baloga41

we have a formula 1 track next to us and some of the exotic cars owners rent the track for a whole day for about $12 grands ... i want to improve my suspension to the degree that i can join them in the track ...i know that i'll cuz them headaches in strightline racing but not sure about the american car handling in the formula 1 track .....


any advices part #s i don't car about $$ i just want to improve handling..



thank u guys

TooSlow02

There's a few area that need to be addressed. First and foremost, the chassis needs to be stiffened. Install weld-in subframe connectors. I personally use SLP's, because they not only tie the front and rear subframes, they also connect to the rocker panel pinch weld and the driveshaft tunnel brace mount. Also, a shock tower brace will help stiffen the front. BMR's extreme shock tower brace is the biggest I know of, but there quite a few to choose from.

Oh, and you need some sticky rubber. What size tires do you have? If you don't have at least a 275/40R17 tire, I would suggest upgrading. You can find factory wheels through SLP. You can also get them on Ebay for less money. Get at least a 17x9 or 9.5 wheel. For tires, look into Goodyear Eagle F1 GS-D3, BFGoodrich G-Force TA KD, or Kumho Ecsta MX.

Now that the chassis is stiffened up, let's move on to the suspension. You should get a full set of coilovers. A full-on coilover set is fully adjustable, so you can change settings based on track/road conditions. LG Motorsports carries a set of these, with Bilstein shocks. With the corners taken care of, look into a set of sway bars. Hollow bars weigh less, but solid bars are stiffer. I use 35mm front and 25mm rear solid bars, but the front bar is heavy. Hotchkis makes a hollow 35/25 set that they claim is just a stiff as solid, but they weight much less. Next, get a torque are that mounts to the body, and is adjustable. Global west has what they call a Trac-Link, which is a replacement arm that moves the front mount from the trasmission tailshaft to the body of the car. This arm is specifically designed for road course racing, to help increase rear traction under throttle when exiting corners, so you get on the gas sooner and exit the corner with more speed (you drive the straights, but you race the corners). Along with the torque arm, change the rear control arms and panhard rod to ones with either polyurethane bushings or heim-joint rod ends. The stock bushings deflect way too much, and the stamped rear arms are flimsy. Get adjustable arms and panhard rod, so you can center the rear and correct fore-aft position for centered rear tracking.

While you're replacing arms, replace the upper and lower front arms with quality pieces like LGM arms. BMR also makes upper and lower. You are replacing these to get rid of the bushings, and for adjustability. Since your car will be lowered, you should get a bump-steer correction kit from Baer racing. This lets you correct the position of the tie-rod ends for lowered cars to eliminate any toe changes during supension movement. If you want to go that far, you can replace your front k-member with a tubular one to reduce weight. And last but not least, upgrade your front brakes. Baer racing, Brembo, and StopTech all make excellent front brake kits with multi-piston calipers and 13.5" directionally vented two-piece rotors. Not only are the brakes more effective, they are lighter, to reduce unsprung weight. They are also virtually fade-free under hard use.

So, to summarize, you should check into these mods:

Necessary:
Subframe Connectors
Shock Tower Brace
Coilovers
Sway Bars
Tire upgrade

Recommended:
Rear Control Arms
Relocation Brackets for Rear Control Arms
Rear Panhard Rod
Adjustable Torque Arm, relocated front mount
Upgraded Front and Rear Brake Pads
Upgraded Front and Rear Rotors

If you have the Money:
Front Brake System (instead of pads/rotors)
Front Lower Control Arms
Front Upper Control Arms
Front Tubular K-Member
Lightweight wheels

You can tag along with just the necessary items. If you get the rest of the upgrades, you can hold your own with pretty much any car they bring. (Speed costs money, how fast do you want to go?)

lgmotorsports.com, bmrfabrication.com, slponline.com, globalwest.net, ls1speed.com, rksport.com, lmperformance.com, stealthperf.com, stoptech.com, baer.com, precisionbrakescompany.com, shox.com

mitchntx

iTrader: (14)

These are street cars?

Brakes, tires and seat time ... in that order. That will give you the BEST return ...

Once you get comfortable in the car on the track, begin logging data, like tire temps and pressures so that the car can tell you where a problem might lay.

Then address the problem(s) one thing at a time.

TooSlow02

I agree with that statement. But, he was asking about how to improve his car, not his driving. He also mentioned TRACK, not street.