Richard J Darnell Posted June 15, 2002 Share Posted June 15, 2002 Today I picked up by 1998 1.6SS following a change from the standard roadsport suspension to widetrack with stiffer springs, adjustable platforms and stiffer anti-roll bar. Wow !!! What a difference. The car has not been fully set up (flat floored) yet because I'm told the springs need 500 miles or so to settle. Even so, the base setting has improved handling enormously. I wouldn't describe the old handling as bad, but it never inspired much confidence. The Elise I had before certainly handled better. Now the handling is fantastic and probably better than the Elise - I can now enter a corner with much more confidence and steer with the throttle alone. The car feels more planted on the road. I keep going around roundabouts more than once just for the hell of it teeth.gif I was following some cars and kept wondering why the car in front was braking for the corners - I don't remember getting the same feeling from the old handling. The steering seems lighter and is giving me better feedback. Whereas before I used to suffer a fair bit of bump steer (I think that's what you call it when the car "jumps" when it hits a bump mid-corner) the new suspension has fixed this. The ride is also better which surprised me given the stiffer springs. Well worth it (and thanks to those who encouraged me to do this upgrade). I have my first track day on Thursday at Brands Hatch - a chance to test it properly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Area Representative Tin Man Posted June 15, 2002 Area Representative Share Posted June 15, 2002 Richard I have just done the same upgrade & agree the car feels so much better. It inspires much more confidence in corners, just makes me think why Caterham sell them with such a soft set up in the first place. we don`t buy Sevens for comfort do we! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevefoster Posted June 15, 2002 Share Posted June 15, 2002 What springs did you fit and could you retain the original Bilstein damper ratings? What did you do about the rears? Steve My racing pics hereid=red> Hants (North) and Berkshire area club site hereid=red> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard J Darnell Posted June 16, 2002 Author Share Posted June 16, 2002 The spings are 250lb at the front, 180lb at the rear. The original Bilstein dampers have been retained, but I noticed they have been put upside down to reduce unsprung weight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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