Must have Suspension Mods
Stiffer springs will cause less body roll and lower center of gravity will give you better cornering ability.
stiffer springs on stock aka soft struts are a decent combo for every day driving. do a track day on that setup then another on coilovers or even the stock setup...you will notice a difference
I love my tanabe swaybars! Best mod ev4rrrrrrrrrrr
Stiffer springs without dampers to match the spring rates can also be detrimental to handling. Say if you have much stiffer than stock spring matched to a stock strut with not enough damping, a wheel traveling over a bump will behave like an underdamped oscillator and you'll be bouncing up and down. Stock suspension on a car is specifically engineered for stock ride height and matched spring rate and valving. A properly setup coilover suspension would be much preferred improvement over stiffer springs with the stock struts. That of course comes at an increased cost.
Last edited by goomba; Jun 5, 2010 at 11:36 AM.
It's a common misconception that simply lowering the car and installing stiffer springs will increase cornering ability. Lowering a car too much will cause undesired to changes to suspension geometry unless you correct it via camber kits, roll centre adjust kits etc. Lowering springs alone are pretty much for looks only.
Stiffer springs without dampers to match the spring rates can also be detrimental to handling. Say if you have much stiffer than stock spring matched to a stock strut with not enough damping, a wheel traveling over a bump will behave like an underdamped oscillator and you'll be bouncing up and down. Stock suspension on a car is specifically engineered for stock ride height and matched spring rate and valving. A properly setup coilover suspension would be much preferred improvement over stiffer springs with the stock struts. That of course comes at an increased cost.
Stiffer springs without dampers to match the spring rates can also be detrimental to handling. Say if you have much stiffer than stock spring matched to a stock strut with not enough damping, a wheel traveling over a bump will behave like an underdamped oscillator and you'll be bouncing up and down. Stock suspension on a car is specifically engineered for stock ride height and matched spring rate and valving. A properly setup coilover suspension would be much preferred improvement over stiffer springs with the stock struts. That of course comes at an increased cost.
Well OBVIOUSLY properly tuned coilovers are better than drop springs over stock shocks. I completely agree.
But like RedG37SNC said, the springs out for our cars are tuned specifically for our stock suspension.
Im not saying you can just put drop springs on and you have the best handling ever and can go track the car, but it will handle a little better than stock.
But like RedG37SNC said, the springs out for our cars are tuned specifically for our stock suspension.
Im not saying you can just put drop springs on and you have the best handling ever and can go track the car, but it will handle a little better than stock.
I've had Eibach's on my coupe and I'm on H&R's right now. I'm guessing you either haven't actually tried both or you're confused.
Eibach == basically stock ride, just as smooth and not too low. The front drop is good, but the back has a bit of gap still.
H&R == dumped all around and constant bottom-out. Better handling but the car feels unstable because of every little bump on the road. The back feels/looks good but the front is TOO LOW.
With Eibachs, the drop is minimal and the springs aren't as stiff. I could still go over speedbumps and most potholes/dips don't bother me. With H&R I have to actively avoid ALL speedbumps (no chance) and constantly watch for potholes. Road feel is jarring on all but the smoothest roads. The freeway I drive on daily now feels like I'm driving over railroad tracks due to the undulations.
I'm not sure what the definition of "better ride" is here. The Eibachs are a better ride in comfort terms, the H&R's are a better ride in handling terms (assuming you're driving on smooth silky surfaces). The stock struts aren't a good match for H&R's and I'm 100% positive they're being stressed too much.
It's a common misconception that simply lowering the car and installing stiffer springs will increase cornering ability. Lowering a car too much will cause undesired to changes to suspension geometry unless you correct it via camber kits, roll centre adjust kits etc. Lowering springs alone are pretty much for looks only.
Stiffer springs without dampers to match the spring rates can also be detrimental to handling. Say if you have much stiffer than stock spring matched to a stock strut with not enough damping, a wheel traveling over a bump will behave like an underdamped oscillator and you'll be bouncing up and down. Stock suspension on a car is specifically engineered for stock ride height and matched spring rate and valving. A properly setup coilover suspension would be much preferred improvement over stiffer springs with the stock struts. That of course comes at an increased cost.
Stiffer springs without dampers to match the spring rates can also be detrimental to handling. Say if you have much stiffer than stock spring matched to a stock strut with not enough damping, a wheel traveling over a bump will behave like an underdamped oscillator and you'll be bouncing up and down. Stock suspension on a car is specifically engineered for stock ride height and matched spring rate and valving. A properly setup coilover suspension would be much preferred improvement over stiffer springs with the stock struts. That of course comes at an increased cost.
+1 Good post




