What Motorsports teach us on Daily Driven Evo's (Handling)

[Exyia]

So I've been getting a lot of comments lately "...but I don't autox/track, just DD". This is starting to annoy me, because my original intention of my build last year was to build a strong daily - proving it's capability by autox, not build a strong autox car (though this year, that's what it's leaned towards). I chose autox because it's sport where lots of learned lessons can be applied to all cars, even dailies. It's cheap, accessible, and applicable to all owners.

This is a discussion. Feel free to discuss in this thread. Nothing I say is intended as fact - it is simply my finding throughout my two (ongoing) build threads.

Obviously this is suspension/handling related. Maybe I'll create a power related one later, but I don't feel there's enough content to discuss in that regard.

---Alignment---
DO NOT EVEN BOTHER THINKING OF ANYTHING ELSE BEFORE AN ALIGNMENT

DO NOT EVEN BOTHER THINKING OF ANYTHING ELSE BEFORE AN ALIGNMENT

DO NOT EVEN BOTHER THINKING OF ANYTHING ELSE BEFORE AN ALIGNMENT

This seriously drives me nuts. I would even go as far to say alignment is > tire choice. If you can't immediately recall your alignment specs, then don't even think about opening your wallet on handling mods yet.



My recommended alignment settings for stock-ish setups:
Front Camber: -2.0+
Front Toe: 0.00
Caster: This isn't adjustable stock, so ~4.1
Rear Camber: -1.5 to -2.0
Rear Toe: 0.00

The Evo X is a HEAVY car. It is a nose-heavy car. If your car is stock, on springs, or lower-end coils, you probably don't have a very high spring rate. The OEM spring rate of ~3.7k is laughably soft. You will always fight front end tire contact with this car, so more is always better - but I ALWAYS recommend at least -2.0.

The increased tire wear from -2.0 is very neglible - don't let anyone scare you out of it. The car starts to come alive at -2.0 or more (stock is only -1.0).

Many people think -1.5 is enough for rear camber. I disagree based on my findings/experiences. I started with -1.5, but got much even wear and temperature readings with -2.0. Always keep in mind that the Evo X is heavy and has very soft spring rates. It will always roll. If you are 100% street, then I would say -1.5 minimum. Sway bar factors in too (will cover later).

Note - for Rear Camber, I do not like to go further than -1.5 on just the adjustment bolt because of how weak they are. I prefer getting the rest from an adjustable Lower Control Arm, hence why Kozmic Motorsports thought it would be good to make a more affordable option on something we found was beneficial to have on ALL cars, not just race cars.

Toe; I dislike ANY amount of toe. Toe scrub will wear tires faster than any other factor, and I feel there are so many other ways to adjust handling/balance than using Toe In/Out, especially with the Evo X and our wonderful AYC. Many seem to agree with me on this, but some mess with toe on the rear.



If using a more aggressive setup (full coilovers/camber plates/stiffer spring rates):

Front Camber: as much as possible. I'm at -2.4 now and the tire wear is still pretty even. the tire as a whole will be worn out before I probably see uneven wear. I wouldn't go above -2.75 for a street car, but you probably won't hit that without a few tricks, so I simply say "as much as possible".

Caster: More is better. This is one of the huge appeals of the Vorshlaq Camber Plates to me. The extra camber is nice and all, but I got an extra 2 degrees of caster from them. 100% worth it.

Rear Camber: on 12k/12k springs and WL sway bars on soft, I found ~ -2.0 rear camber to be the PERFECT amount. My rear tires have a 100% even wear and relatively even temperature reading across. I don't see a need for any more than -2.0, even on the most aggressive setups.

Toe: I still don't like using Toe to alter balance/handling. There are so many other ways to do it imo.

---

Well that kept me occupied through lunch, I'll expand on other topics later. Feel free to discuss alignment, I'll do tires next.

For more details on how I came to my findings, feel free to check my build threads (both 2012 and 2013) below in my sig. And of course, props to the support that got me this far. They all helped me understand and build this information in some way.
Kozmic Motorsports
Forced Induction Development
GTWorx / Race Comp Engineering
Whiteline Flatout

Part 2 - Tires!!!
http://www.evoxforums.com/forums/sho...90#post1668290

[HappyMint]

Good post sir. I agree. I run -2.5 up front and -1.8 in back.

[vegittoss15]

What coils are you running on?

[HappyMint]

Exyia is JRZ Rs1's, I'm on AMRs.

[joshesevo22]

To adjust camber in the rears, "Noob question" do you need adjustable control arms? i know my friends evo 8 he couldnt adjust the camber. I'm also on AMR coilovers and have yet to be aligned...

[EAGLE 5]

Soft it is... I just took my car to a rallysprint event and boy did the thing come down hard after some smallish jumps...

I'd like to see how I can maximize my car's suspension for rally-X but staying with stock components sway bars is as far as I would go.

[chetrickerman]

Originally Posted by HappyMint

Good post sir. I agree. I run -2.5 up front and -1.8 in back.

how bad is your inside tire wear?

[KoukiMonster]

In for some more good info. I got my gtworx springs sitting in the closet. Was planning on going with -2 in the front and -1.75 rear. 0 toe


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[Cyp]

Great thread! Thx for sharing

[Locust]

Subscribed to hopefully learn about an aspect of cars I know almost nothing about...