I have spent months researching and looking up threads on Prime and, sadly, I really have not made much progress on settling on what seems like the 'right' suspension for my 1994 NSX. :frown:
My goal is to have a suspension that lets me extract the maximum from the NSXs handling abilities. Period. I am not worried about ride. I just want my car to absolutely fly around the track. Granted, I know a good chunk of that is improving the driver (me), and I am working on that. :wink:
Mitch,
Much depends on budget and commitment. You can spend $1500 on upgrading your suspension or $15,000 plus on re-engineering it. Mind you, quite often some more fortunate drivers show up a little more prepared than most of us with 360's and challenge suspension or club sport racers their very first track day too.
If car setup is entirely free, all kinds of great things can be done so that you can lap with cup cars and 'fly around the track'. A lot of money tends to help too. What laptimes are you looking for? How fast do you want to go? If budget is not an issue, all kinds of cool toys can be purchased to go fast that will make the vehicle fundamentally more capable than stock. However, always know it is the car/driver combination that is really relevant (often over-looked, but hence the little decal with the names of the drivers on the side of race cars, apparently they play a small role in making the car go fast). :smile:
If you truly want to extract the maximum... defined as shaving off every last tenth of a lap time with suspension tech- then equipment, tools, alignments, a data logger, pit cart with video monitors, and experimentation are going to run a good bit more than the Bilsteins with some springs. Not realistic. :wink:
Fun stuff. However, even at the top pro racing level- all the tech stuff really are just tools. It is going to take time to develop the skills needed to utilize those tools. That does not happen over night.
Work your way out of the mindset that bolting-on X brand of coil overs translates into a faster car. Develop more of a practical mind set that the other variables such as tires, what track you are on, conditions, driver skill, feel, etc... are most important and suspension tech is second for the time being. Certain tracks reward certain aspects of car setup more than others. Not all courses will mandate the same suspension frequency. All setups are a compromise to some extent. Certain features and compromises are appropriate in certain instances and not so much in others. A knowledgeable tech can extract more from poor setup X than another less experienced tech can with all the best stuff. Suspension setup is but one inter-linked component of hundreds of things that make a race car go fast. The suspension brand will then naturally fall into place with minimal guess work as you evaluate products on their more technical points. This leads into my next point...
Developing Motorsports fundamental skills is essential through-out your career. It will also allow you to be more empowed and confident with your own setup decisions, as what someone else reccomends could be coming from an entirely different perspective or experience level... and hence be over kill for you or vice versa. When a pro racer says 'Moton quads are the best' what they usually really mean is 'Moton's quads are the best because they have extensive adjustability allowing us to fine tune them quickly at each racing event, no I didn't have to pay for them'. Not the more often mis-interpreted 'Do you think I should spend 6 grand for Motons for next DE day at NSXPO with my street car'. On the flipside, I can attest the Tein Type Basic's are a huge improvement over blown stock shocks on an E36 or Miata. So, develop the core technical competencies on tuning with tire temps, alignment tech, and the other aspects first- and you will have a lot more credibility given that strong foundation and find your niche.
Skills... yes, most certainly some will say that you need to work on driver first. A good driver can go fast in anything. That is any DE instructors mind set, and is good advice for a number of seasons for any novice to intermediate student. That frees their mind away from tech stuff and towards having them focus on the driving essentials. However, if that were true indefinitely then most of us would have to be in Miatas with stock suspension instead of modified NSX's- having not yet won our regional SCCA auto-x let alone spec nationals as of yet. I don't care how great a driver thinks he is, there will come a point in there driving career when they will leave their safety zone and get a glimmer of the next level, and even more than likely get their butt spanked at some point in time. So, use your best judgement. :tongue:
From what I have been reading, it seems that the following parts are popular, but I want to know if they are popular because they actually work, or just because everyone seems to buy them:
NSX-R chassis bars
Non-compliance toe links
Non-compliance rear beam
NA2 NSX-R suspension (shocks and springs)
NSX-R sway bars
Koni shocks
H&R springs
Comptech Pro-Suspension
From my reading it seems like items such as the Tein coilover set-up are popular to buy, but I do not see a lot of those on cars that are frequent track vehicles.
What I am running now is the Bilstein Sport shocks on the upper perch, and the Eibach Pro-Kit springs. While the car is much improved over the stock suspension in terms of feel, I cannot help but think there is more left to gain. I know their are variables like race tires and such, but honestly, I am not good enough to use the maximum from my OEM tires to move up to the race compound tires. I would like to learn to drive these at 10/10ths before moving to a race compound tire.
Help from those who have actual first hand track experience is greatly appreciated. My driving style is very aggressive. I go into the corners as fast as I possibly can and exit under as much throttle application as I can, usually with a little bit of twitch in the tail of the car, so I am not conservative in my driving. Thank you in advance for your assistance.
Like a home, I have found that you will grow into your platform. It comes in time. On most vehicle platforms the stock suspension and car setup is well suited for road cars, but is not ideal for the track. The parts allow you to move 'performance' towards the other side of the compromise spectrum. Better for the track, less so for the street. While we are all fortunate sporting an amazing handling vehicle to begin with... there is nothing wrong with wanting to increase the performance envelop for the vehicle on the track surface. The NSX and 2K are both very good, but they are still a production car with normal street suspension compromises. These will reveal themselves to you in time. A good responsive suspension setup can also increase your fun factor, and assist your learning to an extent. Having a poor performing setup or poor alignment ruin your day is never any fun. I'd say get something decent that works well for you.
A basic entry level single way adjustable like the Tein's or Bilsteins work very well with performance street tires for the weekend warrior, and are used all the time at the track from BMW's to Honda's.. especially for enthusiasts without sugar daddy's. It gets your foot in the door, and they can well last you a number of seasons. More money, the dual Koni's, and other comparable offerings are of course nicer.. often with lighter aluminum mono-tube construction, more setup features, adjustability, and custom valving. Moving to a non-compliant suspension, aggressive alignment/sways, race tires, rigid chassis, and multi-way adjustable shock along with shock inflator tools and scales will also come in time.. provided there comes a place for it. You could well find yourself years down the road with no interior instructing others. Who knows.
My advice is that when modifying production cars, unless the money is not so much of a concern... exercise some level of restraint initially. Let your suspension evolve with your skill and needs. I feel I've learned a lot more by slowly progressing from stock, to street/track, to race instead of taking short cuts. It also has paid dividends working DIY on specific chassis setup items each year- than it would have say by running out straight away with an open wallet and paying a race shop for every little thing. It has also taught me to appreciate and reward myself for progress, and affords me the opportunity to hone my technical skills as my own application has evolved. In short, maintain a down-to-earth perspective on what you are trying to accomplish when doing any modifications. Get a base-line, then set achievable, realistic goals- and go from there.
I've heard one notable instructor and Rolex driver tell his students that suspension is first invisible, then a learning tool, before finally becoming a timing device. Well said.
Hope that helps.
:biggrin: 
gods when they hit the right combo of equipment, driver and luck. 
