Low Power suspension set up

[ChadDavis]

I know i've been told before how important a suspension set up is in a drift car, though i'll only be running 113-120 hp give or take, my average check is 800-1 grand a week, I want to start throwing money into my AE71 but my sense of quality over quantity is battling itself. More suspension stuff at the sacrifice of decent to okay quality or fewer suspension stuff for the best quality, mind you i'm just starting out but in a serious manner. I know i sound like a lost adolescent teenager but this is a huge commitment and I want it done right the first time!

[JDM AE86]

Id say start with a good set of sway bars. Theresome what cheaper then the other parts and you will fill the differance. Combine that with poly bushings everywhere and it will be good. Then after a few checks look into some good coil overs for the front and rear. Also I know it isnt suspention but get some good brake and clutch lines also. To sum it up for me get good stuff alittle at a time.

[ChadDavis]

Tank you sir

[ChadDavis]

Also With inner/outer tie rods since ill be running 86 strut/springs set up and knuckles, do i search for the 86 chassis outer tie rods or the ae71??

[Manifesto]

Suspension setups are a complicated affair. There is a lot more to this than merely saying "ima get some winz coilovers" and calling it a day. Especially in drift, where you'll be beating the shit out if your car. First and foremost, you need to ask yourself the POU. then asses from the ground up whatyoull be needing...

First, refresh all of the normal components. Most importantly all of your worn out bushings. You'll feel a night and day difference from that alone. There are different types, I believe i had some TRD hard rubber bushings in mine. A lot of ppl prefer urethane because they're firmer... and while this is true, they wear out faster because of their harsher life. Still, for motorsports, less slop is always better.

Shit, I have to go to work... I'll pick this uo again when I get back.

[ChadDavis]

Thanks man!

[CBR_TOY]

I'd start with bushings and a set of coilovers... like what I am running.

[Manifesto]

In not an advocate of coil overs per se... I don't have issues with them, I have some on my FD, but I have lowering springs and koni yellows on my 86.

Here is why I would choose coilovers over a good spring/shock combo.
A. The smaller spring diameter will allow you to for larger wheels
B. The adjustable height makes it possible to corner balance your car
C. The springs are interchangeable, and the shocks are adjustable.

Also noteworthy is that while lowering your car will give you a lower center of gravity, thus imoroving handling... going to low screws up your suspensiin geometry big time, and fux your handling in all sorts of interesting ways. There is no perfect way to correct the geometry on a corolla, so we just do the best we can.

Tl;Dr: coil overs aren't inherently better than a solid spring/shock combo. You get what you pay for

[Manifesto]

Be careful with sway bars... they work inconjunction with your spring rates to effect body roll. To much of a good thing is vert possible. I actually don't have any on my car since I broke my end links. I would do sway bars after I've my spring/strut setup done. IMO they're more for time tuning a setup

Be sure you invest in good tires, nothing effects a car more tan your tire selection. It is THAT important, especially when drifting at speed.

If you're poor, you can actually use wheel spacers to change the handling of your car too. And your alignment will have a profound effect on handling as well. I'll have toget in to that topic later; it is so big

[dr.occa]

Immediate pay off is suspension. Invest in a good suspension kit the first time and you shouldn't have to spend more to fix cheaping out the first time.

Go with Greddy or BC Racing full suspension. Both use full height adjustment all the way around and adjustable spring perches in the rear in the factory locations.

It's an immediate pay off. IIRC, the AE86 suspension will work with your AE71 as well. Everything should bolt right up.

I wouldn't worry about your sways in my opinion. Upgrading that area is more nuance tuning. Gitten doesn't even use a rear sway at all just to give you an idea. Tom (aka kevlar corolla) pulled his sways on his full kevlar shell 86 SCCC track car also to illustrate that they're fine tuning pieces. Some food for thought.

[a.k.a.vene]

Have to agree with manifesto! But!..... I would do a really nice coilover set up first! When I bought my car,it brought Brand new TRD adj. shocks & springs on all 4 corners. N boy did it make a difference!!! For daily use, it was a really smooth ride. For serious auto crossing and drifting, it was lacking the fine tuning of height and damping(my TRD shocks only had 4 adj in the front,8 in the rear). I need it a coilover set. Cause I'm drifting my car in the future,at the Texas drift series,and auto crossing when possible. So my advice to you is,figure out what your going to be doing your car. Just a fun daily,or a street/track fighter. For a fun daily- lowering springs n shocks. For the serious street/track days- coil overs. Than,work your self into the other parts of the suspension.

[a.k.a.vene]

Also! I don't know if you can find new stuff for our old cars any more, but I allways though that if you got rusted old tension rods n you wanna replace them. It wouldnt hurt getting a brand new pair from T3 line up. So if you ever decide to get more serious , you all ready have them.

[ChadDavis]

Thanks for your replies man! I jsut read em and took note haha and its going to be used daily/occasional drift events!

[kevlar corolla]

For a DD AND drifter set-up(also good for track/autox) my suggestion would be to include adjustable sways,for an all out track car you can tune the car without for sure but to get a decent drift set-up with no power it'll be sketchy on the street.Since unbolting an endlink is a quick and easy way to disable a sway bar you can use it no rear bar for grip,soft rear bar for street and full stiff for a drift day.Same goes for the front,most likely need to use it at the softest setting for most activities as the spring stiffness would need to be upped to go barless.

Have fun,nothing beats driving a good handling car regardless of power level.

[86boy]

Strut bars make a little difference as well. I can feel the front flex a little more than it did last year. I had to remove it as it doesn't clear the intake of the gze.... and well... I don't have a welder so I can't really do a lot with it at the moment. All last year I rocked good bushings, coilovers, RCA's (which help quite a bit with bump steer), strut bar in the front, and some negative camber in the front. This year I have a few more goodies, and a damn good alignment, and have discovered with a good alignment the car just want to walk the rear end out now even with fresh semi-sticky tires. I want to go a little lower, but it seems to be slowly getting dialed in at this height currently.

Adjustablility is awesome, but also a PITA! BC coilovers are pretty awesome as well. Good support from them as well. Didn't recieve my RCA's with them, and called them up. Next day I had a box with the RCA's in them. Answer any questions for you as well, and I do believe these are rebuildable, but don't hold me to that. I can't quite remember as it's been a while. You might be able to call them up and ask them about the ae86 coilover fitting under a te71. They might be able to tell you if they will or not if that portion is still up in the air.

kevlar corolla hits it spot on. I'm having a LOT more fun this year, and its not the power. The car is setup quite a bit better than last year.


So I'm guessing you are close to getting your engine issues figured out?