Is there anything stopping a 1g from handling well?

[pc talon]

Guys this is a great thread, I just wanted to say thanks for the info.
My car is a 2.0 NT, so it is of course slow....but here is my autoX setup.
My car is setup with the following:
DSS coilovers, 400lb in front and 350 in the rear.
KYB AGX struts and shocks.
RRE Rear strut bar.
Matrix front strut bar.
Suspension Techniques rear sway bar.
Not sure on the tires I will run, but they will be on my Kosei 16*7 alloy wheels, pretty light.
I think the only things left I can day are camber plates, RRE front lower stress bar, urethane bushings and maybe a LSD.
Mike @ DSS reccomended I get my alignment set to the following:
Front Toe: 1/32"-1/16" out and 2.5* negative camber.
Apparently 115K miles on PA roads took there toll. The best I could get was:
Front Toe: -.04" driver and -.03 passenger. camber is -0.1 driver and -0.5 passenger. Caster is 2.9* driver and 2.2* passenger.
Rear although not really adjustable is -0.9 camber both sides and toe is 0.01 driver and 0.09 passenger.

Any thoughts, criticisms etc... from you guys would be great. As I am trying to make this a fast car on the small tracks.

 

[90DSMTurboFWD]

Does anyone have experience using the RRE camber plates? I would really like to know how they hold-up against the GC due to the fact that they are about the same price. As for the JIC's they have yet to respond to my E-mail.

 

[NDgsx]

Paul slot your strut mounting bolts so that you pull the top of the hub in towards the middle of the car. Or get eccentric bolts, eibach makes some.

 

[speedomodel]

I know the 1g isn't as great a platfrom as the 2g due to the strut type front suspension, but there are many good handling cars that utilize a strut setup. I'm trying to find out why I couldn't make a 1g handle well.

Interesting thread. I had no idea the 2G had a different suspension setup than the 1G. I had always assumed that my '90 GSX was a better handler simply because it was lighter. Oh, and because it has pop-up headlamps.

Granted, my GSX is not my EVO. I do wish the GSX had a stiffer chassis and less body roll. However, with no suspension modifications other than 225 high-performance tires on 17in rims, I routinely dust my friend's WRX through the twisties.

I plan on getting Tein SS-P coilovers, Ingalls camber and toe kits, Suspension Techniques sway-bars, and front and rear strut braces. That should be enough, right? Any recommendations for dialing in such a setup? Thanks!

 

[GRNDSM]

Besides, I wouldn’t diss 1G’s just because they have struts in the front. By all accounts, EVO is considered a much better handling car than a 2G and it has struts in the front…

Leon
RR

 

[speedomodel]

Originally posted by GRNDSM
By all accounts, EVO is considered a much better handling car than a 2G and it has struts in the front…

Yeah, I believe the EVO has McPherson struts with inverted shock absorbers in front and a multi-link setup with stabilizer bar and aluminum suspensions arms in rear.

 

[RU2SLOW?]

With all of this being said, I'm tryin to make sense of it all at once. However, there's still one question I'd like to know for sure. To make a 1G handle better (for a FWD streetcar) do you want to upgrade both front and rear sway bars to aftermarket ones, or is one more important than the other? Please go easy on me- some of this suspension talk is like reading Japanese to me. Thanks guys...

 

[pc talon]

On a FWD, I think a rear sway bar is only needed. That alone will decease understeer. Of course and a front and rear will descrease body roll alot.

 

[RU2SLOW?]

What rear sway bar would you suggest going with? My reason for asking this is a 2G owner posted on DSMReviews that a Thermal 3" runs in the path of where the Suspension Tech rear bar is supposed to go. I have the Thermal 3" and I can't stand how loose my car is so I'm getting a little desperate for improved handling. I'm not sure, however, if the sway bar also interferes with the exhaust on a 1G as well as a 2G???

 

[pc talon]

Is your TSi FWD?
If so you shouldn't have any interference problems with your 3"
The Suspension Techniques rear sway bar goes on the bottom of the axle. Your exhaust goes over the rear axle correct?

If you have an AWD, I haven't a clue.

 

[RU2SLOW?]

Yeah it is FWD. I'm not sure about where the exhaust runs (over or under the axle). It's way too cold to get out in the garage and start lookin under the car right now so I guess I'll just have to check it out when the weather is warmer (praying for temperatures to rise above 20 again sometime soon- ). Like I said the review I was reading on DSMReviews was a 2G so I'm not sure if the Thermal takes a different path for a first gen, but it was a FWD as well. He mentioned in his review that the exhaust ran under the axle instead of over, which is why I was a little worried.