Originally posted by Auto-X Fil:
The car felt twitchy because of all the camber. If you went to B you'd have a better-cornering, more stable car. A performance strut suspension has more like 10* of caster. IIRC, E30 M3s have 15* or so. Try E next time for the autocross, and whenever you visit the shop have them go for max caster for your camber.



Actually, it was more like 2.25* of caster I was shooting for at the shop. 10-15 sounds extreme, and of course unachievable in this car. I believe you about the E30 M3, though. What range of adjustment is there, actually? If I went from the front to the rear position, about how much caster would I have?

Everyone is different. FWIW, the guy who stomps everybody locally in an SVT runs kit very similar to mine, except he has an SVT front bar with an Aussie on the rear. Otherwise, Koni yellows with Roc springs--again similar to my Roush but maybe a bit stiffer. Roush, I believe, very similar to BAT springs except linear rate on the front. Alignment settings--well, we both took our advice from the same people: One of whom tracks and autocrosses his car regularly (with modest success), and the other an automotive engineer of some distinction.

There are two major differences I see between this local SVT driver and I: 1) Ability, and 2) Aussie bar.

That said, I may just have to bite the bullet and get the dang rear bar upgraded.

Now, please don't take any of this as argumentative. I value your advice, because I know it is based on real experience.

Function before fashion. '96 Contour SE "Toss the Contour into a corner, and it's as easy to catch as a softball thrown by a preschooler." -Edmunds, 1998