educational purpose.

Looks like an After / Before shot of Mikey K's car post-Alps. I'm sure he will be along soon.

Don't believe the opening times of the Testing Company, unless they do seriously work nights

[Siy]

I went to TDI in thurrock, and had my geometry done.. they have a fast road setup. Feels like an entirely different car. I cant believe that it made sucha difference. turn in far better, and get a much better feel for the rear. Costw as £200 iirc but was well worth the money. I think they have just finalised the details for doing this to the DB9 now.

[yeti]

Had mine done by Rick at DMS, car drove well enough in the first place but after adding the sports pack wheels, H&R springs, lowering it and widening the track with spacers it needed doing. Car just feels, as mentioned above, completely planted with Rick's fast road setup.

[Neil1300R]

Siy said:

I went to TDI in thurrock, and had my geometry done.. they have a fast road setup. Feels like an entirely different car. I cant believe that it made sucha difference. turn in far better, and get a much better feel for the rear. Costw as £200 iirc but was well worth the money. I think they have just finalised the details for doing this to the DB9 now.

Agreed! Had TDI do mine 18 months ago, totally different feeling. Would appear that Aston set them up way too soft. Which I don't understand as it feels a lot more controllable and planted at high speed with the TDI setup.

[Mr Aston Martin]

Do you have to notify your insurance having this modification done?

[jonamv8]

Mine was returning to standard set-up as I've not made any other tweaks to the suspension. I doubt you would if you went for a fast road set-up on standard suspension either but it could be argued the other way I suppose.

[Neil1300R]

Mr Aston Martin said:

Do you have to notify your insurance having this modification done?

Don't see why, its just had a geometry check, wouldn't know if it was changed from standard

[mikey k]

Chris Franklin @ Centre Gravity is a true artist when it comes to setting up suspension.
I used him on my last car, he is "the man" on 911's as well.
4 wheel alignement is so over looked on modern cars, even FWD cars will benefit.
Get it wrong on a RWD and it will become a "ditch finder"
Many new cars come out the factory with a very poor set up.
It's worth checking & readjusting it every time you change tyres.

[mikey k]

Mr Aston Martin said:

Do you have to notify your insurance having this modification done?

Its not a modification its correctly setting up the alignment to stablise the handling and even out tyre wear.

OP that wasn't that bad before. The rear was only marginally out (OK for M way driving) the front must have been interesting though, I'm guessing it din't track straight and went round left hand corners better

Bit concerned there are no front castor readings though!

Edited by mikey k on Wednesday 22 June 14:08

[bogie]

agree with Mikey

on production lines usually its a time limit per setup regardless, so "near as" then often left to dealers to do as part of PDI ...and "near as"

amazing what actually running your car with the proper geo feels like ..and how a few tweaks can make it more aggressive

this is one of the most common things in Lotus world with people often driving out of spec new (or new to them) cars and then proclaiming how fantastic this "mystical" geo thing for £200 has made their car feel ...when reality is, theyve never driven their car how it should have been "out of the box" anyway LOL

/another reason why often the test cars for magazines are different to what you buy...because they may have been setup properly....

//first thing to do when you get a new car - check geo, check tyre pressure, so at least you know how its supposed to handle

[jonamv8]

mikey k said:

Its not a modification its correctly setting up the alignment to stablise the handling and even out tyre wear.

OP that wasn't that bad before. The rear was only marginally out (OK for M way driving) the front must have been interesting though, I'm guessing it din't track straight and went round left hand corners better

Bit concerned there are no front castor readings though!

Edited by mikey k on Wednesday 22 June 14:08

Didn't track brilliantly no!! Never really noticed the left hand corners being better but she was pretty lairy on islands, being a hooligan though I found that more than enjoyable!!!

[Petro1head]

Does anyone have all the correct setting or recommended setting as I fancy checking mine

[rick-derby-]

The above set up is good but not great, I can see that some of the settings border on the tolerances, a vast improvement over the original but it could be further improved, also surprised no castor or thrust line readings,

My favourite settings for the V8

Front camber -0 deg 40’ (+/- 05’)
Front toe 0 deg 10’ (+02’/-04’)
Front castor 4 deg 10’ (+15’/00’)
Rear camber -1 deg 30’ (+/-05’)
Rear toe 0 deg 20’ (+10’/-00’)
Thrust angle 0 deg00’ (+/-01’)

[tonyhall38]

i got lost after ..The....

[mikey k]

It takes a bit of understadning but it is sooooo worthwhile.
A good geo set to match your driving style transforms the car!

Thanks for that Rick might get you to do mine when you have it.
Do you add any weight to the seats when you do it?

[jonamv8]

rick-derby- said:

The above set up is good but not great, I can see that some of the settings border on the tolerances, a vast improvement over the original but it could be further improved, also surprised no castor or thrust line readings,

My favourite settings for the V8

Front camber -0 deg 40’ (+/- 05’)
Front toe 0 deg 10’ (+02’/-04’)
Front castor 4 deg 10’ (+15’/00’)
Rear camber -1 deg 30’ (+/-05’)
Rear toe 0 deg 20’ (+10’/-00’)
Thrust angle 0 deg00’ (+/-01’)

Rick - Thanks for the set-up, I'll most probably get this dialed in when I'm back on the Hunter machine

[rick-derby-]

Hi mikey yes weights do need to be added, 37.5kgs per seat and a full fuel tank or simulated weight to compensate, also basics such as tyre pressure correctly set, many places just put the car on the ramp and do not check the tyre pressures first, the suspension for wear, play or damage also suspension heights should be checked, good practise is to also road test the car after the setup and recheck straight after this as it gives the car time to settle then any minor adjustments to get it spot on can be made,

[millsjq]

Rick, Do your suggestion setting otimize handling at the expense of tire life? When I have my annual service at the end of year for my 09 Vantage I though I should have the alignment checked/set but do not want to end up srubing the tires of the car. I have now complaints but allways wonder if the factory took the time to get the setting right or just put them in the acceptable window.

[Jockman]

rick-derby- said:

Hi mikey yes weights do need to be added, 37.5kgs per seat and a full fuel tank or simulated weight to compensate, also basics such as tyre pressure correctly set, many places just put the car on the ramp and do not check the tyre pressures first, the suspension for wear, play or damage also suspension heights should be checked, good practise is to also road test the car after the setup and recheck straight after this as it gives the car time to settle then any minor adjustments to get it spot on can be made,

Rick is this something that can be done at my next DB9 service (you only did it 3 months ago) ??

Would you also suggest a remap, or are these sort of things only for the more aggressive drivers ??

If so, a flavour of costs in line with OP's ??