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Whiteline Handling Pack (N14)

The car goes, well, real well. It's quick enough for now, and in the future I will work on making it quicker. But, what's the point in making it faster, when It's not going to handle any better? Or stop better, etc.
I spose for me, I look at the whole picture. The average person will spend stack's on engine mods, and zero dollars and thought goes into the suspension and brakes. Handling, handling, handling. I'll work on that first. What's the point in a high power engine, when you cant go round corner's with the extra power, or keep the power on the ground?

Problem:

When cornering hard, it understeers. When cornering hard, the inner front wheel lift's off the ground and spin's under throttle. Therefore, I am unable to power through the corner, and I'm steering the car hard on the one front wheel. (not so good).

Solution:

Upgrade the suspension on the car. How? Research.

Research:

The first thing I did was look into using a sponsor as a supplier of the suspension part's I would require. Hrmm, Wheels World. Perfect. And with Wheels World just opening their brand new suspension tuning shop, what not a better place to head for. I did some research on the net, reading mailing lists, and web pages, etc. One particular web page I checked out was http://www.whiteline.com.au/
These guy's do "kits" for several car's here in Australia. My car happened to have such a kit developed for it. I found out more, checked out the parts list, the alignment recommendations and so on. Hrmm looks good.

After having word's with Bob Tait (Whiteline), and John Fowler (Wheels World), I opted for a Whiteline Handling Pack for my ride.

The hardware:

One Whiteline Handling Pack, one Rear Camber Kit, one Steering Rack Bush Kit.
This consisting of Adjustable Selby Rear Sway Bar, D-Link bushes, link bushes, Caster kit, front link bushes. Additional items are listed above.
Part No's: KNIS02H, KCA412, KSR201 respectively

The Job:

The labour took around 3 hours. This included removal of rear sway bar, link bushes and caster bolts. Removal of Steering Rack bushes, front link bushes, etc.

All new bushes were greased and installed. The bar was installed but not hooked up due to poor alignment whilst the car was at full droop on the lift.

The car comes off the lift with all item's installed, and rear sway bar not hooked up. The car is reversed back and forward with hard braking in the workshop to help seat the new bushes.

The alignment is done on Wheels World's new alignment "pit". This put has two ramps with lotsa cool shit on it including camber plates, wheel turntables, etc. It's all go. The wheels spiders/clamps are attached to each wheel, and the computer is hooked up. Using a trick pile of computer gadgetry and equipment the setting's are dialled in as required based on computer reading's from the machine.

The Settings:

I don't really remember now that I think about it.

• Rear sway bar on middle setting (16mm)
• 1.25 deg negative camber (rear)
• 1.50 and 1.25 deg negative camber (front, left and right)
• 1mm toe in (rear)
• 0mm toe (front)
• 3 deg caster (front)

Whiteline recommend 1 to 2mm toe out on the rear. This however, causes the rear end to unsettle way to easily, and will cause handling issues at high speeds in straight lines, and also when braking hard. John dialled in his own "special" settings and took it for a test drive. He soon came back from his drive around the block. The car was parked outside the workshop, meaning only one thing. It need not come back in for more tweaking. He walked in with a smile on his face and his thumb's up.

Obviously not as nicer handling ride as John's targa top Porsche, and not sporting the kind of gear he has under his car, he was certainly pleased with the outcome assuring me that it was worth every cent compared to a stock N14 Pulsar.

The Cost:

I wont cost each item individually, as John from Wheels World did me an excellent price. (cheaper than Whiteline themselves!)
Final cost including labour, $638 (Australian). This includes additional item's chosen from the Whiteline catalogue as listed above over the basic handling pack itself. The steering rack bush kit also required additional labour to install. Take this into account.

My final notes:

The car handles a fair bit better now on the corners, for sure. Way way less understeer, the ability to power hard through corners without having a front wheel lift up and spin under throttle. The back end sits nicer and the car follows lines a whole lot better now.

Probably one of the best bang-for-your-buck upgrades you can do to a FWD car! Very happy with the result. Now... to save up some cash for the new coilovers. Those stock item's have gotta go. The rear end is a little spongy (probably killed from the weight of the stereo).

Special Thanks:

John Fowler for professional advice, Bob and John for the alignment and fitting!

The Adjustable Selby Rear Sway bar.
Sorry no more pics, didn't have camera whilst the car was lifted.