theDoktor
Go Kart Champion
- Location
- Buffalo, NY area
- Car(s)
- 2017 GTI Sport
Thanks!
Nothing special on the alignment, I'll just list the setup in whole here:
- Maxed out front Camber(just from the assembly tolerance), ~0.8 deg
- 0 Front toe
- 0 Rear toe
- 1-1.5 deg rear camber(this is less sure on my part, I added rear camber through out its life and I wasn't sure where I ended up).
- Proparts DA front struts
- Strut set to max out front compression, no min reb(for dry, in the wet we add more front reb)
- Proparts single external(reb) adjustable rear shocks
- Rear shock normally set to max rear reb for dry concrete, for asphalt/lower grip/wet it can be anywhere from 1/2 to 1/4 of the full range away from full soft
- H&R 26mm RSB(stock endlinks)
- Enkei Fujin 17x7.5 Wheels(I ran I think 3 or 4mm spacers on the front to max out the 7mm offset allowance, not that I think it matters a whole lot.
- RE71R and BFGs, we settled on BFGs. 35PSI square most of the time, set right before we take a run, lower rear if the car is loose as a faster setup adjustment than rear shock changes(FYI on REs we run 32psi nominal)
- Stock brake pads, ATE Type 200 fluid
I daily my GTI and have had this RSB since last fall (and enjoyed it). Since the weather was nice I swapped out my stock Austins/Bridgestone RE97As for my 18" Enkei RPFs with RE71Rs (stock size). The rear felt way twitchier on this combo than stock and I even had the rear kick out a bit (surprised me).H&R 26mm RSB(stock endlinks)
Thanks. I was just a bit surprised on a rising sweeper coming out of a Mall when the rear said "howdy remember me?" I've never driven on UTQG 200 tires so maybe the combination of sidewall stiffness and quicker turn-in mean I was probably being stupid without realizing it. I have zero plans to run these tires daily as I need to get two seasons out of them if possible.In my experiences RE are pretty responsive vs pretty much anything else, which on autoX course it translates to a sharp response to inputs. On the street though it also means the car is way more likely to react to all the small inputs you might do to the wheel be it as intentional or not. Which means it can be more "busy" at the wheel. It has higher dependency to tire temp (even if it can work better from cold), on DD condition its unlikely for it to build enough tire temp especially in the rear. Couple those things together I can see if the car gets more tail happy on DD condition.
I don't DD on my autoX tires at all, both to prolong their life(2 drivers means I need to preserve and use them for as long as I can for times it matter). And also as they wear they get sketchier in the wet and cold...
I assume also those are brand new? They normally need like one good heat cycle to come on properly. When brand new they usually feel more vague and not as grippy. Also one they are "broken in" they start to get REALLY loud. The tread pattern produces a very pronounced humming noise...
I daily my GTI and have had this RSB since last fall (and enjoyed it). Since the weather was nice I swapped out my stock Austins/Bridgestone RE97As for my 18" Enkei RPFs with RE71Rs (stock size). The rear felt way twitchier on this combo than stock and I even had the rear kick out a bit (surprised me).
Why would the rear be looser on RE71Rs? Stiffer sidewall? Pressures were at 35 front, 31 rear. The heavier wheels and all seasons have never shown any oversteer, even when I wanted it. My worry is that the lighter race set up may be more biased to oversteer than my current driving level merits. I'll find out for sure at next the April test and tune.
On the plus side I love the RPF1 wheels!
View attachment 166330
Mine is an S, so it lacks the limited slip differential (and I'm jealous). Maybe it is my age but I like silver against the red. After a couple of days of pondering it, my guess is that the car isn't twitchier but I'm not used to the quicker turn-in and response.What year is & model is yours? Mine is also Tornado Red, but a 2017 Sport with a custom pinstripe package. I see a couple of trim differences around the front. And I really like the silver RFP1's on it.
I'm with @124_karl on the setup, although I've taken it a bit further than you. Currently I have the 034 25.4mm RSB, Koni Sports, & RE-71R's on Enkei 17x7.5 rims. Went to a 215-45-17 on the rear with a 245-40-17 on the front. I can make the rear come around as needed, but the issue is the excessive roll & camber change = lack of stick in the front. Tire temps in the front are way higher than the rear, even with the smaller tires.@theDoktor and I have been talking about GS setups over in the Suspension Modeling thread, so rather than me continuing to clutter that up with GS setup ideas, we figured maybe let's bring that discussion here. It's as near to a GS specific thread as I see.
It looks likely that I'll at least run my '19 Rabbit Edition in GS again this year, at least for the first few months. If that turns out true, I'm going to try a big front sway bar, putting the stock rear back on, to see if flattening the front end will add some grip, by keeping the car off the sidewalls of the tire.
I've been doing like everyone else, and running a big rear bar and 0 toe to try to get the car to rotate. But, I've been wondering for a while if that's the wrong approach, because it's taking grip away from an end of the car, rather than (hopefully) adding grip to the end of the car that isn't working. It might not be as fun to drive, but maybe it'll be faster.
Anyone had a big front bar on theirs? Any experience with how the VAQ diff behaves? It "seems like it should be fine," but I'd still welcome input from anyone who's been down this road already.
The car now has Konis on it, and I'm guessing I'll try Falkens first. I drove SSC a few times last year and the new Falken is really good. Far better than the 615.