Suzuki Swift Sport 2007 - Track Toy

[just4u]

Hi there again,

for my car history and more please visit my first readers ride here https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...

Now to the story of the Swift
Some weeks ago i purchased a Suzuki Swift Sport from 2007. It was a impulse buy because i visited the nürburg ring with my Porsche Cayman S and some bloke in a Megane nearly crashed into me. I was really scared and i did not want to use the Porsche on the track again because i simply love the car. So i bought something i dont love

Its a one owner car with zero history and a small rear crash.

This is how it looked when i picked the car up (allready at home).





First thing was to give it a good wash



after that it went into the garage for some more cleaning and disassembly




Where i found some more dirt



and i found out why it failed TÜV (MOT). Rear brakes didnt work at all and the fronts where also not good at all.



After a first inspection these was the list of tasks

- Brakes all round incl. calipers
- new Brake lines
- new Wishbones
- Oil Change
- Spark Plugs
- all Filters
- Clutch
- new Rearbumper
- new Rearbumper Beam
- new left Rear Light
- new Exhaust Tip
- New Diffusor
- a good polish

So i started with the rust removal and completly new Brakes. I refurbished the front but the rear was allready past restoring.








Unfortunatly i have no pictures that show the painting of the rear bumper and Side panels (which were also rusted).

After that it was time for TÜV, which it passed with no advissories.

So it was time to begin with mods. I bought some new Wheels and tires



Fitted during polishing



a 50/50 from polishing



After that i started to remove everything not necessary for its new task




and fitted a Rollcage



After that it had to go to the TÜV again, which it passed again with no advissories. Dont know if this is necessary in the UK but in germany everything that is changed has to be written in the papers.

So this is how it stands now, 4 weeks after i bought, which was quiet a lot of work.



So off to the racetrack it went.




That is the end of the story for now. To be honest i dont konw if i should continue with building that car because it didnt drive to well. It understeered really badly and the seating position is far from perfect. I allready orderd some coilovers to solve the first problem but the seats are a bigger problem because the seats would have ot comply with the german TÜV which is solveable but means spending a huge amount of cash.

If someone got a good idea what else to modfiy to bring it up to the task, feel free to post suggestions

cheers

Edited by just4u on Tuesday 22 September 21:13

[Cambs_Stuart]

If you're understeering then the obvious start point would be a rear anti rollbar, something like this:

https://www.demon-tweeks.com/eibach-rear-anti-roll...

Another thing would be to check the rake angle. If you've taken too much weight off the rear then the car will pointing down too much at the front, which will make it understeer.
Some adjustable height suspension should help you get the car level again.

Edited by Cambs_Stuart on Wednesday 23 September 08:25

[Maty]

Fantastic cars aren't they! Bought one for my wife in June and I absolutely love it. I agree about the seating position it's way too high! But understeer, not sure why you've had that as an issue, I can't get ours to push on... Despite trying!

I also treated all the rust and replaced the front brakes.

[just4u]

Thanks for the replies guys. The car is not oversteering. That would be nice

It does understeer....

[egor110]

Isn't there a place at the ring that uses swifts as there rental cars ?

Why not rent one see how it drives in comparison and what they've done to it .

Or have a look at the apex polos and what they've done to them as there also a small hp fwd car.

[Cambs_Stuart]

just4u said:

Thanks for the replies guys. The car is not oversteering. That would be nice

It does understeer....

Sorry. I've edited my post so it makes more sense.

[NAS]

egor110 said:

Isn't there a place at the ring that uses swifts as there rental cars ?

Why not rent one see how it drives in comparison and what they've done to it .

Or have a look at the apex polos and what they've done to them as there also a small hp fwd car.

www.rent4ring.de

Amazingly well set-up. Öhlins suspension for example.

[TheJimi]

just4u said:

Thanks for the replies guys. The car is not oversteering. That would be nice

It does understeer....

Before you start mucking about with coilovers, I'd get the geometry professionally setup first and take it from there.

[anonymous-user]

Are you going to trailer it to the track each time, and if so, do you still need to comply with TÜV?

[owski]

Hi
I wonder if a CG Lock would be a cheap way to improve your seating

[TheJimi]

owski said:

Hi
I wonder if a CG Lock would be a cheap way to improve your seating

I CG lock (I have one, and love it) won't solve the seating *position*

Being secure in the seat isn't the same thing as seat position itself, which is what I presume the OP refers.

[Cambs_Stuart]

owski said:

Hi
I wonder if a CG Lock would be a cheap way to improve your seating

They're not made any more and don't seem to come up for sale very often. The replacement (shoft). Doesn't seem to be as well regarded.

[AndrewGP]

Definitely concur about getting the geometry checked (preferably on a proper Hunter machine). If that checks out, a rear ARB and front camber shims would be worth researching.

[just4u]

Wow, i didnt expect that much feedback. Thank you guys. Much appreciated

@egor110
Yes there is, unfortunatly they dont pick up the phone. Will keep on trying to get in touch with them. Also they are now using the newer models, but im sure they have a fair bit of knowledge setting Swifts up.

@TheJimi
The car was with a local Mercedes dealer for setup before the Trackday, so i dont think that is the problem.

@Cambs_Stuart
I will see if i can fix the steering/turn in problem first. If i can fix that, ill go full racing seats and harmness. But thanks for the idea.

@AndrewGP
The car has been at a alignment with my local Mercedes Dealer. Not sure what mashine they use....

Before:


After:


I also bought some eccentric Powerflex screws to get some camber at the front, we will see if that helps.

[just4u]

Got some pictures from the Trackday and thought i should share them with you all.







Also this finally showed up (6 Weeks after my order)



The garage is currently occupied with the Scirocco, so it will have to wait a few days.

Will give feedback when fitted

[just4u]

Update Time

So i eventually managed to install the AP coilover suspension. Nothing to say about the isntallation, went straigt forward without any issues. After a quick testdrive the car did not drive remarkably better. Understeer was reduced a little bit entering the corner but mid corner and on exit the car did still understeer heavily. While changing the suspesion i mentioned that the coupling rods where well past it. So i ordered new ones and bingo, the understeer is more or less gone and the car drivers 100% better. Well, easy fix

This is how the car sits now.



Since i did not trust the allignment done by my local Mercedes Dealer i bought myself a String Alligment System (Andytec AS-10) and a Camber Gauge and set the Car up. I do have a appointment for a allignment on a proper mashine at the end of the week to make sure i didnt mess up



So far so good

After the understeer Problem was fixed i bought some nice Recare Pole Position seats. Still waiting for the Consoles, which have 6 weeks delivery time

Will keep you updated.

Edited by just4u on Monday 9th November 11:31

[WokkaWokka]

This is great OP. Look forward to seeing it progress.

[Cambs_Stuart]

Good work! Hope you get to have some fun on the track now.

[just4u]

@WokkaWokka

Thank you ... Doing my best

@Cambs_Stuart
Thank you. That will have to wait till next year, but i had some good fun this year, even with the understeering.

[just4u]

Time to do a update on this one i guess. The car is still with me. I have done quite a few things to it, i propably allready forgot half of it

- Changed steering gear for a new one (front axle out). I was hoping this would make the steering somewhat sharper, it didnt.
- Changed Rubbers against Powerflex Black at most places
- Mounted Recaro Pole Position Seats with Wiechers Consoles (cant recommend Wiechers at all)
- Changed Steering Wheel and Steering wheel hub for Luisi / RRS
- Changed tank filling pipe againt a new one as it was leaking
- Changed the AP Coilovers against KW competition
- Changed induction against a Simota Intake

i think thats all, so quite a bit of work done, still drives not as i was hoping. I tried to sell the car, but no one wants to pay anywhere near what its worth. I allready spend quite a fortune on it, so it will stay and i try to improve it until im satisfied.

Next on the list is to weld in some new rear fenders. They have been rusty when i bought it and i did a cheap fix up since i didnt think it would be with me too long or it would die on the racetrack, guess i was wrong. If you have a swift sport i highly recommend taking the rear arches out and the rear lights to have a peak inside. They all seem to rust there.

Anyways ... have some updated pics







Car is now booked in at a race company to get it properly setup, will see if it helps

so long