Suspension Question - Spring rates

[orlando8243]

Hey guys whats going on.

Im looking to buy suspension soon for my ek coupe. From what i read progress cs-II is a good brand and offers selection of spring rates. I am NOT trying to slam my car. I hear that the 350f/350r is a great way to go for a daily driven car that could also be driven on the track for someone new, like myself. My question is:

Should i get the 350f/350r, or would i be able to ride on the 450f450r spring rates ? I live in bpt and yes this is going to be my daily driven car that i would like to try and bring yo the track sometime in the future, so i ask based on the road conditions around here what you guys would suggest since im still a bit new to all of this. Sorry if a question similar to this has already been asked. Thanks for any help in advance.

[testify]

Couple questions:

What shocks will you be using? This is probably the most important factor when you are looking at ride quality, regardless of spring rate. If you run a decent shock, you can run extremely high spring rates and it will not be bouncy, won't be harsh, and will never bottom out.

What is the rest of your setup? Do you have any aftermarket swaybars, upgraded bushing, etc?

What tires are you running? Spring rate has a strong correlation to grip. More grip needs more spring, where as more spring can actually hurt handling if you don't have enough grip. You wouldn't run 650# springs with 205/60/15 street tires, and you wouldn't run 350# springs with 275/35/15 R-comps. The springs need to be somewhat match to the grip.

Not knowing the rest of your setup, I'm guessing that the 350#-450# range is probably going to be in the right ballpark for your intents and purposes, but you can also bias the rear a little bit like many do, by putting stiffer springs in the rear, to change the handling characteristics.

[orlando8243]

As of roght now the car is 100% stock. I was planning on getting the progress cs-II adjustable coilovers. I habe no other suspension compents however i wanted to get lca's, subframe brace, and tie bar and install all in one shot. I was also going to get an oem ctr rear anti sway bar. I did want to also do new bushings little by little when i can, i havent done much reasearch into those yet however but those are a plan soon as well. As for tires will be most likely doing 205-50-15 or 205-45-16. I did read something similar to what you said about biasing the rear a bit. Such as people said they put a slightly bigger diameter sway bar in the rear than in the front to help counter the understeer, am i correct ? If so as i said i wanted to do the oem ctr rear sway bar. Hopefully that helps give you a bit of an idea of my intentions.

Thank you for your help !!!

[orlando8243]

How does a higher spring rate in the rear affect the handling? For example 350f/450r

[203CT]

I have FF1's with 205/50-15 Nittos. I love how my car rides and it handle well for street driving. I have no experience with this setup being tracked this is just my opinion in DD.

They are 10kF/6kR

[testify]

How does a higher spring rate in the rear affect the handling? For example 350f/450r

Increasing spring rate increases response while sacrificing grip, whether front or rear.

Increase the front rates, and the car will start responding better, the steering will feel better, and you'll be able to get the car to do what you want more easily. However, go to far with rates, and they'll be too stiff for the amount of grip the tires have, and they will actually cause you to lose traction.

A lot of people increase the rear spring rates on FWD cars much higher than the front to reduce rear traction and get the car to rotate off throttle and under trail braking.

You don't want that in a street car though, it's extremely dangerous if you aren't well trained to handle it.

Swaybars accomplish basically the same thing as the spring rates. The problem with swaybars is that they only hurt a FWD car if you use a larger bar in the front. A swaybar is a great way to get the rear of the car to rotate, but it will only slow you down in the front.

Basically, what part of the car do you want to break free first, the rear or the front? What is the car doing, and what is the car not doing that you want to change?

[orlando8243]

Oh ok Thanks for your input @203CT



@Testify

Ok now i understand more... as i said the car is stock currently, i wanted to focus on having good handling in my car, as power is not the most important to me at this moment thats why i wanted to get a good idea of what i should look for, what helps and what hurts when i start to install these components. Since i have no experience track driving i cant really say what id like as of right now.. i guess for now based on what you said, ill get the 350f/r spring rates, and as i install the other components and start hitting up the track then ill know what i like and dont like. Thank you for your help sir i appreciate it. will keep you guys posted on what i start to do..

[lowlife9]

i run 350 front 650 rear progress cs1 on my 04 but that's a completely different suspension.

[testify]

Oh ok Thanks for your input @203CT



@Testify

Ok now i understand more... as i said the car is stock currently, i wanted to focus on having good handling in my car, as power is not the most important to me at this moment thats why i wanted to get a good idea of what i should look for, what helps and what hurts when i start to install these components. Since i have no experience track driving i cant really say what id like as of right now.. i guess for now based on what you said, ill get the 350f/r spring rates, and as i install the other components and start hitting up the track then ill know what i like and dont like. Thank you for your help sir i appreciate it. will keep you guys posted on what i start to do..

Springs are cheap and easy to change, so there is no harm in picking a starting point. Those rates will stiffen things up quite a bit, with no compromise in ride quality.

If you want to come get a little experience at an autocross, there's one in Stratford this Sunday: www.fcscc.com

[testify]

i run 350 front 650 rear progress cs1 on my 04 but that's a completely different suspension.

MacPherson strut suspensions actually react VERY different to spring rates than double wishbone suspensions.

Sounds like your car is extremely stiff in the rear.

A 650# spring on your McStruts is more or less like running 1000#+ on a double wishbone car like the 88-00 cars.

[shooktd]

Just get CTR front rear sway bars like you planned, buddy club n+ or f&f type 2's and call it a day.

Current setup on my car is:

26mm eibach front sway
24mm asr rear sway (spherical end links)
Buddy club n+ specs 14k front 12k rear.

You would be fine with 10k front and 8k rear.

[testify]

Just get CTR front rear sway bars like you planned, buddy club n+ or f&f type 2's and call it a day.

Current setup on my car is:

26mm eibach front sway
24mm asr rear sway (spherical end links)
Buddy club n+ specs 14k front 12k rear.

You would be fine with 10k front and 8k rear.

Why would he want a larger front swaybar

[lowlife9]

i would completely remove the front sway and upgrade the rear but thats my personal driving preference. as for my car being stiff in the rear thats just not true it feels close to stock actually. you have to remember that progress technology uses a true Progressive rate coil spring.

[shooktd]

Why would he want a larger front swaybar

why wouldn't you? civic type r was shipped from the factory with them.

Depending on what coils or springs and struts he goes with, its hard to say what issues he'll be experiencing... My car handled like it was on rails with the current setup I posted and that's why I recommend doing it. However not everyone wants to spend 1200 on coils and another 400 on sways.. If adjustable coils were purchased he could raise or lower the dampening to compensate for either over or under steer utilizing stock civic type r sways..

[lowlife9]

like i said before its all personal driving preference a bigger front sway bar will give a front wheel drive car more amounts of understeer.