Cupra R Handling Problems

[speedinsaxo]

I have the following mods:

KW V2 coilovers, damping set to standard, lowered till wheel not quite in arch
25mm front 28mm rear neuspeed arbs
S3 front strut brace, rear upper strut brace
19" x 8" ET45 OZ Superleggeras with 235/35/19 Goodyear F1 Rubber
10mm hubcentric spacers front, 15mm hubcentric spacers rear.

The problem is when going round tight-ish corners, small roundabouts & some lower speed country lanes the rear end feels very insecure, like it wants to lift and step out. Now I am not doing silly speeds, but with a factory set-up LCR I felt more assured and as the car rolled more the grip seemed to come with it, at similar speeds.

Can the car be too stiff? I have seen Clio 172s on 3 wheels braking and going round corners on the track - but not Leons, with a longer wheelbase?

What can I do to make the back end feel more planted?
Ideally I want the front to push wide before the back comes out, but the front just grips and grips and grips...with the back left feeling twitchy.

Any advice?

Cheers,
John

 

[traumapat]

id guess your too stiff up front if anything

 

[Nutkin]

are your arbs adjustable?

 

[andycupra]

i would soften the rear ARB a bit and also the coilovers.

you have a very stiff car, (standard on the oilovers becomes a bit stiffer with uprated ARBs in all reality) so id soften the coilovers a bit.

with that set up the turn in with be much more aggressive, dare i say you need to drive accordingly given the set up is more aligned with a track than the road.

 

[Willie]

As above, these are all options
I'd try removing the Rear strutt brace first as it should be the easiest to do and see how that feels

 

[crazyshad1]

Off topic but can you put a pic up of the side of your car, spec sounds lovely

 

[DOLBY]

maybe try taking the front spacers off, keep the rears on...the front track is 19mm either side bigger than the rear

 

[speedinsaxo]

Off topic but can you put a pic up of the side of your car, spec sounds lovely

Its in the readers ride section.


http://www.seatcupra.net/forums/showthread.php?t=170031

 

[speedinsaxo]

maybe try taking the front spacers off, keep the rears on...the front track is 19mm either side bigger than the rear

I can't. I need them to clear the Brembos... but I have 15mm on the rear - so the track is wider there?

I dont want to take the rear arb off, but it is on the midle setting at the mo, I might ask the garage to slacken it off for me when next service is due and soften the coilovers a bit too. Thanks for the help all.

 

[vee_dub_modder]

i'd disconnect the rear arb and see how she fairs?? we do that to the beatle rsi cup cars (i know its a differnt car plus only used on the track but its the same theory...) plus its always good fun to watch them get a rear wheel in the air around half of silverstone's corners lol, it should't take to long to do either.

I dont know that the rear strut brace will make a massive difference as although there is a degree of flex at the top its fairly minimal in the grand scheme of things!

i do agree with the others also that you may be running a little firm at the rear. most coily manufactures have dampers uprated 30%ish as standard anyways so that coupled with what ever thickness arb may be affecting you.

largely its going to be a game of trial and error as only you will know when it feels right for your driving style. good luck with the set up and i hope you get it sorted soon

 

[speedsix]

I'm not surprised it's loose at the rear with that combo. The spring rates of the suspension kit will probably give a fairly neutral setup on their own and I know the ARBs on their own (I have the same combo) will give a very nice balance with very little understeer. Combine the 2 and you've probably got a pretty hefty effective rear spring rate pushing the balance way into oversteer.

Set the rear bar to softest will help a little.

 

[stewbie55]

hmmm.. interesting as I have a pretty similar setup:

KW V2's
Front S3 strutbrace
Rear upper strutbrace
10mm rear hubcentric spacers
Eibach 25mm front and rear ARB's
Good year Eagle F1's (on the rear anyway).

The back end on mine feels very planted and grippy at all speeds, though it can be a little bouncy on certain roads.

I know from trackdays that my car does lift the inner rear wheels on corners (someone following told me )

I've had my rear dampers set to all sorts of settings and are currently around 90% i.e. bloomin' stiff. I tried them at 20%, 50% and 70%. 20% whilst more comfortable did give a less planted rear end, TBH I reckon 70% was about best all round just haven't got around to setting them back to it.

So i'd say try upping the damper setting at the rear and failing that try removing the front spacers. Also like others say make sure the rera ARB is on it's softest setting.

 

[UncleFester]

I have chased LCR ( Aaron and Skorchio) who both have coilovers and no rear ARB - their handling is very similar to mine ( front and rear ARB but with Eibach shocks and springs) I would almost say they don't need a rear ARB with the way they handle.

 

[speedinsaxo]

I have chased LCR ( Aaron and Skorchio) who both have coilovers and no rear ARB - their handling is very similar to mine ( front and rear ARB but with Eibach shocks and springs) I would almost say they don't need a rear ARB with the way they handle.

I am going to get the rear ARB set to it's softest setting and see how that goes, I'm a bit loathed to take it off completely! If necessary I will adjust the damping afte that on the rear too.
Cheers,
John

 

[speedsix]

If you want more stability on turn in when lifting off the throttle or braking, stiffen the front bump or reduce rear rebound or a combination of the two.

Assuming the coilovers have independent bump/rebound.

 

[Willie]

If you want more stability on turn in when lifting off the throttle or braking, stiffen the front bump or reduce rear rebound or a combination of the two.

Assuming the coilovers have independent bump/rebound.

Coilovers are V2's which have only one adjustment

 

[speedinsaxo]

They only have compression (bump). Knew I should have got the V3's !!

 

[caveo]

Invest in a quaife diff , sorts the whole lot out for you ( lazy mans option )

 

[speedinsaxo]

Invest in a quaife diff , sorts the whole lot out for you ( lazy mans option )

Really. I was seriously consider one, along with a SPEC clutch (not...!)

 

[Willie]

Really. I was seriously consider one, along with a SPEC clutch (not...!)

Aye from JBS, lol