Fast road setup?

Psycrow · 9 May 2006 at 00:56

I changed my suspension a few months ago, its bedded in nicely now so I really should get the wheels alligned. I've heard a lot of people here mention getting your wheels set to a fast road setup. What exactly does that mean relative to how your wheels are normally alligned? Are there any drawbacks over just getting the wheels normally alligned? Will it cost more than a normal allignment?
I drive a fair bit on backroads and I do enjoy a spirited drive so if it improves handling I'm all for it

Matt82 · 9 May 2006 at 07:11

maybe you mean the geometry of your suspension?

Steve · 9 May 2006 at 07:52

increasing the camber on your front wheels to help understeer, although I am sure it nails the inside edge of your tyres faster.

Not sure if this applies to FWD but I know it is a common trick on the M3 scene.

Also looks quite pimp Touring car style with the bomus of givving more room for fatter fron rubber

Also stifining things up helps prevent body roll but you do get a trade off with comfort and on bumpy roads can lose grip as the suspension can skip about.

It is all a compromise as it isnt a track car so it needs to be liveable on the roads which is where you are using it the most.

I am by no way an authority on suspension so I expect to be totally corrected

merlin · 9 May 2006 at 08:42

You can play with the toe, the camber and sometimes the caster of the wheels - move them around to play with the way the car behaves.

It needs to be done by someone who has researched their setup properly on the car you drive, as a package.

Some cars need camber adjusters to get it all done properly, others dont.

I've got some fairly aggresive geometry settings on mine but tyre wear actually seems more even than it ever was. The rear on mine has a fair bit of negative camber (-1.45) which is great for cornering, but negative camber does make the car snake a little in a straight line. Toe in removes understeer but again - you'll get some tyre scrub to various degrees and there are side affects - too much can scrub straight line speed off the car although personally I can't see that making sufficient enough difference to warrant anyone giving a flying about it.

All in all - get a researched setup for your car and whilst there may be some niggling side affects - you just wont care.