Since I fitted the bigger brakes I went with 15" wheels to clear the calipers. I sourced some 15" hubcaps in Finland through an M-100 Enthusiast which I stripped from their paint as they had been all covered in blue, including the areas that are supposed to stay shiny. But I was still to have them painted the same color as the car. So yesterday I took the hubcaps to a renown body shop in the area. Working there was a gentleman who took great interest in the Pagoda and the conversion I did. It turns out this gentleman is a MB fan and is also an instructor at the Summit Point race track near Winchester in Virginia. So he is quite knowledgeable about setting up cars. I asked him if he would test drive the Pagoda and come with recommendations to help me improve the chassis settings. So we went for a drive and I was quite happy with his comments.
The good: The car is extremely well balanced. He told me people strive to get such a nice balance so I should really think twice before fitting a stiffer sway bar in the front as this may induce more under-steer and alter the nice balance of the car. He also told me the front geometry is set up quite nicely as the car is engaging very nicely and easily into corners. He liked the brakes a lot, telling me they were powerful and progressive, with a very nice bite. Finally, he told me my 215/60-15 tires had the right profile to do what the car is supposed to do. Oh, and he also liked the buckets of torque available anytime, no matter the rpm. He really liked the car a lot!
The not so good: The shocks are clearly inadequate. He was happy to hear I had ordered adjustable Konis. He told me I may be able to sort out the body roll issue to some extent through adjusting the new shocks when I fit them. He recommended to go one change at a time to keep track of improvements. First the shocks, and then see if a stiffer sway bar is still needed. He was also happy to hear that polyurethane bushings were on order for the front axle and sway bar, as this would have the car even more precise than it is now.
So, next thing on the to do list is to replace the shocks and front axle/sway bar bushings when I receive them, and fiddle with the shock adjustments until I'm happy. I have ordered poly bushings for 20 and 23 mm sway bars so that I can swap the two sway bars I have and compare the results. Hopefully all this will be done by the MBCA event at Summit Point where I will have this helpful gentleman drive the car again, on the track this time, to help me finalize the chassis settings. Another nice day in perspective!
