Springs and shocks

[Andretti]

I have a 91' Accord that I race in 7 or 8 solo's a year.Mainly on a go-kart track in Bracebridge. So far I have been doing this on the original suspension, but now I am going to replace all the suspension. I am leaning toward Neuspeed RACE springs and Bilstien shock's. Anyone know how good this will work on this car?

I have been classed in C1 since I did the swap. I think that is with no point's left. So any suggestions on setup would be great. I have thought about doing the above spring and shock combo, and getting a stiff rear sway bar , then leaving the fron one stock. Reason is that when the inside front wheel lightens up the slightest bit, it just goes up in smoke.

I am the Official Competition director for our club Muskoka Auto Xtremes (M.A.X.) as of January 1st, so I don't want to look silly this year. I haven't done too bad though, considering all this body roll. :D

http://images.cardomain.com/installs/158000-158999/158263_25_full.jpg

[Dave]

Sounds like you have some interesting autocrosses going on up there in Bracebridge :)

I had a 99 Prelude that I used to Solo 1 and Solo 2 in, so I will try to offer as much advice as I can in terms of the suspension. Going with a coilover system will definitely help, since you'll be able to adjust the ride height of the car for the best combination of handling and clearance for street driving. Beyond that, a good set of adjustable shocks will be very helpful, such as Bilsteins, Konis, Tokicos, or Teins. Being able to stiffening up the shocks (especially the rears) for autocross is really going to help you induce some rotation of the car in corners, and then you can set them to full soft for the street if that's how you like them.

In terms of springs, I'd suggest linear rate springs if you want to best performance possible but they are a bit harsher on the street than a progressive spring. Eibach makes linear race springs (their 'ERS' line) as do several other companies including Neuspeed and Tein. In terms of spring rates, if you want to get ride of the understeer (ploughing) that's inherent in a front-engine, front wheel drive car like your Accord, you're going to have to go with spring rates significantly higher on the rear of the car compared to the front. On my Prelude I was running something like 350 lbs. springs in the front and 550 lbs. springs in the rear. This combined with the Preludes fairly large rear sway bar (22mm dia.) really helped the car get through the turns without scrubbing off as much speed because the front wheels were no longer being over-used.

As far as swaybars go, I'm not a big fan of going too large with the rear bar compared to the front bar. In my experience this seems to introduce some unpredictability to the car's handling, with sudden 'snap' oversteer occuring with little to no warning. Going with stiffer rear springs will have a similar effect as going with a larger rear swaybar (the ultimate desire being to reduce/eliminate understeer and induce some mild oversteer or at least a neutral handling car) but doesn't seem to introduce the snap oversteer issue to the same extent that a big rear bar does. Now, I'm sure if you get your spring rates and swaybars perfectly matched (like the Integra Type R, for example) you'll have a beautiful combination on your hands that leads to a very neutral handling car, but it takes a lot of tuning, a lot of experimenting, and a lot of expertise to get the two to work in concert. I personally think a safer starting point is working with spring rates rather than swaybars, but that's just my opinion on the subject.

Best of luck with your suspension upgrades,
Dave

[Andretti]

Thank's for ther help. That is basically what I have been told. A good friend of mine up here is heavily into solo's, you might know him, Tom Smith. He does the Ice Racing in Minden (start's tomorrow), and lot's of solo's. He has a AE86 that he is rebiulding the winter for racing this summer. Anyway he basically told me the same thing, and he sell's all the stuff I need.

Yeah our solo up here at Bracebridge is awsome. It is on a old go-kart track, with lots of turns and a couple of elevation changes. I haven't nailed down the event dates for this summer yet, but will be working on them soon. I'll keep everyone here posted, we would love to see some people from other areas.

[Dave]

I'd love to make the drive up to Bracebridge for one of your Solo 2 events. Sounds like a really fun little track you've got there!
Please do keep us informed and I'll add it to the HADA events calendar, where we try to list all the Solo 1 and Solo 2 events from the area. Check it out yourself at www.hadamotorsport.com/events

Cheers,
Dave