IndecisiveS197

Remember that Sam's bars are adjustable both front and rear. Meaning right off the bat you'll get a setup less prone to roll right off the bat, and also be able to dial in the balance of the car.

I just participated in a AutoX Instructional course (everybody got an instructor for the whole day) and overdriving the car was definitely my biggest downfall. The difference between when my instructor drove my car vs myself was very different at the limit. His first run in my car was faster than my fastest lap the whole day(10 runs or so) with the exception of one run.

We had a G-circle setup, and the distance you can be to the cones without hitting them is insane, and just like Argonaut said, the best way to get yourself back in closer when starting to push was to ease off the throttle.

I'll definitely have to try tapping the brake shift weight around though. There are some instances where that move definitely would've helped out on saturday.

MustangFirstCar

Well to be honest I probably won't even adjust them after a day or 2 of playing with them. And even then I don't think I would make any real kind of change to them.

Also, really the thing is that I would rather have a bit of oversteer when I turn too hard then understeer. I can correct and control oversteer, but besides backing off the throttle and straitening out when it starts to push, there is not much I can do for understeer.

MustangFirstCar

Oh, and I played with tire pressures today after school (Ok, so I skipped AP Calc to leave early, big deal). I had not checked the pressures in about a month (since about 2 weeks before I wrecked) and they were all between 29 and 31. After some experimentation I now have it set at 32 up front, 36 out back, and it really did make a big difference in the cornering ability of the car.

BlackBetty

I guess what we need to know is what your goals are for the car. Believe me, I would rather have oversteer than understeer any day of the week. But if the goal is to get from A to B the fastest, having a bunch of oversteer isn't necessarily what you want. If you just want the car to be more fun to drive, that's a different story. You could get away with just slapping a bigger rear swaybar on if you're just interested in shifting the balance to oversteer.

If you see yourself getting into some racing, then it's probably best to make some mild modifications now that will satisfy the "fun" you desire until you can adjust your driving to what the car is capable of. If you're not looking to spend a whole lot, I would just get the set of Strano bars. That way right now you can shift the balance towards oversteer for now (full soft in front and full stiff in rear) and then later be able to dial it back a little.

Just so that you know, when you stiffen one end of the car, it changes the balance because that end becomes less compliant and more likely to lose traction. The car might feel better to drive without actually being faster since you are taking away grip to get the balance right. This is why (if your goal is racing) it's better to learn to drive with what the car gives you rather than tuning the suspension to cover up "bad" driving.

MustangFirstCar

Ultimately I plan to try to get into some kind of autoX or road racing or some such, but for right now, it really is just making the car feel better to drive.

Norm Peterson

You really don't want oversteer that you aren't provoking with the throttle. Trust me. Imagine going into a turn only a little hot, and realize that no matter what you do with the controls the car will loop on you.

You really do need to do the driver mod here.


Norm
(out of battery)

Whiskey11

Agreed, and autocrossing is a great way to do that. If there are no events going on this year, consider going to your region's autocross school next season. Get involved and it will teach you to drive the car correctly. To be honest, I'm not sure why anyone is pushing their car hard enough on the street to experience understeer in a corner. Slow down before you get in another crash and further devalue your vehicle. I can understand a little throttle oversteer every now and then for a little fun.

MustangFirstCar

@ Whiskey
I do it on deserted roads and in situations that could only hurt me. I can live with wrecking my car and hurting myself, but hurting someone else because I wanna go faster then the speed limit? Not so much. I would never take a sharp corner that I couldn't see around hard enough to incite the wrath of understeer.

And Norm, I understand and agree with what you are saying, but if I enter a corner too hard and my options are to have understeer or oversteer, I would prefer oversteer. It's alot easier to bring the car out of that kind of slide.

Argonaut

Actually its not. I think this statement is exposing your inexperience a bit. I don't mean that as a flame, just as another reason to go to a drivers school. Understeer is MUCH easier to control, that is exactly the reason all mainstream cars are set up to understeer from the factory, including the Mustang. When unexpected oversteer happens you will spin the car and there is zero you can do about it. I'm not talking about when you are set up for it and expect it to come and know when to countersteer and when to balance with throttle, I'm talking about the unexpected, where the tail steps out and keeps on going. Understeer you just go straight, you don't get disoriented and backwards, you can use the techniques described above to counter it. Again - no flame intended - just cautioning you to be careful what you wish for. Four years of track and AX experience has taught me all about oversteer - the good, the bad and the ugly.

Sam Strano

Lots of good advice here. Some I don't agree with, but overall I've got no major issues with what's been said.

The car does understeer in stock form, even if you hold a whole bunch of Championships like I do. I also teach people to autocross, so I'm uniquely able to help you because I understand what the car does, but also what people's tendencies are. And yes, often folks setup cars way, way too loose to cover for their mistakes. But I don't setup cars that way because it's not fast.

And what you don't want is oversteer, that's as bad (well worse actually) most of the time than understeer. Severe levels of either slow you down, but with a powerful RWD car you want a balanced car with a slight (very, very, very slight) understeer most of the time. If you run on teeny tiny lots then you might want the car more free, but as you go faster, even on the street the car loosens up naturally.

A basic set of my bars, some good springs, and struts/shocks will make the car handle phenomenally well. My car has those things plus a Fays2 Watts link and it handles as well as a C6 Corvette Grand Sport/Z06 setup with the same tires, good shocks, etc. I can make the car work, and what's better I can do it for way less than $3k, and I can do it *without* making it a no fun to drive pig.