Suspension, brakes and tyres
Discussion
After a pretty awful performance with my S at a local autotest this weekend I've decided four things need sorting.
New shocks and springs, the ones on the car aren't that great, it rolls far too much but at the same time is too harsh over the many bumps in the local roads. Having done some reading on here nitrons seem to be the ones to go for. Where's the best place to get them from?
Brakes. It doesn't stop. A temporary solution for sunday was to fit decent pads (mintex 1155), it now stops as well as it can on the current tyres but I'm a little concerned that heat will be a problem on track. I see tvr car parts do a 285mm kit with hispec calipers and rally design do 300mm with willwoods. Will the 300s fit under the standard wheels? Or are sierra cosworth brakes significantly better than what's on there already? As that seems to be a fairly cheap upgrade.
I need tyres that at least try to stick to the road. I'm thinking toyo r888 but they don't come in the right size, 225/50/15 is the closest I can get without changing wheels and going to 225/50/16 which is pretty much spot on. Does anyone have any suggestions for tyres that stick, can cope with being driven in the rain and come in the right size?
The fourth thing that needs improving is probably the easiest and cheapest to sort out, the driver. Practice and confidence in the car doing what I tell it to is the only things that'll help there. Hopefully with tyres and suspension sorted it'll feel nicer allowing me to push harder. Less really tight 360s and less large solid objects to hit if I get it wrong will help too.
New shocks and springs, the ones on the car aren't that great, it rolls far too much but at the same time is too harsh over the many bumps in the local roads. Having done some reading on here nitrons seem to be the ones to go for. Where's the best place to get them from?
Brakes. It doesn't stop. A temporary solution for sunday was to fit decent pads (mintex 1155), it now stops as well as it can on the current tyres but I'm a little concerned that heat will be a problem on track. I see tvr car parts do a 285mm kit with hispec calipers and rally design do 300mm with willwoods. Will the 300s fit under the standard wheels? Or are sierra cosworth brakes significantly better than what's on there already? As that seems to be a fairly cheap upgrade.
I need tyres that at least try to stick to the road. I'm thinking toyo r888 but they don't come in the right size, 225/50/15 is the closest I can get without changing wheels and going to 225/50/16 which is pretty much spot on. Does anyone have any suggestions for tyres that stick, can cope with being driven in the rain and come in the right size?
The fourth thing that needs improving is probably the easiest and cheapest to sort out, the driver. Practice and confidence in the car doing what I tell it to is the only things that'll help there. Hopefully with tyres and suspension sorted it'll feel nicer allowing me to push harder. Less really tight 360s and less large solid objects to hit if I get it wrong will help too.
Others will advise about suspension and brakes. Norman did a review of tyres a while back.
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
I bought a set of Bridgestones from Blackcircles.com on the strength of it. I am happy with them.
Cheers
Tim
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
I bought a set of Bridgestones from Blackcircles.com on the strength of it. I am happy with them.
Cheers
Tim
Unlike you I had a fantastic trackday on Saturday, not only the event (woodbridge airfield), but also the way the car performed....I am now thinking what else to do to the car to further improve it, but without spending big bucks....but then why bother, its great as it is.
Gaz shocks all round, spring rates 600/700lb in F/R (personal preference) and Bridgstone S03`s, which are now shot. We were as quick or quicker than everything (Porsche 968CS, Prosche 944 turbo, various BMW 3 series incarnations, Nissan Skylines, although they do not really corner too well on tight tracks, and a whole host of hot hatches old and new) other than an R8, and a pretty trick Golf GTI Mk5. My car does have a Cosworth V6, which does help, but you are right, its the handling which when set up right, is great fun, and with the right tyres, is very effective.
I will admit that I am thinking about increasing the rear tyre grip somehow, but mainly to increase drive traction when powering out of corners...its extremely stable otherwise, and I had the car in a controlled 4 wheel drift for most of the bends.
Gaz shocks all round, spring rates 600/700lb in F/R (personal preference) and Bridgstone S03`s, which are now shot. We were as quick or quicker than everything (Porsche 968CS, Prosche 944 turbo, various BMW 3 series incarnations, Nissan Skylines, although they do not really corner too well on tight tracks, and a whole host of hot hatches old and new) other than an R8, and a pretty trick Golf GTI Mk5. My car does have a Cosworth V6, which does help, but you are right, its the handling which when set up right, is great fun, and with the right tyres, is very effective.
I will admit that I am thinking about increasing the rear tyre grip somehow, but mainly to increase drive traction when powering out of corners...its extremely stable otherwise, and I had the car in a controlled 4 wheel drift for most of the bends.
woo hello fellow V8S and Triumph fan 
Ive done a lot of track days in my V8S on dunlop formula R tyres and never found i needed more than the OE Griff 500 260mm discs (and i have well over 300hp) but if you really want more performance than that then a straightforward 273 conversion should be all you ever need unless you start to go really mad on hp.
As for suspension: yes the S series does have a lot of roll, the V8 has a smaller front ARB than the V6 versions aswell .. going up on spring rate neednt cost you much ride quality loss though but if it really bothers you then you could do with a some nice quality double adjustable dampers and something with a large piston area so the high speed compliance doesnt suffer. Dont underestimate how much these things cost though .. if you really want to get the benefit of sticky tyres you will have to control the suspenion and that means either reducing the geometry changes on the suspension you have by running it stiffer, or changing pick up points to keep the geo happy with softer suspension/more roll, dive, squat etc.
there's a lot that can be done though it just depends how much you have to spend and how focussed you want the end result.
Ive done a lot of track days in my V8S on dunlop formula R tyres and never found i needed more than the OE Griff 500 260mm discs (and i have well over 300hp) but if you really want more performance than that then a straightforward 273 conversion should be all you ever need unless you start to go really mad on hp. As for suspension: yes the S series does have a lot of roll, the V8 has a smaller front ARB than the V6 versions aswell .. going up on spring rate neednt cost you much ride quality loss though but if it really bothers you then you could do with a some nice quality double adjustable dampers and something with a large piston area so the high speed compliance doesnt suffer. Dont underestimate how much these things cost though .. if you really want to get the benefit of sticky tyres you will have to control the suspenion and that means either reducing the geometry changes on the suspension you have by running it stiffer, or changing pick up points to keep the geo happy with softer suspension/more roll, dive, squat etc.
there's a lot that can be done though it just depends how much you have to spend and how focussed you want the end result.
Ok, shocks and springs are ordered, tyres I'm thinking the best idea is to keep what I've got now and get another set of wheels to put sensible track tyres on, so I've got something that can be used in the rain as well as some decent ones.
How wide can you go before you start hitting bodywork? I'm thinking 225/50/16 on 16x8 et25 wheels will fit just fine as there seems to be enough clearance around everything, anyone have much experience with bigger wheels on an S?
I knew the car would need a lot of fiddling with when I bought it, which is why I bought the £5k one instead of the £9k ones I was looking at
How wide can you go before you start hitting bodywork? I'm thinking 225/50/16 on 16x8 et25 wheels will fit just fine as there seems to be enough clearance around everything, anyone have much experience with bigger wheels on an S?
I knew the car would need a lot of fiddling with when I bought it, which is why I bought the £5k one instead of the £9k ones I was looking at
zombeh said:
How wide can you go before you start hitting bodywork? I'm thinking 225/50/16 on 16x8 et25 wheels will fit just fine as there seems to be enough clearance around everything, anyone have much experience with bigger wheels on an S?
Mine has 17" rims on it (can't remember the full spec offset etc). The ride is harsher due to the lower tyre profile, but I've never yet managed to get the car near the limit cornering (I don't do track days) but they fit the car well have plenty of clearance all round and I have no issues.Tyres on them are Goodyear Eagle F1's 225/45/17s and although they wear pretty quickly they do grip well in wet and dry.
Mark
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