Another Stateside JDM kei car; ‘95 EA21R Suzuki Cappuccino

Last weekend's autocross was a success! Unseasonably warm temps meant good grip, even on an undulating and dusty/dirty surface. The course was fast, which is fun, but doesn't help my horsepower deficit/chance of posting a competitive time. Good news: I filled the tank before leaving town (so I was at 13/16th or so starting my competitive runs) and didn't have any fuel starvation issues this time. I didn't have any fender rub either, so I'm pleased.

Almost disappearing parked amongst the Miatas! 🤣 The event was hosted by my 'second' club, which is based in the next city over, and has some competitor crossover with my 'primary' club, as well as hosting some events together, so I had fun socializing and catching up with friends.

I'm pleased with my progress in terms of coming to grips with this chassis. I picked up time on my first three runs, and hit a bit of a plateau after that, with small variations and tiny incremental improvements of tenths/hundreths here and there, which lets me know I'm consistent, and hopefully nearing the limit of what I can achieve with the car.

I was definitely having trouble putting all the raging 64hp down, and the course worker in the stop box told me he saw daylight under my inside rear tire across the course on the fastest corner, a sweeping decreasing radius left. One photo shared online supports the idea that the left rear didn't have full contact with the ground. I guess it isn't a surprise with stock suspension and upgraded tires. The LSD I have should help with the one-tire-fire, but I'd also like to optimize the suspension. The car feels good on corner entry with trail braking, and rotates nicely. The challenge is what happens at the apex and after.

The suspension is bone-stock and 29 years old. I feel like it rolls quite a lot, but it isn't as bad as some sedans and luxury cars.. Since it has tiny wheels and a super-short wheelbase, the ride quality isn't great as it is. I've got folks left and right suggesting I put the Ohlins coilovers I already have on the car, but I'm worried that lower/stiffer will ruin it as a fun backroads street car, and make the already really twitchy handling nearly impossible to catch when overstepping the bounds. Starting with a fatter front swaybar is a thought, but I have no idea where to source such a thing. Addco claims to custom-make anything. 🧐 More thought is required. Any suggestions welcome.

How about swap to coilovers, but adjust them so they are not lowering it too much.  Coilover springs are relatively cheap, maybe get some that are stiffer than stock but not teeth shattering.  The dampers alone with minor or no lowering and stiffening should be an improvement.

In reply to akylekoz :

Thanks for the suggestion. Sometimes I over complicate things before I even get started. Might as well try the parts I've already got. I'll have to check/measure to be sure, but I seem to recall that the stroke of the shock on the coilovers is shortened quite a bit, which means that adjusting them to normal ride height results in a zero droop suspension setup, which isn't exactly desirable from what I can tell, but then again, what do I know?

Another autocross tomorrow morning. Weather is back to our seasonal cool/damp, and the venue is the tight and technical PIR south parking lot, which bodes well for the giant-slaying potential of the little Cappo! 😁

In reply to ae86andkp61 (Forum Supporter) :

trying to find some info on a Capp i recently purchashed. 97 EA21R - 3AT. MegaZip is about the best resource at the moment, curious if you have some information on where to find parts manual-service manual or anything? i seem to have one extra solenoid then all diagrams and images i can source on the ole interweb.