Poor weight distribution, can this be made to handle?

**spetz** · 11-07-2006 05:35 PM

So, my car has 740kg over the front wheels and 380kg over the rear wheels (no spare tyre, low petrol etc)

I can move some stuff from engine to boot (battery), have some extractors as opposed to cast iron manifold, and will get a carbon bonnet
Also with some stereo gear, the car should have about 700kg front and maybe 430kg rear

Can this be made to handle really well with the correct spring rates, damper rates and swaybars?

**aaronng** · 11-07-2006 05:59 PM

Yes you can. Do corner balancing. The sum of the weight over the front left and rear right wheels must equal the weight over the front right and rear left wheels.

And get a thicker rear sway bar.

**spetz** · 11-07-2006 06:14 PM

I am worried with too stiff of rear suspension, that at speed the rear will be very unsettled and might just flip out unpredictably

ie. Isn't that the problem utes have? Not enough weight over the rear?
Though they are RWD I guess too

**EG5[KRT]** · 11-07-2006 06:42 PM

thats where setting up suspension is very important.

**aaronng** · 11-07-2006 06:53 PM

Originally Posted by spetz

I am worried with too stiff of rear suspension, that at speed the rear will be very unsettled and might just flip out unpredictably

ie. Isn't that the problem utes have? Not enough weight over the rear?
Though they are RWD I guess too

I don't think you should use stiff rear suspension (springs) because there is less weight over the rear. The rear sway stops the twisting motion when you are cornering, so you will improve cornering performance.

Front springs should be stiffer than the rear. From most coilovers for DC2 and EG, it's about 10/6 which should be ok for your car.

And utes have live axles (leaf springs) for the rear suspension in order to accomodate the heavier rear payload when used to carry stuff around. Leaf springs like to bounce, that's why the rear of utes are unsettled when going over bumps.

**DC5TYPER** · 11-07-2006 09:09 PM

You can also run lower tire pressure at the rear due to light rear weight.

**spetz** · 11-07-2006 10:18 PM

The car is a lancer not a EG, so the front suspension setup is machpherson rather than double wishbone.
So, it is 5K front but the shock hooks up onto the hub making it a bit stiffer than in LSA suspension.

Rear is 4K
I am thinking of getting 6K springs at the front

It is running an FTO engine, and Cusco FTO Coilovers have 7K front and 4K rear springs
However my car is lighter than an FTO, and I am not sure of the FTO's weights front/rear
But all suspension arms, towers etc are identical between the two.

**aaronng** · 12-07-2006 12:06 AM

For now, what complaints do you have with your current handling? List the areas you want improved so we can give you suggestions. BTW, if the ride now is not too bumpy and rough, you can stick with 7-4 coilovers.

**spetz** · 12-07-2006 12:17 AM

No the coilovers are 5-4
But it has the FTO engine in it and FTO comes with 7-4 coilovers

Ok, the car understeers, and the front seems to roll quite a lot, it doesn't have any camber at the front though and the outside of the tyre is getting warn

Also, the steering is very sensitive, so at high speeds I have to keep "correcting" the car to go in a straight line.
Low speed cornering feels fine besides some understeer
But at high speeds it feels weird, I turn the steering wheel, the car turns a bit, then after say half a second or so it just sharply turns more without touching the steering wheel

These are the issues it has which I think may cuz this:

The knuckles in it (macpherson suspension) are from a Galant VR4, and the strut towers on a VR4 are closer together than FTO/Lancer. So I have camber pins AND pillowball topmounts and the most camber I can get is -0.8 on the front. Back is at -1.5 now
I am thinking this might cuz bad alignment of toe when going over bumps (that's why I need to correct it at high speeds?)
And, the reason at high speeds why it turns initially, then after .5 second it turns sharper is maybe cuz as the car rolls the toe changes heaps at the front?
I will be changing to FTO knuckles at the front soon

2nd think is the gearbox leaked oil for a good 6-8 months, and it went all over the under of the car, I am thinking this may have destroyed the bushes?

**spetz** · 05-08-2006 11:15 PM

No one answered

**aaronng** · 06-08-2006 12:34 AM

Whoops, missed your update. Good thing you bumped. What are the thicknesses of the front and rear sway bars that your lancer has now?

What is your front and rear toe now?

**spetz** · 07-08-2006 02:09 PM

Front is either 17 or 18mm
ANd rear is 18mm
They are both hollow as they are just stock Mitsubishi swaybars

I got toe at 0 all around I am pretty sure, and camber is -0.8 front and -1.0 rear.

I'll have the camber fixed up soon though as from a brake upgrade I have wrong type knuckles in there which are from a mitsubishi that the strut towers were spaced closer to eachother than my car (MacPherson suspension at the front)