Track day\Fast street setup

[Mad RS]

Hey there,
I have a Toyota Corolla Ae71. I want to use the car as a track day car but don't really understand how changing suspension components effects the handling of my car. I know the basic's about balancing over and under steer with swaybars and the effect that track width has on the same. What I don't know is how to setup the springs weights and shock dampening.
The car runs a 4age that is warmend up a bit, T50 and 4.11 gears (if any of that helps). The suspension is completly standard but runs nolathaine bushes. I want a setup that is at home on the track and is a little over built for the road. I don't have any fillings so no worries there.
The car is daily driven and is not intended as a full spec race car. What would be a good setup that wont break the bank.
Any help would me much appreciated (??).

Cheers

Mad RS

[Wojtek]

Hi,

There are a number of different ways that you can choose, depending on your budget, how serious you are about racing (having some fun, or winning races), and the type of driving you will be doing most of the time, and the type of tyres you will be using (most of the time).

As you are starting with standard suspension, that has only had bushes replaced with polyurethane, then any upgrade will be noticeable.

In that case, for mild suspension tune on a moderate budget, I'd suggest aftermarket heavy-duty lowering springs, sports shocks such as Koni Sport, and heavy-duty sway bars. This way you are not going to have to worry too much about technical specifications. Unfortunately, we can only supply shocks for your car, we do not list springs or sway bars. You may find other alternate brand products, but you'll need to speak to them about their suitability for your needs. Alternatively, it may be a case of doing custom components, but that in itself and the fact that you will need to see a specialist for this will inevitably cost more, but may be your only option.

Let us know if we can be of any help with your project.

Regards,
Wojtek.

[Mad RS]

Well the car is going to be a daily driver more than a race car. I don't mind a harsh ride for my daily driver. The tyres I use are mostly 195\60 R14 as they are cheap and easy to find. The main answer I am after is how stiff a spring should I go for??? How heavy a rear spring before the car turns into a drift car. What effect doest lighter and heavier springs have on the front end. That sort of thing. The car is around 1150-1200Kg's.

[Wojtek]

For a high performance 1150-1200kg RWD street car using street tyres I'd start with around 150>200 lbs/in front and 80% front in the rear. This is a very rough starting point, but should work quite well.
Body roll is controlled by springs and sway bars together, so increasing or decreasing spring rates has the same effect to handling balance as changing sway bar rates. Stiffer front spring will increase understeer or reduce oversteer.

Hope this helps.

Regards,
Wojtek.