Vansteel setup for AutoX
Thread Starter
Advanced
Joined: Aug 2023
Posts: 60
Likes: 3
From: Eglin AFB, FL
Vansteel setup for AutoX
Hey All,
Recently bought a '96 LT4 that I plan to autocross. It came with single way adjustable Vansteel coils, with spring rates of K=500 in the front and K=425 in the rear. I'm new to the suspension world, how would y'all recommend setting them up for a combination of autox, spirited driving, and daily use? I'm still young, so my back can take a bit of discomfort. Also, if it matters, I'm running the ZR-1 wheels which are 17x9.5 in the front and 17x11 in the rear.
Recently bought a '96 LT4 that I plan to autocross. It came with single way adjustable Vansteel coils, with spring rates of K=500 in the front and K=425 in the rear. I'm new to the suspension world, how would y'all recommend setting them up for a combination of autox, spirited driving, and daily use? I'm still young, so my back can take a bit of discomfort. Also, if it matters, I'm running the ZR-1 wheels which are 17x9.5 in the front and 17x11 in the rear.
Safety Car
Joined: Nov 2009
Posts: 3,973
Likes: 341
From: Adelaide South Australia
It its autocross on a smooth surface, then just run it as it is.
make sure you have a movement rubber or tie strap on the shock shaft so you can see how much movement you are getting. Usual compression movement should be around 1 to 2 inches - if its more then you need more spring rate.
That also depends on if you have at least 2 inches + of compression travel left at ride height to start with ?
If its got coilovers someone may have already dumped the thing into the weeds, and if thats the case you will need enough ride height to make the suspension work correctly.
make sure you have a movement rubber or tie strap on the shock shaft so you can see how much movement you are getting. Usual compression movement should be around 1 to 2 inches - if its more then you need more spring rate.
That also depends on if you have at least 2 inches + of compression travel left at ride height to start with ?
If its got coilovers someone may have already dumped the thing into the weeds, and if thats the case you will need enough ride height to make the suspension work correctly.
Thread Starter
Advanced
Joined: Aug 2023
Posts: 60
Likes: 3
From: Eglin AFB, FL
Yeah, it was slammed previously and I raised it back to near stock height in order to get a baseline and get an actual setup dialed in. Good trick with tie strap, I'll try that. Vansteel recommends 7 clicks in the front and 5 clicks in the rear, I was wondering if anyone who's used them in the past had any advice with those settings or recommended anything else.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Aug 2015
Posts: 6,118
Likes: 1,994
From: St. Charles MO
I agree with bloackozvet's advice. You generally will want the car lower than stock (stock on a base 96 was really high!), but you need to keep some compression travel. The QA1 shocks that Van Steel uses are kind of foreign to me, so I can't give you any suggestions for settings. My recollection is that the single adjustment on those affects both compression and rebound rates, which isn't really the right way to do this (you really want to adjust only the rebound). Without doing a lot of math, I'm not sure about those spring rates either. In general, you'll probably want the shocks set fairly stiff for autocross use and then back them off quite a bit for the drive home.
I'm not sure of the rule set you'll be competing in, but if it requires UTQG 200 treadwear tires or higher, then there aren't any good tires for those wheel sizes. If you tire/wheel size is free in your rules, then eventually you're going to want 18x11 (50mm offset) front and rear and 315/30/18 tires (or 295/35/18 in the case of Bridgestone RE71RS). All the good 200tw tires are available in sizes for those wheels.
I'm not sure of the rule set you'll be competing in, but if it requires UTQG 200 treadwear tires or higher, then there aren't any good tires for those wheel sizes. If you tire/wheel size is free in your rules, then eventually you're going to want 18x11 (50mm offset) front and rear and 315/30/18 tires (or 295/35/18 in the case of Bridgestone RE71RS). All the good 200tw tires are available in sizes for those wheels.
Burning Brakes
Joined: Aug 2023
Posts: 1,093
Likes: 35
From: San Diego
QA1 shocks are foreign to you? You stated they were pretty crappy a while ago to this guy.. Must have a selective memory.
https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...base-93-a.html
https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...base-93-a.html
Le Mans Master
Joined: Aug 2015
Posts: 6,118
Likes: 1,994
From: St. Charles MO
QA1 shocks are foreign to you? You stated they were pretty crappy a while ago to this guy.. Must have a selective memory.
https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...base-93-a.html
https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...base-93-a.html
Drifting
Joined: Jun 2020
Posts: 1,709
Likes: 738
From: Stay dangerous my friends
Remove the shocks and have them on the shock dyno to map out the valving (and root out any issues). QA1 may also provide the shock dyno maps.
The problem from that point is it takes a lot of math to figure out where to set them. Lot of suspension books can be helpful if you really want to dive in. Look for Dennis Grant of Street Modified fame, he worked for Koni and did a lot of shock dyno work, and he created a nice web based spread sheet for figuring out the target curve, that would be a great baseline. Far North Racing on google.
Short of that, go full soft on all 4 and do some testing, add 2-3 clicks at a time. Full soft first as most people add too much and it increases hysteresis, which makes it bad for the first 1/2” of travel and will be bound up outside of that, and can fool you into adding even more.
If you’re local, stop by, I have a nice Maxwell shock dyno that we can map it out, and I can also do the math. Most often, it’s determined that there was way too much compression and rebound, and it’s made a big positive difference to have it dialed in properly, which also reinforces full soft start strategy.
The problem from that point is it takes a lot of math to figure out where to set them. Lot of suspension books can be helpful if you really want to dive in. Look for Dennis Grant of Street Modified fame, he worked for Koni and did a lot of shock dyno work, and he created a nice web based spread sheet for figuring out the target curve, that would be a great baseline. Far North Racing on google.
Short of that, go full soft on all 4 and do some testing, add 2-3 clicks at a time. Full soft first as most people add too much and it increases hysteresis, which makes it bad for the first 1/2” of travel and will be bound up outside of that, and can fool you into adding even more.
If you’re local, stop by, I have a nice Maxwell shock dyno that we can map it out, and I can also do the math. Most often, it’s determined that there was way too much compression and rebound, and it’s made a big positive difference to have it dialed in properly, which also reinforces full soft start strategy.
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Safety Car
Joined: Nov 2009
Posts: 3,973
Likes: 341
From: Adelaide South Australia
after you have a base, you can look at making changes to shocks/spring settings and see what those changes do.
As Matthew said, tires are probably the next big thing to look at.