Not happy with my setup

[Caen Fred]

The car has new poly bushes all around. New LEAD coilover. The car is droped +- 2 in front and 1.5 in the rear.

Std front sway bar, no rear sway bar. Tires are Kenda 205x65x14

My setting are:

Front

Camber left 0°46 - right 0°39

Caster left 1°57 - right 2°31

Toe left 0°03 - right 0°03

Rear

Camber left 0°03 - right -0°11

Toe left 0°13 - right 0°04

I have the MSA front and rear camber kit on my shelves should I use it? The car is for Sunday spirited driving, and track days!

[Zs-ondabrain]

So what is it that you're not happy with? The ride itself? Cornering? rubbing? specifics are a must around here.

[Caen Fred]

I would say that the wheels don't "talk" to each other.

The car isn't really hard to drive, I can leave my hand off the steering without fear. Yet the initial turning isn't crisp. The steering feel heavy, no dramatic understeer but more of a lazyness.

[IBZINYA]

My first impression is that your tires have to soft of a sidewall. When I changed from 205/60/14 Contisport tires to 225/50/15 Toyo proxis4 my turn in bite increased by 2 fold with only a minimal decrease in ride comfort. Not a definitive but food for thought.

[jmortensen]

You're going to need more negative camber than that for track days. A lot more.

[coop]

With the tires you are using, there is very little you can do to increase the turn in capability or crispness shall we say other than raising the tire pressures. Changing camber will have limited effect since your tires are so tall that the side walls are moving all over the place trying to keep the contact patch working.

What I would do is go to a high performance low profile tire. Then run some negative camber on the front end and a little on the rear too. A larger sway bar up front also helps with turn in as the delay due to roll over is diminished. Also stiffer shocks can help.

Here is what I run:

225/50/14 Hoosiers all around - great turn in and traction on the way out too but prone to flat spotting though so watch out. The Toyos of the same size are much more forgiving and come with more tread depth. They are a little less precise than the Hoosiers.

Camber: -3 Degrees front, - 2.5 degrees rear

Toe: Zero in front. Just as little as is measurable in the rear. Just don't let the rears toe out under any kind of load!

About a 1" front sway bar ( don't remember off hand from this hotel room). A small adjustable one in the rear since I use some fairly stiff springs.

Ground control dual adjustable shocks - don't go there. Go with the adjustable Tokico's for more general road and track use.

Again, just try increasing the tire pressures to around 36 psi cold and see how that feels. Then try around 38psi. At least it's cheap.

Hope this helps.

[rxsleeper]

What shocks are you using and did you section the struts before lowering the car?

COOP, I like your yellow Z!

[Caen Fred]

Thanks, I am using LEDA. It's a factory based in the UK that build race or fast roads suspensions. http://www.leda.com/

They use the shell from the original 240Z and build new shocks inside with their own rods and calipers inside. They are custom made to your request.

The set I use was totally refurbish last year to the original spec sheet from 1992.

What are the std chassis spec for a 240Z, in ° ?

[gnosez]

Wow, if I understand their website pricing, the cost of all four struts w/springs (and shocks?) comes to over $4,000. US. Is that right? Even with shipping and potential customs fees it might have been better to purchase a similar set-up from the US. There are several of us on the forum who would have done that for you.

I routinely ship Z parts to Europe since we had more Zs here than anyway else in the world.

I agree with getting more negative camber in the front to help with turn-in so go install those plates.

Next get your car corner balanced. I posted my numbers here recently. This will get your Z more in line with what you want it to be. Remember to undo your sway bar(s) first.

Then go over to www.hybridz.org and click on John Coffey's alignment "sticky". Take those figures to your alignment shop and get them to dial them in as close as possible.

Good luck -

[John Coffey]

You could also use more caster. Something around 5 degrees positive will help along with a small amount of toe out in front and toe in in the rear. Get the car squared up (rear properly tracking the front) and make sure the toe numbers are the same side to side.

The 240Z will never have great turn in. They can be made better but they will never feel like a Miata when you start turning the wheel.

[Carl Beck]

The 240Z will never have great turn in. They can be made better but they will never feel like a Miata when you start turning the wheel.

I wonder why?

It that because of the differences in front end geometry?

Or because the rotational mass of an in-line six is greater than that of an in-line four? Both of which want to continue in their present direction of travel?

Or is it weight and wheel base related?

Tell us more.....

Carl B.

[Caen Fred]

Wow, if I understand their website pricing, the cost of all four struts w/springs (and shocks?) comes to over $4,000. US.

No, I don't have this kind of money to put in my car

The beauty of this setup is that it's rebuildable, as long as the shop exist!

The cost for a refurbishing to new conditions was 400$ to my door steps.

I was thinking last night about going for a stronger front sway bar? I have the camber bushes are the plates better? From what I understand, some of those plates can manage camber + caster?