Dave's 1971 1302 Not-So-Secret, Secret Project Build

[owdlvr]

Thanks Guys. I'm super stoked to be driving it, though it's far from finished! I've just got to the "debugging stage". After that, it's finishing off the race-prep with things like skid plates and other necessary items. I'll be shooting vids soon enough, but have a coaching event this weekend so won't be posting until next week.

Dave, well done on all you hard work, nearly there, congrats, but your proposed rear spring poundage is huge, i only ran 300lb for dry tarmac racing with a much heavier rear loading than you will have, and I'm an oversteer set up man, i love it, but 500 lb will handle so loose at the rear even on the tarmac, you wont wont a rear ARB connected, we've seen this a lot lately, with many posters on here talking up the spring rate, unresponsive setup changes usually indicate chassis flex, perhaps when you get some testing miles on it, things will become clearer. Regards Johnny.

Thanks for the input Johnny. I definitely don't have an ARB on the car yet. I'm going to dial in the spring rate for a chosen setup (tarmac, gravel, snow/ice) before using anti roll bars to address the fine tuning. Which, I suppose, is "the proper" way to do it :P

I'm shocked to hear that you ran 300lb springs without issues. With the 300's and no damping my car sunk through most of it's travel. Even with the preload cranked I'm not sure I could get it up to ride height...though I admit to not trying it. The 550's hold the car at right height with just a slight touch of preload, but I will admit they are too stiff. You can feel the rear end wanting to go on dry tarmac, but it's fully predictable and I haven't actually slid it yet...in the dry. When the road is wet, however, it's a complete handful. Like, Porsche 930-widowmaker, handful. I'll be honest...it's a tonne of fun, until you suddenly find yourself looping it on a Vancouver city street without even trying...in traffic. Yeah, not my proudest moment :P

My brain was screaming "don't lift!!!" ...but my foot had already started coming off the pedal.

Now, keep in mind I'm on an older pair of 165 series tires, so that definitely adds to the problem. Bump compliance in corners isn't great though, so I do need to soften the springs a little. I'm going to try 450s next, and then from there move to progressive setup with tender & main. I probably should put the 300's back in and crank up the preload to see if it will support the car. Would certainly make it far closer to the front springs which are rather soft right now.

-Dave