Drift Tengoku — September 2004 · Page 45
Page 45 — English translation
If your coilovers have adjustable damping, don't immediately install stiffer springs. Try more damping first. It delays compression as power is applied and reduces movement, limiting alignment changes. Increase it gradually. If travel still seems excessive at the firmest setting, raise spring rate by 1 kg/mm. Don't go too far: if damping cannot control the stiffer springs, the car pitches and its movement becomes...
People sometimes assume a raised rear unloads it and makes it easier to slide. I disagree: my experience is that the rear slides when it compresses under throttle. To initiate quickly, the rear must compress quickly. A powerful car transmits force to the road and uses that power to break the rear loose, so a ride height that transfers load rearward quickly, meaning a lowered rear...
...is preferable. A rear low stance looks as though it would squat sooner than a rear high one. A raised rear takes longer to compress and moves farther, creating larger alignment changes and stronger understeer. Recent D1 cars, including my Silvia and the HKS Silvia, often sit lower at the rear. That helps put power onto the road and initiate a slide quickly.
Captions and page details
QUSPENSION SETTING
Lesson2
Turbo swap: go all out!
Before changing spring rates...
Before changing springs, try damping!
Specification
...increase damping first!
...the movement becomes bouncy. In my experience a typical coilover can handle roughly a 4 kg/mm spring rate increase...
Start with the easy adjustment
Adjusting damping is simpler and cheaper than changing springs. If the firmest setting is still insufficient, then try increasing spring rate.
...even our coilovers have about that limit. Beyond it, the dampers need to be revalved.
Lesson3
When increasing spring rates...
Along with the rear springs...
...so I just need to change the rear suspension! My explanation was incomplete. That can reduce rear bump in, but by itself it upsets balance. If the rear moves less, the front begins moving more...
...consider front and rear...
Front and rear springs maintain a delicate balance. When changing spring rates, it is best to change the fronts along with the rears.
...must be changed too!
Some readers may be thinking...
...balance!
With soft front springs, the front moves while restricting movement at the rear, as in the upper illustration. Changing both ends helps maintain balanced movement.
If only the rear springs are stiffened...
...and that won't drive properly. If the original setup was well balanced, try raising front and rear rates by the same amount, preferably 1 kg/mm at a time. This prevents unnecessary front movement and lets the rear accept load and compress properly.
...the front moves more, reducing rear loading and preventing the added power becoming traction. It also becomes harder to slide the rear because it will not squat under throttle. Excessive front movement further worsens handling...
If spring rates are increased at both ends...
From what I can see, the HKS car's lowered rear serves the same purpose as mine. This seems the best setup for quickly transferring load rearward under throttle and putting power onto the road.
Lesson 4: front to rear ride height balance matters too!
A lower rear, compared with a higher rear...
A drift can begin after throttle transfers load and compresses the rear. The lower illustration's rear low car therefore enters a drift more smoothly than the upper car with a lower front.
Front ride height lower than rear
0
Suspension setting
Rear ride height lower than front
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About this issue
ドリフト天国 (Drift Tengoku), September 2004, is a Japanese drifting magazine. This archive preserves 316 scanned pages in their original right-to-left reading order, including the covers.
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