When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
Perhaps there would be enough adjustment in the front swaybar, if you buy one that adjusts in that way? You might be able to do it on the cheap with the stock one and some shims, if you don't need to make huge adjustments.
Just a note on what 'bikespace' mentioned, you can get some adjustment out of the typical front sway bars by resizing the tubing between the cushions. Everything affects everything else so for instance adjusting the rear changes the front weights somewhat. This is an iterative process to get it right. I would probably leave the front bar for last.
Myself I usually am able to get a neutral setting on the front bar by disconnecting it, lowering the car, rolling it around a bit and matching the mechanical offsets with whatever adjustment potential I have. You could also dial in some torque at that point if you thought it was needed.
I have the Guldstrand Heim jointed links on my car. Prestige item at this point and a very definite and immediate response throughout the bar.
Curious what you are after by wanting to go through the corner weighting adjustment process?
Yes, a C3 can be corner balanced with the rear spring bolt adjusters. You're adjusting the cross-weight of the car, so adjusting the right side spring bolt will affect both the right rear and left front corner weights, and vice versa for the left spring bolt. Small adjustments to both sides will bring the cross weight to near 50.0%. If not, ballast adjustments may be necessary. For example, my battery is moved to the right side compartment to offset some of my weight.
Driver weight and preferred fuel load should be in place during corner balancing, and disconnect the sway bars. Large adjustments may require realignment. Reconnect the sway bars neutral after corner balancing to not induce any bias, use heim joint endlinks or play with spacer length as Ignatz stated above.
Here is an example. This car weighs 19# more on the left.
In this case, you do not want to adjust either the front tires the same, or the rear tires the same. you adjust the cross weight to 50% so the extra 19# is split F/R on the left side.
The left screen is too heavy on the LF & RR diagonal, like a 3 legged chair. So yes you can tighten the RR spring to take more of the weight, or loosen the LR spring to take less.
Or you can add rubber or metal spring spacers in one front spring to accomplish the same.
And all of this should be done with all sway bars disconnected.
When you re-connect the sway bars you must do so in a way that they just slip into place, you may need to adjust the length of their links somehow.
Of course even better is to find a way to move half of the 19# from left to right.
Last edited by leigh1322; Dec 1, 2023 at 09:56 PM.
Just a note on what 'bikespace' mentioned, you can get some adjustment out of the typical front sway bars by resizing the tubing between the cushions. Everything affects everything else so for instance adjusting the rear changes the front weights somewhat. This is an iterative process to get it right. I would probably leave the front bar for last.
Myself I usually am able to get a neutral setting on the front bar by disconnecting it, lowering the car, rolling it around a bit and matching the mechanical offsets with whatever adjustment potential I have. You could also dial in some torque at that point if you thought it was needed.
I have the Guldstrand Heim jointed links on my car. Prestige item at this point and a very definite and immediate response throughout the bar.
Curious what you are after by wanting to go through the corner weighting adjustment process?
This may help you
I also have the sway bar held in with Guldstrand Heim jointed links and the aluminum blocks.
From You: "Curious what you are after by wanting to go through the corner weighting adjustment process?" I track the car. So always looking for improvement. The car has no rubber. The sway bar already mentioned. The control arm bushings are solid. The rear with Guldstrand solid spherical bushings. All seemed to help. Last track event, I blew the Power Steering Control Valve I just replaced. Plus, there was an “off” that may have altered the toe. My daughter’s fiancé owns a high-performance Subaru shop. He has a guy who aligns their car and also aligns and corner balances Formula 1 cars. He said he could ask him to do mine. He said the guy can hit measurements to 1/32 of an inch. My friend who owns a C5 and another that owns a C6 had their cars balanced and said it was a dramatic difference. The C5 was done at Phoenix performance. He won’t touch a C3. The C6 corner balance was performed in a small shop in NC. I live on Long Island.
Anyway, for the alignment I already have front and rear shims. But asking about the corner balancing as I was told he did it. I would think the Formula cars being open wheel and made to be adjusted would probably be easier than my car.
I corner balanced my 70 Camaro Pro-Solo car with metal shims under the front coils.
Later we even made screw adjustable spring perches ala Nascar. Hidden ones.
It would be so much easier on a C3. Screw one rear nut up and the other down.
I am not even sure why a performance shop "wouldn't touch" a C3.
Unless it has to do with adjusting rear toe. Now that is a PITA.
Have you corner weighed your car? Why don't you post #s?
Some cars can be waaay off and then it would help a lot.
I also have the sway bar held in with Guldstrand Heim jointed links and the aluminum blocks.
From You: "Curious what you are after by wanting to go through the corner weighting adjustment process?" I track the car. So always looking for improvement. The car has no rubber.
I autocrossed my car for the longest time. Did well in club and local events. Like you my car has no rubber and no compliant bushings, but I didn't go to steel either, just Delrin. The post is actuals from my car, back when. If your car has some idiosyncracies on track what you are after may well be worth the effort.
I think your first step is to get access to a set of scales and with care, take four corner readings before you plunk down any money. You may already be close but I can't say that with assurance since a lot of my build was to lighten the car, LS motor, Wilwoods, racing seats, etc, etc so it was already pretty different from a factory car.
Just putting the car on scales correctly is a pain without a lift. I have one but I had to take care to replicate conditions as though the car was sitting on the ground. I wouldn't trust commercial scales used for other things such as drayage.
I see where the read transverse spring could be adjusted. I also see how coilovers can be. But how would you balance the coil springs?
I think I have seen where they put material under the spring to help adjust it. But figure I ask the experts here.
Way back when I originally installed the one inch shorter VB&P 550 # front springs I made round rubber shims out of about 3/8th thick conveyor belt material. Shorter springs just fall out when you knock the ball joint loose. But it's still a PITA. front and rear adjustability is the key. I was so happy when I went to QA1 dual adjusts on the front with 3 sets of springs in 50 # increments. I didn't think that 550# were enough. Too much front end dive under braking. So I bought 600, 650, and 700.
I get to work on a national SCCA champions two cars. We were recently doing the 4 corner weights. I don't think that by jacking the rear spring only would ever get the front end close. 50/50 front and rear weight is only correct for low power to weight cars that have to carry as much speed as they can through the turns. As power go up the need for rear weight bias goes up.
Corner balance
