Fast road set up or FRSU for short essentially is a nickname given for adjusting the geometry of your suspension, predominantly to increase the level of corner speed capability of your car by adjusting the camber, toe and caster angles. Everyone who has had this done will undoubtedly tell you the difference from a normal geo setup is like night and day. Of course you can go more aggressive with your setup depending what your car is used for, so you get other nickname terminology such as aggressive road setup, mild track setup, track setup etc etc.
I was due for my annual service and there was only one place I was ever going to go for all my car's needs - Tom Gannon Motorsport or
TGM as they are more commonly known, based in Fleet. Tom and his guys have a reputation second to none. Many people would argue he knows more about Hondas than anyone else in the country, not to mention he's worked on more DC5's (and prepped more DC5 race cars including his own beasts) than anyone else. On top of this, his prices are always competitive and he's a thoroughly decent chap who will always give you the best advice. Sounds too good to be true? It's really not. You can't beat him.
Anyway, it so happened that Tom had a couple of sets of Eibach Pro S coilovers on special offer. The Eibachs are rated by many over here (based on experience) as one of the best 'fast road' coilovers you can get. Reason being that they ride our cruddy roads and speed bumps very well yet when pushed, they perform excellently.
It would be rude for me not to take advantage of this offer so I booked my car in for a major service, Eibachs, rear Eibach camber arms and fast road set up dialed in.
One week before my car was due at TGM, I was cleaning my car and noticed some fancy writing on my stock suspension. My 'stock' suspension turned out to be this.
Yes that's right, Mugen Sports Suspension
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| Mugen Sports Suspension |
My initial thoughts were "crap what have I done? I've just splashed out on a brand new set of coilovers when I have Mugen suspension!" Cue lots of frantic research and my fears were laid to rest. Don't get me wrong they are a nice bit of kit, but the Eibachs as I've found from research and experience are a much better option, for the UK roads.
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Rear Eibach Pro S Coilover.
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Dampers engineered by KW under Eibach's specifications
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Whilst my car was in, I decided to get my gear shifter changed to a B&M short shifter. I was now used to the gear throw of the Teg and although nice and crisp, it didn't feel as short as it used to. The 30% throw reduction should improve the feel of the gear change.
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| OEM Gear Shifter |
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| B&M Short Shifter |
A week later I collected the car and the difference was like night and day. Here was why:
- After the service, the car felt more healthier. It may have something to do with the oil as it was running on 10w 30 semi synthentic. Opie Oils recommend 5w 40 fully synthetic, so I asked Tom to use 5w 40 Silkolene Pro S fully synth - a great brand and oil grade that I would recommend to any DC5 owner. Note: Silkolene Pro S is now called Fuchs Titan Race Pro S.
- The throw of the B&M short shifter was unbelieveably short. It was almost comical (but in a very nice feeling way) how short the gear changes were, I was loving it.
- The biggest change by far though was how the car handled after the coilovers, rear camber arms and FRSU. The difference really was like night and day. Even going at slow speeds you could feel how much more sure footed the car felt. It not only enables you to take corners faster, but gives the reassuring feeling of added stabilisation.
- Eibach coilovers - I found my car was able to ride over speed bumps, pot holes and bad road surfaces without that 'crashy' feeling. They were noticeably less harsh than the Mugens and perfect for the roads we have here.
My FRSU settings are below:
