As you will learn from several pages on our website when it comes to getting the most from your track car, one of the most essential parts of your preparation is having your wheel alignment adjusted. When it comes to alignment settings for track or even fast road use its common that factory components either don’t have the required range of adjustment or lack adjustment completely! Adjustable link arms and suspension mounts are designed specifically to give a greater range of adjustment or allow adjustment where there previously were none.

Whilst available parts will vary dependent on the model of vehicle, the theory behind them all is the same in that optimum geometry is the aim of the game. Allowing you to set your camber, castor, and toe (see our alignment page for an explanation of these terms) should result in the perfect setup for your intended use – typically the biggest improvements come from adding more negative camber particularly, to the front of the vehicle whilst other settings can be more a case of fine tuning. Ultimately what adjustable components give you is the ability to precisely set the alignment of your car in a manner that suits your style, your car and its modifications.

Bump steer is an undesirable geometry characteristic that commonly develops when a vehicle is lowered significantly from its factory ride height, its explanation is somewhat technical, but the symptom is when undulations in the suspension cause the wheels to change direction without input at the steering wheel. Dependent on application correction kits are available to lessen the effects of bump steer on feedback to the driver – obviously any unintentional steering changes are unnerving and even more so at speed on track!

Bump correction is all about returning the steering geometry back towards its factory state – typically lowering a vehicle will cause the steering arm/track rod to become angled upwards towards the wheel which exaggerates the change in toe when the suspension is compressed. Correction will normally be made at the track rod end, lowering the connection point to the hub will begin to drop the steering arm back into tolerance. Steering rack spacers can also help to negate the impact of bump steer.

Given that circuit driving subjects a car to far greater stresses than regular use its only logical that your track car will benefit from additional reinforcements to the bodyshell to allow it to better cope with the large twisting forces generated when cornering at speed. Chassis bracing makes this possible where the implementation of a roll cage or other fixed reinforcements are prohibitive, traditionally they would come in the form of strut braces however other chassis braces are now becoming a far more common place.

The premise of chassis bracing is to tie together and brace (no surprises there) the various chassis and suspension mounting points on the vehicle – strut braces for example reinforce the upper mounting points of the strut towers preventing them from being forced inwards when the suspension is underload. To take things a step further not only are you preventing deformation in the bodyshell at this point but in resisting the travel of the suspension you’re forcing the tyre to maintain contact with the tarmac which is exactly where you want it!

Operating on much the same premise as bump-steer correction, roll centre correction is all about correcting the negative effects of significantly lowering a car. Roll centre represents the pivot point of the suspension system in its entirety – Lowering the roll centre (as a result of reduced ride height) below ground level causes increased understeer, increased body roll, more steering lock required to take a corner and lower feedback through the steering wheel.

Once again, we refer to suspension geometry – it’s important to understand that suspension mounting points, the angle & length of suspension arms and range of travel are all specifically designed within factory parameters to best suit performance and safety. The more we modify our cars the further away from this specification we will end up. Roll centre correction traditionally takes place at the lower ball joint and will lower the mounting point of the suspension arm in a bid to return its angle closer to factory settings in turn rectifying the lowered roll centre position and its adverse effects.

Lowering springs are probably one of the most common starting points when it comes to modifying a car – they are a cost-effective, straight swap solution offering several easily obtained benefits over stock. The main advantages are performance and aesthetic gains – aesthetically a lowered car has a reduced arch gap and overall offers a sporty more pleasing appearance, in terms of performance it offers a lowered ride height and all the associated rewards.

Performance springs feature a couple of variables, namely ride height and spring rate. Typically, there will be a variety of spring options available for one model of car offering a choice of ride height reduction and spring rate will be determined to suit. Usually, the lower the ride height the higher the spring rate making the spring harder to compress, this resulting in a stiffer ride and preventing the car from bottoming or grounding out. A lower car with stiffer suspension will naturally have reduced roll and improved feedback when driving at speed on track.

One thing to note is that the lower you go on springs alone, the closer to the limit of the standard shock you get. To avoid compromised performance its worth considering swapping out for sports shocks or in the case of worn, higher mileage components replacing the standard equipment to best compliment the new, lowered ride height.