mmdb

iTrader: (1)

Ted J,

Currently I'm running Apexi N1 Pros. Initially I had 8kg and 6kg progressive springs, but I switched over to Swift linear springs. The linear springs give a much more solid and responsive feel. It took out the uncertainty type of feel during front to rear, and side to side weight transfer, and increased steering response. Definitely a great upgrade!

Gigapunk,

I'm running dunlop fm901's front and rear. They're decently sticky, although they have a tendency to squeal when they're ALMOST at their limit. I'll definitely try a different tires after this setup is done with. As for jumping to 3.69 I wanted to increase gas mileage with the taller gear. 4.08 is very nice on the track, out of corners the low end torque allows the car accelerate rediculously fast, assuming I get enough traction to put the power down. Gigapunk you're definitely right about the weight transfer. To smoothen it out I removed the Tanabe rear sway bar which is around 28-29mm thick, and put back my stock sway bar and softened the rear dampening which helped a lot with the over steer. I'm going to try removing the sway bar altogether and see what sort of effects that might have, considering my suspension is so damn stiff anyway. Another solution was to feather the throttle out of corners, again because of the monster torque down low it's super easy to break traction and spin the car out of corners.

I haven't been able to compare my previous KA24de setup with the LS1, nor do I have the track times since it was my first time there, but there is a nifty gizmo Kaaz is working on called Race Monitor. It tells you lap top, rpm, speed, g-force, and records video. I was told by the Kaaz president Ray that they're shooting to sell it for around $700 dollars. I'm going to give Ray a call today and see when they'll be avalible.

Ted J

iTrader: (4)

I'm about to give 8/6 linear springs a try on my S13 soon here and I'm curious how they are going to be. Still have the stock sway bars but once I get a chance to drive the car some and play around with the shock adjustments some I'll hopefully get a feel for if I need to upgrade my sway bars or not.

NismoSilvia270R

iTrader: (1)

im using silkroad 8/6.

its very streetable and allows decent turn-in and steady cornering.

problem for me is that i live in PA, not CA. They didnt last very long before blowing out.

Ted J

iTrader: (4)

Blowing out meaning like they blew out the seals and they are ruined now? Or did they just lose some of their effectiveness? How long did it take? I ask for I was looking into Silkroad's for a bit but after reading that I'm thinking I'm glad I didn't go with them.

NismoSilvia270R

iTrader: (1)

i used them for maybe 15000 HARD miles.

they just got bouncier (less damping effect)

its really from the bad roads here. i also cant run rubberband tires on 18s cause theyll bubble or dent the rims.

THE NEWER model silkroads are made tougher inside. I remember reading something about their improvements since then.

QUALITY COILOVERs, BAD PAVEMENT ... IMO

if youre worried about them blowing i would buy either:

KTS from www.splparts.com
or
MAX from www.poweredbymax.net

because theyve got amazing United States Support. when the kts blow you send em back with 500 over the CORE and you get BRAND NEW ONES. the MAX coils only cost 200 over CORE for new ones.

the MAX deals 1050shipped to the door and 200+sendbackcores for replacements for life.

GIGAPUNK

iTrader: (2)

spl has an amazing reputation

and PA has amazingly bad roads

mmdb, have you thought about putting back in the big rear antisway bar and then using way softer linear springs in the rear (progressives are not for the track... ever)

NismoSilvia270R

iTrader: (1)

is sicbastard making fun of my amazing speech. ill see your s14 and raise you s13 vert!
buddy needs to upload pics...

mmdb

iTrader: (1)

Gigapunk,

That's a good option, but before I do change my rates I think I'll play with the dampening a bit and see how it reacts, I'll probably remove the sway bar if that doesn't turn out too well, then play with the alignment a bit - basically whatever is the cheapest/easiest change to get a more neutral handling car.

GIGAPUNK

iTrader: (2)

Unless you're building a Jeep to go offroading, pulling the anti sway bar is a bad idea. Springs are a good (and cheap at $50 a corner) investment. You want the softest springs you can get away with, without bottoming out or rolling over too hard in the turns. If you're serious drop $400 on a pair of 5,6,7,8s each and go to the track to dial it in. If you're cheap drop $200 on the 6/8 and have some fun. 11s have about as much give as a brick of concrete, dampening changes aren't going to do much.

NismoSilvia270R

iTrader: (1)

ive read alot from corolla forums about matching dampers with springs.

most of the time, people get springs too stiff for the damper and they blow out prematurely.

most coilOs are valved for 5-9 springs. to my guess. I would hope that coilovers with 11+ would have proper valving for the springs, but you never know...

mmdb

iTrader: (1)

Gigapunk,

that's a concern I have. I think there's other issues I need to solve. Partially the lock on the LSD is set to 100% upon throttle. I probably should set it to 70% to allow smoother engagement. I do like the 100% lock tho... definitely challenging and very fun to drive.

NismoSilvia270R,

That's a concerned I had, but I spoke with a tech over at apexi who does the revalves. He assured me revalving would be necessary in the case of jumping 4+ kg. Since my car is a daily driver I'll have to see how it holds up. In the future I would like to pick up a set of coilovers that allow 2 way dampening setup, but then again that would cost 3k-4k, and I probably couldn't get what I want for my current coilovers.

GIGAPUNK

iTrader: (2)

Ohhhhhhh.
Start with that.

Another drift only item made just for the silvia

Those apexi's could probably be revalved any way you want. I picked up a set of used ohlins for the s14 that came with some aftermarket RSR springs. I'm going to have Andy over at Ohlins USA in NC put them back to completely stock settings, and then he said he can make any changes I want. If you know the guy at Apexi, they should be able to do the same.

JDMPalace

iTrader: (1)

I was wondering, Have you installed your front sway bar yet ?

mmdb

iTrader: (1)

Yeap. I had the stock one lengthened on the sides to clear the oil pan. Nothing special. That cleared up a bit of oversteer and helped with the overall balance.

cnichols

iTrader: (23)

FYI, my Suspension Techniques front sway bar did not have to be modified to clear the oil pan.

NismoSilvia270R

iTrader: (1)

anyhting on that ps fitting?

i know im bugging the heck out of you, but my proj is coming closer to completeion

GIGAPUNK

iTrader: (2)

Did you actually lengthen the distance from the cross bar to the attchement point? If so you increased the lever arm and reduced the effectiveness of the bar, so now it can't help fight that oversteer as mutch!

How hard is it to swap around the discs in the kaaz, to pull it down to a 60% lock? How many discs are in it? Is it a 12 or a 16?

mmdb

iTrader: (1)

^ location where the sway bars were lengthened were arms that extend to the endlinks. It's funny though, oversteering a bit on the track is fun. As long as it's not a huge degree of it I'll be happy

The Kaaz units have 16 discs or maybe more. I have an RS type which uses treated clutch discs which provide less wear and tear, and also much less noise. I was debating going with quaife, but it's way more and the idea of lifting a wheel and losing traction really annoys me.

GIGAPUNK

iTrader: (2)

So does the rs still pop and groan? Any less than any other clutch lsd?

mmdb

iTrader: (1)

This is the clutch type LSD I've used. It does clunk but not to a point where it's annoying / fairly noticeable. It's definitely ok to use on the street.