Tell me what to fix on my suspension
 

So, I'm on soft compound Hankook slicks and the red Miata is on 4+ year old 195/50 Yokohama Semi's... he's accelerating away from me with so much ease while I seem to have zero traction on corner exit.


- He has 3* camber rear, no bar and softer springs, AST shocks
- I'm at 2.6* rear, 16mm bar, 800/500lbs springs, GAZ shocks

I think the Hankooks were just cooked... might go back to Toyo R888s.

he also apexes a lot later than you...

Smaller rear bar

Agreed. I know lots of Auto-x folks who disconnect one end link when running specifically to improve corner exit acceleration. Brain's point about driving style is also a good one.

Try disconnecting one of the links and see if it helps.

I just went back and re-watched about half of the video specifically comparing your position in corners vs his, and no doubt, you're on the inner curbing pretty much as soon as it appears, where he is apexing MUCH later and getting the car straight a lot sooner. Short version; his driving style is faster.

Actually, I was still 0.4s faster that day - but agreed my corner exits were sucking. I'm not convinced my lines are so bad - check this lap 3s faster: https://vimeo.com/53540618

I'm curious if the faster laps were at times when you weren't trying to catch the other guy? Sometimes when I'm specifically trying to catch somebody I tend to push a bit harder and find myself overdriving the track, and my lap times suffer as a result. In the video you're definitely making up ground in the entrance of some corners; is it possible that you're going in too hard? If you're a half second faster on the laps where he's ahead of you it seems like you should have been able to get around him..

Try pulling off one rear sway end link and see whether the rear stays more planted on corner exit; there's no doubt that you're having to catch the car on exit on several occasions, although that also might indicate that you're overdriving the car.

(Otherwise, great job- you guys are FLYING!!)

Sure enough, in your second video you're racing against the track, not the other guy.. Your hands seem much quieter, and you seem to spend much less time pinching the car against the inner curbing. You're flying until another car appears ahead of you, at which point it all goes fuckobazoo and you spin.

Three seconds is a HUGE difference in lap times (I'm sure that I don't need to tell you that; you seem like a guy with a ton of experience) so if the car is capable of running 3 second faster times with the sway bar in place, you might want to really wonder if your focus is being affected when you're behind other folks. Race the track, not the other cars.

It appears that you're not shifting weight on entry and exit the way I was taught. Use the brake pedal to get in and load up the outside tires, sustain that load until full-throttle. I'd need to see data to see if I'm right.

I turn in too early when chasing other cars, too. Admitting your faults is the first step to correcting them, lol.

How much later am I turning in here?
Check this lap, which is 3s faster: https://vimeo.com/53540618

Checking the tires, they look done and over with...
I'm swapping the 16mm rear bar for 11mm OEM and will report back.
Also going to run new tires of course.

You just need more power

You just need to stop spamming

He's the guy in the red car in front..

All dutch up in hurrr

Where were you in damper range in rear compression? The car looks stable up until you get on the throttle.

Yeah rear end looks way too stiff and slide happy. Also perhaps too much toe out?

In the end, turned out those tires where completely shot. Heatcycled, flat spotted, dead.
That, and the rear sway was a little stiff.

Since, I've gone back to OEM rear sway and Toyo R888s and that was a huge improvement. Later, I've also swapped to AST suspension and no longer on GAZ which is another big plus.

For big power cars (300whp and up), a little rear toe-in will help a ton.