information on how to improve ep handling

[Idrees]

Evening all

I'm not impressed with the handling on my NA EP91, it currently has TRD springs on the stock SR shows. Is there any cheap way improving handling? I'm not after too much because I'm on a budget and theres a big list of things the car needs! What difference would front and rear strut braces make?

Also, the rubbers that go at the top of the springs are out of place on the front suspension, could this make a difference to the handling at all? Is it dangerous?

Ps I'm on budget tyres for now too

Thanks for any helpful replies

[riko666]

get some uprated shock absorbers - done

Strut mounts are designed to work in cases of extreme cornering where the suspension mounts/chassis actually deflect slightly under high cornering loads, altering suspension geometry somewhat and taking some of the slack that the suspension would otherwise cope with. The braces stop that...but it's only under high cornering load as mentioned. Get an Adjustable Panhard rod too while you're at it as your car is lowered...and that should be it really if you're not intent on doing much

[Idrees]

I'm pretty sure the stock SR shocks are Gas shocks which I thought would be classed as an "Uprated shocker"?

The rears surely are, not sure about the fronts. Adjustable Panhard rod sounds good too, I shall keep my eyes peeled for one!

[potge]

Evening all

I'm not impressed with the handling on my NA EP91, it currently has TRD springs on the stock SR shows. Is there any cheap way improving handling? I'm not after too much because I'm on a budget and theres a big list of things the car needs! What difference would front and rear strut braces make?

Also, the rubbers that go at the top of the springs are out of place on the front suspension, could this make a difference to the handling at all? Is it dangerous?

Ps I'm on budget tyres for now too

Thanks for any helpful replies

Your best bet for budget is:

1) rear anti roll bar (i would prefer adjustable) will really transform the car. A lot less understeer

2)new shocks designed for lowering springs such as koni, some kybs (that might be discontinued)

3)camber bolts+better alignment to give some negative camber as the oem settings are awful

These according to my opinion have the best value for money. 1+2 are almost equal to me since stock shocks aint good and soon will need replacement (to be honest get rid of them asap) but if you plan one coilovers you can wait a bit. Alignment can help the car improve turn in and get some grip and better feeling, but can also worsen. However a bit more negative camber -1 -1.5 will be really good without major drawbacks. Toyota has camber bolts that can reach up to -2.0(or more depending on other stuff also) camber which is more than enough for street use. Concerning strut braces help but their effect cant be compared with the above so deal with them later Cheers

[Jozinobi]

Well Idrees mate, there is an abundance of suspension and handling info in the technical section.

I have to be honest there is no real handling improvements that can had on the cheap altho I defo understand your concern.

Everything starts to add up, and when u buy one brace, u gotta buy others.

What sort of money do u have to spend.

The backbone or starter spec for the n/a would be at the least, lowering springs/uprated shocks, front brace, rear brace, rear adj panhard rod and the mystic rear anti roll bar that geo loves to plug so much

Would love to help mate. Dont forget the real feel of handling is when you use the components to their potential, not just daily road driving in particular but spirited driving pushing them and your chassis that bit harder, only then can you really say... I want to improve the handling setup

Good grippy non budget tyres will also help your car stick to the ground (I need new ones badly) as they are the only thing keeping your car on the road and really are that important.

Joz

[Guest Enzo]

yea i cant preach enough about a rear arb, most cars have one so why toyota omited it from the ep is a mistery,

that along with the anti lift kit raise corner and exit speeds by an eye opening amount,

these two mods are cheap on the scale at £150.

[Idrees]

Thanks for all the advice guys.

Joz my budget is just cheap as possible really, I'll need to save up for whatever I go for and I don't wanna be saving years! I'm hoping for a set of coilovers at some stage too, but thats a long way away.

What is a rear anti roll bar cost? Is it a total different thing to an adjustable panhard rod? Also, whats an ARB? I'll try do some searching myself too

[Guest Enzo]

its in toy tunings ship idress man, its a total different tool to a pahhard rod where the rod is just for centering the rear suspension the

rear anti roll bar(arb) increases roll stifness, it realy is an affective bit of kit and its a big reason why cars like the ek9 type r or any other minted handling car grip due to these.

[keirz]

gotta be shocks idrees in my opinion. lowering springs on standard shocks is terrible after the shocks wear a little, trust me on the old n/a it sucked after a period the was gas shocks too.

arbs, panhard rod, braces and such like will be wasted i feel if the base of the suspension isnt there.

i drove my bros civic back from newcastle at the weekend and i couldnt beleive how much better the handaling was than the glanzas. it has 40 drop and koni adjustables.

[Guest Enzo]

arbs, panhard rod, braces and such like will be wasted i feel if the base of the suspension isnt there.

i know what you mean about lowering springs on standard shox but

i have to disagree, if you want to get used to the driving ignore shox, springs,coilovers and all other likes and head striaght for the arb and anti lift kit, on standard soft settings(or lowering springs) the improvement is breathtaking and a great base for learning how the car handles.

[keirz]

have you had these mods fitted on your V then enzo without uprated shocks?

i was gonna go straight for coilovers and then them after as i thought the advantages would be wasted if the spring and shock setup was poor.

would you bother with the front arb? or go straight for the rear?

also what was fitting the rear arb like?

how much of a pain are the anti lift kits to fit?

sorry to hijack idrees but its all relative i guess.

[Idrees]

No problem with the hi jacking

Thanks for all the advice guys it'll come in handy once I've got some money aside for suspension.

I'm going to fix the front shocks at some point to start off with, I have a spare set of suspension from an EP82 and I think I'll just swap the top mounts over including the rubbers.

[Idrees]

Wow now Jay that is useful information!! My wheels are unbalanced and the wheels aren't lined up as far as I'm aware, I'm guessing that could be the cause. The seller of the car said the track rod ends are brand new but I think he only said that because he gave them a fresh lick of paint in GOLD so I'm unsure whether to believe him or not!

Thanks bro much appreciated!

[Guest Enzo]

thats totaly sound advice jay,

have you had these mods fitted on your V then enzo without uprated shocks?

would you bother with the front arb? or go straight for the rear?

also what was fitting the rear arb like?

how much of a pain are the anti lift kits to fit?

sorry to hijack idrees but its all relative i guess.

have you had these mods fitted on your V then enzo without uprated shocks?

yes i ran a stripped out sr for a year like this and also on my black v for a while. i have 1 for my jam v but wont fit it until ive done something about those hidiously hard buddyclubs.

and i know what your saying about the standard rear shox, they are prone to bursting but if you have the right lowering spring this is not as much of an issue

would you bother with the front arb, or go straight for the rear?

i wouldent touch the front arb, if you upgrade to a thicker one it would only promote understear. at the back id aim for the fixed 20mil bar.

also what was fitting the rear arb like?

fitting is pretty straight forward if you can think mythodicaly, whiteline instructions are pretty pointless,

you will need a dril to dril in the support brakets

how much of a pain are the anti lift kits to fit?

took me 45min to fit these, the old bushes are abit of a pig to get off you would be better getting access to a ramp and having supervision by a mechanic here if your not mechanicaly compitent as ul need use of a blow torch to melt them away.

if you have any more questions just ask.

[potge]

I dont know if i should open a new topic anyway i have a question for those with rear arbs. How satisfied are you with the way its connected to the chassis? personally i think its a bit filmsy ? a nut and bolt dont think its quite a good idea. It definitely works but i think the mounting should be better designed U clamp? a second bracket i dont know any opinions on this ?

[keirz]

cheers enzo thats class mate. im sure when i move onto suspension stage i will be in touch over a few things.

have you got any pics of the rear arb fitted? mainly of where the holes have to be drilled. i was thinking today when i was looking at my V that the place you need to drill will be right near the fuel tank. bit risky?

and do you have any good pics of the whiteline anti lift kit fitted too? im thinking i may get these mods before my coilovers now.

[Guest Enzo]

I dont know if i should open a new topic anyway i have a question for those with rear arbs. How satisfied are you with the way its connected to the chassis? personally i think its a bit filmsy ? a nut and bolt dont think its quite a good idea. It definitely works but i think the mounting should be better designed U clamp? a second bracket i dont know any opinions on this ?

they do the job just fine even thought they might come across as abit flimsy, maybe it would be an option to weld them on???

have you got any pics of the rear arb fitted? mainly of where the holes have to be drilled. i was thinking today when i was looking at my V that the place you need to drill will be right near the fuel tank. bit risky?

and do you have any good pics of the whiteline anti lift kit fitted too? im thinking i may get these mods before my coilovers now.

here are a few pics to give you a rough guide some of them are from jozmungers brief

you cant see in this pic but maybe powder coating in a different colour would make it stand out more

and one of the front anti lift kit

[Ryno]

anyone said decent tyres yet?

[keirz]

thats class mate thanks again. i understand where the rear bar goes now and feel i can fit that myself now. the anti lift kit i might have to get my cousin to fit i think.

[Nanglebadger]

some real sound advice there, and im likin the idea of powder coatin the rear ARB Geo man, would help keep the rust at bay too!!!

at present i only have GMax springs and a front (and waitin for my replacement rear) upper strut. i have to say the car is very unhappy at present because she is minus her ususal rear upper strut! im a LOT less confident in the corners without it, it really has made a horrible difference without it!

I have to say, Jays advice sounds bang on the money, start there and work your way up, as ryno said, tyres, and then follow Geo's and Joz's guidance!

Phil.