Suspension Geometry explained

I just received the June 2017 Car & Driver in the mail today and there is an excellent article on the principles of suspension geometry and such. As a lifelong car guy this is an area that I know less than I want to admit, so I am learning a lot by reading. I want to understand how my Speed's suspension works and whether a given change will accomplish or defeat my desire for a smooth, flat cornering and good handling little rocket.

 

Soooooo..... Cliff's notes, plz? I know some, but would love to know more

 

It's like a 20 page article, so there is no way I can give you headlines. Stop at Walgreens, grab a copy of ht mag and go sit in the pharmacy like you are waiting for a Rx and read it....or stop in your neighborhood Public Library, where they are likely to have it available....or go to WalMart, where they discount magazines for sale. Your call.

 

LOL. Yeah, I guess source material is nice too

 

Omg suspensions are definitely complicated. Also been doing reading and will be going back to stock and doing a full suspension plot and entering that into Dynatune XL in order to get a base model of the MS3 suspension.

From there I'll make decisions on what springs, damping and height to run. My goal is a streetable autocrosser with occasional track day.

Thanks for tip on the magazine I'll pick up a copy today.

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Ive been kicking around the idea of making a suspension 101 thread on here. What would you guys like to know/how in depth?

 

There's a lot of this info out there already specific to our platform. @Nliiitend1 and @phate can talk about motion ratios, suspension frequencies, the comparison of the front to rear frequencies, the fact that suspensions can be very stiff but still very comfortable - it's all in the shock valving - etc. Lots of good research/data on this out there already.
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You should find a good number of threads on people who have done this already. Have you researched the topic a lot? We have a good many auto-xers and other folks who race and figured out dialing in a Speed very well.

 

How to make an MS3 suspension better: throw in trash and buy an MS6.
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Livonia, eh? Come up and wrench/drink beers this weekend. Should be firing up the 6 with new engine and trans tomorrow.

 

Clint's just a hater.

 

Or get an EVO or STI with a ton more aftermarket support
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LOL. I think he's teasin', like I am, haha.

 

Sure I've started down the research path but perhaps my searching isn't specific enough to have come across the various threads.

A list of links to the previous discussions would be incredibly helpful here.

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Sorry, man, I don't have those on hand. I'd start in the suspension sub-forum if I were you:

https://mazdaspeeds.org/index.php?categories/suspension-knowledgebase.350/

 

Livonia, eh? Come up and wrench/drink beers this weekend. Should be firing up the 6 with new engine and trans tomorrow.[/QUOTE]

I wish I could, Im putting a new shower in our fraternity house this weekend.