No luck finding a buyer yet for the Acura so I have continued to autox it locally with a few minor setup changes.
Playing around with front springs I went up from 650 to 750. I don't think the strut valving is happy and the ride is not pleasant on rough roads, but for a front heavy autox vehicle I think this is the right direction.
Big handling improvements came when I lowered the rear of the car. I am now at a reverse rake (again), or approximately 1/4" lower than the front when measured at the pinchweld. All told, I came down 6 turns at the shock; one full turn lower than my previous low.
I have been toying with ride height since late last year when the 1300 springs were originally installed. At first the balance was good but with varying grip surfaces and multiple tire choices I kept upping the rear height little by little trying to get more oversteer. Didn't work, so I researched my notes and dumped the rear back down and the car came alive again.
Not really sure why the lower rear creates oversteer but there are several potential contributing factors including roll center and roll axis, bushing bind, dynamic bushing changes, RUCA interference, bumpstops, and alignment. The static alignment actually leans toward understeer at the lowest height with more camber and slight toe in. All the other factors may have an effect, good or bad, but ultimately we think that it is simply because there is less weigh jacking to the front wheels. Tripod action was easily lifting the rear wheel 4 inches or more and now is reduced to almost nothing.
Next is to tweak the rear alignment and play with staggered tires.
Also - with help from a 4" grinder, I removed some material from the front brake calipers to eliminate any interference with the 15" Rotas.
As for the RUCA interference, we decided to leave it alone and see what happens. They should self clearance on their own or I may just grind down the top edge of the jam nut or adjust the center link next time I have the rear apart. Offset bushings can fix this too.
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