Type 44 Swaybar Questions..or: Listing Like A Spanish Galleon

[Taka Mizutani]

Alex-
Scott Justusson has written volumes about suspension setup for type
44s. Having driven some type 44s with aftermarket lowering springs, I
would like to share my thoughts, take them as you like:

1. Type 44s are severely undertired for good handling- I noticed a
huge difference going from 225/45R17 to 255/40R17 on my '91 200q,
which has the flared fenders and different front struts that give you
a lot more wheel clearance in the wheelwells. The car pushed a lot on
225, drove more neutrally on 255s, although the predominant
characteristic was understeer until you reached the limit.

2. Without the luxury of having wide tires on the car, a lowered type
44 really ruins the handling balance of the car- they simply
understeer. A stock ride height, stock spring rate type 44 drives
quite nicely, IMO. Not the perfect comparison, but I can compare my
old '86 5ktq with Bilstein shocks and stock springs versus a friend's
'89 200q with Bilstein shocks and H&R springs- my '86 with the stock
springs drove quite nicely, even when pushed hard, running 215/55R16
Dunlop SP9000 on A6 16x7" wheels. The '89 understeered much, much,
much more, running 205/55R16 Kumho Ecsta 712 on A4 16x7" wheels- both
ET45 wheels, similar weight. I much preferred my 5ktq's handling
characteristics.

3. Personally, I have not noticed any real bump-steer issues with type
44s, although several listers who I consider very knowledgeable have
mentioned it. Maybe I'm just not driving on bumpy enough surfaces
hard.

The type 44s don't have rear swaybars, I don't know how difficult it
would be to add one. I've been told that running a huge front sway bar
makes a big improvement, but you'll have to find someone to fabricate
you one, because no one seems to offer an off-the-shelf solution-
limited market, I guess. By huge, I'm talking 30-32mm, much larger
than the V8 front bar.

Taka



On Sat, 26 Feb 2005 21:30:40 +0000, Alex Kowalski <akowalsk at comcast.net> wrote:
> I've pretty much come to the conclusion that aftermarket suspension modifications for the Type 44 I have are limited to H&R springs, Eibach springs (?) and of course swapping the swaybars...with good dampers in place of the stock units.
> 
> If I'd like to have adjustable ride height and spring rate, the ONLY way to go right now is the 2Bennett coilovers.  And they ain't cheap, but if I'm going to splurge anywhere, it'll probably be the suspension and the brakes.  The engine is fast enough with a QLCC chip and better intercooler ;)
> 
> http://www.2bennett.com
> 
> I know Jesper Moreau has these on his car, so Jesper, if you're listening:  how do you like them?
> 
> If I do a brake upgrade like BIRA's or 2Bennets' I'll have to amscre the stock wheels entirely.  That's fine.
> 
> Cheers,
> Alex Kowalski
> '87 5KCSTQ - Even reverse-engineering the suspension won't mean I'll be able to fabricate something better.
> 
> --
> "If You're Not Part Of The Solution, You're Part Of The Precipitate."
> -- John Callas, CTO, PGP Corporation
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