My bum hole twitches at more than 160 . What can be done to improve the stability of the car. I have konis and to this day have never messed about with the settings on them! whats best (ignoring comfort) for stability at that sort of speed. Is there anythign else that would be worth while doing.

I have some adjustable track control arms that I have never fitted

is it all Beam etc after I have exhausted the basic stuff??

Have a full 500 kit on the car and was wondering if tdownforoce on the rear fin makes the fron end light (something that stiffening up the rear would help)

 

sapphire rear arms and sapphire rear roll bar modification or an ahmed beam

 

Rear strut brace?


Luciano

 

waste of time unless you have coil overs fitted

 

lack of stability!.......................just dont drive fast then lol



glad i could be of assistance



p.s hope at these high speeds you dont lose those centre caps lol

 

Just a though, Ive never tested it, so shoot me down someone if im wrong, but if your suspension is compressing at speed due to the downforce, it would start effecting the rear geometry.

 

So let me get this straight, you have Konis that you have never adjusted?

First thing to try, is to stiffen up the damping rates.

Next thing to check is the bushes. If these are worn, the car WILL wander.

Following that, check the geometry, again, if set to run parrallel, the car WILL wander.

Go and do the above and then report back .

 

andy,i have a 4x4 rear anti roll bar and a set of brand new powerflex bushes to fit in it if you are interested

 

Tony are these bits teh same on both the 4x4 and the 2wd?

Cheers Gaz this was on the way back from combe so pre centre caps

Chip thats what i was thinking but not 100% sure, logic tells me that it would due to the design of the arms but not qualified to say eitehr way.

Mike yep! lol they were on the car when i got them so kind havent got round to tweeking them (TBH they were fine till I got the new engine in ) do you suggest stiffening up the rears and fronts? Max settings?

forgot to say the car is fully pollybushed

 

How do you stiffen up the Koni's, just twist the nipples at the top?

 

rears are shocks out i believe (which is why i never bothered until now)

 

Cool might have that ARB off you depending on what route i decide to go mate

 

yeah u have to take rears off which is quik and easy,push the valve in and twist them whichever way u want it(soft or hard)

 

Antiroll bar should help, as once it starts to wander that will help to keep the geometry on both sides more similar, as if they are allowed to alter it can exagerate movement.

 

3 doors were like that from new mike very boaty man the rudder weigh anchor and all that

 

although to me the 3 door front end feels better than the saph one.

weird ford would make one end better and the other worse when they did the saph!

 

sapph rear end 3 door front is best

 

Yeah thats how its always felt to me as well.

Really should sort the rear of mine out if im going to keep it, are the original rs500 rear beams worth anything? (IIRC its only them that have the 2 additonal mounts on them)

 

the beams the same as any 3dr - the added plates are only tacked on and sell for about Ł50 a pair usually

 

the mounts on them are just flimsy bits of coke can tack weled on for homologation, prob ony worth anything to someone that wants them for originality

 

I recomend you fit the sapphire rear end ie arms not weld a sapph rear end to the front of a 3 door though

 

I know this, but thought as they were "rs500" bits, they might be worth some money anyway despite being useless wank

 

Andy, my saff was the same at high speed, well tbh anything over 110 mph it started moving all over the place. so i PM'd Mike and he kindly PM'`d me some settings and i copied it and took it with me to have it 4 wheel laser aligned and now it's alot better, well near on perfect..

And mine has the Zoo adjustable rear beam...

 

The first mod mentioned must be the easiest Andy! Ahmed = Pants down! + Rainbird tax

 

make your own then there is a lot of work in an ahmed beam and mike makes a fiver out of everything so mike tax is cheap

 

Agreed, Mike is in it for the loving

 

PMSL just stick "GRP A" and "909" on the end for good measure and get them on Ebay chip

Cool did you get the rear beam after? or were the settings FOR the rear beam

Yeah 1st port of call deffo mate!

 

Andy : To start off with and to know your on an even playing field (And before spending loads of dosh without the need) .........I'd be checking that all the standard parts where perfect first. (Bushes, Joints, Shockers, Spring and rubber spring platforms.........etc).


Staffi : You have 3dr Front Hubs and arms on the Sapphire, which make the car more responsive to turn in etc. But you always have to remember that if you take it anywhere to have the front suspension aligned..........take the settings that Mike R gave you. Otherwise if the local Quick Fit Shitters set it up to "Sapphire" settings, then you'll probably loose control of the car at about 70mph.

With the Sapphire Settings it's leathal. Hang onto those settings that Mike gave you. For when I buy it back..................LOL.

 

He might only charge you a fiver Tony!

 

As I said, adjust the settings first - put the suspension all on full hard and see what you think. Adjust it down to suit if necessary.

But I would guess that the geometry is to Ford settings, which is great for high speed wander .

If the bushes are cheap copies (Deflex etc), then these could well be worn out. If Powerflex, then should be no problem.

 

The standard shells bound to be a factor as well, the 3dr ones are as twisty as a twisty thing.

Just jack up one corner then try to open or close the doors, they become miles out of line.

Dont know if those frame stabiliser thingies Danny B sells would help the shell from flexing so much

 

unless of course he has them fitted to the semi trailing arms.
have you checked the semi trail arm joints whilst we are talking of them

 

Original spherical bearings in the semi trailing arms and these are fine it doesnt feel like its pitching or diving as such..........just generally a light front end.

The semi trailing arm joints are all tight, what colour are the powerflex bushes again?

 

Do what I said and report back then. You should only make one change at a time to see if you have eliminated the problem .

 

set your rear konis to max set the front to half a turn off max check all joints and bushes front and rear fit sapphire 4x4 rear roll bar and sapphire rear arms check geometries and set them.
and make sure you have a serious front strut brace as the 3 door shell has front end issues and should have been recalled and had inner flitch modifications cos they kept bending

 

Cool thanks very much for teh advixe fellas, will report back soon

 

and check you have air in the tyres lol

 

My old 3dr was stable as fuck even at 7.5k in top, much more than even a lot of standard sporty cars ive driven at big speeds, and certainly more than my Chaser is.

Just was polybushed and slammed on its arse on coilovers, absolutley no technical merit to any of it.

Guess I got lucky

 

andy,

mine was very stable at speed, which the trip over to the ring proved.

mine was just on koni's and new powerflex bushes.

Must be worn bushes i reckon or as mike has said tracking.

 

Are your trying to rub it in............you didnt have 6.5x17 ET 75 rims on the car by any chance like everyoone else did you

maybe thats where I am going wrong!