Koni 2812s and the Atom

[RyanD]

[quote="DarthChicken"]
I had my full had all the way around (bump and rebound) and after spinning my car, the instructor said drop the rebound down at least one all the way around, and 2 on the back.  I was hopping a bit and it was causing the back of the car to get light (one of the reasons for my spin, the other being cold tires).  It made a huge difference!
[/quote]

Just to confirm, your fronts are now 8 bump/7 rebound and the rears are 8 bump/6 rebound?  I'm going back to the track in 2 weeks, so I want to try your setup.

[DarthChicken]

That is correct.  And I'm not even CLOSE to being sure thats optimal... I have a bad tendency to make things "work" when there may be a better solution.

[RyanD]

I tried your setup at the track today.  We were running the opposite direction, so it was hard to compare with last time.  The track is really bumpy, and the car never felt stable in the corners.  It was also chirping the tires under heavy braking due to the bumps.  I made a few guesses, but nothing seemed to work very well.  I think next time I'll run some laps with all of the dampers on 8, then 4, then 1 just to see how it feels.  Then maybe I can narrow it down from there.  I also ordered some books on racing and suspension tuning, so myabe I'll learn something before next time.

Has anyone else run their Atom on a bumpy track and can offer some suggestions?

[3Rotor]

[quote="1965Cobra427"]
Mine were set at max when i got them, a little harsh on rough roads. I set mine 3 clicks from firm for street use. Once we get to the track, we'll fine tune them.
I got a shot of them with the upgraded platform adjusters -

[img width=800 height=533]http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h269/ ... GP2406.jpg[/img]


[/quote]

I'm amazed at how little travel you have left on the shock, before it goes into the bump-stop..... should the shock not be at 50% travel, or close to,  when the suspension is at rest..... just asking, as I'm playing with this  myself, and am trying to get the shock to sit at 50%, while using up almost all its travel on bump,  by the way  those adjusters look awesome....

[RyanD]

I went to the track again yesterday.  I started out with all of the dampers on 1 (softest).  The car was oversteering, and the rear tires were much hotter than the fronts.  I increased the front dampers to 5, and the car felt much more neutral, maybe a bit of understeer.  The rear tires were still 10-15 degrees hotter than the fronts though.

For autocross next week, I'm going to try 8 in the front and 4 in the rear.  The autocross course is much smoother, so I should be able to run stiffer settings.

[Matt F]

[quote="bolus"]
Hey Bruce, if you dont think his stuff is good do you have an alternative recommendation?  I asked a while back if anyone had other books to recommend  (I'm assuming tosh is the antonym to posh?) but did not get any replies
[/quote]
I'd be curious to hear Bruce's book recommendations, too.

Thank you, Ryan, for the post: not only for the information but also for bringing this thread back up.  I think it makes a lot of sense to try the dampers dead soft, simply so you know the range of extremes that you have to deal with.

[dingo]

I reckon we can bring this to the Forum.  Question is. 
How to remove the lock ring (all the way off the damper) and springs when you've got this set up.

[Bruce Fielding]

[quote="Matt F"]
[quote="bolus"]
Hey Bruce, if you dont think his stuff is good do you have an alternative recommendation?  I asked a while back if anyone had other books to recommend  (I'm assuming tosh is the antonym to posh?) but did not get any replies
[/quote]
I'd be curious to hear Bruce's book recommendations, too.
[/quote]

Try some of these:

http://www.amazon.com/Driving-Technique ... R6IV234SE7

[RyanD]

As far as books, I really like Going Faster! from the Skip Barber Racing School.  I also have one on race car tuning, but I haven't read it yet.

[1965Cobra427]

[quote="dingo"]
I reckon we can bring this to the Forum.  Question is. 
How to remove the lock ring (all the way off the damper) and springs when you've got this set up.
[/quote]

Step 1 - Back the adjusting ring off enough to allow the springs to be pulled away from the collar at the top of the damper.

Step 2 - Once the springs are not pressing on the collar, move the collar down, away from the mounting eye. On the outside diameter of the boss (which was previously hidden inside the cap) you will see a wire retaining clip. Using a very small flat blade screwdriver, you can pry the ring out of it's groove and off the end of the shock. Then the cap will follow it off the shock over the mounting eye.

Step 3 - The springs will now slip over the top of the damper and off.

Step 4 - The adjusting ring may now be threaded all the way up to the top of the shock and then removed past the bump stop and over the shock top mount.

Note: The normal outside diameter of the bump stop is larger than the thread diameter of the adjusting ring. It will be necessary to encourage the ring to pass by the bumper. I used a little motor oil to help it along. This is even more dificult when replacing the collar, but the oil will help. It would also be helpful to have a soft vice or a helper to hold the shock while you work on the collar.

[dingo]

Thankyou thankyou
I had not seen the slot in the retaining cap. I think I'll hold off replacing the lockring for now,
but do want to swap assister spring, same rate, but a bit shorter than was supplied.

edit

No slot in that top cap in evidence.

Brammo writes

"The springs are removed from the other end.  (bump stop end)
If you loosen both of those spring platforms such that the springs are loose, you can then push the retaining cap
down, remove the snap ring, and the springs slide off".

This is still not definitive. Snap ring?  Circlip? 
Brammo does not suggest there's any slot in the top retaining cap spring perch on this model.
Time for another photo I imagine.

[dingo]

While on this topic..
Has anyone inverted the Koni dampers, front or rear?

If so, any problems experienced?
I anticipate deafening silence.

[1965Cobra427]

[quote="dingo"]
Thankyou thankyou
I had not seen the slot in the retaining cap. I think I'll hold off replacing the lockring for now,
but do want to swap assister spring, same rate, but a bit shorter than was supplied.

edit

No slot in that top cap in evidence.

Brammo writes

"The springs are removed from the other end.  (bump stop end)
If you loosen both of those spring platforms such that the springs are loose, you can then push the retaining cap
down, remove the snap ring, and the springs slide off".

This is still not definitive. Snap ring?  Circlip? 
Brammo does not suggest there's any slot in the top retaining cap spring perch on this model.
Time for another photo I imagine.

[/quote]

Right, it's slowly coming back to me. I was mistaking the Koni for the shocks on my Cobra.

On the Knoi, once the springs are pulled away from the cap, after backing off the adjuster ring, the top cap will slide down away from the mounting eye. On the outside diameter of the boss (which was previously hidden inside the cap) you will see a wire retaining clip. Using a very small flat blade screwdriver, you can levert he ring out of it's groove and off the end of the shock. Then the cap will follow it off the shock and the springs, adjusting ring, etc. I'll fix my discription above too.  

Sorry 'bout that!

[1965Cobra427]

[quote="dingo"]
While on this topic..
Has anyone inverted the Koni dampers, front or rear?

If so, any problems experienced?
I anticipate deafening silence.
[/quote]

I tried it in order to make the adjusters a little easier to reach. Shock diameter does not allow it as it comes into contact with the frame and or rocker.

[RyanD]

Has anyone compared the normal and race springs on a track?  I have the race springs in a box, but I have not installed them yet.