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Healey Skid pad numbers stock or modified?

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J

Jamaican

Freshman Member
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As the title says has anyone tested their car to see where it stands? Even any vintage Sports Car or Motor Life test drive ratings out there? Thanks
 
That is a good question, but even with there are many variables so it is hard to compare figures from one test to another, as size of the skidpad, road smoothness, road surface, anywhoo would still be interesting as you say, I checked old Road and Track, they didn't do skidpad tests until the early 70s, so nothing on the Healeys from them when new.
 
I totally depends on the tires. With the original road speeds or even 165 radials, I'm thinking less than Rick's WAG. Using a little comparative magazine information, the Jensen Healey came in at .75. It had the same wheel base, but was 300 pounds lighter than the old Healey and carried wider, more modern tires on a monocoque chassis. I'd guess a stock 3000 would come in somewhere in the low to mid .6 range with run-of-the-mill 165s. 185s might push it into the .7 range.
 
Thanks for the replys. With that is there any equipment upgrades you'd recommend from personal experience. Certainly wheels,tires and shocks can make a big difference but I'm looking for custom springs, and suspension components. There is a heathly E-type I'd like to give a run for it's money.

Thanks again, Dan
 
Before anything else, make sure everything you have is in good condition. I see lots of people spend money on new performance equipment before the inspect their suspension to make sure everything is in good shape. Links break, bushing wear out, shocks leak. Make sure you knwo what you have in the first place.

If handling is your weak spot against the e-type, start with tires. I really cannot emphasize that enough. 185s fit well, but some people go as far as 195s. You might experience some rubbing with those. Don't just buy any tire. Check the wear rating and get the lowest rating you can tolerate. The lower the wear number the softer the compound. They stick better but wear faster.

You want wheels that will carry the wider tires. If you need new wheels to carry the wider tires then think about alloy wheels which will reduce your unsprung weight.

The cars are designed and constructed with positive camber. This is unadjustable without modification. For street purposes, you can take care of this with off-set upper a-arm bushings. There is an active thread about this on the board right now. They will give you as much as 2 degrees of negative camber which is plenty for road use.

Then you need a good alignment. Make sure you have a bit of toe in and one to two degrees of negative camber (with your new bushings).

Now stop! Drive the car in controlled circumstances and see what it does. I recommend and autocross. Determine the right tire pressures for maximum performance. Figure out which end of the car breaks away first. It the car understeers try varying the tire pressure in the front end. If it oversteers, vary the pressure in the back end. If you can't keep the back end in check, look into a bigger front roll bar. If the front end plows, do not get a bigger front roll bar.

From this point forward, anything you do (shocks, springs, solid bushings) will be a trade off in terms of ride and livability. Tube shock conversions and camber adjustment plates start to get into very big money. See how the steps outlined above improve the handling before you spend a bunch of money.

A word on brakes. Often people improve performance in terms oaf speed without thinking about slowing the car down. Also, handling depends on quickly slowing the car down to a speed that can take the turns. As with your suspension, make sure your brakes are in top condition. If you have front disc brakes, look into high performance brake pads that resist fade and may even shorten the braking distances. Look into converting your system to high performance brake fluid that resists water absorption.
 
I would agree with the guess of skodpad numbers in the mid to high .6 g range, as I recall spitfires and midgets pulled a little over .7 in 70s contemporary road tests, I think a TR6 was about .69, Midgets and Spitfires wers and are pretty good handling cars.

Good luck competing with the e-type beautiful, powerful and sophisticated, the E was nevertheless kind of long as slim for the autocross and tight corners, so with some tweaks (good advice from legal bill) you should have more than a fighting chance.
 
Thanks guys my searches hadn't brought up much before posting. I'll check out the other thread.

I was asking about available Healey specific component upgrades and any opinions on them as a rough mental baseline. All I have is a Healey 100-6 chassis so I won't be able to road tune it just yet. I'm considering using this as the basis of a late 50s early 60's period special. I want it to have the feel and charm if you will of the era. Basically a Healey Cobra of sorts so larger rolling stock, overall weight and bias will all factor in. Being green on them before talking to Rick I didn't know there wasn't a camber adjustment so that is in my plans. Any insight is greatly appreciated.

The E-type is a hopped up
etype5.jpg
toy my boss rebuilt from a rolled $600 wreck in the 70's.
etype3.jpg
 
Have a look at https://www.hemmings.com/hsx/stories/2007/09/01/hmn_feature11.html for a bit of a generic skid pad article - we folk who have Sprites can glory in:
"This gave a useful guide to steering responsiveness and handling behavior. If wheel position changed little for increasing speeds, it showed that the handling was neutral or nearly so. Cars manifesting this quality were the Plymouth Valiant, Austin-Healey Sprite and Maserati 3500 GT. If higher speeds meant a lot of wheel-turning to stay on course, this showed the onset of heavy understeer. Cars like the Volvo P1800, Studebaker Avanti, Peugeot 404 and Facel-Vega Facellia were in this category.

Strong but not excessive understeer was a feature of the short-wheelbase Ferrari 250 GT, which with the Jaguar E-Type and Shelby Cobra, reached 55 mph on our circle. Most sporty models could attain 50 mph, while 45 mph was the limit for the Austin 850, Pontiac Tempest, Lancia Flavia and Jaguar Mark X. Slowest around the circle were the power-limited VW Karmann Ghia and Renault Caravelle. The highest-speed figures required the wheel to be back-tracked for the early Corvair, the Tempest and the Triumph TR4, showing their oversteer at the limit."

Hot darn! My Bug-Eye handled as well as a Plymouth Valiant!

Doug
 
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