Tuning - Wheels, suspension, handling
Wheels
I, like many people have changed my stock 15" alloys for 17" with 205/40 tyres.
The advantage of the low profile tyres is that the car will corner better,
however the larger wheel does have its disadvantages.
The problem is the weight of the wheel. Having the extra weight means that the
car has a larger mass to turn, and therefore the car would not accelerate as
quickly as with a lighter rim.
Aftermarket wheels are available in light-weight materials such as a magnesium
alloy.
If you are looking for new rims you will need a wheel with a lug pattern of 4 x
114.5 and a +42 offset, although any good alloy wheel outlet (such as
Wheel Mania) should be able to help you with this.
Lots of info about PCD and offsets can be found in the stick topic in the wheels forum.
Suspension & Stability
A basic suspension mod is replacing the springs. Lowering the car has many
benefits, firstly the centre of gravity is lower and this makes braking more
efficient, secondly cornering is improved because the suspension is firmer and
thirdly teh car looks great too!
In addition to springs a coil-over setup can be used, this involves replacing
the shock absorbers (dampers) and the springs.
Reducing body-flex will also improve cornering, by lessening the flex the car
will corner flatter, with more stability. This can be achieved by the use of
strut tower braces (or strut bars) in the front and back of the car, or instead
of/in addition to anti-sway bars can be used, these are fitted underneath the
car.
Springs are available from
Eibach,
and anti-sway bars from Whiteline,
Selby and Eibach.
