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So I finally got the car aligned on Friday (in the rain of course after washing both cars), took nearly 3 hours for them to do it all and they got it pretty close to what Jack at MM had suggested to me but some of the adjustments got maxed out before they could reach the suggested settings.
The car is a whole different animal now with the MM kit and an alignment (I never got the rear aligned after installing it as I knew I'd be replacing springs/shocks). When I would hit a bump before the front suspension would barely move and the rear would bounce all over due to the completely wrong spring rates (eibach in front and cut stock IRS in rear). Also any large bump would cause my rear tires to move up enough to contact the fenders and would rub every so slightly. In a turn, if I applied any throttle it was so unpredictable and did not feel planted at all. It was like all the sudden the rear hit a small patch of ice and felt as if it stepped over 8-12 inches then caught traction mid turd.
Well, with the new suspension in there and properly aligned that feeling is gone. The car has a FAR better ride than it had before and now I'm really happy with the decision to go with the IRS in the rear. I've only put a few miles on it so far, and plan to drive it more tomorrow, but it feels balanced now. It just feels SOLID. The suspension isn't overly stiff, and rides way better than the sportlines did, and I don't feel like the NVH really increased at all over what I had before. I think having the poly control arm bushings and what not already had the NVH increased as it were... There doesn't seem to be much body roll either, and the rear end doesn't feel like it's going to bottom out or rub the tires anymore either.
The vastly improved suspension however makes my steering setup more of a glaring problem. The problem is the vague feeling that's so familiar with a Fox chassis. The car simply doesn't respond quickly to steering input, there's a rather large dead zone in the center of the steering, and changing direction quickly right/left/right/left it feels notchy when changing. I've known I need a new pump for a while as it whines a lot, but I've been putting that off till I decide to do a new rack, bump steer, etc. I guess I'll start saving up for those items and need to decide what to go with. I'm thinking of going with the Cortex racing rack ($349), new pump ($90.97 pump/hose/filter), MM BS kit ($149), and MM solid steering shaft ($219.97), MM BS Gauge ($97.95). I've already swapped my steering wheel/column for the non-airbag tilt wheel. The above parts would cost quite a bit though, total of $906.89 and then I'd need to re-align it I'm sure.
The car is a whole different animal now with the MM kit and an alignment (I never got the rear aligned after installing it as I knew I'd be replacing springs/shocks). When I would hit a bump before the front suspension would barely move and the rear would bounce all over due to the completely wrong spring rates (eibach in front and cut stock IRS in rear). Also any large bump would cause my rear tires to move up enough to contact the fenders and would rub every so slightly. In a turn, if I applied any throttle it was so unpredictable and did not feel planted at all. It was like all the sudden the rear hit a small patch of ice and felt as if it stepped over 8-12 inches then caught traction mid turd.
Well, with the new suspension in there and properly aligned that feeling is gone. The car has a FAR better ride than it had before and now I'm really happy with the decision to go with the IRS in the rear. I've only put a few miles on it so far, and plan to drive it more tomorrow, but it feels balanced now. It just feels SOLID. The suspension isn't overly stiff, and rides way better than the sportlines did, and I don't feel like the NVH really increased at all over what I had before. I think having the poly control arm bushings and what not already had the NVH increased as it were... There doesn't seem to be much body roll either, and the rear end doesn't feel like it's going to bottom out or rub the tires anymore either.
The vastly improved suspension however makes my steering setup more of a glaring problem. The problem is the vague feeling that's so familiar with a Fox chassis. The car simply doesn't respond quickly to steering input, there's a rather large dead zone in the center of the steering, and changing direction quickly right/left/right/left it feels notchy when changing. I've known I need a new pump for a while as it whines a lot, but I've been putting that off till I decide to do a new rack, bump steer, etc. I guess I'll start saving up for those items and need to decide what to go with. I'm thinking of going with the Cortex racing rack ($349), new pump ($90.97 pump/hose/filter), MM BS kit ($149), and MM solid steering shaft ($219.97), MM BS Gauge ($97.95). I've already swapped my steering wheel/column for the non-airbag tilt wheel. The above parts would cost quite a bit though, total of $906.89 and then I'd need to re-align it I'm sure.
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