Corolla Sportivo's Suspension

[spiz]

In my personal opinion the corolla sportivo's suspension needs work. on the dampening side of things, it's an A+, one of the best cars I've ridden in. But the car has serious problems with body roll and general balance through corners.

Firstly, the balance part: going arround a corner with only the driver in the car the suspension is pretty good(except for the body-roll) and easy to balance, but when you add another front passenger it all changes. The car rolls more and you need to adjust your cornering technique(speed, steering and accelleration) to make it balance. Now add another passenger in the rear and it all changes again. :( A car's handling shouldn't change depending on the passenger count

Secondly, the body roll: this is a serious problem that i just can't understand - any standard family car (commodore, camry, falcon) has much less than this. What I would like to know is the relationship between the springs and the stabiliser bars. Is there any point to change these bars if the car is using soft springs? Also, by changing to the sportivo sports springs I'm worried that the 30mm lowering of the car will effect the shock absorbers performance and therefore spoil the otherwise brillant dampening.

I would really appreciate it if somebody that has driven the sportivo arround with the stock suspension setup, and then changed to the sportivo sports springs can let me know what difference it has made to the dampening and body-roll.

best regards,

spiz.

[2ZZ-GE Sportivo]

Everytime you 'add' a passenger you are adding 'wieght' to the car. And the reason you dont notice much difference in a falcon, commo or camry is because of the torque factor: 180nm@6800 means that you will notice considerable performance loss when you have four persons in the car compared to a V6 family car.

Suspension in my opinion is great for a stock car.

-------------------------------

daniel

[spiz]

thanks Daniel for your reply, but I'm not talking about the performance here - it's about handling. the corolla sportivo, like all "hot hatches" should be 25% engine, 15% brakes and 60% handling.

that's why the sportivo/cts gets only 3 out of 5 stars in MOST motor mags.

spiz.

[2ZZ-GE Sportivo]

thanks Daniel for your reply, but I'm not talking about the performance here - it's about handling. the corolla sportivo, like all "hot hatches" should be 25% engine, 15% brakes and 60% handling.

that's why the sportivo/cts gets only 3 out of 5 stars in MOST motor mags.

spiz.

Spiz,

It's good to read the articles and hear what people have to say about the rolla.

But the truth is the aussie boys (in the mags) who test the cars don't push limits and dont drive accordingly to the setup. I know what the sportivo is cabable of, and its alot more than any magazine will give them credit for. The Corolla's suspension has no worries, for a stock setup it is truly a great deal. Remember that this is a street car, not a track car.

Body roll??

A lot of body roll comes from corner entry, and irratic driving style. If you are experiencing a lot of roll then I suggest you look at the way you take corner \ sweepers \ hairpins E.C.T. I have had the sportivo 150km p/h through a large 120 degree corner into a HWY and experienced very little roll and felt safe at high speed, and that wasn't my car.

Lowering your car will reduce drag \ body roll but compensate for ride quality.

In my opinion the car is great for a stocky..

---------------------------------------------------------

daniel