I have also been trying to get an inline layout to work, it seems like transverse is faster for me.
one detail question on your setup, when you indicate 1.5 turns on the side springs, does this mean 1.5 turns of preload on the springs or 1.5 turns from fully raised which are just lightly touching?
Sorry... Yes, just like Andrew said, this is 1.5 turns from fully backed off. Which lets the springs just kiss the rear pod plate.
With the inline car, you have much less weight transfer to the front off-throttle... so you cannot simply jump off the throttle and let the car whip around the corner. This places a larger emphasis on the settings of the front suspension, springs, lube, etc. The front of your car really needs to be making the correct balance of mechanical grip (and making that grip in the correct stage of the turn, depending on track layout). This can take some time and testing to get it just right. And if you are using the old-skool front end, it can be a pain to adjust caster/camber and get everything perfect from side to side. The upside to this, IMO, is that once you get the car working well with the inline config, it seems to be more consistent and retains better steering towards the end of the run. Since you are depending less upon the weight transfer, you will find that the car makes very similar amounts of steering regardless of the corner type(or speed at which you are approaching the corner)... You will also find that the steering does not fizzle out towards the end of the race, when you are low on battery and digging into the throttle(and not letting off nearly as much) more and more.
Since moving to the new-skool front end, I have been having much more success with the inline config @ club tracks. I will get a chance to test it out in a higher bite setting @ MHIC in 2 weeks, as well.