how to adjust my illuminas?
- Thread starter 94Gtstock-newclutch
- Start date
go-stang5.0
New Member
Ok man when the rear end wants to come around when you turn that is oversteer. If your trying to turn and the car doesnt seem to turn as much as you think it should, thats understeer. basically, Stiff in the back and soft in front will cause lots of oversteer (since our cars are also nose heavy). Stiff up front and soft in the back will create understeer. I find the best street setup to be 2-3 back (2wet, 3dry) and 5 up front. It gives predictable handling (slight understeer/oversteer) and ok traction for street launches. For long trips its 1-back 2-front. Then this baby rides like a lincoln. Just dont get too crazy with this setup cuz the car will slide. For the track I tried the long trip setup with bad results. Next time I plan on trying 1 back and 4 or 5-front. Im still experimenting with the track setup. Under no circumstances do I recommend 5 in the back. Thats gonna give you too much oversteer to be safe on the street. I found 3-back to be plenty, I havent even tried 4 yet, so forget about 5 in the back. Anyways, I would start with 1 back and 3 front. If you want more steering response crank up the front a notch or 2. If you want more oversteer in the back find what you like in the dry going one notch up at a time. Then when its wet drop it down a notch or two. These are the best tuning tips I can give you. If you have any more questions please let me know. Just dont go stiffening the crap out of them cuz you will spin out and possibly wreck your car.
GTPhreak
Founding Member
StangJonGT
Founding Member
The half of the body that you want to slide, make those stiffer.
Oversteer = rear end loosing traction
Understeer = front end loosing traction
For drag racing, you want maximum weight transfer to the rear, to aid in traction. So, soften up the rears and stiffen the fronts.
Jon
Oversteer = rear end loosing traction
Understeer = front end loosing traction
For drag racing, you want maximum weight transfer to the rear, to aid in traction. So, soften up the rears and stiffen the fronts.
Jon
jwalker
Founding Member
94Gtstock-newclutch said:
How do you like the steeda sport springs with the Illuminas??? Thats what I plan on installing very soon.
go-stang5.0
New Member
I have both along with the rest of steedas g-trac stuff. I must say for a street car that is the perfect drop to keep decent ground clerance with a sporty look. Also, I didnt notice much difference from just the springs. THe shocks, struts, lca's and uca's make more of a difference IMHO. Also, Phreak and JonGT, you guyz have conflicting remarks. I was under the impression that the softer the rear, the more squat you got (weight transfer to rear) and thus you would get better traction in the back. GTPhreak....please enlighten me on the theory behind your choices....
GTPhreak
Founding Member
the theory behind it is (as i understand, no personal experience, this is just what i hear) the rear set to firm will keep the weight on the rear axle and the front set to soft will let it lift
go-stang5.0
New Member
I dont see how that would help because it would not shift weight closer to the rear tires. It would keep the weight up front, thus keeping the rear end light.
StangJonGT
Founding Member
It sounds like you understand my advice, go-stang. Phreak, if you ever look at a set of drag springs, you will notice the rears are many, many times softer than the fronts. The reason is to get as much squat as possible, transferring weight over the rear tires. Another thing that aids in front lift and the resultant rear squat is removal of the antisway bar in front.
Jon
Jon
GTPhreak
Founding Member
like i said thats just what i have read, but have no personal experience of what goes on. I personally would rather have a roadcourse style suspension myself
so far i have had front and rear on 5. it is way too stiff in the rear. front feels good though. i also have done 3 and 3. front was a little less harsh but i think that the rear is still to stiff. i think 4 front and 2 rear would be good for all around driving. i think tomorrow i am going to try 1 and 1 just to see how much more lincolnish the ride will get. i agree that when the rear is on 5 the tires just get roasted in first and second gear. I will try 4 front and 2 or 1 rear for the track.
overall i love that i lost the floating front end when going over bumps and i lost the nose dive while braking. i think the drop from the springs is perfect, no worries about clearance over speed bumps but also no 4x4 look.
Thanks for the advice on not losing the back and wrecking the car. anyone who has driven a Mustang for 3 years has probably had alot of experience getting the rear loose around the turns and then getting it back. sometimes it can be fun and other times real scary
. never play in a mustang in the rain, ever, under any circumstances!
thanks for the advice
overall i love that i lost the floating front end when going over bumps and i lost the nose dive while braking. i think the drop from the springs is perfect, no worries about clearance over speed bumps but also no 4x4 look.
Thanks for the advice on not losing the back and wrecking the car. anyone who has driven a Mustang for 3 years has probably had alot of experience getting the rear loose around the turns and then getting it back. sometimes it can be fun and other times real scary
. never play in a mustang in the rain, ever, under any circumstances!thanks for the advice
Joe 5.0
Founding Member
I have the 5 way Illumina drag struts up front & stock shocks in the back. For the track 1 is the best. Having the front soft allows good weight transfer, but DO NOT drive on the street like that. It makes the car very wallowy and kinda dangerous to drive. You dont want to run the rears full soft. Most guys run a 90/10 shock up front & a 70/30 out back, so a good compromise for your shocks would probably be a #2. All you can really do is experiment and see what gets you the best 60' without making the handling screwy.
Joe 5.0
Founding Member
How in the hell are the drag struts dangerous for the street? They are just about 30% softer than the regulars. 4 on the drag struts is about stock and 5 is slightly stiffer. 1 is ALOT softer, thats all. I run them on 5 on the street due to liking the decrease in brake dive and better handling. And, as a matter of fact I have gone autox'ing and road racing on "drag springs & tires" and it handled pretty well.
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