Improving T350 Handling?

[Craig!]

What's some of the common modifications done to improve the T350 handling? At the moment the cars got GAZ Gold Pro coilovers however I'm pretty sure I need to do some set up work as it feels unstable over sudden bumps and I bought the car at the wrong time of year to do any major testing.

Do many people re-fresh the bushes, if so which ones and what's the best ones to go for, for mainly fast road, light track use. Any roll bar or linkage tweaks and can anyone suggest a good base geometry to start with?

Coming from an Exige S and an M3 CSL I find the handling quite un-refined but sure a few small alterations will drastically change the car.

[alex_gray255]

Bump steer mod for one
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=15&...

http://www.str8six.co.uk/Parts/page4.html

[Craig!]

Great suggestion, but £395.00 + VAT... are these simple spacers to raise the rack and / or lower the track rod ends or is there a lot more too it? Just thinking its something I could be able to fabricate myself if not too complex.

[alex_gray255]

The Sag does not need them as they are already standard on there so I could not tell you what they specifically look like. People seem to swear by them however if that helps.

[Targarama]

Craig! said:

Great suggestion, but £395.00 + VAT... are these simple spacers to raise the rack and / or lower the track rod ends or is there a lot more too it? Just thinking its something I could be able to fabricate myself if not too complex.

You're paying for Jason's (Str8six) experience in setting up the car and getting the spacers spot on too. Oh, and the fitting. Well worth it IMO.

I have no experience with Gaz shocks, but the shocker/spring combination make a big difference. Eibach springs are said to be the best on Nitrons, not sure about Gaz suspension. Personally I like my suspension set nice and soft too, which with the right setup makes for much faster cross country pace in my very limited experience.

[Kawasicki]

Craig! said:

What's some of the common modifications done to improve the T350 handling? At the moment the cars got GAZ Gold Pro coilovers however I'm pretty sure I need to do some set up work as it feels unstable over sudden bumps and I bought the car at the wrong time of year to do any major testing.

Do many people re-fresh the bushes, if so which ones and what's the best ones to go for, for mainly fast road, light track use. Any roll bar or linkage tweaks and can anyone suggest a good base geometry to start with?

Coming from an Exige S and an M3 CSL I find the handling quite un-refined but sure a few small alterations will drastically change the car.

My friend asked me to drive one of these on a bumpy b road, as he was concerned that the car felt a little unstable. On sharp bumps the car was deflected off course fairly strongly. Also during the phase of entering a corner the car needed a very slow steering input to avoid picking the wrong line.

My advice was to get the bump steer corrected, and a simple method to do this is to put spacers between the track rod end ball joint and the upright.

[clive f]

I`d get the geometry checked first, then play with the shocks by checking spring rates, ride hieght and dampening ect.

for advice on your gaz`s try derek, http://www.absolutelyshocks.com/

and as already mentioned, have a chat with jason aboout the bump steer mod, its one of those things that needs setting up properly, and I think jason now only sells these if he fits them himself, to avoid the product being slated when fitted incorrectly by diy mechanics. (not saying you are but there are some numpties about)

Edited by clive f on Monday 26th December 07:32

[Craig!]

Yeh, how you described the car is exactly as its driving if you hit a cats eye on the entrance to a corner it really gets thrown. I'll get in touch with Jason, as I'd like to DIY fit but would happily allow him to do the set up work.

[PipeNslippers]

Craig! said:

Yeh, how you described the car is exactly as its driving if you hit a cats eye on the entrance to a corner it really gets thrown. I'll get in touch with Jason, as I'd like to DIY fit but would happily allow him to do the set up work.

I had the corner weights set (TopCats Racing) on my car as well as the bushes replaced (str8six - did not recommend poly bushes for road use - they wear out quickly) as I noticed the turn in was sharper on left hand bends than on right hand bends...

Edited by PipeNslippers on Monday 26th December 16:56

[Targarama]

Craig! said:

Yeh, how you described the car is exactly as its driving if you hit a cats eye on the entrance to a corner it really gets thrown. I'll get in touch with Jason, as I'd like to DIY fit but would happily allow him to do the set up work.

If it is that bad then something doesn't sound right. Btw, please confirm you're running 24-25 PSI max in the tyres?

[Craig!]

Pressures are fine, bushes appear fine to me it feels like damping settings but bump steer is a valid point as on the smooth road its totally acceptable its just bumps and undulations of the local Yorkshire moor roads upset it a lot more than the Lotus was affected.