- Joined
- Jun 18, 2001
- Messages
- 2,180
So, I bit the bullet and snapped up a Fays2 Watts Link and put it in my car:
I put thirty miles on it tonight, and my first impressions (having not driven the car hard at all):
1) Slight understeer upon initial corner entry, then it just grabs and turns. The significance is that the car is on crappy all seasons right now. I took highway ramps that got scary at 55 on NT01s at nearly 70 on crappy all seasons, with zero drama. The car actually feels slower in turns. Then you look at the speedometer. The understeer might be able to be tuned out. Moving the propeller vertically in the frame is supposed to alter that behavior. Experimentation will expose the answer.
2) Body roll is almost completely gone, which is expected when the roll center gets locked down just above the differential, and I'm using stock swaybars. All you people with the massive swaybars have missed the point completely.
3) Tracks straight as an arrow over bumpy pavement and freeway expansion joints. Before installation, the back end would squirm around all over the place.
So, to try and anticipate a few questions, my commentary follows on the installation.
The hardest part is getting the big red frame installed. In my case, I needed to drop the exhaust to make enough room to get it in place. You locate it around a small brace welded to the frame rails just behind the axle, C-Clamp it, then start drilling holes. Four of them. You drill a 3/8" pilot on the outer side, then enlarge it to 1/2", then use a fixture that comes with the kit to drill the inner hold from the outside at 3/8".
The kit uses shoulder bolts to keep you from crushing the frame rails. It came with bolts with 2.5" long shoulders (1/2" diameter shoulder, 3/8" threaded portion). The 2.5" was too long. I had to stack six or seven washers to snug it up. No big deal, except for the tire clearance. After contacting Jim Fays himself, relating the issue, and also asking about some torque values, he started revising his manuals and sent me new bolts with 2.25" shoulders. Problem solved.
Installing the axle clamps came next. If your car is undercoated like mine was, you need to remove that undercoating on the axle tubes (and the frame rails), or the suckers will spin around under load. I also had to grind off the driver side inboard brake line bracket. Dropping the swaybar will give you more room to deal with the axle clamps, as well. If you have one of those fancy super-stiff chassis mount sways, take it off and sell it on Ebay. You don't need it anymore with this thing.
Once you have the axle tubes on, you install the propeller and the link bars. Follow the directions, make sure the bars are EXACTLY the same length and arranged at the proper angles, and torque it all down with some threadlocker. Seriously, the hardest part of the install was the drilling. Have a new, sharp drill bit and use cutting oil. The rest is a bolt-on.
You will need a 1 & 1/8" short socket and wrench. Go buy them. Now.
I'll be campaigning the car in CAM in the local SCCA region this year. I'll update this thread with my experiences. Please feel free to pester me with questions. If I can't answer it, I'll try to test it and answer it. My first event is March 15.
Other important information: I have the old ATR 2.5" dual exhaust system with the Pit Bull mufflers ahead of the axle and side exit tailpipe that go over the axle. As I mentioned earlier, I had to disconnect the exhaust from the test pipe (or catalytic convertor, if you still have one), and pull the tailpipes out of the hangers and let it rest on the rear axle to make enough room to get the Watts frame installed. Your mileage may vary. Exhaust clearance is the great unknown with this kit. Budget time to work around exhaust clearance problems into your install.
I put thirty miles on it tonight, and my first impressions (having not driven the car hard at all):
1) Slight understeer upon initial corner entry, then it just grabs and turns. The significance is that the car is on crappy all seasons right now. I took highway ramps that got scary at 55 on NT01s at nearly 70 on crappy all seasons, with zero drama. The car actually feels slower in turns. Then you look at the speedometer. The understeer might be able to be tuned out. Moving the propeller vertically in the frame is supposed to alter that behavior. Experimentation will expose the answer.
2) Body roll is almost completely gone, which is expected when the roll center gets locked down just above the differential, and I'm using stock swaybars. All you people with the massive swaybars have missed the point completely.
3) Tracks straight as an arrow over bumpy pavement and freeway expansion joints. Before installation, the back end would squirm around all over the place.
So, to try and anticipate a few questions, my commentary follows on the installation.
The hardest part is getting the big red frame installed. In my case, I needed to drop the exhaust to make enough room to get it in place. You locate it around a small brace welded to the frame rails just behind the axle, C-Clamp it, then start drilling holes. Four of them. You drill a 3/8" pilot on the outer side, then enlarge it to 1/2", then use a fixture that comes with the kit to drill the inner hold from the outside at 3/8".
The kit uses shoulder bolts to keep you from crushing the frame rails. It came with bolts with 2.5" long shoulders (1/2" diameter shoulder, 3/8" threaded portion). The 2.5" was too long. I had to stack six or seven washers to snug it up. No big deal, except for the tire clearance. After contacting Jim Fays himself, relating the issue, and also asking about some torque values, he started revising his manuals and sent me new bolts with 2.25" shoulders. Problem solved.
Installing the axle clamps came next. If your car is undercoated like mine was, you need to remove that undercoating on the axle tubes (and the frame rails), or the suckers will spin around under load. I also had to grind off the driver side inboard brake line bracket. Dropping the swaybar will give you more room to deal with the axle clamps, as well. If you have one of those fancy super-stiff chassis mount sways, take it off and sell it on Ebay. You don't need it anymore with this thing.
Once you have the axle tubes on, you install the propeller and the link bars. Follow the directions, make sure the bars are EXACTLY the same length and arranged at the proper angles, and torque it all down with some threadlocker. Seriously, the hardest part of the install was the drilling. Have a new, sharp drill bit and use cutting oil. The rest is a bolt-on.
You will need a 1 & 1/8" short socket and wrench. Go buy them. Now.
I'll be campaigning the car in CAM in the local SCCA region this year. I'll update this thread with my experiences. Please feel free to pester me with questions. If I can't answer it, I'll try to test it and answer it. My first event is March 15.
Other important information: I have the old ATR 2.5" dual exhaust system with the Pit Bull mufflers ahead of the axle and side exit tailpipe that go over the axle. As I mentioned earlier, I had to disconnect the exhaust from the test pipe (or catalytic convertor, if you still have one), and pull the tailpipes out of the hangers and let it rest on the rear axle to make enough room to get the Watts frame installed. Your mileage may vary. Exhaust clearance is the great unknown with this kit. Budget time to work around exhaust clearance problems into your install.
