me and a friend (who owns a mach1) were discussing the other day what it would take to make our cars auto-x ready. now, the mach and bullitt already come with the tokico suspension components, but what else should i look for if i want to be able to absolutely tear up some corners?
Suspension Setup?
- Thread starter black_bullitt
- Start date
Depends on what class your running if SCCA
The suspension (shocks, struts & sway bars) on the Mach 1 are valved more for drag racing than corner carving and not as good a combo as what's on the Bullitt.
I'd get a performance alignment and a good heavy duty air compressor. On the alignment, get around 1.5 deg of negative camber, as much caster as you can and set the toe to around 0. This is not an agressive alignment but a streetable one that does help while autocrossing. I have a tad more neg. camber and toe out on my Mach 1 and it does fine on the street.
Get some chalk or shoe polish and mark the shoulder of the tires in 3 or 4 spots. This is done to measure the tire roll-over. The harder you drive the more the tire will roll over on the sidewalls. You will need to raise the air in the front to about 47 PSI and the rear set at 28. Take the jack & spare out of the trunk if you have more than 1/2 tank of gas. The first run the car will be a little loose. Just learn the course and warm up the tires. As the tires get warm, the PSI should go up. Adjust them to 50 front and 29 rear. My Mach 1's handling was neutral with these PSi's, just under half tank of gas, jack and spare removed and I did have a performance alignment done. The Bullitt will turn better than the Mach in stock trim. I'd start with a pound or two more air in the rear tires. Drive a little harder on the second run and try to feel what the car is doing. If the frontend is pushing in the turns, drop a pound out of the rear tires. Add air to the rear if the rear is to loose. I'd set the front PSI by the roll-over on the tire and adjust the handling at the rear tires. One thing to remember, my air gauge probably reads different than yours so these pressures are not set in stone.
Try to ride with some of the better drivers, ask for advice or even have someone ride with you. Adjust the drivers seat so you have your shoulder blades touching the seat and your wrists can rest on the top of the steering wheel. Keep both hands on the wheel, don't death grip the shifter during the run.
This small amount of info should get you started in the right direction. Let us know how you did.
I'd get a performance alignment and a good heavy duty air compressor. On the alignment, get around 1.5 deg of negative camber, as much caster as you can and set the toe to around 0. This is not an agressive alignment but a streetable one that does help while autocrossing. I have a tad more neg. camber and toe out on my Mach 1 and it does fine on the street.
Get some chalk or shoe polish and mark the shoulder of the tires in 3 or 4 spots. This is done to measure the tire roll-over. The harder you drive the more the tire will roll over on the sidewalls. You will need to raise the air in the front to about 47 PSI and the rear set at 28. Take the jack & spare out of the trunk if you have more than 1/2 tank of gas. The first run the car will be a little loose. Just learn the course and warm up the tires. As the tires get warm, the PSI should go up. Adjust them to 50 front and 29 rear. My Mach 1's handling was neutral with these PSi's, just under half tank of gas, jack and spare removed and I did have a performance alignment done. The Bullitt will turn better than the Mach in stock trim. I'd start with a pound or two more air in the rear tires. Drive a little harder on the second run and try to feel what the car is doing. If the frontend is pushing in the turns, drop a pound out of the rear tires. Add air to the rear if the rear is to loose. I'd set the front PSI by the roll-over on the tire and adjust the handling at the rear tires. One thing to remember, my air gauge probably reads different than yours so these pressures are not set in stone.
Try to ride with some of the better drivers, ask for advice or even have someone ride with you. Adjust the drivers seat so you have your shoulder blades touching the seat and your wrists can rest on the top of the steering wheel. Keep both hands on the wheel, don't death grip the shifter during the run.
This small amount of info should get you started in the right direction. Let us know how you did.
^^awesome! i really appreciate the info!
i don't know how soon i'll be able to make it out onto a track, i just wanted to see where a good starting point would be - but i'll definitely carry this info and pass it along to my buddy!
thanks again! :thumbsup:
i don't know how soon i'll be able to make it out onto a track, i just wanted to see where a good starting point would be - but i'll definitely carry this info and pass it along to my buddy!
thanks again! :thumbsup:
RAT,
Those Tokico D-Specs are ok for FS right, I know they are 16 way adjustable but they only have the one tuning dial on top.
Those Tokico D-Specs are ok for FS right, I know they are 16 way adjustable but they only have the one tuning dial on top.
SoftBatch, you can use any single or double adjustable dampers in Stock classes. The design of the D-Spec's will adjust both compression and rebound by a single adjustment on top of the unit. Koni Double Adjustables are better dampers but the cheapest Koni's I could find for my car was $400 more than the D-Spec's. Koni's are rebuildable though. Even the Koni Single Adjustables were higher than the D-Spec's. The last time I saw a price for the '05 Stang D-Spec's they were over $900. That's in the Koni's price range. I'm not sure Koni is making dampers for the 05 Mustang yet. Nothing popped up on ebay anyway.
StangSuspension.com has the tokicos for 649ish, I am thinking about getting them but that would be after I pick up my wheels and tires
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