A fight with my conscience and bank balance - SPAX

[DTM]

I've got a problem and need your help deciding what I should do.

I've currently got a Ph1 172 that I use to do 100miles a day commute 3 times a week and currently have Sportlines with 1 year old OE dampers, Whitelind ARB and -2deg on the front, which I find to be a great setup when blasting across the woodhead pass over to Manchester.

I probably do about 3 track days a year and did one at Blyton a couple of weeks back on some RSR's but was pretty disappointed in the speed I could carry through the corners, which lets be honest you really need to do in a clio.

Now I've been doing my research and I don't know what to do, the SPAX that Dan@519 are doing look very tempting as I think they offer the compromise I'd be looking for in a setup and probably the handling improvement I'd be looking for.

BUT....would it be worth me paying the £800 for the extra track performance and be happy when I'm on there giving it the beans, or should I be satisfied with what I've got, save my money and learn to drive better with my current setup?

 

[Dan519]

You'll get more from any setup by learning to drive better. Depends how experienced you are and how much of a limitation you really are finding the current setup. I like the stock setup for just being able to make it dance and play around on track, but I go faster with upgraded.

 

[Wick]

^ Sound advice from the horses mouth so to speak. Sounds like a brilliant set up IMO. I'd do a few more track days and spend a few pennies on tuition in your position I think.

 

[DTM]

Thanks guys, done a few track days and had tuition, but do enjoy the backend been lively on lift off, suppose i find it hard been the competitive bloke that i am to keep watching my mates zip past me lol

 

[KevF182]

Are your mate's driving clio's or something else?

Tony Hunter's wise coments on another recent thread summed it up for me - you may get a about a second a lap faster with a well set up suspension over standard. Suspension is unlikely to make a night-and-day difference if your mates are clearly in quicker cars.

I've spent quite a while tweeking alignment and tyre pressures to try and eek out the most grip I can from my camber-ed but standard set-up (down to my personal prefference rather than any propper testing). But If I had the money I would love to have the damping adjustability, I enjoy that sort of thing.

 

[DTM]

Yes they're in faster cars, and agree totally with what you've said, I'll stick with the tweaking as you do, it is good fun. My next move was to look at wheel spacers all round and possible camber shims for the rear, but then this may just introduce more understeer, what do you think?

 

[Cup_Phil]

You should be able to go plenty fast enough with that setup - it's the same as I had at the nuburging. I loved my old eibach springs

What do you think is limiting your cornering speed?

 

[DTM]

I think its the roll I'm getting on the front due to the soft springs, brake before the corner then go at a good pace into a corner but get quite alot of under steer, I can then lift off to induce some over steer and then try to use opposite lock and throttle to control it, which gets me around the corner but this wipes speed off and gets everything out of shape, which is fun but not quick, also I'm still very much in the learning stage when it comes to using the throttle to balance the over steer and tend to correct using opposite lock instead, probably need some bigger balls :headno:!

I can drive correctly and scrub alot of speed off before the corners and then accelerate out of them allowing for room to under steer on the exit but can't seem to carry much speed into or around the corners, I maybe just trying to out drive the grip I have but I feel it should go around them better.

 

[Cup_Phil]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trail_braking