Metric Monte Handling Help Please

The rear springs have too great of a split! 25 instead of 50 should be of great help or swap sides with a shim of a inch or more to preload the 200 to a higher level of push! I use straight valve shocks on the front a 5 left (which is stock) and a 3 right to help it nose first on the right and to transfer left rear quickly when on the throttle to hook instantly! The split as with the springs is the timing of movement! Think of what you want to happen when and how fast as to shocks! Twos everywhere ( Leverage factors on springs help to ease movements and with preloaded left ft a two will give a wider range to movement and still plant the rt. rear going in just by lifting the throttle!) on off-sets but 3 left rear works for us using extreme negative caster to control frame roll with a simple turn of the steering wheel! Check out all my post to see how this works on every class of car with my settings! 2 adjustable stock type shocks will give you settings with just a click or two! Be sure to fill the difference between your shocks before and after adjusting to know that you have it correctly changed! 40- 80 lt. rear and 100-200 more weight on the lt. ft. than right front with driver! Be sure its leaned left and ride heights are normal ft and rear! Raise rear to loosen (more steer by angle changes) and lower if steering to much! Rear springs can change which side rolls up or down to control bite and steering rates side to side! Running the right stronger assures roll up off the left, so it needs more compression as not to loose poundage when lifted if weaker is used! We have ran it both ways to win, even to the point of reverse stager on a dry slick track! Loose as a goose when you lift but straightens back up driving off of the left rear when you thought you were gone! The throttle hooks you right back up to move and stop sliding with my settings! Don't be scared! Change it all now and stand on it! Its a package and need it all to work as with any-other set-up! The weight of a heavier driver in years past has required a balance of rear springs! A 52-53 cross and left should give a pivot and return as well as holding left rear when rolled over! Add any weight you run ( 150 lbs. ) to left rear low and rear to get more traction response! The increase of low mounted rear over rides sling every time! Gas on the right to tighten as used! Keep it full at all times as any change moves much wrongly!

Scales are great and I don't know how we ever raced and won when everyone else had them and all that stuff money could buy! These cars are more about angles and preloads than lbs. on right or left rear. I have spent hours on the scales and rescaling and testing only to see where it was at, when it was working! I wish my wife would use hers more often too but then she would want me to also! I even bought her a new set that was 10 lbs. off for Christmas one year! They didn't help much either! Knowing where you want to be and adjustments to get there are most tricky on the scales to changing angles! A working range of a 1/4" limit on the adjustments on angles doesn't leave much of a margin on the scales! YEAH! Where are your stats and how much do you weigh as a driver? A heavier driver might correct your problems on the scales! More left side and left rear load for less nose and roll with more bite with less steer from angle changes made better by adding weight but don't tell my wife!

If some are helped who can understand simple logics that have won races for so long, who am I to with hold any thing that may help to get others to the front! I'm sure your intent is good and after 35 years of helping to win most every race, I have caught some flack about the stupidity of my set-ups and reasoning but it still wins with less bucks spent! I am truthful in all my post! If you can tell me what numbers every car in the nation needs to work other than yours, I would like to see the list! Its just one little part of a set-up and scales may tell you where its at but never where it needs to be! GRT or DW does there own thing and its always different! Getting in the middle of a springs working range is ok for 1 inch both ways but some need more room in a one way movement such as left ft. and lt. rear while others need not to be compressed so much to allow for more compression! It would seem to me that others should be posting more! Thanks Dave! I shall try to reframe from being a pest! All you members are on hear reading and should be posting! Shame on all of you but Dave! I never mind being wrong if I can learn something new! I hope all a safer, faster racing season!!!

Your cross seems a bit low, 52 to 54 range I would think is needed.(depends on track) As for rolling over a lot. Your suspension must be very loose or control arm mounts are bent and Mabey bushings junk.Most people with montes complain of not enough roll. Your tight in May be your lower control arm on front is hitting the frame and bottoming out. There is not a lot of space there for travel. Stiffening the LR spring will tighten the exit. A lot of the issues that montes have is in the front end . Roll center is very important and it's really where you should start on any setup. Also depending on your rules. Hope this helps somewhat, I would listen to racer96 on this subject. He has an article on monte front end setup and it makes a lot of sense. I mostly know leaf cars but have dabbled into metric cars for friends of mine with success.

So now it's tight too going in? The left side is way to high on the scales and probably that way to help from rolling too much with weights high that once rolled is holding it there as does the left ft. with that much preload! If scale numbers are with-out driver a 50-100lb. preload would do depending on driver weight added to the mix! A quick knee on the ft. bumper side to side (if you weigh 247 like me) will tell of your ills! Rt. ft. should feel softer by half than left with full bumpers and only a quarter if frame length if cross and preloads are correct! If clearance in the ft. is a problem, I would have to say the lean to start with is part of the problem added to get it to roll or trying to get it to come back making it tight getting in and is also not allowing it to get back straight again to when your rear bar angles get higher on the left than right and on the throttle! This to holds it over once cocked, hooked, and nosed! Extra negative caster will help both ways to turn the rear steer as well as the front transfer of poundage to the springs to tighten or loosen their tension when rolled to allow for a release to come back or to tighten left rear coming off allowing you to run a looser set-up! Sorry for the people skills but dirt racing tech is in my blood! Scales are of great help to see problems but I can't carry them in my pocket or car to car while at the track! We have raced at a few tracks that offered a set FREE of charge if needed with a good true slab to work on! Bare with me guys if you can and tell it like it is! I am no driver, only a 35 year winning crew chief working with countless drivers and cars of all classes! Running seven classes of our own and 5 at a time has kept me on my toes threw the years! A equal bite on the rear when rolled will let roll out do it's part! Too much left rear will hold it over and cause more steer to the right while wanting to go left and having to steer right to keep up with the rear! 80 lbs. lt. rear works for us using extra caster to change it to 140+ the extra left low weight added to get back faster and hook instantly! Shocks are holding too going in and off! A switch of sides in the ft. or a change after some thought to ease the movement both ways should help! A weaker variation gives the rt. front ease in and out as you wish to nose first and lift first to stop rear steer and plant left rear faster with out a ton of left rear holding you over!

Here we go. First thing you need to have right on a metric is the RF. they like to bottom out on entry and when that happens, you are gona push right to the wall. So check that first. 3 1/2 in of up travel is needed from ride height. You may have to clearance the frame where the A arm goes into or what ever you have to do. Take the spring and shock out, set it back at ride height and move up till the lower arm hits, thats what you need to work on. Dont forget it could be bottoming out on the shock, so put that back on and check that. So your still tight going in? Well with the high left side weight, you should be looser going in, so I would up the cross for sure. Higher cross will also loosen going in off throttle and will tighten coming off on the throttle. So I would shoot for 55% Cross, that should also help balance your front weights and close up the 168lb split there. So that should help entry, the center will require some more stagger. 1 to 1.5 wont be enough. I was at 2 on the slickest of tracks and 3.5 to 4 on tacky. So dont be afraid of the stagger, it will help roll the center. As you get through the center better you will find you need more rear weight to drive it off, so 55% rear would be the number to shoot for. Rear % equals forward drive. I would rather be 200lbs over weight and drive right than be on the number and drive like crap. Rear springs, the 50 lb split in the back isnt helping the roll over problem at all. The 250 is keeping the 200 pined, and you might find that the 200 isnt helping the tight in deal either as it is loading the RR to much and causing the tight issue. I always liked the 200LR 175RR 13" and I was 57.5 rear% The 175 doesnt load the RR to much and the 25 split helps the RR get back up. So just a few thought and things to try, but what do I know?

Dave

I think we all agree that the left side is too high but raising the pivot bar (cross rt. ft. to lt. rr) would seem to make it harder to climb over and would require a flatter ride height! If a GRT with a J-bar to help, I can see That this would work if running the cross at a negative number and right rear with springs crossed and nosing hard! I do see this win a lot! A ton of left drive off the corner mainly on one wheel! A left leaned car needs both rear wheels pulling and no slippage of a tire on the right side down the straights! Less roll out, less drag when going straight. Have you ever tried to push a car on hard ground with 3-4 inches of roll out. It binds up quickly killing horses, heating, and wearing tires! A free set up and roll with little braking used is a plus any time and most drivable! A measure of 8" on the left side and 6" rt. side of tire contact to the shop surface per wheel weight will get your air PSI pretty close depending on tires used! If left side weight doesn't come down, try switching the rear while on the scales and a 51 cross may work with less of a left lean and still get back over if extra caster is applied! With shock changes, caster and a more balanced lean it should be looser in and hopefully with less steer and roll, easier to get back to get off straight! Check compression height of springs to be sure of ranges per poundage and movement direction is correct and stays with in their working ranges! We are all on the same page with helping! Was you numbers with or with-out driver? Scale with driver weight and test on the rear scales before and after spring swaps or changes and caster changes when steered! Silicon sprayed in onto a folded trash bag makes a good turn table on the floor to keep from binding and flatting out during this test! This test will tell the tale of weight transfer!