JIC Coilovers, alignment, and tire recommendations!

SE-R_Dan · 01-27-2002, 01:24 PM

Hey SR20-Monkeys. I just bought Luke's (G22DET) fire breathing monster of a G20 yesterday, and I have some questions for the experts. First of all, the car has Sumitomo HTRZ II tires in 215/40/17. The center tread is pretty decent, but the outer edge is worn bald on 3/4 corners. Anyone know how to prevent this or know of a good performance-oriented alignment shop in West LA/Santa Monica area? I plan to get the tires remounted and balanced next weekend, but ultimately I want to solve the problem. I don't want to take the car to Bubba's tire shop because I want someone who's seen coilovers before and can possibly raise the car up a tad.

When the tires do finally give up the ghost, does anyone have a suggestion for replacing them? The Sumitomos are pretty cheap, but this is my first experience with the brand. I'm looking for ultimate traction in putting all that DET horsepower to the ground, along with decent treadware and road noise. I'd also like to switch to a 215/45/17 to get a little more sidewall between those nice Volk SS6 wheels and the ground. Anyone have experience with this tire size on a P11?

G-Forces · 01-27-2002, 03:03 PM

Is it the outer part of the tire that is wearing? Front or back?

I had a 215/45-17 on my P11 about a year ago. It's a little taller than stock so it seem to slow the car down some. But with the DET you should have no problems.

SE-R_Dan · 01-27-2002, 04:35 PM

Outer part of the tire, front and back, although the driver's rear seems better off than the other 3.

I may just need to get it touch with Luke and see what he thinks.

G-Forces · 01-27-2002, 06:37 PM

It sounds funny that the rear would have worn like that. I'm thinking they were rotated from the front. Your rear is like the B14 so you know all the adjustment you can do to it already.

There is a company in NZ I think that make eccentric (?) bushings. Do a search in the G20 forum for camber and you should find the thread. You could try those. (PS, incase you didn't know camber plates are useless on a G20. )

G22DET · 01-28-2002, 03:12 AM

Jason's right, I had just rotated the tires. normally, the rear will not cause any problem to the tires.
I had the front camber (factory) adjusted to a more negative setting to help me perform better on the track. Although there's no that much room to play with the factory settings, I did adjust it a little. I am pretty sure a decent wheel/alignment place would be able to correct it back.
I also know a place (the place i went to) that does professional suspension tuning...kinda far though.

Mrcoilover · 01-28-2002, 02:17 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by SE-R_Dan
When the tires do finally give up the ghost, does anyone have a suggestion for replacing them

Personally, I'd go with some Toyo Proxes or some Nitto's. I have had experience only with the Toyo's and they have a longer tread life than most performance tires. I've heard alot of good things about Nitto's also but I've also heard that they tend to wear quicker than most.

donsster · 01-28-2002, 05:03 PM

Hi Dan,
have you joined the SE-R Club yet? We typically use West End Alignment in Gardena or Johnson's Alignment in Torrance. They are both very experienced in racing alignments and corner weighting.
The SoCal SE-R/SR20DE mailing list is on Yahoo! groups.

Don McLaurin
99 G20t

2002G20Racer · 01-28-2002, 07:47 PM

I would recommend a set of Bridgestone Potenza S-03's if you can afford them. My friend swaped off a set of P Zero's for them and thinks the S-03's are better.

P10DET · 01-28-2002, 10:00 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by SE-R_Dan
Hey SR20-Monkeys. I just bought Luke's (G22DET) fire breathing monster of a G20 yesterday, and I have some questions for the experts. First of all, the car has Sumitomo HTRZ II tires in 215/40/17. The center tread is pretty decent, but the outer edge is worn bald on 3/4 corners.

Mine did that as well. They were pretty decent on the race track, but I went through those tires like candy. Always at the edges.

Quote:

Originally posted by SE-R_Dan
Anyone know how to prevent this or know of a good performance-oriented alignment shop in West LA/Santa Monica area?

Go to the place Mike Kojima recommends. I cannot remember who it is, but I do know it's in the SE-R list archives.

Quote:

Originally posted by SE-R_Dan
When the tires do finally give up the ghost, does anyone have a suggestion for replacing them? The Sumitomos are pretty cheap, but this is my first experience with the brand. I'm looking for ultimate traction in putting all that DET horsepower to the ground, along with decent treadware and road noise.

Well, I like the Yokohama Paradas that I switched to. I had A520s on my SE-R and really liked them. I'll probably put another set on my SE-R when I get it back on the road. They are noisy though.

SE-R_Dan · 01-28-2002, 11:57 PM

Thanks for the recommendations, and I do need to join the SoCal list.

The place Mike Kojima recommended was Southside Alignment (I think they're the ones who bent his beam). The contact is Darrin Nishimura.

T4 Primera · 01-30-2002, 05:25 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by G-Forces
... There is a company in NZ I think that make eccentric (?) bushings. Do a search in the G20 forum for camber and you should find the thread. You could try those. (PS, incase you didn't know camber plates are useless on a G20. )

The company is www.prestigeautomotive.co.nz Enter the site, click on road performance and select your vehicle for a parts list. Here is the thread for a description of the kit. http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/t19255.html

G-Forces · 01-30-2002, 07:37 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by SE-R_Dan
Thanks for the recommendations, and I do need to join the SoCal list.

The place Mike Kojima recommended was Southside Alignment (I think they're the ones who bent his beam). The contact is Darrin Nishimura.

I so want to go there! After I move to Van I'll have to make a trip down there just for that...hopefully I can squish it into a SE-R convention trip.

gdalton · 02-26-2002, 09:42 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by G22DET
I had the front camber (factory) adjusted to a more negative setting to help me perform better on the track. Although there's no that much room to play with the factory settings, I did adjust it a little. I am pretty sure a decent wheel/alignment place would be able to correct it back.

How did you (factory) adjust your camber and how much adjustment where you able to get? I just had my car aligned and with the suspension totally stock I had +0.7 and +0.5 camber on my front tires, I realy need to find a way to get it to atleast 0 to help my track time.

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