suspension & brakes upgrade? +tyres questions

[AdamD]

Hihi!

My VR4 is coming along nicely now, shouldn't be too long until it's completed and back on the road. So I'm thinking about some upgrades to suspension and brakes. Can I be recommended some ideas on brands, what exactly to do, where to go, etc?

I was reading on the Whiteline website that they do a Galant VR4 handling/sports pack -- thoughts? Or any ideas on suspension upgrades? I really don't want it lowered, or much lower at all though; which could be a problem I guess? I've driven a few lowered cars before and driveways and speed-humps were absolutely horrible.

Any recommendations on brake/caliper/rotor upgrades? Red calipers a must. :wink: :wink: :wink: :wink:


And tyres! I want to go 'all out' and I'm thinking Adrenalin Potenzas, Yoko AVS Sports or Toyo R888s (road legal semi-slick.) Good ideas? Any thoughts on those or other tyre suggestions?

I haven't done any performance upgrades, stock '89 VR4 with boost control only but I do drive like a bit of a mad cunt on occasion and I'd like to know I've got REALLY good suspension/brakes/tyres backing me up. Especially because I'm wanting to get into some track runs and hill climbs.

 

[tharaka]

What brakes do you have now?
Single piston calipers and 256mm rotors?

A good cheap upgrade would be the twin piston calipers and 276mm rotors which are a bolt on upgrade.
a freshly rebuilt set of calipers, with some good pads, braided lines should hold up ok

if you want something more, you could get a set of 3000gt 4 piston calipers, and use either 297mm rotors, 313mm rotors, or 330mm rotors depending on the brackets that you get. again, with some braided lines and decent pads those will be much better because of the larger rotor
but, you have to make sure that the wheels have enough clearance for the caliper

 

[AdamD]

I guess? All stock, as far as I know and can see. And I'd like to keep the stock rims preferably. Where would be a good place to get this stuff also?

 

[DjB]

Keep an eye out on these forums. Twin pots come up from time to time. Dre, do you still have yours or did they sell.. Dre (Clutz) had some awhile back. Other than that, Mitsu wreakers would be your next point of call. Try and find a Aspec VR4 front brake package. Also, keeping brake fluid nice and fresh also helps lots for a solid brake pedal.

Goodluck

Chris

 

[tharaka]

i'll be getting rid of my set soon
just depends on how long you want to wait

 

[AdamD]

Cheers, Djb, I'll keep that in mind.

Need to build up some funds again, I was sort of planning on doing all this over the next year maybe. So no rush, might wait and see about yours Tharaka.

 

[CLuTZ]

Still got them- check the for sale section






dre

 

[rob323]

Brakes:
Twin spot calliper upgrade (from either vr4 or TS magna), new 276mm diameter discs to suit (either get std's or slotted, don't get the ones with the holes).
Ferodo DS2500 or Lucas pads up front (don't waste money on the rear).
Don't worry about braided lines, they make very little difference.
If the pedal is too spongy for your liking, hunt around for a 1" master cylinder from a later model vr4.

Suspension:
22mm rear sway bar from Whiteline is a good balanced upgrade, so is the castor kit for the front. Also get camber pins for the front struts to allow you to get more camber on the wheels.
KYB or Koni shocks with slightly lowered springs will give a good increase in the handling department. Go for Bilstein shocks if you can spare the $$.
Next step up is of course coilovers (Tein, Hotbits, custom).

Tyres, if you are serious, go semislicks (Yoko AO48R, Toyo 888 or Silverstone FTZ). Bear in mind, semislicks eat camber for lunch (-2 degrees or more) and to get enough camber to not chew out the outside edge, you might need both front camber pins and strut tops to give you enough movement. The downside is that the more camber you run, the more the car will tramline (my car, with -2.5 degrees and AO32R semis will nearly pull the wheel out of your hand).

The above are just my thoughts, there are many other options, but all the above will fit under your standard wheels. Oh, if you have the standard wheel trim lookalike pre facelift J spec wheels, consider running some brake cooling ducts for the front discs if you are going to do any track days.

 

[tharaka]

Don't worry about braided lines, they make very little difference.

Care to elaborate?

I know you would have quite a bit of experience with this, but all of my friends that made the switch to braided lines absolutley love it

 

[rob323]

It made absolutely no difference to the pedal feel when I put them on the car. And I put them on to try and fix up a "spongy pedal" and thinking that maybe the 20 year brakes hoses were the problem. It may make a difference on other cars, but it didn't on my vr4. I just think they are one of the last things that you should do, not one of the first. For the price of the braided lines, you can put DS2500's and new discs on the front and that will make a lot bigger difference than the braided lines will.

In hindsight, had I upgraded the master cylinder to the 1" one before trying the braided lines, I probably never would have bothered with them.

 

[Jonson]

The twin pot calipers are on KS veradas, The TS magnas just have single's. But yes, I would strongly recommend getting the larger bore Master cyinder. Its all well and good to get huge calipers and rotors, but the pistons are only able to push as hard as the fluid is being pushed - insert big master cylinder

 

[Cranked]

Where do you score the bigger master cylinder?

 

[AdamD]

Thanks a lot rob, very helpful. I'll be pricing a lot of that up this week I reckon. It's time to get the Galant rolling again, and off the aligning auto robot rack, so now would probably be the easest time to do this. And cheers Jon. KS Verada, got it. This is the time when ordering stuff through work with the panel shop discount is a real treat. :lol:

 

[CLuTZ]

Thanks a lot rob, very helpful. I'll be pricing a lot of that up this week I reckon. It's time to get the Galant rolling again, and off the aligning auto robot rack, so now would probably be the easest time to do this. And cheers Jon. KS Verada, got it. This is the time when ordering stuff through work with the panel shop discount is a real treat. :lol:

If you cant find a set of calipers for less than $180, let me know, cos thats all I want for my ones.........

 

[rob323]

The twin pot calipers are on KS veradas, The TS magnas just have single's. But yes, I would strongly recommend getting the larger bore Master cyinder. Its all well and good to get huge calipers and rotors, but the pistons are only able to push as hard as the fluid is being pushed - insert big master cylinder

Woops, head up bum again, sorry.
Yeh, KS Magna (I got mine from an auto Advance, not a verada).

Look for a 1" master from a later model front cut. You don't absolutely have to get one, the smaller early J spec will still provide enough force to lock the brakes up, but I didn't like the spongy feel of the pedal and prefer a firmer pedal feel so I upgraded to the larger one.

 

[AdamD]

Priced up some brand new stuff today. All brand new mind you.

Aus VR4 calipers - $549ea.
1" Master Cyl - $440ea. + GST
Verada discs - $122.75ea.

:shock:

Dre...?

The ones you have, would I be able to use my current discs (original) and just upgrade with a second hand 1" master cylinder? I'm thinking maybe do that and just a real good set of pads and decent fluid, after a caliper rebuild that is.

Going to give braided lines a miss too. Asked around a bit, some guys at and around work, doesn't seem worth it to me from what I heard. Waiting to hear back from Top Performance in Vermont about some Koni shocks and springs. Then it's on to Burson's for the sway bar.

Thanks again for all the info guys.

 

[CLuTZ]

Dre...?

The ones you have, would I be able to use my current discs (original) and just upgrade with a second hand 1" master cylinder? I'm thinking maybe do that and just a real good set of pads and decent fluid, after a caliper rebuild that is.

Going to give braided lines a miss too. Asked around a bit, some guys at and around work, doesn't seem worth it to me from what I heard. Waiting to hear back from Top Performance in Vermont about some Koni shocks and springs. Then it's on to Burson's for the sway bar.

Thanks again for all the info guys.

Its all good having larger calipers, but having larger calipers clamping down on a larger area of disc would be the best way to do it IMO. Some nice slotted discs would be the go, 276mm. Ask JayRome if he can still get deals on the RDA (IIRC) discs

I'd also look at getting some KYB shocks rather than the koni's if you can, thats my personal choice though. If you want handling rather than looks, some whiteline springs would probably be the go too (if you havent got them already)

if you want those calipers, let me know via email


cheers



dre

 

[JAP63]

Yeah i gto a set of twin pt calipers i dont need as well...

As for the shocks..dont waste your money on the Koni's..theyre overpriced and the KYB's perform wayyyyyy better..noticably better..the Koni's in the VR4 were very very ordinary..especially in the front..and as for the rear..the rear spring seat is a circlip..it popped off one day and the spring fell off onto the brakeline..real good..not.. :shock:

You wont beat whiteline for handling..probly the most expensive though.

 

[AdamD]

If I can't get them when the time comes I'll give you a yell, JAP63 if that's cool. Thanks!

I've narrowed this down to two options for suspension so far.

Whiteline springs/sway bars with KYB shocks, or Hotbits adjustable coil-overs. 100mm of adjustment I'm told, priced at $1980 for a set of four. Haven't priced the Whiteline/KYB stuff yet.

For brakes, front twin piston calipers, slotted discs off JayRome D) and a set of decent pads; Lucas or Ferodo. Or Bendix, the tyre joint near me loves them, probably won't go Bendix though.

Think I'll be needing to do some serious over-time next few weeks. Looks like I'll be pushing back getting that bike yet again. :?

 

[jdm-vr4]

adamd how much are you paying for the slotted discs as i'm also interested??

and i thought you could look at that:

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/D2-Adjustabl...yZ130653QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

but some other guys said coilovers on vr4 aren't that great, it's better of going for some kyb shockies and some good springs.
I have the low kingsprings and i still have plenty of clearance underneath.
it leaves you with 470mm from the center of the wheel.