Suspension tweaks for the track

[Decibel]

I have a completely stock '91. I don't really have much of an issue on the street, but it definitely likes to understeer on initial turn-in when I autocross it, or on the track. The only time I've really felt comfortable with corner turn-in on the track is hauling the car down from ~75MPH to ~40MPH for a hard right-hander with definite trail braking. I could easily feel that the car was setup and happy for the corner, so I felt confident committing throttle to it.

In higher-speed corners though, it doesn't feel like the car wants to turn in. That translates to me not feeling confident about being able to make the corner, which means I don't want to commit the throttle, making the car *really* want to spin. I can generally feel it being unstable, but just find it very hard mentally to roll in the throttle.

My guess is that the best way to tackle this is to improve the turn-in response so I don't feel like the car is at 11/10ths when it's actually at 8/10ths. What would people recommend for doing that? It seems my best bet would be either sway bars or the comptech non-compliance kit, but it's not clear that I'd really need both. It also seems that trying to tune would be a lot harder if both were done at once. So which would be the better way to go? Is there anything else I should be looking at?

 

[Mac Attack]

If your NSX is completely stock and you want to keep it that way I would instead play around with the alignment first.

Do you check tire temps? How is the camber?

From what you've described and from what I remember, I would decrease the front caster (which will reduce low-speed turn-in but help restore confidence with higher speed turns) and increase rear toe-in, doing one at a time of course. You can do these yourself just to play around with first (search the internet for DIY alignment guides) without paying someone with a machine $130 a pop.

Dave

 

[docjohn]

Without actualy sitting next to you on track there is no way to tell how much of what you are describing is the car vs your technique/entry speed.That said if you have a completly oem 91 and the shocks are original I would consider new oem shocks or aftermarket bilstein or koni.Then have an experienced track person preferably an instructer ride with you.If you are an experienced racer/track guy already but new to the nsx,some of what I said still applies.

 

[Mac Attack]

Good point Doc on the shocks - that's what I was going to recommend when I came back to this thread. And, it's always a good idea to have someone else observe, but his write-up made me think that he's familiar with tracking (but we can always improve, right)?

 

[stuntman]

When asking for setup advice, please state the following in addition to your descriptions of the car's handling characteristics:

Front Camber:
Front Toe:
Rear Camber:
Rear Toe:

Tire Size (ex: 205/55/15):
Front:
Rear:

Tire Make and Model (ex: Bridgestone RE050A)