Quote:
Originally Posted by bi0hazard
Hi All.
I know this was on my mind when deciding on a new track setup. After my first track day, I can say with certainty that square setup is really balanced. How can I be so sure? Because I had a super easy time driving the car at the limit, effortlessly getting the car out of minor/ playful power overseer slides coming out of corners . I know that doesn't mean much in general, but I'm not a great driver, and I'm running with traction control off. No significant under or oversteer. Also, my car is full bolt on stage 2....
Anyway, I just wanted to voice my endorsement for a square setup for those who are not sure which way to go. I love it, and prefer it to my street staggered setup.
The wheels are apex 18x10 and tires are 275/35 Bridgestones.
B-=
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Same experience. I was pretty pleased with my factory-derived setup of 20mm stagger, but once I started tracking the car more (instead of my extremely modified Miata ND2 track-only car), I realized how much understeer was present. Prior to going square (Apex 19”x9.5” with 275/30 Falken RT660s), I was simply running track events with SRF fluid, Royal Purple Ice coolant additive, and camber plates with a fairly aggressive alignment (that is, aggressive for a car that sees a fair amount of street use). Very minimal prep.
After fitting the square setup, goodbye to the vast majority of the understeer. Rotation is beautifully balanced and controllable/predictable under all conditions (trail braking, liftoff, under throttle). The eLSD is much more active and “awake” with the square stance. Just to test things out with the electronic systems, I ran a warmup lap at each track day with the MDM on. So long as the car had a bit of miles on the square setup, the MDM was still there, still functional. Then, of course, after warmup laps I ran with DSC off as usual. That’s where this setup shines. It became the most controllable vehicle I’ve ever driven on track, including the likes of a 718 GT4.
The liveliness and fun factor of the square stance has made me seriously consider ditching my Miata, which is something I swore a >3,500lb car could never accomplish. All weight transfer behavior feels better and the car hides its weight all that much more. Perfect dance partner. Obviously the stagger offers a bit more straight line delivery to the rear wheels, but the difference was more than offset by 200TW tires (even at fairly high-PSI streetish pressures).
In conclusion, I’m addicted to the square stance and will now be buying a second set of Apex square wheels with PS4S rubber for the street. Big endorsement for square!