I got the Motons yesterday. I've driven them around town, and also driven them at the track.
Here's the full story on my suspension work:
I got the install done at 3r Racing.
They put in the Moton Club Sports, new Eibach springs (750 rear, and 500 front) and also replaced the stock sway bars with stiffer sway bars from the Comp Coupe. They lowered the car about 3/4 inch in the process. While they were messing with my suspension, they also put in brake ducting.
I picked the car up yesterday, and drove it to the track for a test and tune. The first thing I noticed is that the car handles bad roads better than it did before. Used to be that if I hit a big pothole, it was a major event. I could feel the reverb rattle my bones, and the car would shudder like I'd been hit. Driving to the track, I ran into some very torn up pavement. I drove over potholes with very little drama. I could still feel the road damage, but the car's balance and steering became much less upset by the bumps and holes.
At the track, I started out easy, not really knowing how the car would handle. After a while, I was able to ramp it up a bit. Turn in was very good, noticably better than the stock set up. Over one of the high speed sections, however, there is a bit of a bump. Taking that bump at speed caused the car to bounce and "trampoline" a bit more than it should. I pulled into the paddock and dialed in a little bit more rebound dampening. Back out on the track, the same section was much smoother, with minimal bounce. After adjustment, it seemed close to perfect for that particular track, but I'm going to continue to experiment with it anyway.
I'm going back to the track tomorrow, and am going to play with the suspension settings a bit more. I'm going to try various combinations of compression and rebound adjustments, and also try varying the settings front and rear. I'm going to mess with the settings and see how it affects the car on local roads too.
As for ease of adjustment, the compression is pretty easy to adjust. The compression adjustment is located on the cannisters. The front cannisters are mounted just forward of the engine within easy reach. The rear cannisters are mounted up under the body behind the wheel well. I have to lie on the ground and reach in behind the wheel to adjust the rear, but it is still relatively easy.
Rebound adjustment is a bit more involved. There is a wheel for adjustment (adjusted with a small allen wrench) that is located on top of the shock. You can't get to it easily because it it behind the tire. It isn't necessary to take off the wheel, but you do need to jack up the car to take the weight of the wheel. With the wheel unweighted, it hangs down far enough so that you can get your hand in the gap and make adjustments to the shock.
Overall, I am happy with the suspension tweaks. I think that I will be even happier as I begin to dial in particular settings for particular situations. Hopefully, by the time I'm done, I will have found settings I like for daily driving, for the track, for the drag strip, and for high-speed open road racing.
Right off the bat, however, the new suspension is already better than stock, in that it is a bit better at the track, and significantly better on rough roads.
Kai
Thanks!
