Springs and what to get?

[hayashi_1986]

Just recently I wrote to Fulcrum over in WA to ask what the spring ratings were on their suspension that I bought a while back as I've been curious. This was their reply:

These have a progressive rate coil front and rear with the front being
220/260 lbs/inch and rear being 170/220 lbs/inch. You could possibly
increase this up to 50-60 lbs/inch without effecting the shock absorber,
but we have never tried it ourselves to find out how the vehicle will
react.


I'm looking for stiffer springs, and definitely linear types as well. The ones that I have aren't that much more comfortable either. Are there any particular springs that any one here can recommend that will offer a considerably stiffer ride to the ones described above? 50-60lbs increase would be decent without putting too much load on the shock, the fella at Fulcrum says.

These shocks are also height adjustable if that helps.

Cheers!

[Dylanamus]

So what you're looking for are linear springs at around 320 front 280 rear. Do you care if you alter the front/rear bias?

In kilos per mm, that's 5.7 front 5 rear, which I imagine would promote oversteer a lot more than you'll be wanting. None of the preset spring combos I know of have a close enough spring rate to what you want.

Maybe consider custom rates? Eibach are one of many brands that customise springs upon request. That said, pushing your shocks to or beyond their designed limits is not really recommended and 5.7/5kg is not a going to make your suspension feel a great deal more "performance oriented".

It might be time to consider shocks that offer a higher spring rate tolerance? 500lbs would give you plenty of spring options to play with, for example. Heaps of sports shocks are rated at 500lbs, like koni sports and bilsteins etc...

[hayashi_1986]

Thanks mate for the response lol Not many as you can see.

Yeah, I think it might be time to be looking at something more performance orientated. I got my current coz they were a cheap replacement which allowed me to have some with with it :) haha. But yeah, I may be heading towards the Koni Yellow's or Eibacks. Might even consider the D2's for the price they're worth.

Have you had any experience with D2's? Or other brands and can you make a recommendations for a daily/street car?

Cheers

BTW, H22A going in soon so may need something to supports it's power lol

[Dylanamus]

Regarding coilovers, I have only driven on Tein SS, Buddy Club Juniors and Buddy Club Race Spec. My personal opinion is that the Tein SS were the most well balanced for a street ride that wants a relatively even compromise between comfort and performance. The Buddy Club gear is more focussed on performance.

Adjustability/tunability (height, shock travel, bump, rebound etc) and slightly easier removal and installation are the pros of coilovers, whereas with spring/shock combinations you get more control over your budget as you can spend what you want on each component.

[tony1234]

I've got Eibach/Bilstein combo on my Euro.It really suits the car.:thumbsup:

[hayashi_1986]

I've recently heard about Daiyama Coilovers and can get these for a nice price. They're fully adjustable but I've got no idea about what model or type they are apart from that. Has anyone had these before? Any good?

If I get the right answers here, then I just may get a set of those. My mate with a black s15 has em' on his car and says they're awesome, but I don't know what they'd be like on a civic as both cars' dynamics are completely different :(

Cheers

[kongfu]

stay away with king springs

[hayashi_1986]

stay away with king springs

I don't really want to use King Springs ever...I've had too many mates who have had those bottom out after not long or much use. :thumbdwn:

[spetz]

Why don't you put your current front springs in the back and just get new front ones?
If they are coilovers springs should be interchangable

[augie7400]

sorry to jack your thread. But i'm just wondering if the KONI yellows if matched with a proper spring is any better than the TEIN / BC coilovers?

[kongfu]

TEIN still better than KONI.

[EKVTIR-T]

TEIN still better than KONI.
Are you joking?lol
Which Tein are you comparing to Koni?

[Dylanamus]

sorry to jack your thread. But i'm just wondering if the KONI yellows if matched with a proper spring is any better than the TEIN / BC coilovers?

This is a trick question that people will answer inaccurately based on their emotions.

Choosing a setup appropriate to your car requires a lot of research and calculations.

Is it FWD or RWD?

What is the total weight of the car?

What is the front/rear weight bias?

What kind of driving do you want to do and on what kinds of surfaces?

What suspension type does your car run (double wishbone, mcpherson etc)?

Do you want height adjustability, or just permanently lowered to X height?

Do you need any other adjustability?

Do you need the shocks to be serviceable or the springs to be replaceable?

You could ask many more questions before getting close to the perfect setup.
With coilovers, the spring rates are engineered to suit the weight distribution and suspension geometry of the vehcile they are designed for - and the shock valving is chosen to withstand those rates comfortably.

The work is done for you and you get the added value and flexibility of height adjustability and the ability to fine tune the dampers.

As long as you match the spring rates to the type of driving you want to do, most coilover setups are a fast and flexible solution that most people will say is superior to springs/shocks.

However, if you know exactly how low you want to go and what spring rates you want to run and you've done some research on the valving on a series of shocks, and adjustability is of no concern to you (aside from maybe having some control over the dampers), then it might work out a bit cheaper to combine a shock and spring of the same quality as found in a coilover package.

Tein has a HUGE product range. An entry level coilover might use a shock of lower quality than a Koni yellow, that is most likely because that coilover was never intended to load spring rates higher than what it came with, whereas the Konis need to have a wider range of use to appeal to their intended market of custom spring rates. However, in the middle to uppe end of the Tein market, there are products superior in quality to any off-the-shelf Koni shocks.

So again, it is down to the individual. A perfect solution for one person might be a waste of money for another.

[augie7400]

the TEIN flex. I heard they are good for both street use and track. but price wise they're like 5-600 more expensive than the KONI yellows