what is a good base line for 949 shocks on track
 

I have the track spec springs and the Maxis racing track tires. first time on track with these coilovers and I have them set to the middle and they feel pretty good. how do you run them? might try a few clicks firmer and see what happens.

depends on the track.

Andrew at TSE once told me to set the shocks as soft as you can while still avoiding wallowing. Seems to be working alright so far.

As I am about to hit the track with my new Xidas this weekend...Pukekohe, BIG bumps at 170 Km/h corner entry...

please define "wallowing".....

I'm not the one that gave the advice.

Maybe Andrew would weigh in. @Savington

This is a good baseline

Assuming you have good shocks this is the simple way to approach shock tuning:

Too little - after jumping a curb the car continues to bounce up and down (think blown shock on a freeway). Needs MOAR clicks.

Too much - while jumping the curb your car hops and skips over (way too stiff). Needs LESS clicks.

Just right, Goldilocks - while jumping the curb you have time to ponder what your are having for lunch because you do not realize you went over said curb. Keep Driving.

well it was a simple question. I'll be sure to come back and post some ideas to this thread next season since everyone wants to guard their "Data" like a F1 team.

Honestly, even with the same shocks there are no magic settings. Every car and track are unique. What tires, sway bars, alignment, tire pressure, etc will influence your shock settings...and this is leaving out the driver preference variable. Set your shocks to full soft and start going up from there, if you have a helper in the pits you can have them add more clicks after a couple of laps until you find the right setting.

Gotta run 'em full stiff all the time man, it's a track car, soft is for the street. Ditch those over-priced xidas too, megan racing all the way. /s

Seriously, there isn't an easy button. Gotta test and see what works.

ok, good feed back. Thanks warn-out spec Miata suspension!

Andrew is right. Suspension, tire pressures, everything should be as soft as you can go without excess movement, overshoot or wallowing. You make and input or hit a bump, the car responds once and settles quickly. If it bounces sharply, its too stiff. If it bounces very slowly, its too soft. It it doesn't bounce at all, its just about right.

There is no such thing as baseline shock setting. Start soft and work your way stiff 1 or 2 clicks at a time until it stops feeling too floaty. Our cars are always fastest when they feel plush.

Okay, installed my Xidas now. Race on Saturday.

Blind faith and confidence in Emilio and you guys they are better than my tuned Koni Race.. :)

Two basic questions.

The ride height at 4.25" pinch weld leaves the 2 springs with about 2-3 mm of slop i.e. opposite of preload.....is this okay?

The shock adjusters, are they clockwise to stiffen ?

-I know the "clever" MT response will be to say click them and try BUT I have a practice/qualifying as my first session and need to be straight in to adjusting not "testing"...

Than you are doing it wrong :)

Pick a number of clicks somewhere in the middle and hope for the best. Your guess is as good as ours and that is the solid truth.

Slightly loose springs at full droop is only a problem if you jump the car where both left and right wheels are off the ground at the same time. Not usually an issue for performance or competition driving on pavement. Otherwise one wheel will be compressed and the sway bar
will hold the springs in. Before you question the veracity of that assertion, I'd urge you to race the car and get back to me if you encounter any issues from spring droop.

Clockwise = stiffer, just like the video.

Thanks Emilio.

Misunderstanding. I wasn't asking for a click or setting suggestion as above has readily explained. I know your guess is as good as mine for my car..(well yours IS probably better than mine but you know what I mean :) )

re the spring droop, just wanted to make sure I wasn't doing the ride height adjustment wrong.

I've watched that video 3 times and missed the adjustor description, will watch again.

Appreciate your rapid response.

I've had mine set right in the middle front and rear and the car handles pretty neutral. it pushes a bit on some tight corners and oversteers on some of the more slippery ones. I was more focused on playing with tire pressure and brake bias since I changed rear pads and tires from last year and only managed 2 days this summer. talked to a nice guy at the track with the same set up and he preferred two clicks less in the rear. the two tracks he was running with this set up are both very flat one smooth and one is pretty rough. if you need to go right to qualifying, which sucks for you, I might do a couple clicks less in the rear so you have a bit more headroom to go hard in the event your tires get a little warm or whatever. just depends how much stuff you've changed and what you prefer, a bit of push or oversteer. I don't think you can go wrong with even middle front to rear if you are reasonably set up other wise. my car did just fine like that with basically an eyeball alignment(not by be, by someone who knows how to do it pretty well), and 4.5 front and rear ride height. it does push a little on some turns at both turn in and track out but not enough to require anything but a slight line adjustment and or throttle. I have the recommended sway bars and the extended ball joints. stock tie rod ends. Maxxis 245-40-15 track tires. hope this helps a little. wish I had more.

Really helpful, thank you.

Racing/testing isn't ideal but it does happen when in a race series.

Xidas were shipped at 12 clicks from hard front (haven't checked the rears yet) and my intention is to set the front to about 10 from hard and the rear about 12 from hard so it seems like i'm on the right track.

From my very quick midnight "cruise" around suburbia last night they definitely seem more plush than the old Koni Race so it will be very interesting to see the handling difference in feel and against the clock.

Appreciate the input. Will return on Monday with some further details...

Email us for quicker responses. I just happen to be sitting at my desk at 8:20pm waiting for a car to be vinyl wrapped in the shop.

Orange?

Oh and they are Supermiata Xidas, not "949 shocks" :)