Howdy all. Hope all y'all had as much fun at nationals as I did, despite my
poor (albeit not as bad as last year) finish.
Anyway, I've got a few suspension questions and would appreciate some help
from you all.
Sway bars: Their basic function is to control body lean by transferring
some of the "lift" or "dive" action of one side of the car to the other.
Right?
Suspension springs: Their major function is to support the weight of the
vehicle and also control body lean while cornering. Right?
Negative camber: Used to try to keep the tire's contact patch as flat as
possible while cornering due to under effective springs/sway bars. Right?
So, if I were to install stiffer rate springs on my car, a Neon, would I
then not need as stiff of sway bars since the stiffer springs would help
keep the car flatter in the corners?
The reason that I'm asking is that I'm now shopping for some suspension
goodies so I can build my DS Neon into a STS car for next season and am
attempting to put together a list of items that will complement each other
nicely. I'd hate to go from the factory 150 lb/in front and 120 lb/in rear
springs to 450 lb/in F and 500 lb/in R coil-over springs and install stiffer
F&R sway bars only to find it a totally unbalanced package.
So, if I put these stiffer springs on (rates recommended by Pro-Parts) might
I be able to utilize my current sway bars (20mm F and 16mm R) which
currently give the car a nice balanced feel rather then going out and buying
the fattest sway bars available?
Also, if the stiffer springs help keep the car flatter through the turns and
consequently not change the camber as much, would I be able to get away with
slightly less static camber than I'm currently running (about -1.7 degrees
per side F and -0.5 degrees R)? Or should I use tire wear patterns or
surface temps to determine the best camber settings?
Thanks in advance folks.
Eric Linnhoff in KC
1998 Dodge Neon R/T
#69 DS #13 TLS
eric10mm@qni.com
"When people talk, listen completely. Most people never listen."
Ernest Hemingway (1899-1961)
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