[volpebob2]

Grant,

The current setup I'm running for a dry track is 3 degrees neg. camber, 3.5 deg. pos. caster, almost zero toe FRONT; 1.75 deg. neg. camber, slight toe-in REAR (gotta bend the DeDion). 37mm hollow torsion bars from the English group 'A' race series, re-valved Koni yellows, custom rear springs matched to the front torsion bar rates (which are in the 800 lb range), stock front sway bar, and adjustable rear 1" bar. 15" x 7" wheels w/225/50 tires.

This setup is very stiff, and in the wet, very slow and twitchy. But my wet setup also has very compliant dry handling characteristics for bumpy tracks or road use, and has almost perfect suspension geometry. I use a version of this for some of my clients that want a high performance/neutral balance handling solution for the typical heavy understeer and UPS truck lean that all Alfas are blessed with.

For the record, you are spot-on; these cars have tons of cowl-shake and the moment I put a cage in my car it became a completely different animal. The only problem was it was so harsh, it was no fun to drive on the street anymore. I also run 16" x 7.5" wheels w/225/45 tires on my street car, only I run a more agressive offset @ 25mm, which sets the wheels pretty far out in the wheelwell. With your offset, try a hubcentric spacer and trim the plastic in the wheelwell for clearance.

So here's my suggestions:
I assume you're using the drop spindles to lower the car instead of lowering with the torsion bars. I think this is part of your problem. The distance between the upper control arm and lower control arm has been altered, and thus the geometry. The bump steer is affected by the arcs of both the upper and lower control arms. By the numbers, the factory stock steering geometry calculates out perfectly with about a 1/2" drop of the lower ball joint, so the factory dimensions are almost perfect, if the car is lowered a bit.

To check your results, if you remove the torsion bars and run the spindle up and down thru its full vertical arc of travel (still connected to the upper and lower control arms AND the steering rack), you should see the spindle move in camber and toe change as it goes thru its vertical travel. The amount of movement or "steer" of the spindle as it moves vertically is the bump steer. The closer to zero, the more predictable the handling. My guess is that you're going to see a lot of bump steer which is contributing to your understeer/oversteer scenario.

The second issue is, I've read several posts related to your handling issues (although not all of them). No increase in spring rates are going to give you a dramatic increase in roll stiffness. Use sway bars for that (Rears only). Spring function is primarily to keep tires in contact with the pavement. Shocks do the same. Keep these functions separate and simple.

Third issue is you've GOT to have the correct alignment settings. Everything sounds good on your alignment EXCEPT........you need 3 or more degrees of positive caster. When you turn the wheel, steering geometry causes the wheels to go to positive camber, and the tighter the lock the more positive camber is dialed-in. That's the reason we use so much static neg. camber to begin with, because in turning the wheel we lose a lot of camber and through G-force flex of the suspension bushings we lose the rest to arrive at zero camber in a turn (hopefully). Positive caster counteracts the effects of camber loss when turning the wheels. The more pos. caster, the less pos. camber gain upon turning the steering wheel.

Also, and equally important, pos. caster self-centers the wheel after turning it, so w/zero caster, let go of the wheel and it won't center itself--not a happy moment when you are tail-out opposite-lock expecting the car to right itself.

The best setup to regain control of your handling should be:

Keep the Bilsteins
Stock front sway bar
Ricambi rear sway bar
NO LARGER THAN 27mm front torsion bars. (remember, larger won't help your roll stiffness measurably unless you go super high, and then you'll have terminal understeer)
Rear springs that calculate out to be al least 35% stiffer than stock.
Lower the front end 1" - 1.5" by torsion bar method; in any case make sure front end is lower than rear.
Lose the drop spindles unless you can confirm that they DON'T affect bump steer negatively.
Make sure alignment is correct.

If the frame is not bent and the car is straight, it WILL be neutral or a little tail-happy,--trim with tire pressures. Run tires at full pressure and drop pressure on the end of the car that you want to have less grip. It may not be the most exotic solution, but it works.

I hope you find this info helpful.

Bob