JIC Magic suspension

[Rallsport]

Well I finished the JIC installation over the weekend and along with it Energy Suspension bushings and stainless brake lines. I purchased all of it from Road Race Engineering (~$2000 for everything). I had Road Race do the initial setup with their spring rates and settings for the extra $100. Started the install on Saturday morning and had some help from my friends, all said and done it took 75 manhours to do the installation. The bushings were a bi***, you do have to burn them all out. Also, when removing the rear suspension the ABS sensors would not come out so I had to cut them and then burn those out (they will get replaced). I had Ingalls camber adjustment in the rear, they were rusted out and not worth putting back in so I went back to the stock upper A-arm mounts in the rear. I used a whole can of PB blaster (best stuff on earth) which helped a lot in removing the corroded bolts. Everything was anti-seized when putting it all back together. I had the car aligned (toe was off both front and rear) I set it to zero toe both front and rear. Camber was -2.2 degrees in the rear and -.25 degrees in the front. I still have the Ingalls camber adjustment in the front, I think it would have too much negative camber without it. Driving....holycrap...it is stiff, very stiff. I haven't pushed it too much yet but initial impressions the car seems almost neutral. Most of the bushings go into the rear and you can feel it. The car does not wander over rough surfaces, it stays planted even on ribbed dirt roads. On-ramps (clover leafs) are extremely fun now 65-70 mph on 25mph rated curves....weeeeeee!. I'm running 17" BF Goodrich tires, I think the suspension can do more than the tires now. The job was a chore but it was definitely worth it. I'll be running the car on a 1.6 mile roadcourse (http://www.beaverun.com/) over the summer I'll post an update. Anyway, if anyone has questions post em.

 

[cait sith]

You have WAY too much rear camber, and front camber should be taken when ever availble

1° rear camber is good if you have about 2° up front. The 2G front suspension design blows for adjustability.

 

[candela]

Cool reveiw... I know JIC's make excellent products

 

[Rallsport]

Originally posted by cait sith
You have WAY too much rear camber, and front camber should be taken when ever availble

1° rear camber is good if you have about 2° up front. The 2G front suspension design blows for adjustability.

Stock setting for rear camber is -1.2 degrees. Adjusting the front camber is easy you just move the upper A-arm in or out. I have the Ingalls adjustable on the front, I could probably get about -2 to -2.5 degrees in the front if they were pushed in all the way. Where do your recommendations for camber come from? Track time? Just curious, a lot of people will give advice without firsthand experience.

 

[cait sith]

I've been involved with road racing since birth, been working on SCCA production cars for maybe 10 of those years. I've logged many hours track time (Limerock, NHIS), and probably will be getting my racing liscence one of these days.

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If you've paid any attention to the SCCA Nationals race last summer, you might have seen this car at Mid Ohio. Have I been deemed "worthy" now?

On my personal car setup, to my handling tastes, I would not have more negative rear camber than front camber. but that's just me. AWD DSMs have terrible turn in as it is...

 

[igs]

All cars, including high end sports and exotics, come with more negative camber in the rear than the front. That's done for a reason. If your car is a autox/track car only and not street driven, then that's a different story. But most people drive their cars on the street/freeway.

 

[Rallsport]

Cait Sith- I meant no offense in my earlier post, I just wanted to know where your advice originated from. A lot of people regurgitate information without any real knowledge as to why or how those changes affect the car. Thanks for the info, we will be trying different settings at the track. I started in carting (dirt) then went to autocross/open track (solo I/II), then rally (rally bug bit me bad, we won a championship), now I rallycross and starting back into open track.

Igs- I agree, most sports cars will have more negative camber in the rear for street use. Like I stated earlier the stock settings on the 95 Talon AWD are 0 deg front -1.2 deg rear.

Anyway, If there are any additional questions about the suspension or install (or any advice) please post.

 

[Rallsport]

I talked with John Mueller from Road Race Engineering about my camber settings after installing the suspension and he suggested -1 degree in the front and -1.5 degree in the rear. I'll be tweaking it at the track to see what feels good.