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HOW TO: GET LOW

  • Writer: S San
    S San
  • Mar 18, 2018
  • 6 min read

Updated: Mar 26, 2018



In this installment of Top Mods we find out what the best set ups are for your application.


Technical Information on the following will be covered:

  1. Ride Height

  2. Spring Rates

  3. Damping: Bump and Rebound

  4. Camber Angle

  5. Anti-Roll Bar Tuning

  6. MCA Traction Mod

1. Ride Height

There are several good reasons to lower your ride height besides from the visual improvement. You can adjust your ride height by either installing lowering springs or upgrading to a coilover suspension set up with adjustment points for height.


Good Reasons:

  • Lower center of gravity, reducing weight transfer levels during cornering and allowing you to reduce tyre over loading due to less weight being thrust from left to right and vice-versa.

  • Lowering the car and having the front lower than the rear will increase the rake effect and reduce front end lift at high speed.

  • Lowering ride height can aid in reducing drag levels as this restricts high pressure air from entering the underbody. This in conjunction with front splitters, air dams and diffusers can reduce drag.

  • Change in the front roll centre or the rear roll centre height can change the handling characteristics to suit requirements.

Side Effects/Caution:

Lowering your car can have negative side effects such as:

  • Risk of body work damage increases. (Get used to that gut wrenching scrape)

  • Rear Axle wear, As you reduce the height of your 86 you increase the angle at which your rear axles exits the differential. As you increase this angle, the higher the load on the bearings inside the diff. Eventually this will cause a catastrophic failure and leave you on the side of the road. If you're hearing the dreaded click-click-click noise and want to remain low, consider the following options; Differential height correction kit and upgraded axles. This is especially critical for guys running Forced Induction.

Although by no means a must-have the following can reduce your risk of breaking things due to lowering your car and increasing power.


Solid Diff Risers will increase the height by 20mm reducing the load on the Differential. these cost about $150 and can be bought HERE. <==LINK


DSS Axles are a common upgrade which many GT86 owners have moved to once they have broken a standard set of axles, these cost over $1000, this can be bought HERE. <== LINK


2. Spring Rates

The spring rate of suspension is the resistance to compression measured in Kg/mm.


Lets look at a couple of examples:

  • Front Spring Rate too high = Understeer (Bump Steer more prevalent)

  • Rear Spring Rate too high = Oversteer (Under Acceleration and lift off)

If you are running a dedicated track car you are most likely going to have a few different springs to cater for your desired driving style and track condition. For example, bumpy conditions, including road use, softer spring rates will be more suitable. On the other hand, super smooth Japanese grade race tracks will allow you to run a very high spring rate without the ill effects of bump steer and reduced traction loss under acceleration. (within the limit of the tyres).


Note: Downforce increase will require higher spring rate especially in the rear with big wings.


3. Damping: Compression and Rebound

Adjustable dampers allow you to adjust hydraulic resistance to aid in overcoming different conditions, the movement can be broken down into compression and rebound. Think of compression as pushing the car down and the rebound as pulling the car up. Dampers affect the speed of how fast the suspension reacts to load and how quickly this translates to the tyre contact patch.

Lets look at a couple of examples (Very similar effect to spring rate changes);

  • Front Damping increase = Increase in rear end grip/Understeer

  • Rear Damping increase = Increase in front end grip/Oversteer

4. Camber Angle

Camber is measured in degrees, normally we would only put negative camber on our type of cars as positive camber is usually for offroad vehicles/agriculture. Negative camber will allow a car to maintain good tyre contact patch under dynamic suspension loading (Cornering).

There are a couple of ways in which you can adjust your Front and Rear camber:

  • Adjustable Suspension Tops/Coilover upgrade suspension (Front)

  • Front Camber Bolts (Front) - $31 HERE <== Link

  • Suspension arm for rear suspension. (Note, natural camber does occur in rear suspension from lowering a car) - $585 HERE <== LINK

Lets look at a couple of examples of too much negative camber:

  • Increased inside tyre wear

  • Reduced front braking capacity

  • Reduced tyre contact patch/easier to lose traction. (Good for drifting)

5. Anti-Roll Bar (Swaybars)

Anti-Roll bars can be used in conjunction with suspension upgrades or even stock cars where you are trying to dial in certain characteristics such as; a car with a tendency to understeer, a car that has a tendency to oversteer and a car that is too neutral for the driver's style. You can buy for $800 front and rear from HERE <== LINK


Note: The fastest GT86 track cars (MCA Suspension) in Australia run factory Anti-Roll Bars, I recommend this as a last point of upgrade and for Drift cars only.

Lets look at a couple of examples of Anti-Roll stiffness:

  • Front Anti-Roll stiffness increase = Increase in Understeer

  • Rear Anti-Roll stiffness increase = Increase in Oversteer

6. MCA Traction Mod

According to MCA the 86 Traction Mod is a bolt-on bracket that relocates the suspension arm pickup point to help flatten out the arm angle and reduce anti-squat. It does not change the static toe, nor the toe steer and so does not need a wheel alignment after installation and will have no other unwanted side effects on your suspension setup. In layman's terms this means that the car will be more capable when launching from a set of lights and while cornering reduce oversteer on lift off (increase predictability). Having personally spoken to a few avid track day goers in QLD I am convinced this is a worthy upgrade for anyone with any suspension setup (minus the drift only builds, Skip this mod). It can be bought directly from MCA for $350 HERE <== LINK




Now lets delve into the different suspension options that are available


There is no perfect set up that will work well under all conditions, which is why all race-teams adjust the set up for each Track. The difference between a Stance set up and a Track setup is the adjustment of the coilover (Spring Rate and Damper Settings) and the wheel alignment. A very good set of coilovers can do both with the use of adjustable suspension arms as discussed above.


1. 326 Power

This one isn't for the grocery getters', it is an all out purpose built set up for a very mean machine, did anyone say bonnet exit exhaust? Featuring a 326 Power Custom set up with a much higher KG Spring Rate than you could bench-press. These are Ideal for going super-low as they allow for more adjustment than most coilovers. Will set you back over $1800 AUD + Delivery.



2. KW V3

KW are known for their quality products, not only by those modding their cars but OEM's as well. I would firmly put this into the high-end street and track category. They are priced at $2979.



3. MCA Variants

MCA is a local business located in Queensland. Many current and former QLD residents will have had the pleasure of driving to the old MCA home and having their suspension installed or simply picking them up from Josh himself. MCA offers many variants including but not limited to; Blue (Street), Red (Track) and Gold (Custom/Ultra-Track). They also make other in-between coilovers if you feel the above are not up to your requirement.


The MCA Blue series coilovers are what I have installed on my car and find them to be perfect for street and some track work. I have had them for over 3 years with no issues. The Blues cost $1590, Reds $2900 and Gold From $4500.



4. Whiteline Lowering Springs

A lot of people are under the impression that you need full on coilovers to be able to lower your car and make it handle better for street and track. But a well balanced set of springs and upgraded shock-absorbers can produce the same if not better result than nasty and cheap coilovers. The Whiteline lowering springs will drop the car 25mm front and back & the Bilstein shock absorbers will provide all the dampening you need. NOTE: Wheel fitment can be a problem with these types of set-ups so choose your wheel and suspension combination carefully!


It will set you back about $1000 for the Bilstein B6 Shocks and $400 for the Lowering Springs. This puts you very close to a set of MCA Blues, however if you want to go without the shock absorbers which I don't recommend that you skimp on. This can be a cheap way to lower your car.




5. BC BR GOLD

I have had BC Racing BR series suspension on both my previous cars (1990 MR2 with a V6 engine and a 180SX). These are a good bang for buck upgrade for anyone looking for affordable access to a fully adjustable coilover. These used to cost in the region of $1200 when I was shopping for my previous cars but now they are in the $1400 range. I guess that's inflation for you!



6. Shockworks

Shockworks can be purchased from the VIC/86 Club Sponsor Import Monster. Having read their many good reviews I thought it would be a good idea to feature it in this post. Import Monster has installed this kit on 30+ Local 86/BRZ's many of which have complimented its better than OEM refinement. Import Monster will supply and install these for you for $2000 including a wheel alignment. Or you can buy them for $1850 delivered if you are interstate.


A more in-depth review can be found on the Import Monster website including full specs.



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