Suspension Tuning: A Guide
Your ride may look hot and even have a powerhouse under the hood. However without the right suspension your ride is no more than second best. Regardless of how much power you have under the hood a tuned suspension is vital. Without the right suspension adding too much power to your car can be detrimental. A finely tuned suspension will keep your tires where they are supposed to be: on the road. Additionally a good suspension will reduce body flex and roll through turns resulting in faster times less under steer and other benefits.
So what do you need to tune your suspension? What items are included in the suspension? Here are the answers to a few of those questions.
First you should start by lowering your ride height. Coilovers offer you the best way to do this. However if you purchase lowering springs make sure you get a camber kit to keep your alignment in check. Coilovers will let you adjust your ride height as needed unlike lowering springs which provide a fixed height.
Second you’ll need to invest in a good set of sway bars. Sway bars are positioned under the vehicle and tie the two sides of your suspension together. OEM sway bars are usually very thin and somewhat flexible often consisting of a single bar. Aftermarket sway bars are much thicker providing much greater stability during turns and reducing body roll as well as under steer.
Third you will need to invest in strut bars also called strut tower bars. These bars go under the hood and span the distance between your strut towers. They provide additional rigidity and stability to you ride. You can also purchase rear strut bars which will tie the rear shock/strut towers together for similar benefits.
Tie bars should be the third thing you invest in. These mount below the car and tie the control arms to the chassis. As with strut bars these provide greater rigidity and stability during cornering.
Arm bars provide the same benefits as tie bars; spanning the gap between control arms as well as anchoring them to the chassis.
Pillow ball mounts can also be used to enhance your steering and suspension. The ideal time to install these is during the lowering process. They take the place of the standard rubber strut tower bushings and provide a smoother turn eliminating any judders or jumping.
About the writer: Andy’s Auto Sport offers a full line of aftermarket automotive parts including body kits carbon fiber hoods and more. For more information visit Andy’s Auto Sport online.
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