upgrading to coilovers...have tire and oversteer questions

[djdrock]

Against my better judgement, a couple of years ago I put lowering springs in my 91 without replacing the factory struts. The suspension currently is way too soft, and just feels old. Acura just inspected all of my suspension, and aside from needing to replace my struts, everything else looks brand new (as they put it). I just ordered the Tein Flex coilovers this week and need to replace my front tires due to cupping. I have always felt that the car wants to oversteer. Currently, I have 215/35/18 fronts and 275/30/19 backs. My questions are:

1. Would going to 225/35/18 fronts help reduce oversteer?
2. Will replacing the suspension help eliminate tire cupping?

Thanks in advance!

 

[stuntman]

Oversteer - for a given input, the car rotates/turns better than you want and the rear of the car will eventually slide, "loose".

Understeer - for a given input, the car dosn't turn as much as you want it to, and the front tires "push".

Do you mean understeer?

 

[CL65 Captain]

First question....

Is this on the street or the track?

 

[djdrock]

Oversteer - for a given input, the car rotates/turns better than you want and the rear of the car will eventually slide, "loose".

Understeer - for a given input, the car dosn't turn as much as you want it to, and the front tires "push".

Do you mean understeer?

Yes, thank you, I meant understeer! :redface:

First question....

Is this on the street or the track?

Street

 

[NSXDreamer2]

I had 18.18 before and using the 215/35/18 for the front, what you experienced was that the tire simply doesn't have enough sidewall stiffness... which when you have heavier spring rate/shock rate, energy transfer more rapidly to the tire...

Anyway, I would suggest you switch back to 17/18 setup if you care about performance... or since you have coilover, just soften the front and stiffen the rear and see..

 

[Hapa88]

Definitely keep the 215/35/18 unless you want problems rubbing (a 225/35/18 is too tall and too wide for the NSX).

If your car is understeering you should reduce the size of your rear tire to 265/30/19, or put on a NSX Type R rear swaybar.

Changing the suspension should help eliminate the tire cupping. Make sure your tires are properly balanced first though, that might have been the reason it started in the first place.

 

[NSXDreamer2]

If you haven't put the Tein Flex on, you might eliminate all the understeer you experienced once you install them on. Tein used softer springs up front which helps eliminate understeer. Another thing comes into play is the rake, (ride height of the front and rear) Some aftermarket lowering springs lower the rear too much IMO. When you have the Tein installed, try do a 1/2 inch rake and see if you like it.

when I had the 18/18, even the 215 front with 245 rear is giving me too much understeer. So good luck, and hopefully you will be happy with the Tein.