littlebrownbike

Nitrogen and a pyrometer is required here methinks. How would one fill a tyre with nitrogen? One of mine lets a a PSI out a week...hving a small compressor works wonders. I think Caminhead asked a sensible question.

Seen one or two with them.....KW I think.

Not sure if I'm honest, I always go for a short drive to allow the car to cool sufficiently before returning the ring' car park. The car definately handles differently towards the end of the lap though.

Excellent answer as expected, but in regards to the anti roll bar...in this case many Mondeos weigh the same (ST220 weighs same as TDCi and 2.5 V6) yet has thicker front bar. I could understand if it was the rear, to reduce roll and improve turn in, just not front.

Thats nice to know, I may consider coilovers when the time comes for new suspension....how easy are they to configure?

Yup. Normal driving I run 38/34 and this appears to allow for even wear, high speed cruising and a comfortable ride. On track I drop to 35/31 and the difference is very apparent, but I still think a further reduction would pay dividens. Oh, and poo pooing?

My understanding is that a thicker front anti roll bar would increase a cars tendency to under steer...but I know that the standard Mk3 Mondeo has a 17/18mm front anti roll bar, where as the ST220 has a 22mm front anti roll bar....can anyone hazard a guess as to why this is? Secondly, some cars suspension height makes them look as if they are pitching upwards slightly. For example, Mondeo’s sit 10mm lower at the front than they do at the back...is for practicability (heavy loads) or is there a more performance derived reason behind it? Lastly, when I jack the front of my car up, the rear wheel is off the ground considerably earlier than the front despite the front and rear of the car having equal travel. Why is this? (hope these questions aren't too obvious, cheers)

I don't have a problem with overheating as such, but the tyres do tend to bounce a little towards the end of the lap as the air expands - I find letting a few PSI out helps significantly. I appreciate I could return faster lap times by improving my driving, I just think some grippy rubber will be a lot of fun.

Its on Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetrics

Yeah.... this is not good though because the weight transfer will make the understeer. Hmm, interesting...how obvious are these negative effects going to be? I mean do you have experience with ST suspension, and do you know what it can and can't do? I don't want to get semi slicks if they are going to be no good, I'm just stuggling to imagine how they would be any worse than standard road tyres.

Thats gay, I've only done 22k in the car and this will be its second alignment.

Getting the anti roll bar bushes replaced Friday and will get another bloomin alignment on saturday. Will report back with the print out, but yes I would like to know why its been knocked out.

Whats the worst that can happen, the car has some excessive body roll?

I've always liked the idea of having a set of coilovers....10mm lower, 10% stiffer and jobs a goodun but I'm put off by two things. Firstly, I once saw two sets of coilovers side by side, one was for a Fiesta and the other an M5, apart from the mounting brackets, they were supposedly identical. My concern is, how can an M5, which is bigger and heavier, have the same suspension setup as a Fiesta? I got the impression that manufacturers were making coilovers for the sake of it. Secondly, how hard is it to setup the coilovers? I'm under the impression that Ford spent a lot of time testing different suspension setups to find the optimum stiffness, height, rebound etc....if I fitted a set of coilovers surely I would need to do the same testing? Cheers

Thanks ladies.

There is no knocking from the front, or from anywhere at all and as you can see in my Nurburgring videos, no excessive roll. This is why I haven't bothered to have it replaced. But the main purpose of this thread is to decipher why one tyre has wear on the inside, in my opinion it appears that it has been wearing poorly for several thousand miles. Is this a case of the alignment being knocked out by something on the road?

Got back yesterday. Hope you like; http://www.robster-lobster.co.uk/nurburgring_2009

I enjoy the occassional track day and the yearly visit to the Nurburgring, and I am thinking of investing in some light weight alloys and some semi slicks. My standard alloys weigh 20kg each, including the tyre. I am under the impression that light weight alloys are half this...so I guess that would be a major benefit... As for semi slicks, I appreciate the springs, dampers, bearings, bushes, and engine will be under more strain from the increased cornering forces...but are there any negative handling affects? I know road noise will increase and the side walls offer a stiffer ride but they will only be used on and driving to track. (car is a Mondeo ST220) Cheers

Hello again Tony. Today I noticed some uneven wear on my front offside tyre, I have just got back from the Nurburgring but the previous week I had a brief look at the tyres and did not notice any uneven wear. Mondeo ST220 Last alignment 08/11/08 @ 69,700 miles Current mileage 77,500 miles The two front tyres have done 15,000 miles with 2.8mm tread remaining. Always run @ 38psi Car handles lovely with no pulling or wandering Nearside - Good Offside - Bad Is this a normal case of poor alignment? The thing is I don't park on curbs, I haven't hit any curbs, but I do straddle speed cushions there is a lot of them in my area. Although looking at those pictures it would appear the tyres are slightly over inflated... Also, this is my front anti roll bar bush - is it of any concern? Car doesn't appear to have any excess roll...

Hello guys how are things going? I just thought I'd add something that may be of significance. Both alloys have the same offset of 52.5! Cheers

But what about the camber and castor? They were within tolerances on both occassions but have been reduced considerably in the after.

If we compare the before and after print outs we can see that theres quite a few differences despite them all being within tolerance. BEFORE AFTER The camber has been drastically reduced, as has the caster and the total SAI has gone from -0.08 to 0.07. What does this tell us Tony?

Yes it does handle better mate, much more acceptable and the feel through the steering gives me more confidence. Its not as good as I had hoped but maybe thats just the Dunlop tyres (they are very soft). So would you say 14d is more normal? You wouldn't think 1 degrees would make such a difference but it does. The car drives sweet now that its been re-aligned, although they charged me £64

Done a few miles since having the suspension fitted so I thought it was time to get a wheel alignment, you were right Tony; the toe was well out! However the SAI is now 14*, it use to be 15*. Is this bad? I asked the operator what the SAI to test his knowledge and he told me its how much the wheels can turn from left to right

Been out for a drive tonight... Ride quality has been improved, the roll isn't that bad really although the looks will take some getting used to. The handling has improved noticeablely which I am happy about, its not as good as I was expecting but I will put that down to the tyres as the Dunlops its on arent that great; they seem too soft. The steering seems to have lost a lot of responsive though, it feels really saggy at low speeds. Overall I am glad I got the old springs fitted, the whole dilema has cost me a lot of money which is a shame, but I will live and learn. I'll go to the alignment centre tomorrow and get a print out report of the alignment, I'll then post it here and hopefully Tony or someone will be able to tell me if its worth fixing/aligning. Tony, do you know what the standard SAI be for my model car? (Mondeo TDCi). Once again, thanks all very much for your help; I'll be sure to stick around. Gary