KYB AGX settings?

[BLT123]

I'm running an S14 Silvia with stock springs and KYB AGX adjustables. I normally run mountainside runs. I SUCK AT SUSPENSION TUNING. I have no idea how much to set them. The fronts have 1-4, the rears have 1-8 (1 being softest, getting harsher going up).

Any advice on where to set them to get the most cornering speed with least slip? Assume I have 255/40/17s up back and 245/40/17s up front (does it even matter??).

(apologies if it's a dumb question - I really don't know much about suspensions)

[tomenugen]

2-4 all day every day.

[ThE_BoMB]

Im on tanabe pro ss type II coilovers I run 4 and 8 almost every day. I find the softer settings are waaaayyyyyy too bouchy. I have rebuilt kybs tho and are made for the higher settings.

[420sx]

you should run 2-4 most of the time. wanna go out and have a stiffer ride? go for 3-6.

ideally u wanna have proportional settings aka 1/2 (4/8 as in front/rear)


actually i ran 2/8 on a drag strip before, works out quite well

[BLT123]

Thanks folks! Will try running 2/4 or 3/6.

We have a lot more uneven parts on the road here in my country - does that affect anything? I was thinking stiffer ride = more float if I slide over an uneven part.

Since we're on the topic, do I need to change the setting when I have my rear spare tire in vs without? (Lighter rear vs heavier rear, damn spare tire weighs a ton).

[420sx]

^^^ lol are you serious?

[BLT123]

^^^ lol are you serious?

:) Like I said - I suck at this.. big time.. spent too much time studying engine power and performance over the last 2 years, spent close to ZERO studying suspensions.. :-D

[420sx]

well ur spare wont affect much.

[tomenugen]

ot:420sx your sig is funny where is it from?

[420sx]

^^ it is from a website. shes a porn star.

[jmauld]

you should run 2-4 most of the time. wanna go out and have a stiffer ride? go for 3-6.

ideally u wanna have proportional settings aka 1/2 (4/8 as in front/rear)


Why would you want to retain that proportion?

[AlligatorBling]

stiffer in the front, not as stiff in the back.... toy with any combo that you can think of under this and see what you like.

[jmauld]

Again, where are you guys getting these "guidelines" from?

Click this link.
http://www.koni-na.com/pdfcatalogs/KONIMotosportCatalog.pdf

Go to page 12 (or 13 of 38), and look for "Suggested adjustment procedure for road course use". When reading it, realize that the AGX adjusts both Bump and Rebound at the same time. So you can't fine tune it exactly the way you can as described there, but it is a good starting point.

[420sx]

^^ im saying from my personal experience. and if u retain a proportion the car feels more balanced. it kinda makes sence if u see the max number of adjustments in the front and back are proportinate already.

[Teb74]

I'm running pretty stiff spring rates on my agx's with GC coilovers... probably pushing it in fact.. But what works best for me is 2/3 for crusing 4/4 or 4/5 for hard spirited driving i can't see turning up the rears past 5, just creats too much oversteer for the surfaces around here. Unless you have a great driving surface like the track which then i'd probably kick it up to 6 or 7.

[BLT123]

Pardon my ignorance guys - learning here.. so from what i'm hearing, setting it to a harder setting will make me slide more? That doesnt sound right..

[BLT123]

Again, where are you guys getting these "guidelines" from?

Click this link.
http://www.koni-na.com/pdfcatalogs/KONIMotosportCatalog.pdf

Go to page 12 (or 13 of 38), and look for "Suggested adjustment procedure for road course use". When reading it, realize that the AGX adjusts both Bump and Rebound at the same time. So you can't fine tune it exactly the way you can as described there, but it is a good starting point.


Very helpful information - I may need to do more research on bump and rebound and what the hell those are...

[tomenugen]

it's kind of simple physics, if the rear is stiffer, then it has less flexibility, and when pushed above it's threshold, it will make you slide out or oversteer.

[Replicant_S14]

Again, where are you guys getting these "guidelines" from?



http://image.jeuxvideo.com/images/ps/g/r/grtups0ft.jpg

[BLT123]

http://image.jeuxvideo.com/images/ps/g/r/grtups0ft.jpg

You know it's funny but this actually makes sense :)

[Replicant_S14]

I may need to do more research on bump and rebound and what the hell those are...

The Koni pdf explains it pretty well. Like jmauld said tho, the agx adjustment is a compromise. With my agx, I compromise in favor of the "bump" adjustment they describe. Our cars already transition pretty well and if you damp them to heavy they just end up feeling dead.
To me, there's pretty much one setting (for street, track, whatever) and it's relative to the spring. Not relative to how I'm using the car that day.

[BLT123]

The Koni pdf explains it pretty well. Like jmauld said tho, the agx adjustment is a compromise. With my agx, I compromise in favor of the "bump" adjustment they describe. Our cars already transition pretty well and if you damp them to heavy they just end up feeling dead.
To me, there's pretty much one setting (for street, track, whatever) and it's relative to the spring. Not relative to how I'm using the car that day.

I think Im going to end up just putting it at 2-4 and leaving it that way..

If you dont mind, what settings are you running? (are you on AGX?)

[jmauld]

I think Im going to end up just putting it at 2-4 and leaving it that way..


Then you are not taking advantage of the money that you spent on the AGXs. Spend a little bit of time reading and adjusting the shocks and you'll figure it out. If you are interested I can look for more reading material.

[BLT123]

I think I lack experience. We normally race around mountainsides, don't track too much so I haven't pushed the car over the limit to really find out if it's over or under-steering. You do NOT want to push it to the limit when driving beside a cliff - cars don't have wings yet haha. :)

Maybe I should just wait till the next trackday and push it over the edge to see where it's leaning at and work from there. Thought there was a good tried and tested setting - I guess there is none. :)

Thanks for all the help!

[linkwpc]

I'm running 2 front 6 rear and I like it.

[ultraDorksGarage]

i run alot of touge... pushing it to the limit is multi dimensional on a mountain. but having a better setup car lets u run closer to that limit.

although understeer at the limit is normally the prefered setup, fixing bad dampening is one thing... but u should never use dampening to truly adjust traction on a mountain, thats what spring and bar ar for (correcting is fine, getting major adjustments through dampening is wrong). dampening is all about weight transition. although bound dampening can be used in conjunction wtih spring rates for desired "spring feel" , you should only really use it to delay and modify the weight transfer.

if u use shock to induce oversteer, or something, u will be using shock to do what springs/bar are meant for, so now that ur shocks are adjusted to do that, how do u adjust your weight transfer?

as far as are cars transitioning very well... bleh, try following ur brother on the mountain with a s2000. our transitions are terrible, front overloads way too fast. secondly stock settup snaps from understeer to oversteer through downhill mogul switchbacks. chassis flex is terrible...bleh bleh, the list is long.

touge runs are different from tracks imho. late apex turn ins are used far more often than regualr clipping points... if u dont know why than thats too bad, lol><. balance is so important. controlling weight transfer is so important, if u havent felt this yet, than u are just havent realized it yet,(or ur mountain is not a normal mountian run rather a canyon run perhaps) hill climb is sooooo different than downhill. elevation changes through switchbacks... bleh bleh bleh u know the deal. think about it though. use the right parts of your car to get the desired results...

edit: if most of your corners are not 1st and 2nd gear corners than disregard my post, thats not a mountain run in my book and my canyon run knowledge is basically ziltch. although i would assume its similar to rough track setup i dont have enough experience in that department.

also stock spring rates tend to have lots of understeer in my opinion, if u try to get neutral or oversteer with dampening than u are using shocks in the wrong way, and are giving up proper dampening for compensation of bad spring package.

[Replicant_S14]

If you dont mind, what settings are you running?

:bash:

Ok. I give up.

[shawn_16]

what part of the philippines?
i went there a year ago (olongapo city/subic bay, zambales) and didn't see any tuning shops

[BLT123]

Manila - the capital. :) A few tuning shops around bu there's only one 4 wheel dyno in the whole city hehe.