So I know the basics about engine stuff from intakes to connecting rods and blah blah, but I really don't know jack about suspension. I know how springs, shocks, coilovers, sway bars, strut bars etc. work but where can I learn about the more specific stuff? Like wtf is an end link, and how does one go about adjusting camber and caster...

Any advice would be much appreciated. I'm planning to begin upgrading my suspencion soon but I'd like to now more about how everything works and what not, and also what brands are out there...

From what I know now, I think I'd like to start with Hotchkis Springs and Sways, what do you guys think of those?

thanks in advance to anyone who can help me out

 

end link connects the sway bar to the chassis, and nothing wrong with hotchkis springs and sways. the front sway is a pita to install though. camber is corected by aftermarket camber links or just a regular alignment.

 

you don't ned camber links unless you are lowered more than 2 inches.

 

Aroddalobster: thanks for the info

draxcaliber: thanks, but I'm wondering why does Hotchkis offer rear camber links when their springs dont drop a full 2"... well I guess 1.97" for the rear is pretty close to two.

Why do the Hotchkis springs lower the rear more than the front, I think that would look weird

also what do the bold numbers mean for the Hotchkis spring specs:
Front 1.7" (43mm) Drop 175 lbs/in (Stock 150 lbs/in)
Rear 1.97" (50mm) Drop 285 lb/in (245 lbs/in)

thanks again[/b]

 

well reason is at stock the rear is already a lil higher..
so the hotchkis actually gives it more of an even stance

as for the bold it just means thats how much weight is required to compress the springs an inch

 

I see, so I'm guessing those numbers represent the spring rate? I've seen people talk about spring rate before I just never now what theyre talking about.

Also I think I've read before that the ideal drop for, performance wise, for a tC is 1.5". The H&R sport springs drop the front 1.4" and the rear 1.3", so what do you guys think is better Hotchkis or H&R sports?

 

well i havent seen or felt the h&r springs so i cant say anything about but im completely happy with my hotchkis..drop is just right and the ride feels like stock to me =)

 

sweet. I'll probably go with the Hotchkis especially since there is such a great deal on TRDsparks :-)

 

word
ya theres a thread here with a bunch of people that have hotchkis and stuff has pix and what people think of it.

 

Yeah I looked though a few pages of that thread, its huge! lol, but I guess thats an indication of how much people like those springs. The only thing left to do is find some money...

 

This site is perfect for you. And it is NOT a rick roll.

This is the "suspension bible," which outlines a great deal of the basics concerning suspension setups on a variety of cars. Everything from cheap McPhearsons, to amazing magnetos.

http://www.carbibles.com/suspension_bible.html

There's one hell of a start. Makes an excellent reference when someone refers to all the different suspension types in all sorts of different cars.

In addition... we can answer specific questions here. To supplement answers above....


Sway bars connect unsprung suspension units from the left side to the right side. Bumps or weight imbalance (as going through a turn) put twisting stress on the bar, which resists the twisting by forcing the other wheel down into the pavement.

So therefore, when weight shifts to the outside wheel in a turn, it puts torsion stress on the bar, which essentially transfers the weight to the inside wheel.

End links connect the sway bar to the wheel assemblies. The stock ones, like the stock sway, have a bit too much flex in them, and should be replaced. If you get a very stiff sway bar, there's a good chance you can snap an endlink. By getting new endlinks, you also improve the cars "speed of weight transfer" from wheel to wheel, meaning your slalom speed should increase. Getting new endlinks without a new sway, however, does nothing.

As far as springs goes--- you shouldn't worry too much about spring rates at this point. But what you should know, is that you'll need a corresponding increase in spring rate (stiffer) as you lower the vehicle. When you lower the vehicle, the wheels have less room to "bounce" upward, since the chassis sits lower. If you don't stiffen, you'll bottom out. Designers have taken this into account for you.

Springs are a cheap, easy way to improve. The downside is, they wear out your stock struts faster. With smaller drops, people have done fine, and noticed not much increased wear. Coilovers are a spring+shock unit replaced as one, which allow greater height adjustability (for corner-weighting... making each wheel take as close to 25% of car weight as possible, and adjusting cross-weights, so that your car turns evenly... FL+RR = FR+RL). But, for beginner purposes, don't need all that to be competitive locally.

Around a 1.5 inch drop is perfect, as you've already read. A few tenths of an inch won't make that much difference, between TRD and Hotchkis and HR , but the additional half inch to full inch lower (Stechs) certainly does.,. and you start losing stability very quick.

In addition, going too low throws your camber WAAAY off. As you enter a turn, a mcphearson strut tends to shift slightly towards positive camber (top away from car). So, by adding a little negative camber as a starting position, the wheel returns to straight-up-and-down during a turn, which is the optimal position.

Alignments should be professionally done, using expensive equipment. You can tell them the specs you want, and they'll adjust it for you. Camber adjustment can be done on a stock tC using different size bolts and orientations on the FRONT tires only. Buying a camber kit consists of differently machined bolts that allow a little more camber adjustment.

Rear camber is not adjustable... since it uses a different suspension setup. You'll need to purchase camber links to do that, and it's more involved.

I guess that's a start. This is me procrastinating from my neuro midterm. Any questions, i'm sure several of us could answer. Sorry for the long post.

 

um no THANK YOU for the long post! really thanks for all that info and I can not wait to explore that sir you recommended :-)

 

No prob.

Suspension takes a LOT of thinking... anything we can do to cut out the learning curve is always a good thing.

Happy modding!

(BTW... i'll be installing TRD springs on my car next week, after my test. It's the last piece for this car.... so, kind of excited to see it all finished up finally. Now, to continue learning to drive... )

 

nice, be sure to post results after the install :-).
Oh also, so if I got Hotchis springs should I just get their camber links right from the start cuz rear camber isnt adjustable w/o them?

 

You shouldnt really need to.

1- Camber isn't going to change very much with a mild drop, as it is.

2- Quite frankly, for low-level handling purposes, rear camber isnt paid as much attention because the rear tires do very little during day-to-day driving or an autocross session.

-Their braking is weaker.
-They're supporting 40% or less of the car's weight.
-In fact, by having them grip less, you cause more rotation, which balances out the severe understeer that we have.

So, if rear camber is a little off, I wouldn't worry so much. Much more critical that you get the front in spec, which can be done with the bolt kits (recommended) or just factory crash bolts (good enough, cheaper, but more tendency to come out of spec.)

I'd only worry about the rear camber if you're having bad wear issues, or if you plan on stripping the car out and running T3 class road-racing. Which, 99% of us are not. Rear camber is also important for extremely low "show" people, since the tires get unevenly worn very quickly on a 2" + drop and >2 degress camber either way.

 

sweet tips....