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for all you road racers what kind of suspension you use
i just wanted to know what kind of suspensions you use i may be doing some road raceing next year and want a good coilover suspension. i want something better than the agx gc combo.
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"IT'S TIME." "X"
I pay to much Child Support to race.
I saw in the Gen forum that you were interested in the Progress coilovers. I think those would be a great beginner suspension for either road courses or autox. The Shigspeed is good also, but more money. I would recommend that you get the cheaper suspension until you get some experience under your belt and know exactly what you want.
I was thinking that also but i want pillowball mounts and camber caster adjustment. what did you start off with?
I bought the car with ProKits and Tokicos. I switched to stock springs and AGXs for awhile then got the GC kit. I now have GC/AGX with GC camber plates up front and Shigspeed mounts in the back. The struts are a little worn out now but I don't feel like they're really holding me back yet. I need to finish replacing the bushings on my car before I do anything with the struts. I'd like to put Shigspeed struts in there but I doubt that's in my budget anytime soon, so I'll probably go with AGXs again. As long as I don't lower the car much it works for me.
Koni reds adjusted 3/4 stiff in the front and 1/2 stiff in the rear, with stock springs.....cheap ($560), works well, and retains all of the original suspension travel.
We've run GAB/GC (back in the day) and Shigspeeds in our Cup car. Shigspeeds are the way to go, especially when you run the high rates we do in the SE-R Cup.
But, we had the GC/GAB for a long, long time and it served us well. Scarpa is right- start off cheaper and get your ability up to your suspension. Then you will know exactly what you need.
I do not want to use any spring shock setup i am looking for a coilover kit. im surprise nobody talk about the motivationals it sounds like the shigspeeds is the way to go.
i just wanted to know what kind of suspensions you use i may be doing some road raceing next year and want a good coilover suspension. i want something better than the agx gc combo.
This is what we have.
1992 SE-R
KYB's set to 3/6
GC's 475#/400#
Stock front bar (S/T bar is *way* too stiff)
NU Tech rear bar on full stiff
ES Bushings
GC Front camber plates
Front spoiler/spliiter <-- important
Overall, for a suspension that probably cost $1,200 *total*, I think it's
great. Yes, we will be getting double-adjustable Koni's. But, the AGX's
work pretty decent for $300.
The main thing is balance. The car is very nice the way it's setup. The
biggest issue is slow 180 turns wher the car pushes too much. But, 90
degree turns and very fast turns, the car is excellent.
In TX, the tracks are pretty smooth. I think AGX's would be an issue on
a bumpy track.
Also, we just put the splitter on the car. It really helps keep the front
planted and maintain grip. Highly recommended. And, yes everyone,
I'm working on the how-to doc with pics.
I know a couple of people using the agx gc combo they won't last long on nyc streets any comments on the motivational? nobody is running with the progressive suspension?
If you're looking to road race, you're barking up the wrong tree. If you're looking for a competent street suspension that's also a decent track day set up, then you'll do okay with any suggestion here.
For true racing, Grover's set up is a bottom feeder if you wanna be competitive.
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Bruce in Houston
1990 Acura Legend LS, stock (so far)
1994 Nissan Sentra SE-R (original owner) w/ $tuff, converting to ITA (even more $tuff)
1998 Suzuki Bandit1200S w/ $tuff, W.W.B.O.C. #101
2002 Dodge Dakota tow beast, stock! RIP swwwinger
How much are "short KONI's" and do you need FoltZpeed to build them using a shortened stock housing? The Koni's are just the insert right?
__________________ Sam Bass / 1998 200SX SE-R
Atlanta, Georgia
Mods: JWT POP Filter, 91 Intake Cam, Stillen 4-1 Header, N1-style muffler, Front and rear STBs, Motivational Rear Strut Mounts, Hyperco/AGX's, ES Front & Rear Motor Mounts, ES Shifter Bushing, Pacesetter Quickshifter | In the works: AD22 Brakes
1. the cheap inserts that go in your stock housings. They were the sh*t back in the day, and can be installed yourself if you are competent and can handle a little cutting. They are maybe as good as AGXs, but not as easy to adjust. You have to take the shock out and push the shaft all the way down to adjust them. rebound adjustable only.
2. Shortened konis. There are a few variations on these made by motivational, shigspeed, and whoever else (steve?) . These are usually the above mentioned inserts only shorter installed in a shortened stock housing. They are better because they are shorter, but still not super-great. Good if you are on a budget and want to dump your car, but still hard to adjust and with questionable valving. There may be variations on this from any of the suppliers since konis can be modified in various ways (external adjustments, etc.) but most follow the above path.
3. 8611 strut inserts. This is what people are usually talking about when they say "Shigspeeds". These are the lowest Koni I would consider using for real roadracing. They are externally double adjustable inserts that must be installed in modified housings from other nissan models, or into fabricated housings from scratch. The reason is that they are too fat to fit into stock SE-R housings. Positives: They are usually shortened, they are compression and rebound adjustable externally, they are pretty cheap, and if they are made right - even cheaper to replace when you trash one. The valving is ok and has a decent working range. These will make your GC/AGX car feel like crap typically. Downsides: Although externally adjustable, My pet peeve with these is that the bottom adjuster SUCKS (really sucks) to have to use. It is a slotted screwdriver type of fitting, and with an axle in the way, almost impossible to effectively tune at the track. BTW it points down out the bottom. Also (and this applies to all strut inserts) because it is a whole strut encased in another strut, it weighs more than it needs to (unsprung weight) and the piston is necessarily smaller, reducing the fine control and fluid volume of the strut. this makes them less effective than a similar strut with a larger piston. Also the off-the-shelf valving is just that; anyone who claims to be revalving and stuff out of their garage or whatever probably shouldn't. Overall a pretty good buy I guess, and they do seem to work great on-track.
4. The more-custom Konis. This is currently my area of interest at the moment. Koni shock building centers have access to the whole parts catalog, and this makes for some interesting possibilities. A Koni technician can order strut rods, pistons, adjusters, and valving and make struts that fit in the stock housings that are double adjustable like the 8611s, but aren't an insert, have a larger piston, and are easier to work on. These parts come from various other apps (BMW, mazda, etc) If someone knows what they are doing, they can put the compression adjuster on the side instead of the bottom and other little tweaks like that. I believe this is what the high-end Truechoice struts are. Pro-Parts (a part of TriPoint, where I work) makes custom struts like this all the time, but has not done a Sentra app.
5. The expensive sh*t. This would be inverted monotube Koni 28s. Very very effective and expensive. We run these on our touring cars.
If people have koni questions I will do my best to answer them, although I don't regularly work in the shock department.
Just to add a little the off the shelf Koni's are good for springs up to about 325-350 depending on what insert you get. I posted the info on how to make them a long time ago on this forum. Search My name and koni or shortened. The primary issue with any suspension and a newbie style track driver is balance. You can get a good balance out of any coilover setup if you swap springs. Driver skill will hold you back more then the struts will at the start. My Koni's have about 100K on them and they need to be replaced up front. No big surprize really. In other words you can start with a decent street setup and move on if you like. Tein would even be a good option in this regard.
. Soooo nice.
