Calling suspension/handling gurus!!

[Ben H]

I was gently blasting down a Westcountry A-road the other day when it opened up for a short bit of overtaking opportunity. Amongst the cars I overtook was a Citoen Xsara coupe, which refused to believe that a Clio could have passed it and proceeded to stick to my rear bumper after the straight.

In my haste to show the Xsara who was boss down this country road, I made use of my Valvers stunning handling and opened up a very pleasant gap. But then I came to a left hand bend that was a little sharper than I expected...

The back end came out in a fit of oversteer *twice!* - I managed to catch it both times and must have looked like a rally pro, but I scared myself sh*tless. This isnt the first time this has happened either.

The car is currently lowered -40mm at the front and about -20mm at the rear on standard shocks.

What sort of susepnsion set-up would reduce the tendency of the car to oversteer? Or should I just drive less "enthusiastically"?

Cheers guys.

 

[BRUN]

get some coilovers mate, not got em on mine yet but apparently you have to have em to believe just how good they are

what about a strut brace......K-Tec might have produced the rear brace by now too....

 

[White16valver]

I think the non-lunatic option would be a good choice

Valvers and Williams are set-up so they oversteer if you come off the throttle mid-bend - thats half the fun! Just be glad that the break-away point in them is a lot nicer and easier to read than many other cars.

As for coilovers... Im not too sure about whether these are really a good idea or not. Im running a -40mm spax set-up on my RS Turbo (admittedly nowhere near as good handling as Clio) but the increased hardness of the ride means its really difficult to tell where the breakaway point is of the rear/front - and I reckon itd come and go VERY quickly, before I had time to react and save it.

If you want a safer set-up for the valver, run the rear tyres 1 or 2 psi softer than the front, that way they will grip a bit more and the breakaway will be more gradual when you do reach it. If youve got adjustable suspension, run the rears a bit softer too. That way, when it goes, it wont snap away, but start to slide gradually instead.

Well, in my opinion anyway...

 

[Mikey16vClio]

Do you mean 40mm lower at back & 20mm at the front?

If not theres ur problem!

Turning in is aparently altered if u dont lower the front and rear by the same measurement & to be honest i can understand why.

 

[Ben H]

I kept the back higher than the front as I wanted more progressive on the limit handling. Although my car does understeer, it doesnt snap in the way my old Clio did (-40mm at the front, -85mm at the back). I wanted to keep the emphasis of grip on the front this time and so far its been OK. Id just like to reduce the understeer a bit more: should I lower the back a bit more?

 

[BenR]

ok, let me get this straight?

you want to reduce understeer, AND reduce teh tendancy for oversteer.....hmm, only the perfect car then!

lol, its the nature of a front heay FWD car to have a loose rear one weight trasfer has occured. Especially the typre of corner you oversteered in, its natural, the front will be loaded mid corner, you see it tighten and you lift off to slow and/or brake and the rear will naturally come round, part and partial.

If you want more understeer, stiffen the front as its easier than making the rear harder since we cant play with spring rates.

Basically, its FWD car, its how they work! lol

 

[Anders]

Put the set up back to how it used to be originally and sling in some up-rated bushes.

Try some left foot braking, whilst gently feathering the throttle, keeps the car a bit more balanced by reducing the weight transfer front/back.