Corner weight/balancing a budget suspension
 

Hey guys, this is an easy one. I searched but couldn't find much on the subject.

Here's the scenario. I have what most on this forum would call a "shitty" suspension. it's kyb agx with ground control coils. The thing is, I'm perfectly satisfied with the way it rides and handles for now (emphasis being on "for now", of course this will be replaced with quality parts down the road). I'm getting a new wheel/tire setup and will be getting a good alignment as well.

Here's the point of my question. Is it worth corner weighting/balancing these coilovers? It's a 99% street/canyon car that may see a trackday or two a year if everything goes as planned and the car is reliable. I was quoted $250 for having this done at a local miata shop, is it worth it in my case or should I just set the money aside for better shocks down the road? I was thinking something like koni race or blisteins to go with my GC coils.

Thanks guys, please give me your :2cents:

250 for just corner weighting? I just paid that for a corner weight and align because I just left the car there after I was done dynoing and I thought it was a bit expensive. Compared to the 135 I paid the previous time I was corner weighted and aligned. Try a different shop, or get 4 bathroom scales and use the teeter totter method.

I would not pay $250 to balance a crappy $250 suspension

Really? Wow, I'm really glad I posted this up. This was their prices for the following:

corner balancing was somewhere between $200-$250, cant remember exactly. This included getting the coils to my "desired height".
Alignment was going to be $200
To roll my fenders by hand they wanted like $90.

Guess I should just say FUCK NO to all of that, roll my fenders myself (which was my plan anyways), and take it to a shop that doesn't declare themselves a "miata specialist" to have the alignment done.

:laugh: @ those prices

Whats funny is that, if they just charged an hourly shop fee. The fender rolling would cost the most since it should take the longest.

Thats a shop that is used to people paying with checks in the with 3 or 4 zeros after the first number.

Those prices are crazy. I can get alignments all day around here for around $90 without even looking for deals.

The cheapest CW of all is made by wrenching by feel.
US in one direction and OS in the other, adjust by whatever means you have available. If it gets better you are on the right track, if it gets worse adjust in the other direction.

I usually start with a level height with some rake (once verified to be decent on scales) and then adjust on the rear shocks (easiest to get to).
Lowering (lightening the load) in the corner you want more grip is my way to remember what to do, if you add "softening" you can use the same logic for bars, "shocks" and springs too. It even sort of work for rake too.

The numbers in the shop are never perfect on a track :)

It's not black magic at all, but some like to keep it "magic".

Thanks guys. Going to go with the ride height i want, some forward rake, and an alignment from a local shop that can dial it in to my specs for cheaper.

I'll re visit the idea of corner weighting once i drop some coin on suspension.

Easy way is set the front passenger a 1/4 inch higher than the front drivers. The guy who did my cheaper corner weight said that was the secret, that got me to within 50.x% cross weight, then he adjusted the others a touch to get it to 50.0%

Can anyone point to a good read on setting preload? I'm a couple weeks away from popping my Tein monoflex flex in and I have no fucking clue how to properly set the preload on these things. Seems 5mm is pretty standard, however, my spring rates are fairly high (6XXlbs) compared to typical 'street' coilovers (which suggest a 5mm preload.)

-Zach