rwheelz

iTrader: (2)

Just put on a set of Tein CS coilovers. Part fitment is dead on.

I have access to some scales. Has anyone weighed the stock GS400 (all 4 corners as it sits)?

Basically, I want to be sure the distribution is the same when I set the final height of the coils. I set the coilovers by measuring to make sure they were equal side to side, but want to optimize for handling by properly corner-weighting it.

JeffTsai

iTrader: (1)

Wouldn't the weight on all 4 corners be the same no matter what height the car is sitting? Welll, unless the car is sitting way lop-sided (front right wheel is dropped way down and rest are at normal height). I think they designed the car from the factory to have a bit more weight on the right side to offset the driver weight. The battery is on the right side as well as a few of the bigger fluid reserivors

Either way the car is 3600lbs, I don't think a 150-200lb driver will change the handling dynamics too much. I mean thats only around 5% over the empty weight of the car. If you're concerned about the height of the suspension, an extra 150-200lb load will only change the ride height very very slightly. Most likely the difference is so small that you won't even notice...I'm talking fractions of an inch or less.

Just set all wheels at the same height and you'll be set. Thats how mine is set, and I'm sure thats how everyone else's is set. Thats also how all cars are set from the factory

rwheelz

iTrader: (2)

yeah I was more concerned about the front to rear weight distribution than my weight affecting the car. The tein CS coils come preset for height, well after settling they lower the front some but DUMP the rear, to the point where the car handled funny and was measurably lower at the rear, relative to the front, than it was stock. So I raised the rear some to compensate. I don't know what optimal is, but figure someone on here must have weighed their car on coils...?

JeffTsai

iTrader: (1)

Well what I'm saying is that I don't think the weight distribution of the car will change by altering the height. Although I could be wrong. Changing the height will alter the handling dynamics but it should not change the weight distribution of the car.

chanmannyhc

imo if u r thinking about corner weight and handling u should have bought something other than tein cs. because corner wighting requires u to compress spring certain amount to balance the weight of car and weight is not nessesarily equal on all 4 corners that is why there are different spring rates front and rear. like in the trunk if u remoave the spare u throw off the weight. it becomes lighter in the back and thus u compress spring to compensate. or the front where the battery behind over the passenger strut tower. cs have relatively soft springs compared with ha or flex(i dunno im not a tein fan)? that might mean u have to compress certain springs more to get balance and result in uneven ride height. Idunno i might be rambling but i hope this helps.

ps also when u raise one corner it affects the opposite corner. by putting more pressure on the rear spring u are in effect putting more pressure on the tire and pushing the body up that works kinda like leverage and puts more pressure to the front. and make sure u set u shock stiffer to counter the springs tendency to bounce alot more.

jason

gau17

I would like to add on the CS when you lower the car you are changing the preload on the spring as well the ride height which could have an affect on your handling.

chuckb

I believe weighting the corners would help. Once the desired height is set, the changes to balance it out would probably be small. Even though most of us don't do it, that is actually the correct way to set coilovers .

I'll bet 200lbs on one corner makes more difference than you think. if you measured wheel gap with someone in and out of car the car would be 1/8-1/4 in lower on front driver's side

lexforlife

iTrader: (7)

bingo great answer right on the money

are you tracking the car or auto x , then dont worry about corner weighting just set your height ..

setting each corner to achieve balance requires adjustments to spring preloads in conjuction with controlling dampning..

the lower the ride height the better handling you will get if you have supporting susp mods like sways , braces and using poly bushings to minimixe deflection


you will tend to get worse handling when all you do is lower beyond a certain point for now you get into a area of having to much bump steer

GS300Rich

great info in this thread

rwheelz

iTrader: (2)

I barely lowered the car at all, I am talking pretty much stock ride height here maybe 0.5" lower all around. But if you left it the way tein ships the coils, the car would be slammed especially in the rear. I raised all 4 equally first by measurement on the coilover itself and center of wheel to fender edge. Then, I raised the rear another 1/2", and the car handles significantly better. I do not even have upgraded swaybars yet, the rest of my suspension is stock, so I feel like I have it narrowed down to this variable. I think just having the front/rear ratio equivalent to stock (or even more optimum if possible) is a minimum. I didn't buy $1300 adjustable suspension to just slap it on there! There has to be a way to set them that is superior for handling.

I will hit an occasional autoX and 1-2 track days per year, but I drive it to work everyday so that is why I went with the CS (and edfc). I would love to have the flex with adjustable camber for track days, but they are few and far between. The CS is good enough for winding backroads.

chuckb

I set my adjustable perches on my CS about 1/8 inch away from factory Tein setting(to make the car a touch lower than the factory Tein setting) and it is nowhere near slammed...........

The Dude

I'd have to agree, 5% is alot when your talking about a cars handling ability. I often wanted to sit in my old cars while it was aligned. I would most definantly sit in a car if it was being corner balanced.

lexforlife

iTrader: (7)

alignment has little to nothing to do with setting corner weights , again it has to do with spring pre loads and damping this is for extreme racing condtions like autocrossing , trying to get in the apex and out quickly without losing control

I6turbo

iTrader: (1)

All you can do is change the diagonal weight balance. Can't change the front to rear, or side to side. The car probably won't be the same weight on any 2 corners before or after the corner balancing (haven't done this on a GS, but I have on a Supra). Another thing to keep in mind is that if you start screwing with the corner balancing you may start pre-loading flex into the chassis (depending upon how much you're trying to equalize the weight, and how "off" it was from the factory. This isn't a problem on a race car with a stiff cage to keep the chassis squared, but on a street car it can be an issue in causing the doors not to close just right, etc. IMO, you should just adjust the ride height and probably not worry about corner balancing unless you're *really* interested in wringing the most out of it on the track. May have to play around with it some to see, though.