Fiat Coupe Forum
- Founded by Kayjey & James Northam
- Funded by the Club for the benefit of all owners
Fiat Coupe Club UK
join the club
Fiat Coupe Forum
 
» Announced
    Posting images


» Related sites
    Main club site
    fiatcoupe.net


» External data
    owners listed
 
Who's Online Now
2 registered members (paul, 386ka), 274 guests, and 1 spider.
Key: Admin, Global Mod, Mod
Forum Statistics
Forums69
Topics113,543
Posts1,340,419
Members1,785
Most Online731
Jan 14th, 2020
Top Posters(All Time)
barnacle 33,520
stan 32,122
Theresa 23,294
PeteP 21,480
bockers 21,070
JimO 17,917
Nigel 17,366
Edinburgh 16,659
RSS Feeds
Club Events
Club Information
Track Events
Rolling Road/RWYB
Social Events
Non-UK Events
Coupé Related Chat
Coupé Spotting
Coupé News/Press
Buying/Selling Advice
Insuring a Coupé
Basic FAQ's
How to Guides
Forum Issues
Technical Problems
General Maintenance
Styling
Tuning
Handling
ICE and Alarm
Coupés for Sale
Coupés Wanted
Parts for Sale
Parts Wanted
Group Buys
Business Forum
Other Vehicles for Sale/Wanted
Other Items for Sale/Wanted
Haggling/Offers
Ebay links
Other Cars
Other Websites
General Chat
Previous Thread
Next Thread
Print Thread
Page 1 of 2 1 2
Coupe handling #1601490
26/05/2017 13:18
26/05/2017 13:18
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 17,366
Staffordshire
Nigel Offline OP
Forum veteran
Nigel  Offline OP
Forum veteran

Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 17,366
Staffordshire
A few people have mentioned that they would like to see a "Handling Sticky" - an easily locatable thread about the various ways of making a Coupe handle better. Seeing as I've probably spend more time and money than most on trying to get the Coupe to handle, I thought I'd put something together.

Its a bit of a long read, but I thought I'd put some effort into explanations, rather than just stating what I've done to my car.

Make yourself a cuppa, find ten minutes to spare and have a read - happy to make changes or additions if anyone has any suggestions.

MODS - please consider making this a "sticky" if you think it warrants it


[Linked Image]
Re: Coupe handling [Re: Nigel] #1601491
26/05/2017 13:22
26/05/2017 13:22
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 17,366
Staffordshire
Nigel Offline OP
Forum veteran
Nigel  Offline OP
Forum veteran

Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 17,366
Staffordshire
Way back when the Coupe was first introduced in 16v format, it was widely acknowledged as one of the best FWD chassis of its time. The relatively lightweight Lampredi lump meant the car was pretty well balanced, although it still suffered the perennial FWD handling issue of the weight being strongly front-biased with the usual tendency to understeer near the limit.

When the 20v variants were launched in late '96, the handling was improved slightly by virtue of a faster steering rack, but this was partly blunted by the extra weight of the five-pot lump.

Let’s deal with the elephant in the room first – regardless of the model, the Coupe’s suspension design is flawed. It uses MacPherson struts at the front and a trailing arm with separate spring and damper at the rear. This is fine for a small hatchback (ie the Fiat Tipo on which the Coupe is based), but it’s not a good platform for a neat handling sports car. “Proper” sports cars normally use double-wishbone suspension at all four corners.

Over the years, time has not been kind to the Coupe and many cars are still running round on original suspension leading to claims of poor handling. If your Coupe has suspension that’s more than about 5 years old, it won’t be at its best and you may be looking to do something about it.

Before we start, let me make it absolutely clear that in my opinion, the best handling Coupe for everyday road use is one on standard suspension, standard ride height, standard wheels and standard geometry. The key is that all components need to be in good condition, which few standard cars will be by now. So - before you start reading the handling modification section below, think very carefully about what you want from the car, and consider refreshing your car back to as-new standard spec - you'll be completely amazed how good it is.

On the basis that you're still reading, you're probably interested in modifying the handling characteristics of your Coupe, so let’s break this down into some basic categories.

1) Springs & dampers
2) Chassis bracing
3) Wheels
4) Tyres
5) Anti-roll bars
6) Geometry
7) Other

Firstly, if you have a Coupe that you feel isn't handling correctly, consider #6 before spending any money on modifications. Many weird handling traits can be traced to poor geometry, caused by one or more of the following:-

• Worn wishbone bushes
• Incorrect tracking
• Excessive negative camber
• Worn rear trailing arm bushes

Assuming that everything is as it should be, let’s now consider modifications, but with one big caveat – it’s just as easy to make things worse as it is to make them better – be very careful because it’s quite easy to spend a lot of cash and end up with a Coupe that handles worse than it did before your credit card hit its limit.

1) Springs & Dampers (not shock absorbers)

Changing springs normally changes two things – ride height and spring rate (ie they make the car lower and more stiffly-sprung). This will help on two counts – the centre of gravity will be slightly lower and thus it will be more resistant to body-roll. Additionally, the spring rate will be higher, which further reduces body-roll. A third aspect is that the car will feel more solid on the road, which can sometimes give the impression of handling better, even though the only change is that it’s become more jiggly to drive.

The purpose of dampers is to prevent the car from oscillating up and down for ages after something causes suspension movement. Dampers are generally “tuned” to match the springs that they are associated with, so it’s very easy to screw up the handling by having mis-matched springs and dampers. For example, fitting uprated dampers with standard springs can cause ride-height to reduce over a series of short, sharp bumps, as the damper doesn’t allow the spring to return to full length in time for the next bump. Conversely, fitting uprated springs with standard dampers may cause “wheel- chatter” over sharp bumps, as the damper struggles to control the stiffly sprung wheel.

I’ll save the difference between compression damping and rebound damping for another day, but suffice to say that the vast majority of aftermarket dampers have either fixed damping, or one-way adjustability (ie the adjustment device adjusts both compression and rebound damping at the same time).

Something worthy of mention is that when a MacPherson strut is compressed, the hub follows an arc as transcribed by the lower wishbone. It is desirable that the wishbones is angled downwards to the wheel when the car is at rest, so that as the wishbone moves upwards, the arc is taking the wheel very slightly away from the centreline of the car – this increases the negative camber on that wheel, which is generally a good thing. Once the wishbone passes the horizontal, any further movement is reducing negative camber. On a Coupe, the wishbone is close to horizontal as standard, so reducing the ride height by fitting lowering springs means that suspension movement is always reducing negative camber at the same time, which is unavoidable, but undesirable. The key here is not to overdo the lowering – Coupes don’t like to be “slammed” as todays yoofs call it. They also look bleedin’ awful when they’re scraping the floor, but that may just be the old git in me…

Recommendations:-

• Road car – stay standard, but renew with good-quality components
• Fast road car – lower by 25mm max, uprated dampers
• Occasional track car – as above, but possibly with adjustable damping
• Track car – good quality coilovers, with adjustable damping (preferably two way)

2) Chassis bracing

Later Coupes (LEs and Pluses) came as standard with a strut brace, which shows that Fiat recognised what we all knew from the start – the Coupe is not a stiff bodyshell (just try parking with one wheel on a kerb and then open a door – now try closing it again and you’ll notice it makes a different clunking noise – that’s the door hitting the striker plate differently because the shell has twisted once the door was opened).

Handling improvements can be made by stiffening the bodyshell. The ultimate is to fit a full weld-in cage (check out some of Begbie’s threads about this). However, this is not cheap or easy and isn’t particularly practical for an everyday car. So, we’re looking at bracing.

In my opinion, there are only two braces that make any difference. The strut brace and the front subframe brace. Anything else is purely cosmetic.

The strut brace bolts to the two suspension turrets under the bonnet and prevents them flexing in and out towards the centreline of the car when the suspension is loaded. I cannot remember a single Coupe owner that said they couldn’t feel an improvement after it was fitted. There’s some discussion about the merits of the Sparco “bendy” brace versus others such as OMP, but that’s for another time.

Think of the front subframe as a squared-off ‘U’ shape, with the legs of the ‘U’ pointing forward. The lower suspension arms are bolted to these legs, so under longitudinal forces (ie accelerating or braking), the legs have a tendency to flex in or out, which in turn changes the steering geometry. This unwelcome effect can be reduced by closing off the open end of the ‘U’ shape by bolting a brace across the gap, turning it into a square.

The other braces I’ve seen are rear braces, which mount across the two rear upper seatbelt mounts. This is at least a foot from the nearest suspension component, so cannot have any discernible effect on handling. The other brace, which is farcical in the extreme, is a floor brace that bolts between the two B-pillars down by the lower seatbelt anchor. Work out for yourselves why this may not have much of an effect.

The only other modification I’ll throw into this section is poly-bushing. I’m utterly convinced that poly-bushed front wishbones make a huge improvement. I’m less convinced that rear subframe bushes are in improvement against NEW standard bushes. However, this article is about mods and improvements, so I would say that poly-bushed rear subframe is a notable improvement on the 15-20 year old standard bushes that you’re probably using right now!

Recommendations:-

• Road car – upper strut brace
• Fast road car – as above, plus poly-bushed front wishbones
• Occasional track car – upper and lower braces, plus poly-bushes front and rear
• Track car – rollcage plus all of the above

3) Wheels

Let’s be truthful, most people change their wheels for purely aesthetic reasons. It’s difficult to deny that in the age of 18” wheels as standard on a lowly Corsa, the Coupe looks a little “under-wheeled”. However, the Coupe was designed to work best on 15” or 16” wheels, so think carefully before you whack on a set of 18s.

There are four aspects (other than aesthetics) that should be considered when deciding what wheels to buy.

1) Diameter
2) Width
3) Offset
4) Weight

Personally, I would argue that #4 has the greatest effect on handling (although getting #3 wrong can have a huge negative effect)

Wheel diameter is a compromise as soon as you move away from the standard wheel size. In order keep the rolling circumference the same, you’ll need to reduce the aspect ratio of the tyres, which will lead to a firmer ride (as well as more expensive tyres…). The firmer ride might actually be a benefit though, as there’s less tyrewall deflection when cornering, which can give greater steering precision. One benefit of increasing diameter is that there’s potentially more airflow into the inner wheel area, which is better for cooling the brakes (which is pretty poor on the 20VT)

Wheel width is a compromise as soon as you move away from the standard wheel size. As well as probable issues with offset (see below), you might run into problems with clearance against bodywork or suspension components.
Whatever you do, don’t fit wider wheels so that you can fit wider tyres, thinking they will give you more grip – they won’t (see the tyres section below)

Offset is a huge issue on Coupes, especially the 20VT variants (due to the Brembo calipers). Get this wrong at your peril, as a wheel with the wrong offset will completely mess up your handling (as well as giving you loads of torque-steer, which the Coupe is famously pretty devoid of)

Weight is one of the biggest aspects of wheel design that most people don’t pay much attention to (the aesthetics are usually at the top of the list). The issue with wheels is that it is un-sprung weight, which has a huge effect on the efficiency of suspension. It’s also rotational inertia, which changes the ability to change the direction of the wheel (remember your secondary school physics?).

Recommendations:-

• Road car – standard wheels
• Fast road car – Standard, or maybe 17” wheels – no heavier than standard
• Occasional track car – 17” lightweight alloys – standard width, or maybe 0.5” to 1” wider
• Track car – as above, but make sure they are tough, as road alloys can crack when repeatedly used on saw-tooth kerbs

4) Tyres

This subject could fill dozens of pages on its own and is highly subjective, so I’ll express my own opinion and you can take from it what you want.

Nigel’s Golden Rules rolleyes

• Buy the best tyres you can afford, (but don’t waste money on better tyres than you need)
• Never buy part-worns unless you are 100% confident of the history (ie you know and trust the previous owner).
• Never mis-match tyres across the same axle – asking for trouble
• Try to match all four tyres – front-rear balance is just as important as left-right
• Wider tyres don’t give any more grip. Yes, it sounds counter-intuitive, but it’s correct, I assure you. Wider tyres give different grip, but probably not enough that you would notice on a road-going Coupe. So – stick with something close to standard width (ie for a 20VT, go for something between 205 and 225 width)
• Pay attention to the aspect ratio – putting 205/55 on because they are cheaper than 205/50 may seem like you’re saving money, but you’ve just increased the sidewall height by 10%, which will cause all sorts of side-effects, ranging from incorrect speedo, rubbing against wheelarch liners, and more tyre deflection leading to a less precise feel for the car.

Personally, on a stock Coupe, and even on the “base” non-turbo models, I wouldn’t entertain anything less than “mid-range” tyres (Falken, Kumho, Toyo, Avon, Uniroyal, Vredestein, to name a few). Occasionally, a tyre from these manufacturers turns out to be as good as tyres from the premium category (for example, I use Uniroyal Rainsport 3 on my daily drive Alfa GT and they are amazing, especially in very wet conditions).

On a coupe that’s being used for enthusiastic driving, I’d always recommend premium brands (Pirelli, Dunlop, Continental, Michelin, Bridgestone, Goodyear).

Recommendations:-

• Road car – mid-range brand – NEVER use budget tyres
• Fast road car – top-end of the mid-range (eg Uniroyal Rainsport, Toyo T1-R). but preferably a premium brand.
• Occasional track car – Top-end premium tyres on all four corners
• Track car – spare set of wheels with trackday tyres (eg Toyo R888, Yokohama AO48, Michelin Pilot Sport Cup)

5) Antiroll bars (ARBs)

This is another counter-intuitive area, where what you would expect is the exact opposite of the truth.

Let’s start from the blindingly obvious. The Coupe will understeer as standard. Reducing this understeer is desirable, but only up to a point, Going too far will result in a car that oversteers, even though the “wrong” wheels are being driven. This is fine if your surname is Plato, but it’s not a good idea on a road car.
You should also consider that there is a finely-tuned balance between the front and rear ARBs

Counter-intuitive revelation – to reduce understeer on a FWD car, you need to increase the stiffness of the rear ARB (or by a process of elimination, reduce the thickness of the front ARB, but this isn’t so easy). However, you can only go so far before the reduction in understeer turns into oversteer. At this point, you have two choices – increase the front ARB stiffness as well, or back off a little on the rear.

For the Coupe, the choice is limited. Front ARBs are limited to either a Lancia Dedra or Eibach. For the rear, there’s a bit more choice. There are 22mm, 23mm (very rare – I believe only Novitech made them) or 24mm ARBs.

Recommendations:-

• Road car – standard ARBs at both ends
• Fast road car – Standard front, 22mm rear
• Occasional track car – 23mm rear
• Track car – either a 24mm rear on its own (which will make the car very “pointy”) or a 24mm rear with an uprated front to balance it out a bit.

6) Geometry

Another area that is highly subjective and very much down to the preferences of the individual. Bear in mind that you don’t have a lot of choice with the geometry on a Coupe and even some of the basics below will require mods (eg camber bolts, caster-adjustable top-mounts). However, here are my experiences:-

I have played around with geometry on my Coupes for years and have found that it’s possible to get “ultra-stable” right through to “feels like a rwd car, on ice, with slicks” and almost anywhere in-between.

“Ultra-stable” is great for big, wide-open circuits (think Silverstone GP) or fast A roads. It’s also the only setting I would use on a top speed run at an airfield (you’d be amazed at how vague a Coupe goes at over 175mph if the geometry is set up for cornering performance).

“RWD-mode” is huge fun on tight twisty circuits or B-road blasting, but it’s scary at anything above 120mph in a straight line and downright dangerous in 100+ mph sweepers.

For “Stable” try:

• 2mm toe-in
• Standard camber and caster (or maybe even extra caster if your top-mounts allow it)

For “RWD-mode” try:-

• Parallel toe
• 1.5 to 2.0 degree negative camber

For the best balance between the two, my everyday settings are something like:-

• 1mm toe-in
• 1.0 – 1.25 degrees negative camber

7) Other

There are two other items that I can think of that might fall into this category (or at least don’t easily fit into any of the above categories. I’m not going to going into any depth for any of them, as again, they are an entire subject in their own right. All should be pretty self-explanatory though.

• Brakes – I’ve seen many Coupe owners spend serious amounts of money making their car go faster and not pay any attention to helping it stop. If you want to cover ground quickly, good, reliable brakes should be on your list (in fact you could take the view that they should be done first before any go-faster bits)
• Limited-slip differential. The Viscodrive on the 20VT is great for handling 220-ish bhp, but it can wear out and it can easily be overwhelmed by a decent increase in power.
• Driver training (either track tuition or IAM for general road driving). Another of Nigel’s Golden Rules! Every pound spent on driver training will result in better / faster / safer driving than a pound spent on modifications. Seriously – don’t under-estimate just how much faster you’ll go when you’ve been taught by someone that REALLY knows what they are doing. I would go as far as to say that a well-trained driver in a standard Coupe will beat an average driver in a well-modded Coupe.

8) Summary

Any one of the modifications in 1) through to 7) above will improve the handling of a Coupe. However, they are very complementary and should be considered as a whole, not as a collection of separate subjects. For example, if you fit a 24mm rear ARB, set the camber to -2 degrees, put good tyres on the front but average tyres on the rear and decent brakes on the front only, you WILL be going backwards at the first corner you try to take quickly. It’s a balancing act and as I mentioned right at the beginning, it’s easy to get it wrong.


[Linked Image]
Re: Coupe handling [Re: Nigel] #1601498
26/05/2017 14:40
26/05/2017 14:40
Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 6,783
In the coupe.
magooagain Offline
Club Member 259
magooagain  Offline
Club Member 259
Forum is my life

Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 6,783
In the coupe.
Excellent. Thankyou Nigel.



Re: Coupe handling [Re: magooagain] #1601514
26/05/2017 18:40
26/05/2017 18:40
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 3,693
Midlands
MCMike Offline
Forum is my job
MCMike  Offline
Forum is my job

Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 3,693
Midlands
Very informative Nigel, thanks for taking the time to compile this smile


1972 Triumph Stag
1984 Alfasud TI
1999 Fiat Coupe Turbo LE
2005 350Z




Re: Coupe handling [Re: Nigel] #1601530
26/05/2017 22:32
26/05/2017 22:32
Joined: May 2007
Posts: 229
Perth, Western Australia
Hoops82 Offline
Making a profit
Hoops82  Offline
Making a profit

Joined: May 2007
Posts: 229
Perth, Western Australia
So good. Thankyou for all the time and effort on this Nigel. Sticky it!



Resting UK
Re: Coupe handling [Re: Nigel] #1601534
27/05/2017 06:38
27/05/2017 06:38
Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 2,252
Windsor/ Reading
knight7660 Offline
Competition Level
knight7660  Offline
Competition Level

Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 2,252
Windsor/ Reading
once again a brilliant write up from Nigel smile


LE53 (452BHp & 389ftlb's with Quaife)
Wine red VIS FOOFY
Audi RS4 B7
Re: Coupe handling [Re: Nigel] #1601543
27/05/2017 08:52
27/05/2017 08:52
Joined: Aug 2015
Posts: 399
Uk
M
Makkadiamond Offline
Making a profit
Makkadiamond  Offline
Making a profit
M

Joined: Aug 2015
Posts: 399
Uk
Great post Nigel .. thank you

Re: Coupe handling [Re: Nigel] #1601656
29/05/2017 12:18
29/05/2017 12:18
Joined: Aug 2007
Posts: 8,057
Southsea
G
Gunzi Offline
Club member 189, Former Club President
Gunzi  Offline
Club member 189, Former Club President
Je suis un Coupé
G

Joined: Aug 2007
Posts: 8,057
Southsea
Great job with the write up Nigel, thank you.

I've made this a sticky.

Re: Coupe handling [Re: Nigel] #1601947
03/06/2017 17:23
03/06/2017 17:23

M
mootch
Unregistered
mootch
Unregistered
M



Thanks nigel, all good stuff and very informative, my only other consideration is that nobody appears to know the standard spring rates , or bump rebound on bilstein, koni or other fast road/track stuff which people fit, this makes it a bit of a guessing game.
Although I appreciate Alot of the guessing has been done by yourself and others.

Re: Coupe handling [Re: Nigel] #1603108
22/06/2017 07:50
22/06/2017 07:50
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 1,904
Poland
deannn_20VT Offline
My life on the forum
deannn_20VT  Offline
My life on the forum

Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 1,904
Poland
I did the geometry today and the chap had no idea how to convert mm to degrees and minutes. I found the formula but somehow I can't figure it out myself. After all, I set it to -1.45 degree angle and 0*35' toe-in per side.

Nigel, can you let me know what the correct toe-in setting for 17" wheel with 205/45 tires is?

Re: Coupe handling [Re: Nigel] #1604564
16/07/2017 14:52
16/07/2017 14:52
Joined: Nov 2016
Posts: 74
Durham
pvig73 Offline
Reaping the fruits
pvig73  Offline
Reaping the fruits

Joined: Nov 2016
Posts: 74
Durham
Thanks Nigel,

A great read, interesting and very informative. I have a fast road 20VT (just under 270bhp) and I really don't want to lower it or uprate the dampers especially as living in Speedhump central otherwise known as London.

After reading the above, the mods I am very interested in are grippy tyres, front strut brace, lower brace and 22mm rear ARB although I don't think Eibach sell the rear on its own.

Again, thanks for the above.

Re: Coupe handling [Re: deannn_20VT] #1604578
16/07/2017 18:26
16/07/2017 18:26
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 17,366
Staffordshire
Nigel Offline OP
Forum veteran
Nigel  Offline OP
Forum veteran

Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 17,366
Staffordshire
Originally Posted By deannn_20VT
After all, I set it to -1.45 degree angle and 0*35' toe-in per side.

Nigel, can you let me know what the correct toe-in setting for 17" wheel with 205/45 tires is?


As far as I can tell from the information I have (lifted from Hunters tracking), the 20vt toe settings are 0 degrees, 4 minutes toe-in, to 0 degrees, 13 minutes toe-in - tyre size makes no difference.


[Linked Image]
Re: Coupe handling [Re: Nigel] #1604681
18/07/2017 12:16
18/07/2017 12:16

S
suba
Unregistered
suba
Unregistered
S



Awesome write up Nigel.

only thing I'd add is for track oriented cars, try a bit of toe out on the fronts. laugh

Re: Coupe handling [Re: ] #1604684
18/07/2017 12:57
18/07/2017 12:57
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 13,200
england
C
came2dance Offline
I AM a Coop
came2dance  Offline
I AM a Coop
C

Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 13,200
england
Nice write up Nigel. Where would one get this driver training then?

also I've not had my coop long but I don't think it's 100% standard suspension. I certainly get "wheel chatter" (loss of mechanical grip) over sharp bumps (when cornering or braking into corners) back end sometimes feels like it would rather be in front too laugh crazy


[Linked Image]www.chrisdoyle-photography.co.uk

Re: Coupe handling [Re: ] #1604689
18/07/2017 14:35
18/07/2017 14:35
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 17,366
Staffordshire
Nigel Offline OP
Forum veteran
Nigel  Offline OP
Forum veteran

Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 17,366
Staffordshire
Originally Posted By suba
for track oriented cars, try a bit of toe out on the fronts. laugh


Fine on a twisty low-speed track, but my own experience is that toe-out makes the car very unstable at high speed. I would definitely deploy toe-out (or at least parallel) on a sprint circuit like Curborough, but it would be awful on tracks with fast (100mph+) sweepers like Donington


[Linked Image]
Re: Coupe handling [Re: came2dance] #1604690
18/07/2017 14:39
18/07/2017 14:39
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 17,366
Staffordshire
Nigel Offline OP
Forum veteran
Nigel  Offline OP
Forum veteran

Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 17,366
Staffordshire
Originally Posted By came2dance
Where would one get this driver training then?


Most trackdays will offer an option of buying some tuition - not cheap, but well worth it if you want to maximise the performance. You'll almost certainly find that your car is way more capable than you think.

Originally Posted By came2dance
I certainly get "wheel chatter" (loss of mechanical grip) over sharp bumps (when cornering or braking into corners) back end sometimes feels like it would rather be in front too laugh crazy


That sounds like a lack of damping (or a mis-match between the springs and damping, for example if the springs have been uprated, but the dampers are still stock)

The back end issue is almost certainly related to the wheel chatter, but you could try dropping the rear tyre pressures a little (try 28-30 instead of the usual 32)


[Linked Image]
Re: Coupe handling [Re: Nigel] #1604691
18/07/2017 14:48
18/07/2017 14:48

S
suba
Unregistered
suba
Unregistered
S



Agreed - really helps getting the front to bite on hairpins, but has it's limitations elsewhere. smile

Re: Coupe handling [Re: Nigel] #1604692
18/07/2017 14:54
18/07/2017 14:54

S
suba
Unregistered
suba
Unregistered
S



not sure if anyone has gone as far as a full custom setup on a coupe (i.e. custom individually matched dampers / springs, with corner weighting etc.)

My brother got this done on his MK Indy and the difference was staggering - on the road you just see the front struts absorb ruts and bumps without upsetting the car at all....and it it pretty awesome on track too. smile

They went as far as bench testing each damper and spring and showing him how far out they were off the shelf. laugh

Re: Coupe handling [Re: Nigel] #1604695
18/07/2017 15:25
18/07/2017 15:25
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 16,659
Auld Reekie
Edinburgh Offline
Club President, member225
Edinburgh  Offline
Club President, member225
Forum veteran

Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 16,659
Auld Reekie
Originally Posted By Nigel
Originally Posted By came2dance
Where would one get this driver training then?


Most trackdays will offer an option of buying some tuition - not cheap, but well worth it if you want to maximise the performance. You'll almost certainly find that your car is way more capable than you think.


Yep, it's dear - but a good birthday present - and definitely recommended if you're "tracking" for a first time. The young lad who took me out showed me up big time with his ease of handling and sense of balance in spite of never having driven a coop before.

He was less than a third of my age shocked laugh


BumbleBee carer smile
Re: Coupe handling [Re: came2dance] #1604836
20/07/2017 11:01
20/07/2017 11:01
Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 8,960
west bromwich
C
coupedummy Offline
Je suis un Coupé
coupedummy  Offline
Je suis un Coupé
C

Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 8,960
west bromwich
Originally Posted By came2dance
Nice write up Nigel. Where would one get this driver training then?

also I've not had my coop long but I don't think it's 100% standard suspension. I certainly get "wheel chatter" (loss of mechanical grip) over sharp bumps (when cornering or braking into corners) back end sometimes feels like it would rather be in front too laugh crazy


Last when i had it the car was back on standard spring and shock but it does have an uprated 22mm rear anti roll bar fitted.


[Linked Image]
Re: Coupe handling [Re: coupedummy] #1604852
20/07/2017 18:24
20/07/2017 18:24
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 13,200
england
C
came2dance Offline
I AM a Coop
came2dance  Offline
I AM a Coop
C

Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 13,200
england
Originally Posted By coupedummy
Originally Posted By came2dance
Nice write up Nigel. Where would one get this driver training then?

also I've not had my coop long but I don't think it's 100% standard suspension. I certainly get "wheel chatter" (loss of mechanical grip) over sharp bumps (when cornering or braking into corners) back end sometimes feels like it would rather be in front too laugh crazy


Last when i had it the car was back on standard spring and shock but it does have an uprated 22mm rear anti roll bar fitted.


Cheers Coupedummy just seems a little harder ride than I remember from my first coop. (That was a while ago though) It does jump around a bit, the back end seems light, might just be me though crazy It does have slightly lower profile tyres on than mine did and I am running quite high air pressure as I got carried away when I was doing them smile I'll reduce the rear psi and see how I go on.


[Linked Image]www.chrisdoyle-photography.co.uk

Re: Coupe handling [Re: Nigel] #1604911
21/07/2017 20:01
21/07/2017 20:01
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 17,366
Staffordshire
Nigel Offline OP
Forum veteran
Nigel  Offline OP
Forum veteran

Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 17,366
Staffordshire
High psi in the rear tyres will make the back end really vague and "light"

Try 30psi


[Linked Image]
Re: Coupe handling [Re: Nigel] #1604915
21/07/2017 20:50
21/07/2017 20:50
Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 6,783
In the coupe.
magooagain Offline
Club Member 259
magooagain  Offline
Club Member 259
Forum is my life

Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 6,783
In the coupe.
Serious question. Is everybody in the uk still using psi?



Re: Coupe handling [Re: magooagain] #1604918
21/07/2017 21:19
21/07/2017 21:19
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 3,693
Midlands
MCMike Offline
Forum is my job
MCMike  Offline
Forum is my job

Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 3,693
Midlands
oh yes !


1972 Triumph Stag
1984 Alfasud TI
1999 Fiat Coupe Turbo LE
2005 350Z




Re: Coupe handling [Re: MCMike] #1604921
21/07/2017 22:41
21/07/2017 22:41
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 13,200
england
C
came2dance Offline
I AM a Coop
came2dance  Offline
I AM a Coop
C

Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 13,200
england
PSI all the way smile


[Linked Image]www.chrisdoyle-photography.co.uk

Re: Coupe handling [Re: magooagain] #1604922
21/07/2017 23:23
21/07/2017 23:23
Joined: Jul 2008
Posts: 362
The Shire
skeandubh Offline
Making a profit
skeandubh  Offline
Making a profit

Joined: Jul 2008
Posts: 362
The Shire
Nope. Haven't used psi, inches or pounds for 25 years. Only bar, mm or kg. Must be the engineer in me.


[Linked Image]
Re: Coupe handling [Re: Nigel] #1604924
22/07/2017 04:57
22/07/2017 04:57
Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 6,783
In the coupe.
magooagain Offline
Club Member 259
magooagain  Offline
Club Member 259
Forum is my life

Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 6,783
In the coupe.
Isn't the coupe tyre pressures marked up on the car in bar measurement?



Re: Coupe handling [Re: magooagain] #1605056
24/07/2017 13:12
24/07/2017 13:12
Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 5,390
Essex
Trappy Offline
Forum is my life
Trappy  Offline
Forum is my life

Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 5,390
Essex
Originally Posted By magooagain
Isn't the coupe tyre pressures marked up on the car in bar measurement?


Just some lazy Italians not converting it properly tongue


F****** b****** thing...
Re: Coupe handling [Re: skeandubh] #1605071
24/07/2017 18:24
24/07/2017 18:24
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 8,384
Lightwater, Surrey
DaveG Offline
Club Treasurer Member 311
DaveG  Offline
Club Treasurer Member 311
Je suis un Coupé

Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 8,384
Lightwater, Surrey
Originally Posted By skeandubh
Nope. Haven't used psi, inches or pounds for 25 years. Only bar, mm or kg. Must be the engineer in me.
But any engineer should be able to convert units if required (making use of calculators, apps or other software to aid memory of course). So do you struggle with the speedo being in mph and all those road signs giving distances in miles?


1996 Portofino 20vt & 2000 Pearl White Plus
1985½ & 2016 2017 Fiat 124 Spider + XF Sportbrake
Re: Coupe handling [Re: DaveG] #1605077
24/07/2017 19:23
24/07/2017 19:23
Joined: Jul 2008
Posts: 362
The Shire
skeandubh Offline
Making a profit
skeandubh  Offline
Making a profit

Joined: Jul 2008
Posts: 362
The Shire
Originally Posted By DaveG
Originally Posted By skeandubh
Nope. Haven't used psi, inches or pounds for 25 years. Only bar, mm or kg. Must be the engineer in me.
But any engineer should be able to convert units if required (making use of calculators, apps or other software to aid memory of course). So do you struggle with the speedo being in mph and all those road signs giving distances in miles?


Of course units may require to be converted, however the point is that bar, mm and kg etc are simpler to relate to each other.

I assume the mph and miles is a hint of sarcasm.


[Linked Image]
Page 1 of 2 1 2

Powered by UBB.threads™ PHP Forum Software 7.7.1
(Release build 20190129)
PHP: 7.3.33 Page Time: 0.019s Queries: 15 (0.008s) Memory: 0.9138 MB (Peak: 1.1901 MB) Data Comp: Off Server Time: 2024-03-28 10:21:42 UTC