JIC Magic suspension

rallsport · Apr 2, 2003

Well I finished the JIC installation over the weekend and along with it Energy Suspension bushings and stainless brake lines. I purchased all of it from Road Race Engineering (~$2000 for everything). I had Road Race do the initial setup with their spring rates and settings for the extra $100. Started the install on Saturday morning and had some help from my friends, all said and done it took 75 manhours to do the installation. The bushings were a bitch, you do have to burn them all out. Also, when removing the rear suspension the ABS sensors would not come out so I had to cut them and then burn those out (they will get replaced). I had Ingalls camber adjustment in the rear, they were rusted out and not worth putting back in so I went back to the stock upper A-arm mounts in the rear. I used a whole can of PB blaster (best stuff on earth) which helped a lot in removing the corroded bolts. Everything was anti-seized when putting it all back together. I had the car aligned (toe was off both front and rear) I set it to zero toe both front and rear. Camber was -2.2 degrees in the rear and -.25 degrees in the front. I still have the Ingalls camber adjustment in the front, I think it would have too much negative camber without it. Driving....holycrap...it is stiff, very stiff. I haven't pushed it too much yet but initial impressions the car seems almost neutral. Most of the bushings go into the rear and you can feel it. The car does not wander over rough surfaces, it stays planted even on ribbed dirt roads. On-ramps (clover leafs) are extremely fun now 65-70 mph on 25mph rated curves....weeeeeee!. I'm running 17" BF Goodrich tires, I think the suspension can do more than the tires now. The job was a chore but it was definitely worth it. I'll be running the car on a 1.6 mile roadcourse (http://www.beaverun.com/) over the summer I'll post an update. Anyway, if anyone has questions post em.

P.S. same post is on the other site, figured some people don't look at both

mrecl1pse · Apr 3, 2003

When you got your suspension installed, do you know how long it took them to just install the coilovers and camber kit? I'm thinking about doing the same thing minus the bushings.

mrecl1pse · Apr 3, 2003

mrecl1pse said:
When you got your suspension installed, do you know how long it took them to just install the coilovers and camber kit? I'm thinking about doing the same thing minus the bushings.

Sorry, I mean took you to install just the coilvers. I'm trying to figure out how much downtime.

DmoneY · Apr 3, 2003

Good god, 75 hours is alot of time to do a suspension swap. Took me and a friend ~2-3 hours to do my springs and struts. Then again, you had bushings, etc to add. Got any pictures?

turboawd11 · Apr 3, 2003

rallsport:

u should redo the camber. u need more camber in the fornt than the rear. thats mad understeer. try -2 up front and closest to 0 in the back

and give a little toe out up front and toe in for the rear. much beter results.

and no those JICs are not stiff try mine. i have shockteks and GABs on custom coilovers and RRE camber plates.
375lbs/425lbs (fornt/rear spring rates)
JICs are much nicer in the streets than most race applictions around. they are well worth the money...... now invest on some stoptechs =)

rallsport · Apr 3, 2003

Answers to questions

Mrecl1pse-the coilovers are super easy to install, the bushings consumed all of the time. Actual down time for doing just the coil overs and camber adjustment would be one Saturday afternoon maybe 4-5 hours max(providing you didn't have any trouble with corroded bolts). The bushings were a BITCH, I'm seriously glad my friends helped with the project. 75 manhours is number of people X hours they spent helping. It actually was only down Saturday and Sunday.

Dmoney-I'll take some pics of the suspension on the car and post, I won't be able to have the pictures up until tomorrow. I can't tell you how un-fun the bushings were. The rear suspension had never been apart, PB Blaster and heat did most of the work. Had to replace a couple of the bolts that didn't look too good.

TurboAWD11-I know the camber isn't perfect right now, wanted to maintain a little stability until I get used to the new suspension. The camber can be easily changed and I will be playing with it when we go to the track over the summer. Regarding Stoptechs, I won't be spending any money for a little while lol

turboawd11 · Apr 3, 2003

just set the rear cambr closey to 0. that thing wil understeer alot when u start pushing it. RREs set up are usually neutral to overtseer just to let you know.

rallsport · Apr 3, 2003

I spent some time talking with John Mueller at Road Race before purchasing the suspension aoout what I wanted and what the car will be used for. We talked for awhile and he filled me in on what I should expect after the installation. I've been racing for almost 15 years now, but it always helps to get setup info for a particular application from someone who's racing it. I'll be sure to post my track experiences, we will begin tweaking the camber there to dial it in.

SpicyTuna · Apr 4, 2003

turboawd11 said:
u should redo the camber. u need more camber in the fornt than the rear. thats mad understeer. try -2 up front and closest to 0 in the back

and give a little toe out up front and toe in for the rear. much beter results.

Whats that do for tirewear on a car that is driven on the street more than 1/2 the time.....?

rallsport · Apr 4, 2003

Camber settings

I talked with John Mueller from Road Race Engineering last night about my camber settings after the suspension install. He suggested -1 degree in the front and -1.5 degree in the rear. Regarding tire wear and camber....incorrect toe will kill a tire much faster than negative camber. Yes, running negative camber will wear on the inside slightly more, but nothing that I'm going to worry about. As long as the toe front and rear are good the tires will be fine.

SpicyTuna · Apr 4, 2003

Re: Camber settings

rallsport said:
Regarding tire wear and camber....incorrect toe will kill a tire much faster than negative camber. Yes, running negative camber will wear on the inside slightly more, but nothing that I'm going to worry about. As long as the toe front and rear are good the tires will be fine.

turboawd11 said that he recommended "a little toe out up front and toe in for the rear" -- thats who I was asking my question to. I agree negative camber with toe set to 0 wears the tires 'normally'.....

turboawd11 · Apr 4, 2003

Re: Re: Camber settings

SpicyTuna said:
turboawd11 said that he recommended "a little toe out up front and toe in for the rear" -- thats who I was asking my question to. I agree negative camber with toe set to 0 wears the tires 'normally'.....

wel if youre that worried about tirewear. u could always run 0 toe.
plus having it toed in toed out makes it unpleasant to drive around town.

hey u gta sacrifice soemthings if you wanna go/turn fast dont ya? =)

sign up for teh yahoo goups DSM autox list...lots of helpful info!

mrecl1pse · Apr 9, 2003

BTW: How much did you lower your car with the JICs?

rallsport · Apr 9, 2003

ride height

I really can't tell you accurately. The previous owner had put Eibach pro-kit on it which I believe lowers the car 1.3 inches. The car is higher than that, but still lowered some. Probably about .5-.75 inches lower from stock. I can get my jack under the front of the car with the summer tires on it

mrecl1pse · Apr 9, 2003

Re: ride height

rallsport said:
I really can't tell you accurately. The previous owner had put Eibach pro-kit on it which I believe lowers the car 1.3 inches. The car is higher than that, but still lowered some. Probably about .5-.75 inches lower from stock. I can get my jack under the front of the car with the summer tires on it

I am planning to get a set of coilovers soon. Either the Teins or the JIC magic like you have. At the current height you have now, how much wheel well gap do you have? I want to get it obviously lower than stock, but like you still be able to get my jack under it and be able to go up driveways

rallsport · Apr 9, 2003

pics of ride height

Here are some pics so you can see

harry99GSX · Apr 9, 2003

rallsport

Just curious......... How much of the total adjustment on the lower shock mount did you use? Can you get any pics of the front suspension with the wheel turned? I still have my JIC FLT-A2's sitting here after getting them 4 months ago. Been busy lately and when I'm not busy I'm lazy cause I'm tired of being busy.........

mrecl1pse · Apr 10, 2003

Looks great. Now just to get a hold of John at RRE. Woo hoo! Can't wait.
:happy:

mrecl1pse · Apr 28, 2003

Just got my JICs installed and my girlfriend bitches about the stiff ride over downtown San Francisco's potholed roads. Rallsport, how does your JICs ride on your car? The handling is awesome, but the ride on rough roads is brutal.

Stormbird · Apr 19, 2004

Wow, your car looks great at that height. I've heard great things about the JIC set-up in the past but its always good to hear from new owners.

What type of racing do you do with it. SCCA races like Solo 2 or somthing else?

Do you think it best to get this set-up before starting to race or try with stock set up first?

JIC Magic suspension

rallsport

mrecl1pse

mrecl1pse

DmoneY

turboawd11

rallsport

turboawd11

rallsport

SpicyTuna

rallsport

SpicyTuna

turboawd11

mrecl1pse

rallsport

mrecl1pse

rallsport

harry99GSX

mrecl1pse

mrecl1pse

Stormbird

Top Contributors this Month

Recommended Communities