Scottish Elises

Hi all,

Car going in soon to get a full geo done. I tried searching for info on the forum and its coming up with no matches when searching for "geo" and I know there is . However I can't find the post I thought I remembered this stuff being in.

So I was wondering what the best setup is for a k-series S2 Elise used for spirited road driving, possibly the odd track day? Also does it being lowered effect anything? I've bought some shims so that the camber can be set properly.

Thanks,

Graeme

OK a phone call later, does anyone know where I can get a 4 wheel alignment done in or around Dundee? I was going to go to City Quay Cars but they are getting a new lift etc installed for it and they think its going to be another 2-3 weeks and I need it done in 3 weeks! Only thing is I inquired 3 weeks ago and when the had just started the work and they thought it would take around 3 weeks. Its seems its not quite running to plan so I'm thinking they may not be finished in 2-3 weeks from now.

Cheers,
Graeme

A visit to CLCM in edinburger would be worthwhile - just tell Willie that you want fast road with a wee bit of track and he'll do his magic.

If you then dont like it (which is unlikely) he can tweak it for you.

I did have an align done at a place not far from the bridge.

I have no idea about road names or if it's even still there but it was on the main road heading east under the Dundee end of the bridge on the RHS full 3d align place covered in NOS stickers and stuff.

Rich, I think the place your describing is the place I was going to go to.

I know that CLCM has a good reputation here but was wanting to try and avoid going through to Edin. However I may need to if City Quay can't do it in time.

Cheers,

G

Mark in Banchory not doing them any more? Nice drive up there too...

Here is some info on SELOC wiki on standard and alternative set ups. http://wiki.seloc.org/a/Geo_Setups

My s2 111s was set up 2 months ago at CLCM via Murray's. I asked for fast road set up.
Picture of set up below if you want to analyse what it means.



Sorry it is sideways, taken on iPhone

I usually get mine set as close to 340R settings as possible.

However, set-up depends on how you want it to drive, so quite an open question.

Willie at CLCM normally warns me of "extreme" tyre wear - thats usually a sign that for me, its spot on

Just my 2p on the above setup to give people an idea what the numbers are about ...

Presumably the fronts are down to zero-shims (or one shim on one side) already so you have no scope for increased front camber (before-and-after are the same here - the minor changes are just noise that's come from toe adjustment/equipment drift over the course of the setup). Ideally you want nearer -1 degrees for "fast road" as it will sharpen the turn in. But that might require taking a mill to the steering plinths.

The rear camber is pretty standard at -2 degrees and is also unchanged before-and-after; people don't tend to go mad on more rear camber and it's debatable whether it adds much to the handling and has some detrimental affects on tyre wear on long straights (you end up melting the inside edge whilst the outside edge is cooling off, I believe - never actually measured any of that, of course).

The front toe must always be set to as close to parallel as you dare, leaving enough margin so that you're sure it's always going to toe out not in. Your front toe was deffo on the high side before and is bang on afterwards. This will make the turn in a wee bit sharper too, as well as making the transition from left-to-right or right-to-left a bit more positive feeling (less of a dead spot in the middle). A lot of that will be dependent on driving style, though.

The rear toe is perhaps the biggest change. Standard geo has quite a lot of toe in on the rear; this helps make the rear end more stable (less likely to oversteer when you turn in a bit optimistically). The downside of this stability is that it compromises turn in, basically the rear end is resisting what the front end is doing; the rear bump steer helps to neutralize this, but only once you've managed to transfer enough weight to the outside to get the rear suspension to roll over a bit. Setting the rear toe closer to neutral will make the turn in quicker, but given the same bump steer characteristics, if you manage to roll over the suspension enough at the rear you might find the car turns in harder than you thought - of course a lot of people like that, but to me that's more track than road. The common use of non-standard rear toe is when you also have much firmer springs (and thus less rear suspension travel in the corners).

A huge change to the handling will come from changing the bushes; tired bushes allow a lot more movement in the wishbones than newer bushes (also you can replace them with anything from stock rubber, enhanced materials like nylatron right up to spherical bearings). Worn bushes under load can easily move more than the small changes you make to the geo when setting it up.

Cheers,
Robin

Thanks for all the info chaps, this has certainly made a difference!