My wheel/tire/brake/suspension set up (97 S14 240SX)

[CRyan]

So I am posting this to allow people to search and have some sort of "review" on this particular set up. It is nothing major to say the least, but I was able to track the car on this set up over the weekend, and overall was relatively happy about it.

Suspension -
KYB AGX strut/shocks
Vogtland springs
TEIN tie rods (inner/outter)
Energy suspension bushings kit

Brakes:
Q45 fronts, stock rear

Wheel/tire combination
17x9.5 rota grid +17 front +22 rear
Yokohama Advan S4 245/45/17 front and rear.

Track conditions - asphalt, heat range from 86 (roughly 102 on asphalt) to 95 (roughly 115) degrees farenheit. Slightly oily, due to recent re-pave, but other than that, super super sticky.

Overall, the vehicle (on its stock suspension arm setup and stock alignment) handled relatively good. The track was somewhat long, with a total of 8 turns and 3 straights. I would go more into detail, but whats the point?

As far as tires, I went via FAQ about tire inflation to set the car's pressures. The tires did not like a low pressure (28psi) so I opted to go with 30. The suspension sets really well for most turns, but I noticed a LOT of pick up in the rear with the tighter corners, that could just be from driver error.

The brakes I am more than happy with. For anyone who daily's there 240, the q45 brake set up is the way to go (and who is on a budget). The brakes show slight "cushion" in the pedal, but makes up for it into the turn.

On accel/decel, the tires didn't change there capabilities much. My stockish S14 SR was able to be slow enough to keep the tires from breaking loose too terribly much.

Oh, before I forget - I did notice some understeer (pull) through most of the turns, This could be from the wide tire in the front, or the fact that suspension arms begin to come in play in this area.

Whats on the list to do next as far as suspension, you ask?!

Well, if money can continue coming in my general direction, I plan to keep the set up on tires, and look into powered by max multilink system. For the price and the actual usage I will be getting out of them, they seem just beefy enough.

As far as coilovers, I believe I will aquire a set of PBM's coilovers. I do not know what spring rate to go with, for this is both a daily driven car and a track car once or twice a month.

Any questions, comments, etc, feel free to ask!

Thanks
Corey aka CRyan

[flohtingPoint]

Your first step should be tires. The tires you have now are crap (all yok's are crap). Get yourself a spare set of wheels (if you want cheap, try AERO Wheels or Bassett) for track ONLY (emphasis on this, do not drive these wheels as a daily, they will contort over time if done so). Start scanning for used r-compounds on craigslist, sccaforums or just google. If you're autocrossing, you want Hoosier A6's or Kumho V710's. If you're logging circuit time, you want Hoosier R6's or Hankook C71's (the Kook's are not the greatest but they're much better than street tires).

Your suspension setup is bad at best. KYB are bad shocks, Tein makes trash, your springs are floppy and your plans for PBM are not well laid. To start off, I'd reccomend giving ground control a call and ordering a set of their coilover sleeves and some proper stiff springs (since you're a daily, I'd stick to around 600lbs up front, 450ish in the rear). If you have a rear swaybar, lose it and see how it feels. Take your car to go get it corner balanced WITH YOUR R COMPS ON so you can make sure whatever they do does not impede your ability to turn or lean and cause damage to your tires.

These are prelim steps, there is more but handle these first. Remember, if you buy trash your car will drive like trash.

Edit: Someone is selling a set of Hoosier R6's right now, http://sccaforums.com/forums/thread/421926.aspx

[CRyan]

LOL, thanks for the advice, but I was only reviewing over the set up for anyone who would like to know, seeing as its the first time I actually had the chance to push some turns.

But again, thanks for the info - I wasn't quite sure about the ground control sleeves, thanks for shedding some light there.