bassboy

Hi peeps, just wondering if you would care to share what the secret behind high powered FWD cars and getting power down as well as handling well is?

My RST is standard in terms of engine (minus air filter, exhaust and cam) so must be putting out about 140hp...and when i drive in the wet, the car lights up its tires in second gear especially when cornering!...

now going out in a few cars like 130-150hp Peugeots, VW's etc etc...they dont tend to spin up...even when trying to drive like its stolen lol...also the chassis just seems to be like its on rails...im guessing the tyres lighting up in first and second is jsut the way the boost comes in causing a power spike and break of grip between the tyres and road...

reading about a few engines on here and mags etc...how do u get power down or do u just have to feed it in gradually?

Also a mate of mine has a 300hp 20vT mk2 Golf and he seems to get power down VERY VERY well...by second gear he is gripping and MOVING very quick! and he has nothing special done to the suspension...just low as ****! y is that? put that into a RST and ive heard stories of spinning up in 3rd and 4th lol!

what is the major difference between the chassis's? is it weight distribution with more weight over the front? is the engine mounted in a slightly different way so that the weight is yet more over the front wheels (im sure i heard someone mention that Nova's put more weight over the front wheels hence their blistering times when using Calibra turbo or even NA engines)?

what can be actually improved to the chassis to help over come the understeer and traction problems?

At the moment my car has a strut brace, koni shocks, chassis dynamics springs, adjustable TCA's, and fully polybushed front end...the rear will be an adjustable coilover and link car kit after the engine is in.

i have heard that Adrenaline are doing a traction kit for the Focus...what does this consist of? what is the kit actually designed to do?

so after all that...i think the main question is, whats the main differences between chassis like the Escort RST and the likes of Peugeot 306's, Golfs, Focus's etc etc

cheers for any help

bassboy

Anonymous

Good condition bushes are definately an absolute must, so is a correct offset wheel and suitable width tyre.

If you are really serious about it though, talk to danny b, he does some wonderful things with FWD apparently.

bassboy

i will be taking the car to danny to see what he can do once the new engine is in and once tested to see how it drives...

chip im guessing u will be the man to answer regarding the weight about the Nova's etc with XE engines etc? any idea if they actually put more percentage of weight over the front wheels then say a ERST or FRST? as they get their power down VERY VERY well and pull constant 12's where for RST owners 12's are dreams at the moment...

The Usual Suspect....what about the back end though? what shud be done to it? i know it should sit higher at the back to provide more weight over the front wheels...but even some cars that i have seen with this setup still dont run amazing times compared to some of the FWD cars that are out there built by other manufacturers for example the Nova's Corsa's VW's etc etc

bassboy

big_wig_074

your rst will be far less progressive than a pug or vw if they are NA as well,so they wont be scrabbling for grip,they have less torque

bassboy

the 20vt i mentioned earlier grips VERY well for a FWD car though...as do turbod novas, corsa's, R5GTT's etc? do they not suffer from this?

do u think there is a compromise between good traction off the line and excellent overall road handling? or do u have more of one than the other?

bassboy

big_wig_074

unfortunately the 20vt is a lot more refined in EVERY way than your rst! and im pretty sure youll have a few traction issues with big power r5gtts etc... but really you need to be talking to someone who can do this professionally,and write them a cheque,its a bit of a black art and fitting every suspension mod in the world is useless unless you know how to set it up right. id say that you would have to compromise if you want a good all rounder,but im sure all aspects can be made better than your current setup!

FULLBORE

R5's,novas and corsas have a massive weight advantage over the escorts and even the fiestas in stock form.THIS MAKES A MASSIVE DIFFERENCE!!!!! im sure the jist of it would be to rasie the back up quite a bit,lower the front right down. Set the rear up to hard,this will stop the weight shifting to the rear (dippin) under hard throttle.Have the front slightly softer.Also run slightly less air in the front tyres(20-24 psi).This will aid grip.Amust is to get the camber set up so you have got maximum tyre to tarmac as possible..............
Finally you need to know how your car behaves and dont give it full beans off the mark....wheel spin dont equal fast.......
You will find the fastest cars will have very little/no spin off the mark then stamp on it at the end of second and into third!!!!!!!!!
these are the areas you need to look in.yet,is is not as simple as it sounds.GOOD LUCK MATE

bassboy

i am building a 300hp 16v mate

big_wig_074 - its not a 20vt mk4 that the engine is in...its a mk2 Golf which was just a Golf Driver when it started off...all he is running is a set of coilovers lol no other mods!

yeah i know what u mean about talking to professionals...hence y posting on here hoping someone who knows about handling and suspension setups could explain some stuff to us all...just like Stu does regarding mapping etc etc

rightstuff...yep i know those are the right lines regarding good times...do u think making the rear as light as possible will help? yet maintaining slight weight in the front to help the front wheels grip?

im also going to try out mappable boost to see how that helps times etc

bassboy

4x4

also try stfining the back suspension rates to cut down on back squat. this obviously makes the front end go lighter under hard acceleration...

this is a shit one but thought id write: few peeps i no letting a bit of air outa front tyres on fwd to get bit more tyre on the floor, probly add to under steer though.

andyhardy

Speak to fiescos dan about it mate - he's shit-hot at launching his XR2 Turbo

Adjustable lower arms are a must I'd say as well as coilovers.

Paul Ripley and Paul Roberts also have alot of experience with launching fwd RSTs - they'll be helpful people to speak to

vikingboy

dont overlook the obvious - perhaps you have crap tyres or bad geometry setup?
Look into Dunlop DZ02Gs.....you wont spin them with 140bhp regardless of setup!

FULLBORE

The front will lift under hard launching,thats why you need to get the front as low as poss so that you dont get too much movement in the front suspension... obviously the more weight you have in the back,the more your engine has to pull,the slower you will go.4x4 was correct,you need the damping on fairly hard,and harder poundage springs will reduce squating.Reducing air out of the tyres will preduce fast times and improve grip no matter what tyres they are!!!!
This sort of suspension setup WILL drive like a bag of shit on the roads,understeer etc,BUT NOT in a straight line,which is what you asked about in the first place mate