Where to get geometry sorted once and for all!

[davido140]

Hi,

I recently had some Nitrons fitted to my Tuscan and although the handling is far better than before, its still "not quite right" its hard to put into words but the worst symptoms are very clear past 90-100mph, the car just doesnt feel planted at all, even though I have a front splitter and rear spoiler fitted. Its pretty scarey to be honest.

I lowered the tyre pressures to 24psi which helped a LOT!

I'm thinking of taking it to a "proper" suspension/handling specialist to get some Sheath dorp links added and have everything set up "just so"

I'm really looking for fast road and track day use, ride comfort isnt so important, it just needs to be soft enough to absorb the odd pothole without breaking my sping (or anything mechanical!!!)

I have heard good things about topcats racing in ayslebury, should I be having a word with them?

Cheers

Dave

[Mustang Baz]

I have had mine checked 3 yrs back by Racing Green and am about to get it done there again tomorrow (following recent fitment of new rear Toyo tyres and some questionable handling thereafter), so they would get my vote. Can report back shortly on progress, but would expect the normal high quality service.

[trackcar]

I suspect if you have dodgy handling at 100mph you might struggle finding a garage willing to go out on the road to replicate the speeds involved!

However most front aero problems can either be solved with a splitter (you already have that) a very downwards rake to the front of the car (looks bad but is effective) and fitting very stiff springs on dampers with little droop travel and modified valving to suit (youve already bought your nitrons presumably to a generic standard not directly addressing the probems you have). That's all assuming it's an aero problem .. if it's just geo then take it anywhere and make sure there's plenty of toe in on the front and you'll be fine.

[davido140]

trackcar said:

I suspect if you have dodgy handling at 100mph you might struggle finding a garage willing to go out on the road to replicate the speeds involved!

However most front aero problems can either be solved with a splitter (you already have that) a very downwards rake to the front of the car (looks bad but is effective) and fitting very stiff springs on dampers with little droop travel and modified valving to suit (youve already bought your nitrons presumably to a generic standard not directly addressing the probems you have). That's all assuming it's an aero problem .. if it's just geo then take it anywhere and make sure there's plenty of toe in on the front and you'll be fine.

I wouldnt expect the garage to replicate the issue, more a case of "ah yes sir, we can fix that" wave some spanners and all of sudden its perfect, because they have seen the problem dozens of times before and know just what to do!

Must like the advice you just gave! Wish you were a bit further south!

I think you're right about the generic settings on the Nitrons, they would be perfect as they are, except for me having the need for higher speeds (on my own personal test track)!

Edited by davido140 on Wednesday 28th May 19:16

[shake n bake]

no doubt countless people will shout otherwise, but tuscans follow the camber of the road like crazy. they tram line worse than heavily lowered cars. you can improve it, but you'll never eradicate it im afraid.

[so called]

All my tram lining problems were solved when Derek did my geosetup with new gazgolds and I bought SP12 alloys at the same time.
My Tuscan spends most of its time in Germany and is perfectly stable on the Autobahn at 100+.

[jonolondon]

Derek from AbShocks did a good job on mine (Gaz Golds) and I've also heard good thinks about Topcats and Centregravity...

I think that its' best to take to a specialist if you can as I'm not convinced that all the dealers know what they are doing when it comes to setup, etc.

[davido140]

jonolondon said:

I think that its' best to take to a specialist if you can as I'm not convinced that all the dealers know what they are doing when it comes to setup, etc.

Precisely my thinking, whilst I have complete faith in the garage I use with regard to mechanical matters setting up suspension and handling is a pretty specialised job, especially with a twitchy old beast like the tuscan!

I think I'll give topcats a call today as they arent too far from me.

I have been toying with getting SP12s for a while, I'm guessing if I'm going to get the handling set up professionally it should really have the SP12s on it before hand?

Cheers