so yeah going around the clover leafs on and off the highways say around 50 mph my front end feels like its floating i thought sticky tires helped prevent that type of things from happening

see my profile for my list of mods

any advice to improve my traction around the clover leafs

or do i need stiffer springs as in TRD's i'm not looking to go any lower from NF210's which i have now

 

"Floating"? Thats a new one on me. I hate it when it wont steer or skids in a straight line. I usually take off/on ramps from 45+, sometimes needing to slow to merge onto the highway or interstate.

 

clover leaf? whats that?

 

hope your kidding right heh anyways heres a pic of a clover leaf interchange

 

Yup, that's a classic cloverleaf - we still have some of those left here.

Only 'floaty feeling' I've gotten on my box is when I let the tires get to a lower pressure than the box likes. Get's very unsure of it's direction then.

Sounds like spring/shock/strut upgrade time, Johnny!

Tom

 

nope I wasn't kidding we don't have anything like that around here

 

Really? Wow.

Here's a current Google Earth shot of MY exit from I-5 (about two miles from here). It was built in 1956, and I watched it being built when they put the freeway through town.



Tom

 

we have interstates that go straight through, none of that stuff, ours are 20 - 30 years old tops, the town I live in, the main drag didn't get paved until 86, it was just straight dirt roads

 

well i do have quoted from my profile via copy and paste so yeah its pretty topped out with improvements

 

I forgot you had all those goodies on your egg, Johnny.

I honestly can't think of too much else that would give you appreciable help. There might be some tiny amount of gain with some really serious bits and pieces, but nothing really all that great without tearing the whole bottom out and rebuilding it as a race car.

Don't really want to do that.

Tom

 

its cool i just have to learn the limits of the car :D

i am thinking about getting a C-one under panel for my car next year to help with it a bit and to improve my under body dynamics and improve fuel economy :D

i always love improving me fuel economy with all these nice aftermarket parts and yes they do work

 

Tanabe makes a sweet underbrace. Front and rear available for the xA.

 

i already have all the under braces gt-spec front, trd rear

 

Put more on!

 

lol when in doubt, overkill on frame braces

 

I have gone trough that too. the weak link in your setup are your springs. I suggest going with Megan springs and adjustable tokico struts. Which is a very good combo unless you are really driving on rough roads. Or tein ss adjustable coil overs which are a bit softer. The rest of you upgrades look really good. I can tell you from experience that these two are the best options for the type of driving you are describing.

 

i'm not looking for coil overs way too much to spend on 'em

what if i went with trd springs?

 

You can go with TRD but it will be a slight improvement over the stock springs. Your car will also sit much higher in the front with TRD springs (as you currently have the NF). The goldline has an ok spring rate but it sits fairly low and I prefer a higher spring rate (when going down 2.0”+) so that I do not have to worry about bottoming out. It has a ratio of 1.09:1 (back to front), which maintains the original split. The Espeilir is a good compromise as far as the drop as well as the spring rate. Unfortunately the Espeilir has a ratio of 0.88:1 (back to front), which adds to under steer.

Keep in mind that the original spring rate Front to back was 148 to 160 that is a ratio of 1.08:1 back to front which is one of the reasons that the XB is fairly responsive, as the higher spring ratio helps to balance the car by cutting down on under steer. Your current setup with the NF has a ratio of 1.19:1 back to front an even higher ratio to keep responsiveness.

Alas the low overall spring rate of the NF is a problem in itself as you have discovered. Essentially the NF is a good choice if you are not going at higher speeds. Cause as you encounter uneven surfaces at higher speeds the momentum created by the higher speed drives up the frequency of the Bump encountered and as this frequency surpasses that of your spring you will start to notice float, which is essentially the inability of the spring to match the frequency of the encounter in one cycle (down and then up only once). So the Nf spring has to go through more than one cycle to match the frequency. Sorry for the overly long and boring explanation.

Now finally, the Megan springs have 0.82:1 ratio back to front, which normally would not be the best for responsiveness. But as the spring rate increases the overall responsiveness of the car increases while low speed driving 40mph and under will seems a little sluggish as springs with higher rates are made to come alive from midrange speeds. Be forewarned though that you must get adjustable struts to match the spring frequency otherwise you will bounce.

Tanabe NF210 1.7" 1.2" 118 140
TRD 1.0" 1.0" 163 176
Espelir ASD 1.57" 1.77" 179 157
Gold-Line 2.0" 2.0" 170 185
Megan Racing 2.0" 1.75" 280 230

 

i have megan springs with stock shocks i also have energy sway bar bushings - i dont notice any bounce its deff,.. a slighty rougher ride but its not bad with the stock sized tires

 

By sticky tires. Those BFG Traction T/A's aren't sticky at all. Get Bridgestone RE-01R, Kumho MX's, Goodyear Eagle F1 atleast. 195/205 width on those 15's.