Quote:
Originally Posted by GySgtFrank
Thank you for the encouraging words. I'm hoping to be pushing into the one G plus skidpad range for grip (on a reasonable street tire) without it being glaringly obvious what I've done. The RX-7 was pretty good at close to .8 G when they came out. I'm hoping to equal or exceed most of the new high end cars for handling. That and the ability to haul it down from speed quickly.
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Yeah 1+ G is a benchmark I'm aiming for as well. I know I've experienced that before on Laguna Seca riding in a Porsche 911 on slicks. Just amazing how well that car gripped... especially while braking. It was like throwing an anchor out the back.
Racetrack tarmac is very smooth and sticky though. Not at all like the crappy street surfaces we usually drive on. 1+ G on street tires is possible sure, but it largely depends on where you're driving.
Quote:
Originally Posted by GySgtFrank
I have never seen anyone else doing anything quite like this to a first gen. So I'm in uncharted territory as far as I know.
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For now yes, but I will be modifying my FB to this extreme as well just wait and see lol
Quote:
Originally Posted by GySgtFrank
My experience with other cars is that the unequal length A arm suspension is markedly superior to the MacPherson Strut suspension in most respects. It also allows me to tuck a really wide tire under there, and contact patch is King (for the most part) when talking handling.
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Yes there is no doubt the double-wishbones provide a better contact patch for the tire... I had a few MKIII Supra's and I drove an FD a few times which also have that setup.
However imo there is sometimes more to be said for the MacPherson in terms of feedback. It's like a tuning fork for the tire it really picks up all the minute sensations from the road. I found the driving experience of the FD RX7 and the MKIII Supra a bit more numb in that regard.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying the cars were any slower in my hands because they weren't MacPherson. It's just that I was slightly less confident about what the limit of the tire was, and were not even talking about a big difference. Maybe 10-20% less feedback felt like to me.
On a track that difference wouldn't seem so big, but on a mountain road with a generally lousy road surface, with no runoff areas, feedback from your tires is everything.
Quote:
Originally Posted by GySgtFrank
I have read up on what a lot of the folks running first gens in racing have done and what they have found effective. The good part is that they have been used in racing, and winning more often than not, for so long that there is quite a bit of experience out there. Unfortunately, while their insights have been valuable, they are limited by class rules which would preclude anything remotely like what I am doing up front. The rear suspension is a blatant copy of what others have found to work on their track cars. I have merely tried to make it more livable on a street driven car.
I'm kind of itching at the bit myself to find out whether I have been inspired or that I'm a flippin' idiot. Bets could go either way at this point.  |
Yeah I am also very interested to learn about what has been tried and done on high performance racing FB's that were not so limited by class rules. Millen's RX7's, and those group B FB rally cars for instance were pretty extreme.