Questions regarding retrofitting widetrack front suspension.

[Titanium7]

Been considering it for some time as next winters upgrade. I have read numerous threads but cannot really get a difinitive opinion whether it makes a huge difference.

 

1. Does it really make that much difference, car used mainly on roads but the tracks are beckoning?

2. With the standard S3 springs and dampers would there also be a need to fit the height adjusters?

[EFA]

1, Yes

2, a good idea but not essential.

[Mankee]

Have you had a full suspension geo setup done on your car? If not, I'd do that first. I'm really happy with my widetrack upgrade over last winter, as it cost me virtually nothing, is aesthetically pleasing because the front end looks in proportion to the rear now and, from my limited seat time this year, makes the front feel less likely to wash out into, through and out of corners.

 

If you read through the archives, opinions seem to be split right down the middle. For me, it's a .

[Myles]

It certainly looks better! I think the best bit for me was swapping to a high-ratio rack at the time though - not to everyone's taste, but that probably transformed the car more than the widetrack did.

[Mick Day]

Quick rack yes. Widetrack.........ask the marketing department.

[EFA]

Widetrack definately improves turn in dramatically. Now in a Vauxhall car that is a chalk and cheese level difference. In a car with a K-Series, the turn in is better than a Vauxhall by some margin. that's not to say it cannot be improved.

 

The difference will still be quite noticeable on the road, especially if you are a roundabout hooligan or like a car setup which feels very taught and darty. Widetrack makes the car go exactly where you place it.

 

The 22% rack is another story. Makes the car more twitchy and a bit cart like in its handling. Really only worth it if you have wide track though, which gives you the improved front end grip.

[SLR No.77]

But the thing is .... in the majority of cases wide track is fitted (as per the instructions) with the spacer washers located differently than narrow track and this moves the lower wishbone back slightly .... inceasing the castor angle and aiding turn-in.

Therefore in response to the OP's question ... £-wise the best handling improvement will be to set up the narrow track fitment as per widetrack, fit adjustable platforms and have the heights set up properly. Wide track looks far better though!

 

Stu.

[EFA]

Stu, the washers thing is if you setup to Caterhams road spec in the manual. Written ages ago, we all know how inoptimal that was.

 

Sure, increasing castor gives a feeling of improved turn in by weighting the steering up more nicely, but in reality caster controls feel, not grip.

 

If you recall the extra wide suspension I had on my car (front track was 4" wide than an SV!) it made a huge difference. Same theory adopted by Dave Kimberly when he beat everyone by 4 seconds at Curborough when the Carmichael boy and I went head to head.

 

Wide track works. The wider the better.

[Eugene]

I went wide track from 'narrow' a couple of years back...

 

Made a huge difference!!!

 

Well worth every penny IMHO.

 

😬 😬 😬

[Mankee]

Interesting about the washers. I used the same placement of washers for the widetrack as well as the narrow. And the same springs and dampers, just with the damper and tie rod extensions.

[SLR No.77]

Arnie, I can't disagree that basically the wider the better but the OP's question was not based on the intrinsic detail of setup and how wide is best. Just a question about a narrow-tracked non-adjustable car that spends most of it's time on the road and may soon do a track day. Not even a question in there about anti-roll bars.

 

Stu.

[Englishmaninwales]

!. Yes, better but see below

2. Yes

I retro fitted widetrack to my '94 chassis (pre anti dive setup). Main issue is that it has made bump steer worse on the road, but I intend to try and adjust this out. Not noticeable on smooth tracks.

 

Edited by - Englishmaninwales on 28 Jul 2012 09:49:47

[Richard Price]

Martyn,

 

I'm going to disagree. I don't think the change from narrow to wide track has a dramatic effect on the handling.

Does it make a difference? Yes! Dramatic? No.

I compete in my car in 2010 with narrow track, and then swapped to wide track before last season. Tom and I went quicker at some sprint and hillclimb venues, but wide track did not wipe huge chunks of time off our times. (maybe a tenth or two here or there)

 

I think changing anti roll bars has more of an effect.

 

I'll also confirm that bumpsteer became worse when going wide track (or it would have done if I hadn't adjusted it with shims). Correcting bump steer can make the car feel much more stable.

 

2. With the standard S3 springs and dampers would there also be a need to fit the height adjusters?

 

Not absolutely nessasary, but along with the wide track spacers, it makes setting ride height a lot easier!

Some folks advocate using standard track length dampers with wide track, but you need to be aware that the sump will hit the ground before the dampers hit the bump stops.....