Powertrix Coilover Adjustment

[Z32 TwinZ]

So what number dampening are you running with your coilover (how many clicks). I was running 2 all the way around. Then my friend was like.. what thats p**** s***, you need to bump it up to get better performance. Right now i think we set it to 10 Front and 12 Rear. I noticed that there isnt much body roll anymore which is nice, but it seems that i loose traction now when taking corning because the suspension doesn't load up and its just breaking traction. I also notice more wheel hop coming from the front. Im running NT-05 Tires so its not an issue in the tire department, as these f*** are sticky!

Then i read the post " Track/Racing the Z32" and someone mentioned that we have a Double Wishbone, and that the MORE you load it, the more negative camber (which would = more traction around corners).

So is my friend right about the higher the dampening the better performance you get out of the suspension, or is this a false statement, and it all depends on the car... he drives a rhd s14, and tracks/drifts his car, so i somewhat believe him, but the performance im getting out of the suspension with the adjustments just isnt meeting my standards that i thought it would.

[NolimitZ32]

Your friend is right concerning 240s, the suspension setup (factory) on a Z32 is very different, I can't give you specifics as suspension isn't my strong point but I'm sure Rare or Edgar will chime in soon enough

[ArticDragon192]

Depending on road conditions, the stiffer damper setting will actually slow you down. I know on certain tracks I run it a bit softer than usually just so that the suspension can absorb those bumps. On the streets, the roads aren't exactly perfect. Also, you're stock camber settings might have something to do with the car wanting to over rotate.

[Z32 TwinZ]

Im not running stock camber settings

Front Tire

[raremotive]

Too much camber even.

Alignment has a play, if you wheels are not aligned. And if your chassis has any lose bits such as ball joints, rubber bushings, and chassis flex.

The 300zx suspension is like double wishbone, but that isn't the correct term. But it's behavior is very simular. This picture can illustrate it.



You can imagine as you load one side of the car that will be the suspension travel, more negative.

Once the car is turning a corner the tire experiences a side load, this is called laterial load. If the tire was vertical and under enough load, the tire will tip more positive chamber. This means you just lost contact patch of your tire. But with initial camber, you can regain/maintain the patch.



It does offer better traction if set up correctly. But there is such thing as too much camber, ie less contact patch.

The thing about traction is tire slip angle. The way you can notice slip angle is on a windy day, on the highway. The wind is coming from the head and right side. You as a driver has to turn the wheel to counter act the wind. The steering angle will be toward the wind, and the slip angle is going the direction of the car.



In cornering, it's whats keeping grip and allowing you to turn the corner. More slip angle, more lateral force your tires offer. In other words, the more your tires can deform, the better the tires can hold the car's side forces.



The tire, suspension, and chassis dictates how much slip angle the tire can handle. Once you reach pass this limit, it's loss of traction. For instance, if you are cornering and your front tires slip angle maxed out, the car would plow in the forward direction, understeer. Oversteer would be that the rear slip angles has had it. In vehicle dynamic world, it's much more desirable for the car to understeer than oversteer. Reason being is that the driver can change the angle of the wheels in hopes to regain traction, oversteer the driver is hopeless. It's a werid concept grasp, but they deem it "stable".

Street cars have limited traction, they call them the "1-G" tire. Because whether it's braking, accelerating, or cornering, it usually maxs out at "1-G". This is from the tire's compound and sidewall stiffness.



Have you ever heard someone say that thinner tire wall can be bad? They are right, because the thinner wall means stiffer side wall. The stiffer the sidewall of the tire, the less the slip angle available for the tire. Additionally, this stiffer sidewall can affect how much camber affects you. So avoid low profile tires.

There isn't one size fits all for traction. And there isn't a magic that get's you instant traction. Many car manufactures and racing teams send countless hours shaking down their cars to get the optinum traction out of their cars. They test different settings in a comparitive manner to determine if they are handling better.

I would also not compare to your friends s14 either, your car is much heavier. Which means your tires need to counteract the more forces your car offers. The secert to shock set up in racing cars is low frequency dampening, softer setting. You want to crank them up, high frequency dampening, when you are going BAJA style. But my recommendation would be check above items, and adjust your caster and shocks via trial and error.

[Z32 TwinZ]

Also ok for the dampening, do i run all the same number on all 4 corners.. or if im set a 6 front do i run +2 more on the rear which would be 8.. how does this work, what is the ratio?

[ArticDragon192]

Im not running stock camber settings

Front Tire

Looks like your toe is off.

Also ok for the dampening, do i run all the same number on all 4 corners.. or if im set a 6 front do i run +2 more on the rear which would be 8.. how does this work, what is the ratio?

Up to you. That's up to you to really fine to depending on your driving style. I usually start at 8 front and rear and adjust from there. I usually soften the rear for more traction

[Z32 TwinZ]

That tire was ran to the grave!