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suspension setting: wedge

Posted: Mon Mar 23, 2015 11:04 pm
by se7ensport
Rob

Your measurement of ~25mm wedge, is that with or without you in the car? if its without, is the intent to get to a level height front and rear if you are sat in it?


Cheers
Alex

Re: suspension setting: wedge

Posted: Tue Mar 24, 2015 12:21 am
by stylussprinter
se7ensport wrote:Rob

Your measurement of ~25mm wedge, is that with or without you in the car? if its without, is the intent to get to a level height front and rear if you are sat in it?


Cheers
Alex
No , the intention is only a guide because if setting up a car myself I've got you and car in my hands. It has to be a starting point and 25mm assumes an average ' fit ' guy weighing around 13 stone .(I don't know everybody's spring lbs or their weight)
With driver in the car on his own and corner weighted/no luggage etc , rake about 10mm's --- so , depending on your spring rate , the car will drop 15mm's as you get in(hence 25mm). So many variables , car spring rates , driver weight , driver's ability to push hard in a corner(all affect rake requirement) .The main thing to remember is that whatever you've set it at , drive the car as hard as your skills allow on track --- assess whether the car is balanced / understeers or oversteers and in what circumstances , then adjust rake to suit your preference ---- more rake = more oversteer ---- less rake more understeer OR set as balanced.

Re: suspension setting: wedge

Posted: Tue Mar 24, 2015 12:34 am
by se7ensport
Thanks Rob, really helpful.

I'm planning on getting it corner weighted at the start of the month by a local college that has all the gear to set it while I'm sat in the car, so I'll go with the 10mm rake and see how much it rises when I get out of the car.

Re: suspension setting: wedge

Posted: Tue Mar 24, 2015 10:23 am
by stylussprinter
se7ensport wrote:Thanks Rob, really helpful.

I'm planning on getting it corner weighted at the start of the month by a local college that has all the gear to set it while I'm sat in the car, so I'll go with the 10mm rake and see how much it rises when I get out of the car.
You're welcome :)

Re: suspension setting: wedge

Posted: Thu Apr 16, 2015 12:11 am
by se7ensport
Just back from getting the car corner weighted and wedge set.

It now has 8mm with me sat in it and 10litres of fuel.

What i was surprised about was the weight... when I originally built and put the car on the road in 2006 the weight recorded on the SVA was 819kg including tester and full tank of fuel, so probably 709kg without the circa 14st tester or fuel.

Having spent a small fortune I have it down to 632kg (so 77kg lighter!), this includes lightweight wheels, wilwood brakes, alloy bell housing, alloy engine (duratec), lightweight seats, light weight flywheel, lightweight rollbar, denso alternator... I had hoped to hit sub 600 knowing Robs is around 575, is the de-dion a heavier set up as there isn't much left that I can see that's adding weight.

Thoughts on where weight can be removed and weight comparison to others would be welcome.


Cheers
Alex

Re: suspension setting: wedge

Posted: Thu Apr 16, 2015 8:34 am
by stylussprinter
se7ensport wrote:Just back from getting the car corner weighted and wedge set.

It now has 8mm with me sat in it and 10litres of fuel.

What i was surprised about was the weight... when I originally built and put the car on the road in 2006 the weight recorded on the SVA was 819kg including tester and full tank of fuel, so probably 709kg without the circa 14st tester or fuel.

Having spent a small fortune I have it down to 632kg (so 77kg lighter!), this includes lightweight wheels, wilwood brakes, alloy bell housing, alloy engine (duratec), lightweight seats, light weight flywheel, lightweight rollbar, denso alternator... I had hoped to hit sub 600 knowing Robs is around 575, is the de-dion a heavier set up as there isn't much left that I can see that's adding weight.

Thoughts on where weight can be removed and weight comparison to others would be welcome.


Cheers
Alex
Alex , part of my car's weight saving mod's were as yours , however , my wheels are 3.5kgs & tyre 7.5kgs . Then the diff is an ally nose . Also after my big ' tree ' shunt taking the right front suspension and body apart , I made it flipfront , so no hinges plus a 2mm front body/flip. No heater and a lightweight race battery . Fibreglass seat shells without upholstery , carpet stripped apart from the tunnell areas , also my inner doors are not fancy lined out , just matt black painted , no hood/rails , no standard fuel tank (it's ally and 2.5galls)
Then all four shocks are ally not steel and the engine/wheelarch guards are kevlar. The ' D ' pieces and reinforcement strips in the flipfront are carbon. I've probably forgotton something as these mod's were done over 15yrs bit by bit. On top of all these things lots of fibreglass is removed for airflow and to accomodate the hanging side exit exhaust.

Re: suspension setting: wedge

Posted: Thu Apr 16, 2015 9:00 am
by se7ensport
My wheels and tyres come in at 11kg a corner the same as yours, but are 185 wide, damn yours are light!

I'd forgotten about the alloy fuel tank and race battery I had fitted.

I do have a heater and hinges for the boot and bonnet, and headlights but guess that totals 10kg max, I do have steel shocks and cast uprights.

For a road going car I'm interested in what others have got down to?

Re: suspension setting: wedge

Posted: Thu Apr 16, 2015 9:32 am
by stylussprinter
se7ensport wrote:My wheels and tyres come in at 11kg a corner the same as yours, but are 185 wide, damn yours are light!

I'd forgotten about the alloy fuel tank and race battery I had fitted.

I do have a heater and hinges for the boot and bonnet, and headlights but guess that totals 10kg max, I do have steel shocks and cast uprights.

For a road going car I'm interested in what others have got down to?
My wheels are 13x7.5 fitted with 215x55 profle ZZR . CR500 and ACB10's are much lighter but didn't fit the purpose size and gripwise. CB500 are the lightest road tyre I think without going to ACB10.

Re: suspension setting: wedge

Posted: Thu Apr 16, 2015 9:59 am
by stylussprinter
I forgot to say that 'Neville Powell's' designed de-dion is very heavy , having said that de-dion is heavier by design period with no advantage I can deduce. Also a loss of boot space.

Re: suspension setting: wedge

Posted: Thu Apr 16, 2015 2:31 pm
by pigeondave
my Fury is down to 609kg with about 40l of fuel on board.

I have wilwood calipers on front, drums on rear axle.
Axle with BGH alloy nose (which i have been told is not great, but ok) Titan diff in there (dunno if its lighter)
compomotive cxr 13" wheels
quaife ally g/boxcase with BGH E8 internals
ally bellhousing
T7 design heater and a heated screen thats not wired up :roll:

The only thing i can see for me to do is Carbon Fibre or thin fibreglass bits to replace the carpet inside and then the dash coud be a sheet of CF too.
Rewire with modern thinwall wire and lose the mk2 escort heavy loom.
Ally hubs and those light wheels that rob has, but after seeing this

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topi ... e+II&mid=0

im not so sure on the wheels.

Robs site is good for light weight ideas http://www.robcollingridge.com/kitcar/ and he's posted his loom diagram

Re: suspension setting: wedge

Posted: Thu Apr 16, 2015 4:00 pm
by stylussprinter
pigeondave wrote:my Fury is down to 609kg with about 40l of fuel on board.

I have wilwood calipers on front, drums on rear axle.
Axle with BGH alloy nose (which i have been told is not great, but ok) Titan diff in there (dunno if its lighter)
compomotive cxr 13" wheels
quaife ally g/boxcase with BGH E8 internals
ally bellhousing
T7 design heater and a heated screen thats not wired up :roll:

The only thing i can see for me to do is Carbon Fibre or thin fibreglass bits to replace the carpet inside and then the dash coud be a sheet of CF too.
Rewire with modern thinwall wire and lose the mk2 escort heavy loom.
Ally hubs and those light wheels that rob has, but after seeing this

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topi ... e+II&mid=0

im not so sure on the wheels.

Robs site is good for light weight ideas http://www.robcollingridge.com/kitcar/ and he's posted his loom diagram
No way would I get tyres fitted to three piece lightweights by a normal road car tyre fitter ----- you need them done by race tyre guys who have a little finess :!: BMTR guys are regularly at trackside in the season or locally to me there's TOYO's recomended race tyre fitters , PAGE in H Wycombe.

Re: suspension setting: wedge

Posted: Fri Apr 17, 2015 10:37 am
by DH2
se7ensport wrote:For a road going car I'm interested in what others have got down to?
Mine was apparently 625kg when I got it, with the boat anchor engine. I'm hoping to come back somewhere around the same, as I've knocked weight out in some places, and added in others (much stiffer chassis with extra bracing and roll cage, lighter engine, etc.)

I've just moved the whole lot so it is at least in the same county as I live now, which is step towards getting the project back under way. Just need to buy a new garage (with house) to get going again.

Dave

Re: suspension setting: wedge

Posted: Fri Apr 17, 2015 10:58 am
by stylussprinter
DH2 wrote:
se7ensport wrote:For a road going car I'm interested in what others have got down to?
Mine was apparently 625kg when I got it, with the boat anchor engine. I'm hoping to come back somewhere around the same, as I've knocked weight out in some places, and added in others (much stiffer chassis with extra bracing and roll cage, lighter engine, etc.)

I've just moved the whole lot so it is at least in the same county as I live now, which is step towards getting the project back under way. Just need to buy a new garage (with house) to get going again.

Dave
That sounds very frustrating Dave , wondered why you'd not been posting :)