Lowered ride quality, thinking about mixing struts. - Suspension and Brake Forum

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Lowered ride quality, thinking about mixing struts.
Wednesday, May 25, 2011 8:01 PM
I've been playing with different spring rates and lengths for a long time now and I've put a lot of money into getting my car riding the way I want it to.

I've always had Koni Yellows all around, full soft. And I'm lowered 1 to 2 inches, I don't know exactly but there is enough gap in the front that I don't rub even with large offset wheels.

I started out with ground control coilovers (without the extra inch) and the ride was much too harsh for me. I believe the springs were 6" in front, 8" in rear and the rates must have been 400+

I wanted to address the harshness in the front first, so I decided to go with split rate springs. I bought from a company called Hyperco who clearly makes high quality springs. The split rate was 275/500 and the length was 10" and when I got them in and mounted they were too long to fit. I put them in the back instead, and found the ride to be too harsh.

So I ordered some 275lb/in springs, 8" so they would fit in the front, just barely under tension at full droop. This made the front much more tolerable. Not soft by any means, but not jaw-breaking.

Deciding that 275/500 (which combined works out to something like 200lb/in) was too harsh, I went for the middle ground between stock and the split rate spring, 175.
Great! So now with 175 rear 275 front the car is pretty drivable by my standards, but when I drive my friends around they find it a bit rough. I avoid potholes, but the bumps that go all the way across the road suck.

I have between 100 and 200lbs of car audio in the back, so there is a decent amount of inertial damping, and I figure with that weight, the stock springs might rest low enough to make my 18" rims not look goofy like they would on normal suspension.

What are your opinions on this.
Is mixing stock rears with racing fronts going to cause problems?




Re: Lowered ride quality, thinking about mixing struts.
Saturday, May 28, 2011 5:29 PM
Interesting lack of even protest.
buump



Re: Lowered ride quality, thinking about mixing struts.
Saturday, May 28, 2011 8:12 PM
Just do the math out and you should be ok. Then just buy dampers that match the spring rates you want. Real simple, heck you can do the math out on paper without a calculator its that easy.


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