Cosmo adventure

[Austerror]

So two weekends ago I took a lady friend and the Cosmo for a drive down to the coast (see link at bottom of post).

Being winter and cold, the beach was not super fantastic. It was not raining and the sky was clear, more or less.

Bendy roads, very little traffic, cold, dry. It was the best day for driving the Cosmo

On the way home, my lady friend, lets call her K, drove. It was her first time driving a rotary and a turbo car.

A first K thought the car would be too big for her. As she likes small zippy cars. But she soon changed her mind

Soon, K said, 'this goes around corners like nothing else I have ever driven!'

So that was awesome. I take that to mean money well spent!

The suspension mods and tyre size / rim size choices are paying off. It was also the first time I had been a passenger since the mods.

It is actually a really nice ride. The roads were mostly smooth (for Australia), the seat held me well when we were going around corners.

In short, the Cosmo performed flawlessly

Also K wants a rotary now.

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&sou....677068&sspn=50.644639,79.013672&ie=UTF8&z=10

 

[frank20bcosmo]

Let's have some pictures of your beauty then,, and I mean the car lol !!!
I would like to see the set up and how it looks etc

Regards
Frank

 

[Berty]

I was also suprised at how well the chassis holds up to more nimble cars on the track once the suspension is upgraded.

What mods did you end up doing?

 

[Austerror]

Lol, well I'll see what I can do about photos.

My mods are very basic. Nothing fancy. I replaced the stock suspension with some custom made coil overs. Made by a guy in Sydney, I think War20B organised these ages ago. I think they do a good enough job.

I have been lucky I think, my tyre and wheel mechanic knows his stuff. He races his Skyline with his car club. Just the for fun type of racing.

So when I took my Cosmo there he already had a good idea of what to expect. I got the coilovers installed. Then took the car to him to get looked at.

The previous owner had installed some great looking 19inch rims and wide tyres. Looked great, but did not fit under the guards well.

So we had a talk, figured out an ideal size of wheel and got that installed. So I'm running with smaller 18inch rims and tyres that are much narrower. 275mm wide on the rears now I think, instead of 295mm. I forget the width of the fronts. We considered 17inch rims, but the Cosmo is kind of heavy, so we thought less side wall would be a better idea. Plus the 18s look great

The ride height was also lowered a lot. Not as low as I could go, but again lowered down to give the best handling, without the wheels scrubbing or bottoming out. It looks the bizz

So I still get a bunch of suspension travel when going over the larger bumps.

I don't think I DID anything to make the Cosmo 'better'. I've just replaced worn out parts with new modern parts that have unlocked the potential of the original chassis.

The LSD in the back (which as far as I know is stock), seems to work really well. I can put my foot down a lot, get a bit of wheel spin when going around a corner or through a bend and the car still handles in a very nice a predictable way. It is very easy to control the amount of tail slippage. I suspect if the LSD was broken or not functioning well, my corners would be more dangerous!

My tyres are the cheap and nasty jobs. They are your standard road tyres. Once they are due for replacement, I'll get some road legal semi slicks and see how that goes.

My Cosmo is due for a service/check this week. I'll see if I can get the suspension setup details. I know there is some camber involved and may be a little toe in on the fronts. I'll post up the info when I get it.

 

[Antoine]

Great story & update...Thanks for sharing!

I also rock 18"ers all around and feel like that's the optimum wheel size although not sure what the ideal width is front & back yet...That said, I'm very happy with my current setup...I wonder though if I can go a bit wider in the rear for more traction without changing the current look..?

As far as suspension...Someday, I'd like to get some custom chassis bracing done and or a super slick roll cage installed...I really want to tighten up the chassis and suspension further...

Waiting for those (pics)

 

[rodneooo]

Good stuff!

Iv just upgraded my suspension and it made the world of diff.
with 18s and good rubber, it feels like a brand new car.
no more annoying noises or boat like feel.

It just sticks to the road and is very smooth.
the rear is a little firm for my liking, but im just being fussy.

i just wanna drive it everywhere know.

 

[frank20bcosmo]

Let's have some pictures then!!!!!!!

it's great to see the different suspension and wheel combos we are all running
I am planning on going the 18s route next year so its nice to know what rims offsets etc you other guys have got

Regards

 

[Austerror]

Well for now my Cosmo is off the road. I've started prep work for the new paint. I'm going to be putting in the long hours to get it presentable before the Aussie Cosmo cruise later this month.

But when its done, pics and I should have the details as to what offset i'm running and all that.

 

[frank20bcosmo]

look forward to seeing them, and the specs on the rims,,, are you staying with the same colour on the paint job?

 

[Austerror]

Nope, I'm changing the colour to something a bit more high contrast. The original colour is silver/grey, which is the same colour as a bunch of buildings in the city I live in.

The result is people don't see my car. I've had too many close calls recently. Thus I'm changing it

So over the weekend I sanded back the paint. The Cosmo has had a few dings repaired, nothing major. But the two most curious holes are in the roof. One of each side of the roof, in the same (but opposite sides) position. Kind of where you would expect to mount some police lights to the roof.

Anyone's guess is as good as mine.