[4Canada]

I had a fight with my driveway last Thursday. It won on a first round TKO as I was unable to return for round two. The upshot being all driving and testing of my Intraxes has been halted while I’ve been resting up for repairs. $600 for new glasses for a start.🙄 Nothing broken but I sense the beginning of the end isn’t too far away if I’m not more careful. For anyone watching it must have looked like a classic Mack Sennett silent comedy scene.

Fitting, since we ushered in "fall" in this part of the world last week.
Perhaps you should find a less painful means of observing the next equinox, though?


Glad you are feeling better - well enough to go for a drive, at least!

 

[Alfanut]

Fitting, since we ushered in "fall" in this part of the world last week.
Perhaps you should find a less painful means of observing the next equinox, though?


Glad you are feeling better - well enough to go for a drive, at least!

It’s certainly taken the “Spring“ out of my step for sure. 😁😉🙄Thanks for the good wishes. It was lovely getting out for a few hours. Even on a short drive (~120km) like today the 4C lifted my spirits. I don’t understand those who wish to sell or have sold their 4Cs. I get so much back from mine. Today was sheer joy. Got into a rhythm on a favourite road and the drive just flowed. Brilliant.

 

[Alfanut]

Good to hear the evolving experience. I had to go back in the thread and see the tires, Cup2, so that makes sense. We had our first cold morning here in NJ, 41F and tires were like rocks for a long bit.

Thanks Peter. Yes, I was worried that the compliance promised by the Intraxes was overstated. The Cup2s at lowish temps were the issue. For my previous drives ambient temps were in the teens and the ride was much harsher than with standard dampers/springs. Today was the first warm day and the difference in compliance was easily noticeable. Much more to my expectation. So much better today.

 

[Alfanut]

Hi Jim, have you put anyone in the car since playing with your settings. I mean did it behave any different with extra weight in it?

Dario, I’m taking Martin (Alf) for a little drive today (I think). I’ll let you know how it feels with the extra weight. This’ll be my first run with extra weight.

 

[Alf Alpha]

Dario, I’m taking Martin (Alf) for a little drive today (I think). I’ll let you know how it feels with the extra weight. This’ll be my first run with extra weight.

That’s the first time in my life that I have been used as ballast 😂

 

[Italophile]

When all is said and done, my hope is you get a more compliant street ride and better track handling with no body roll. The Holy Trinity!

Please keep up the great posts Alf

 

[Alfanut]

When all is said and done, my hope is you get a more compliant street ride and better track handling with no body roll. The Holy Trinity!

Please keep up the great posts Alf

Me too. Alf was with me today and can confirm no rear sway bar is necessary and the ride firmness is harder than his race suspension. Alf commented that my 4Cs’ exhaust is also quieter in the cabin than the race exhaust of his Spider. We both agree that softening up the fronts for day to day driving is something to aim for.

We spent the first hour skirting rain showers. The trouble was many of the roads were still damp from them even though we managed to miss most of the showers. We did get a dry run from Maroota down to Riverside Oaks and back. We concluded advisory corner speed signs are a joke when in a 4C. The road further on was closed due to flooding so we returned for lunch/coffee to Wiseman’s then back home via Glenorie and Dural.

We didn’t have the opportunity to really test things out but there was no bottoming experienced on bumps two up. A very pleasant morning dodging potholes and broken bits of road as well as searching out a few curves.

 

[Alfanut]

I’m out at Colo on the Putty after a morning of karts with my son. Great fun.

Yesterday I swapped Cup2s for P-Zeros and softened the damping in prep for the weekend Alpine Tour. What a huge improvement in comfort. Almost luxurious. I added -8 clicks front and rear so now have -31clicks at the front and -24clicks at the rear. The rear is probably a little too soft but that’s easy to remedy. No bounce with the Pirellis and she glides over bumps and road joints yet there is only a slight increase in body roll. Very good for 8/10ths road driving. No bottoming or scraping. Quite astounding. When something works this well you forget about the price.

Again, I’ll keep harping on about the poor access to the front adjusters. Intrax should do something about it. That’s my one and only criticism of them.

 

[4Canada]

I’m out at Colo on the Putty after a morning of karts with my son. Great fun.

Yesterday I swapped Cup2s for P-Zeros and softened the damping in prep for the weekend Alpine Tour. What a huge improvement in comfort. Almost luxurious. I added -8 clicks front and rear so now have -31clicks at the front and -24clicks at the rear. The rear is probably a little too soft but that’s easy to remedy. No bounce with the Pirellis and she glides over bumps and road joints yet there is only a slight increase in body roll. Very good for 8/10ths road driving. No bottoming or scraping. Quite astounding. When something works this well you forget about the price.

Again, I’ll keep harping on about the poor access to the front adjusters. Intrax should do something about it. That’s my one and only criticism of them.

Great to hear!

So, would remote reservoirs solve the access issue, or would the adjustments still be on the strut tower?

 

[Alfanut]

Great to hear!

So, would remote reservoirs solve the access issue, or would the adjustments still be on the strut tower?

No idea, but if they were designed like the rear dampers where the adjuster knob is at the base of the damper tube that would solve everything. I think it is something Intrax should consider. There must be a reason why they don’t. They obviously know their stuff.

I did a second run after lunch, this time a ‘little’ quicker. The diffuser fins just kissed the tarmac on a couple of occasions but nothing like as hard as with the standard suspension. She just glided over the worst of the bumps (it’s a very bumpy stretch) totally composed. Effing brilliant! I won’t say how quickly I did the run from the heights down to the river but I have no idea why the Pirellis get the criticism they do. They were comfortable and held on in the bends without a squeal. Yes, they were warm by the time the tight, flowing bit started. Who in their right mind would sell their 4C? To those blokes selling, you simply can’t be trying hard enough. What are you looking for? The 4C has it all. No apologies. I just had one of the all-time best runs with my son today. A superb day. The suspension was a revelation.

 

[Italophile]

Amazing. So glad to hear they can be dialed in.

 

[Alfanut]

Amazing. So glad to hear they can be dialed in.

Yep. I think some of the initial low-speed bounciness I experienced was due to the stiff Cup2 sidewalls when cold. No such issue with the softer-walled P-Zeros.

 

[Alfanut]

I’ve had the Intraxes set roughly half way between recommended fast road and comfort settings. They are comfortable enough while being firm enough for the road speeds and types of roads we are currently touring on. I have not a word of criticism on their performance. The car is both comfortable and composed and I’ve not ever been so satisfied after a drive as I have after a 40 min run between Mansfield and Whitfield (in Victoria, Australia). And this is on Pirellis, fellas. Get a bit of heat into ‘em, get a bit of weight transfer going, don’t be too greedy with the throttle (because you’ve slowed too much for a bend) and keep it smooth and they are fine, chirping away as you touch the white line on turn entry, apex or exit. Lovely! It was a bit of a motoring Zen experience yesterday. Still on a high.

 

[Alfanut]

First track day with the Intraxes today. I set them to my fast road setting last night thinking they would be plenty hard enough. Big mistake. Too soft and couldn’t readjust the fronts. There was a good balance between front and rear but a little too much roll, though not as much as with the standard suspension. At least it was nicely balanced front to rear. There was still considerable improvement over standard but not as much as I’d hoped. Should have used their recommended track settings. Next time.

The Cup2s were very good. Interestingly, I was adding pressure to get them operating between 32 and 36 psi hot, whereas the Hankooks used to require dropping pressures to have them operating at their optimum hot pressures.
There are 7 left-handers and 4 right-handers at Eastern Creek. On the last run of the day where I wasn’t baulked by other cars the hot pressures and tyre temps of the right-side tyres were as follows: front hot pressure ended up to be 32.5psi with temps across the tyre of 41, 43 and 44deg C (inside to outside tread). Rear hot pressure ended up at 36.5psi with tread temps of 52, 50 and 52deg C (inside to outside tread). Ambient temp was 23degC with full cloud. Could have gone with another 1psi up front to start with.

Edit: Braking stability was hugely improved. Much less dive.

@Alf Alpha might post a few photos of my car on the track to demonstrate what I‘ve described. Photos courtesy of Alf Alpha.

 

[alfa1105]

First track day with the Intraxes today. I set them to my fast road setting last night thinking they would be plenty hard enough. Big mistake. Too soft and couldn’t readjust the fronts. There was a good balance between front and rear but a little too much roll, though not as much as with the standard suspension. At least it was nicely balanced front to rear. There was still considerable improvement over standard but not as much as I’d hoped. Should have used their recommended track settings. Next time.

The Cup2s were very good. Interestingly, I was adding pressure to get them operating between 32 and 36 psi hot, whereas the Hankooks used to require dropping pressures to have them operating at their optimum hot pressures.
There are 7 left-handers and 4 right-handers at Eastern Creek. On the last run of the day where I wasn’t baulked by other cars the hot pressures and tyre temps of the right-side tyres were as follows: front hot pressure ended up to be 32.5psi with temps across the tyre 41, 43 and 44deg C (inside to outside tread). Rear hot pressure ended up at 36.5psi with tread temps of 52, 50 and 52deg C (inside to outside tread). Ambient temp was 23degC with full cloud. Could have gone with another 1psi up front to start with.

@Alf Alpha might post a few photos of my car on the track to demonstrate what I‘ve described.

That's great Jim.I think I had brought it up before as the Cup2's like a bit more psi in them than others.

 

[Alfanut]

That's great Jim.I think I had brought it up before as the Cup2's like a bit more psi in them than others.

I remember you mentioning it during that last wet track night we had, Dario. It was a very good afternoon. I could only get a place in the beginners group but not too crowded. It was nice eating some bratwurst today. 😂
Nice to see Gilly, Alf and Megan, who was the initiator of this afternoon’s fun.
Photos courtesy of @Alf Alpha.

 

[tibby]

I had a fight with my driveway last Thursday. It won on a first round TKO as I was unable to return for round two. The upshot being all driving and testing of my Intraxes has been halted while I’ve been resting up for repairs. $600 for new glasses for a start.🙄 Nothing broken but I sense the beginning of the end isn’t too far away if I’m not more careful. For anyone watching it must have looked like a classic Mack Sennett silent comedy scene.

 

[Alfanut]

Yes Tibby, I chucked a ‘Superman’ face first into my concrete driveway. It wasn’t pretty but would have looked hilarious. My right ankle and left knee are still feeling it two months on. The face grazes have long since healed.

 

[tibby]

Yes Tibby, I chucked a ‘Superman’ face first into my concrete driveway. It wasn’t pretty but would have looked hilarious. My right ankle and left knee are still feeling it two months on. The face grazes have long since healed.

Far from hilarious..

 

[Italophile]

Were you able to get around that Tesla Model 3 in the last photo? Assuming you crushed it with braking and in the corners, but those things have massive torque at exit and can get to big speed quickly on the straights.