Circuit Suspension set up

ccsouls

New member
Thanks for the "heads-up". I REALLY appreciate the thought.

Strangely enough, I am not far from that exact setup now except that I am now running 245-40R17s on OZ Crono HT 17x8s and have no caster.

My first autocross is this Sunday with the new tires/wheels, so I should know more.

I was at 1.5 camber 3/32 toe out front, 1.0 camber 0 toe rear, and no caster adjustments at the Pro Solo 2 weeks back and the car turned very well. Still a little understeer but rather than braking just lifted the gas a little and the rears would kick and it would snap around.

I too have the whiteline rear sway on full stiff. I have solid diff mounts and basically the same poly bushing setup.

I am thinking of going to the smaller camber bolts for a little more camber after seeing how the new tires work.

I don't completely understand what he meant by rotating the the camber adjustable strut tops to gain caster. I understand the concept, but that would seem to also remove the camber settings. I would love to see pictures of that. Can anyone help me understand that?

BTW, I removed my 25mm rear spacers and the cars turning improved. FYI
 

solarinsocal

New member
Another update. I have just run Big Willow at Willow Springs Raceway. My setup this time around is -3 front camber and -2 rear camber. The car is handling much better and am closer to neutral handling than I have ever been. I have the HA front on the second to the highest setting and the rear on full hard. My custom suspension has come in but I have yet to use it since the HA are doing pretty decently. Also if other people are interested I can get a complete ST185 coilover set for about $1200.00. The issue with the car at this time is the lack of power for Big Willow and my brakes are cooking by the 5th lap. Turn one is still okay because of the cool down they get between turn 5 through 9 but after turn one with the massive slowdown from 120mph, turn two and three are very hard to slow down. I need to come up with a solution for the brakes. Anybody have one yet? :D
 

ccsouls

New member
Thanks for the update.

Please keep us posted.

I am getting closer also but I still have some things to do in order to get the camber settings you have.

I appreciate your input.
 

CMS-GT4

Active member
solarinsocal":evkx9clc said:
I need to come up with a solution for the brakes. Anybody have one yet? :D

How much are you willing to spend?

Get yourself some st205 rears and then you can get either brembo or AP on the fronts.
 

ccsouls

New member
Will the ST205 rears bolt right up? I thought a custom bracket was needed.

I believe KSport has a set for the ST185??
 

CMS-GT4

Active member
Rears bolt right up. Front 205 needs a bracket. Honestly I would get the wilwood kit over the ksport.
 

ccsouls

New member
Is the Wilwood kit specifically made for the ST185?

If not, how do you get any necessary brackets?

I think the KSport kit is specifically made for the ST185.
 

solarinsocal

New member
The whole front brake kit thing is a pain in the butt. There are definately a lot of different options to run with but hard to choose which one is the best. I still need to run 15" wheels for rally cross which does not allow for a BBK, yet I still need enough brake for the larger tracks. Hmm! Dilemma. :twisted:
 

CMS-GT4

Active member
That's a bit of a trick to get good brakes for 15". A long time ago there used to be a 185 brake upgrade that just did that but I have not seen info on it for a very long time.

The st205 front brakes and custom rotors might fit. I think the outside diameter of the calipers when mounted to a 185 spindle are somewhere in the 12.5" range. So if you can find wheels that have a 13" or so inner clearance you might be able to use that setup for the front. You might consider keeping the rear 185 rotors and maybe getting a set of wilwood rear calipers and using an external integral parking brake for those hard turns.

You could likely just keep the rear 185 calipers and just get the external brake for the assistance in sliding the rear around.

Good luck and keep us posted.
 

gt4tified

New member
CMS-GT4":g31x5o4j said:
That's a bit of a trick to get good brakes for 15". A long time ago there used to be a 185 brake upgrade that just did that but I have not seen info on it for a very long time.

The st205 front brakes and custom rotors might fit. I think the outside diameter of the calipers when mounted to a 185 spindle are somewhere in the 12.5" range. So if you can find wheels that have a 13" or so inner clearance you might be able to use that setup for the front. You might consider keeping the rear 185 rotors and maybe getting a set of wilwood rear calipers and using an external integral parking brake for those hard turns.

You could likely just keep the rear 185 calipers and just get the external brake for the assistance in sliding the rear around.

Good luck and keep us posted.

Worry not about the inner diameter as much as the radius to the end of the mounted caliper. Many make this mistake in calculating, using only the rotor diameter and forget that the caliper has to be added. Most aftermarket calipers have about as much, if not more clearance room to the same sized rim as the 205 oem caliper.
 
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