AST 5200s and remote reservoirs

[gotcone.com]

I just got these AST 5200s installed this weekend.


They were a pain to install, but they are awesome. The ride is amazingly nice especially considering the stiff spring rates I am running.

Looking for some advice for mounting the rear remote reservoirs. I would like to get them in the trunk, will need to cut holes to get them there. Has anyone else attempted this? I would like to seal up the holes as much as possible after I feed the reservoir through so also looking for any ideas on how to close up the hole a bit.

[bradford]

Originally Posted by gotcone.com

The ride is amazingly nice especially considering the stiff spring rates I am running.

What spring rates...?

[gotcone.com]

Originally Posted by bradford

What spring rates...?

700 front / 850 rear

[bradford]

Originally Posted by gotcone.com

700 front / 850 rear

Wow. What sway bars are you running and how did you arrive at that spring rate combination?

[gotcone.com]

Originally Posted by bradford

Wow. What sway bars are you running and how did you arrive at that spring rate combination?

I have the Hotchkis front sway bar and the stock rear bar. I also have a Quaife LSD in.

It's going to be an autocross car running STU, rather then a track car, so the spring rates are a bit different.

I had some input on the spring rates from tarsust, who I ordered the ASTs through. We took into account
- supporting modifications (sway bars, LSD, wheel/tire setup, etc.)
- my current autocross skill level
- desired dual duty use of car (autocross and daily drive)

And that was our best guess for a starting point.

[gotcone.com]

Originally Posted by TrackRat

Wow, way stiff on the front. ~ 2.8 Hz compared to ~1.8 Hz rear. Please report back how this rides on the street and performs at the autoX.

Their website sure don't say much.

The little I have driven it so far on the streets, the ride is better then stock. We have some bumpy streets around here too after the long winter, I am very surprised and happy with how well it performs on the street.

[bradford]

700/850 with only front Hotchkiss bar only. Holy crap.

Good luck, sounds like a recipe for PUSHPUSHPUSH.

[MINI135i]

Originally Posted by gotcone.com

700 front / 850 rear

I think that is going to rock for autocross!

Clearly making an effort to control the dynamic nature of the crapola McPherson suspension geometry.

Lot of negative camber up front, crank up the rear rebound and compression and you'll still rotate that beast!

[verlumpt]

I don't know what you guys are talking about 'race only' rates.

I drove an E30 M3 on 5200's w/ 700f / 950r spring rates from Gretna, NE to Lenexa, KS and it rode like a dream. Had the bump adjusted soft and rebound up just enough to control the springs and it was great.

And that car weighs about 2675 not near as heavy as a 1 series.

I think 700 on the front of a 1 series is totally street-able for dual duty use. No question.

Originally Posted by MINI135i

I think that is going to rock for autocross!

Clearly making an effort to control the dynamic nature of the crapola McPherson suspension geometry.

Lot of negative camber up front, crank up the rear rebound and compression and you'll still rotate that beast!

He gets it!! with an LSD and proper setup he'll be able to rotate on turn in and nearly flat foot his exit which will make it easier to drive more consistent and fast. And as his skills develop he can loosen up the car more if it seems like it will make it faster.

[verlumpt]

There is much more too it than just frequencies. You can run stiffer rates and still be comfortable. It's proven. You can have the bump turned down on the shocks and rebound set just enough to control the spring and get a nice ride out of it. Sure the harsh stuff is going to be harsh, but the average travel/movement on normal driving won't be all that bad at all. And with the shocks turned back up for competition it will be much more harsh.

My route was down I-29 w/ that M3 and it's not a nice road, it soaked up things quite well. Would have been even nicer in a heavier car like a 1 series.

Where are you located TrackRat? You obviously need to get into a car like this and go for a ride so you can see for yourself. You will be surprised if not amazed. I was last year with the E30 M3 and I had run 8611 Koni's w/ softer springs previously (albeit an all strut car) and it road like garbage, it wasn't just the dampers fault but the front/rear rate difference that caused it and that was an over all chassis frequency imbalance. But it was a dream to auto-x

I will agree that the OP's rates may not be ideal for street. Would you consider AST 5200's a resonable setup for a street car regardless of rates? I doubt it. He iss building it for STU and it IS still quite street able. I see no reason it would be bad on the track, aside from maybe needing to tweak the rear rate some.

[verlumpt]

I never once debated whether this setup was dedicated for auto-x or not, however it is much more comfortable on the street than you're giving credit based solely on one aspect of the suspension, the springs.

I am curious as I'm still new on this board.

What is your current setup on your car?
What kind of testing have you done for auto-x or track or even street?

We can all ready books and internet info all day long, but when it comes down to it, first hand experience and testing will pay dividends beyond the basics.

[akak1997]

http://www.1addicts.com/forums/showp...0&postcount=12

BR Racing did that on their 135, you might want to ask them how they did it.

[Justin(OKC)]

See this thread. http://www.1addicts.com/forums/showthread.php?t=321954

The second page has how I mounted my rear reservoirs. I'd like to do it like the BR Racing car, but to do it right you need quick disconnects and much longer hoses. I can adjust them with the car sitting on the ground so I'm going to run it like this for awhile.

[gotcone.com]

Thanks for the ideas. I did manage to get the reservoirs in the trunk and mounted without drilling any holes

[brracing]

BRracing
We mounted ours in the rear trunk, under the center access panel, makes it a brease to change the shock settings, as we do, each time we go from track to street to track.

We just did the same type approach on a BMW E90 335i this past week, and were able to do it without cutting a hole even in the rear lower panel area, as you can pop the whole thing out.

Tell us how long your resv hose is.
Since the rear resv go off the bottom of the shock, it's easy to tie the hose to the rear control arm, and run to the center, and into the rear access area if your hoses are long enough.

Here are some pics of our 135i -




Bruce
BRracing