Handling mods for my 33GTR

[ferni]

Hey, my GTR has ohlins coilovers which are pretty good from what i have been told, and they feel good... but looking under my car it seems that there are no other handling mods done.. ie stock sway bars and castor/camber parts...

Whiteline seems to be the way to go, so i'm thinking to just get a full whiteline kit put on my car minus the suspension/shocks since i'm happy with my ohlins stuff...

Is it worth it?

I'm planning to get on the track soon so i want a pretty decent setup.

My current setup is R34GTR wheels with falken 326's 245/40/18 tyres (very average but they came with it), with the ohlins fully adjustable coilovers...

What should i be going for ?

http://www.whiteline.com.au/docs/fact_shee...line_R33GTr.PDF

whiteline suggests :

Front Blade adjustable 22mm

Rear Blade adjustable 22mm

Front Castor kit - up to 1.5 deg (6)

Rear Rear camber kit +/-0.75deg (7)

Camber Caster(6) Toe

Deg Deg mm/side

Front Touring -1.5 L5.5 / R5.0 0.0

Sport -2.0 L5.5 / R5.0 0.0

Rear Touring -1.0 (7) n/a 0.5mm in

Sport -1.0 (7) n/a 0.5mm in

Whats the difference between sports/touring? what should i be going for?

They also have options for Heavy duty swaybars and upper alloy adjust strut brace

should i be looking to get these instead?

I find my car is pretty average with handling at the moment - gets sideways a it easier than i expected a awd GTR would do, but this may be to do with tyres i have...

Any suggestions / advice would be appreciated

thanks

[ferni]

I've just been told by someone that ohlins is no good once its been rebuilt...

does anyone know anything about this?

[ferni]

bump.... advice please

[ferni]

Bump again

[rs73]

I have whiteline shocks.

In sports mode you'd want to use more camber so your wheel looks more like /-----

than normal cars |----| (if seen from the front or rear of vehicle). Have you seen V8 supercars with their noticeable negative camber???

This is to help with hi-speed cornering as the outside tyres will be vertical and get the most contact patch. However for touring mode you don't need to run that extreme because extreme negative camber means your car will wear out it's tyre quicker. Generally -1 to -1.5 degree is enough for the street. Go the touring setting if you only go to the track occasionally. If you go to track every 2nd day or so, go the sport setting.

[Sydneykid]

I've just been told by someone that ohlins is no good once its been rebuilt...

does anyone know anything about this?

Ohlins are designed to be refurbished, with both spare and service parts available. So if it was done properly then there is no reason why they would not be as good as new.

[ferni]

rs73 - thanks... i know what camber is... just wasn't sure what settings i should be going for - thanks for the advice... i do want to get to the track, but it won't be often, so i guess i should go for the touring setup.. what is the 33GTR stock camber/castor/toe in/out able to be adjusted to? do i need the whiteline camber/castor kit? to get whiteline recommended settings?

Which whiteline sway bars should i go for?

Sydneykid - thanks it didn't make sense to me, being such a good brand i doubted there would be anything wrong with them...

[Mick Trainer]

The best thing you can do is go and speak to someone who truly knows what they are talking about regards what you want the car to do etc and have them come up with a system for you. Shocks like Konis have the greatest range of adjustment which is important, you will probably want to look at some change in spring rate if you want to track the car. I have all over hardened the car but dropped the front further than the rear and proportionatly left the rear slightly softer than the front (from the standard ratio). This has greatly altered the handling of the car giving me far greater turn in and much better drive out of corners. The car is far more predictable etc. The whiteline bars can be a good idea but for me most go far to thick on them and they loose a lot of the advantage of the AWD as the inside front wheel wishes to leave the ground all the time and they enduce massive oversteer from having a massive front bar. As a general rule the Japanese modified suspension cars are vastly too hard and they are like riding on roller skates to when the cars are truly set up properly.

Suspension like most things as an experts game. I really suggest you take the car to someone who truly knows what they are doing and talk to them for a while. If you need some contacts I can put you in touch with a few. In Melbourne we have one of the best set up guys in Aus. Either way talk to someone.

Mick.

[ferni]

Mick - would really like to talk to someone who knows what thier talking about with GTR's.... if you could put me in touch with someone that would be great...

[jlnewton]

Shocks like Konis have the greatest range of adjustment which is important, you will probably want to look at some change in spring rate if you want to track the car.  I have all over hardened the car but dropped the front further than the rear and proportionatly left the rear slightly softer than the front (from the standard ratio).  This has greatly altered the handling of the car giving me far greater turn in and much better drive out of corners.  The car is far more predictable etc.  

Mick.

Would I be able to ask what spring rates you are running in your car? I am currently messing around with different rates in my car and am trying to get as many opinions as possible to see what the general trend is. Personal R&D starts to get a little expensive after a while.

[meshmesh]

Mick - would really like to talk to someone who knows what thier talking about with GTR's.... if you could put me in touch with someone that would be great...

Ferni, It's been along time but I remember TRU TRACK in Leveson st North Melbourne used to have a very good name regarding suspension. Suppose you could try them as a start.

[ferni]

mesh- thanks, what do you have done to your car in the way of handling? how does it handle?

[meshmesh]

mesh- thanks, what do you have done to your car in the way of handling? how does it handle?

As far as I know, it's all stock. And I think it's spot on the money at the moment. Admittably I wouldn't know any better, but it's not too harsh & handles very well for a car that doesn't see track work.

[Mick Trainer]

Would I be able to ask what spring rates you are running in your car?  I am currently messing around with different rates in my car and am trying to get as many opinions as possible to see what the general trend is.  Personal R&D starts to get a little expensive after a while.  

I will look up and PM you my spring rates if you want but they will not be a much use for you with either a GTSt nor a 33 GTR as I have a 32 GTR. Let me know if you want them. If you are finding R&D hard I can put you intouch with someone who may be able to help in Qld or if you really get desperate I can PM you my number and you can call me and talk about what you want the car to do.

Mick.

P.S. I am no expert.