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Old 05-17-2004, 10:57 PM   #1
SilverXing
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Have a Nice Day? Truth about Spring Rates?

Often on this forum I hear "high spring rates will make your car ride worse". My question is, does this mean literally ride and handle worse or simply feel worse in the sense that you will feel all the bumps and be jarred. My reason for asking is that simply put I want to make my WRX HANDLE as tight and sharp as possible, I don't mind being jarred around to a degree, I heard from a respected source, (owner of 2 M3s, and races Miatas as part of SCAA (SP?) league) that for the best HANDLING, not paying mind to the fact that the ride may be harsh is with Higher spring rates, is this true or not. For optimal handling without much concern to ride comfort where do I want my spring rates. Thanks guys take it easy. PS. I've been searching for days with no luck

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Old 05-17-2004, 11:01 PM   #2
Uncle Scotty
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Ron.....where are ya????
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Old 05-17-2004, 11:34 PM   #3
Mark Avery
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First, stiff springs must be properly damped. The spring energy must be controlled by the right strut. Sounds easy, but it's not always that straightforeward because all you've got to go on is feel, and every road/track is gonna feel a little different.

Secondly, It depends on the road. An ultra-stiff suspension can be sublime on a smooth race track, but the same on a bumpy road can put the car into the guardrail.

A race car can be ultra-stiff and tuned to the characteristics of the track you're racing on, but a daily driver must be able to handle all of the bad concrete, speedbumps, driveways, and potholes out there in the real world.

You may not "mind being jarred around to a degree," but ask yourself if all that jarring is really helping. A stiff suspension isn't helping your car go faster if you must slow way down any place the road is less than perfect.
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Old 05-17-2004, 11:55 PM   #4
SilverXing
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Thanks, and keep any more information coming, what I guess Im saying is I don't need a perfect suspension in terms of comfort but obviously need somethign to handle daily driving, WITHOUT respects to the amount of lowering since the look doesn't bother me all to much what is the most ideal spring or spring rate that will give me a nice tight snug handling ride which will be fun through the twisties with some but not all the comfort of daily driving? Thanks guys
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Old 05-18-2004, 01:45 AM   #5
theJohnson
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stiff suspension on streets is somewhat bad. yes, you may be able to take the bumpy ride but that doesnt mean your car can. instead of staying firm on the ground, you can get a littel airborne action going and lose traction. i kind of know what that feeling feels like from experience and its not comforting. i have flta2s with 7/f 5/r. i when i first put them on i set the dampening 5 clicks form full stiff. now im at 10 clicks and feel this is much better on the street. but on a smooth surface, 5 clicks would be just fine. i also have strut bars, rear adjustable sway and spherical bearing endlinks.
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Old 05-18-2004, 07:50 AM   #6
WRXSleeper
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on a real road with bumps you probably don't want something very stiff cause bump steer will make the car difficult to control. you need to decide whether you are track driving or street driving. there is more to suspension tuning than running stiff springs and struts. sway bars and end links also help the car handle much better.
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Old 05-18-2004, 10:01 AM   #7
downeyer
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I ran on Cusco Zero-2Rs with the 7/5 springs for about 4-5 months. They were great for auto-x on smooth parking lots and smooth road, but that's about it. You quickly find out that about 90% of the roads are not smooth. I found myself having to slow down for major intersections due to the rutts in the road from heavy traffic. Corners that I could normally take at 35mph through a major intersection were no down to 20-25mph. Attempting to go through any faster resulted in lose of tire contact with the road. I played with the damping quite a bit and never found anything that seemed to work well. I actually think the springs were a little too stiff for the damper due to the oscillation that would occur during interstate driving.

Anyway, I ended up with Prodrive springs and Koni inserts that make for a great street / auto-x suspension. Yeah, it's not the ultimate track suspension, but I'm never going to be the ultimate driver either. I race for fun, not points...

-Eric
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Old 05-18-2004, 10:44 PM   #8
Mark Avery
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WRX front springs are 163 lbs/in. Double that is about as stiff as you'll want for a daily driver, and even that's a bit much. I have 280 in front and I wouldn't want stiffer.

STi struts paired with STi V8 lowering springs (257/217) is a very streetable performance combo, and Koni inserts paired with Ground Control springs is a popular setup. You can consult with GC and select the spring rates you want, and they come attatched to sleeves that allow ride height adjustment.
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