Spring Rates

[Chris Langdon 0]

HI all,

 

please could you give me a bit of advise,

 

Basically i brought some H&R streetstyle coilover before christmas and fitted them, ive done around 200 miles in them now, very pleased with them overall, handles beautifully, build quality is first class stainless steel struts etc, but i find the rear a little on the firm side, especially (believe it or not worse on my 15" speedlines than on my 17" BBS splits) :cuckoo: the car sits 590mm from ground to centre of the arch 600mm on the rear, i did bring it up 5mm alround when i fitted the speedlines back on, and it seem stiffer (compressing the spring) so it back now on the above measurements.

 

i wrote to H&R in germany (very helpful btw) and they say the coilover kit i have is the softest of the range they do however they would supply me some custom springs

 

basically i have 70Nm on the front and 50Nm on the rear. they can supply me with 10 to 20Nm less if i so wish, well the front is fine, when driving it you wouldnt know it was lowered, in terms of ride comfort, so my question is, is it best to take them up on their offer and go for 40Nm rear springs or a 30Nm ones.

 

is there going to be a noticeable differents?

 

any help i would be most gratful as i dont fully understand spring rates

[KipVR 1]

If they are going to change them free, give it a go! If not, maybe try some cheaper ones to start with just to get them right, as H&R springs cost a bit.

[Kevin Bacon 5]

I hate metric measurements!!

 

70NM front = 400in lb and 50nm rear = 275in lb

 

Those are pretty much the standard rates you'll get on any german suspension maker for the VR6.

 

I run 325in lb front and 228 in lb rear on my KW V3s and it's absolutely c0ck on for a road car imo. In new money that would be 60nm front and 40nm rear (i think), but you can confirm with one of the 100s of online unit converters.

 

The ride with 9.2Kg (+ 7.7Kg 17" tyres) 8x17s is brilliant and cornering is also superb. Do your dampers have adjustable low speed compression?. That makes a huge difference to turn in and brake dive. What the lower rate springs will give you over the stiffer ones is more compliance over bumpy B roads, so progress will be quicker, but it also does depend heavily on the quality and adjustability of your dampers.

 

Anyway, a thumbs up for the 60 / 40 combo :D

[Chris Langdon 0]

cheers for the advise guys, one more thing i noticed that H&R used to do a progressive spring, what is the benefit of this?

 

cheers

 

 

chris

[s1m0n 0]

I run 325in lb front and 228 in lb rear

 

What bar(s) do you run with those rates?

 

Cheers

 

Simon

[KipVR 1]

Progressive springs linky

 

http://www.tuninglinx.com/html/suspension-springs.html

[Chris Langdon 0]

If they are going to change them free, give it a go! If not, maybe try some cheaper ones to start with just to get them right, as H&R springs cost a bit.

 

yeah your not wrong H&R want £253 for the lower spring rate, i personally think you such be given the choice when buying the coilover kit!!

[s1m0n 0]

yeah your not wrong H&R want £253 for the lower spring rate, i personally think you such be given the choice when buying the coilover kit!!

 

Is that for two or four springs? Most of the German spring makers charge about £60 per 60mm / 2 1/4" ID "race" spring. So if it's for four that's about "right".

 

You could just order what you want from Spax/Gaz/Falkner, price is about half that of the German stuff, just check the length of what you have on the back now and order a pair the same length but a little softer, see how it goes, if you don't like it just chuck em on flea bay and try again

 

Cheers

 

Simon

[Kevin Bacon 5]

I run 325in lb front and 228 in lb rear

 

What bar(s) do you run with those rates?

 

Cheers

 

Simon

 

25mm Eibach rear, factory VR6 front bar (20mm)

[Chris Langdon 0]

piano does it make a big difference having the eibach on the rear mate, does it make the ride harsher at all???

[Chris Langdon 0]

Is that for two or four springs? Most of the German spring makers charge about £60 per 60mm / 2 1/4" ID "race" spring. So if it's for four that's about "right".

 

You could just order what you want from Spax/Gaz/Falkner, price is about half that of the German stuff, just check the length of what you have on the back now and order a pair the same length but a little softer, see how it goes, if you don't like it just chuck em on flea bay and try again

 

Cheers

 

Simon

 

its for four springs mate,55 quid plus the VAT each. i might do what you said tho if H&R dont help me out :(

[Chris Langdon 0]

Simon

its for four springs mate,55 quid plus the VAT each. i might do what you said tho if H&R dont help me out :(

[Kevin Bacon 5]

piano does it make a big difference having the eibach on the rear mate, does it make the ride harsher at all???

 

It certainly does make a big difference!. A rear ARB was always one of the most effective, cheapest and most noticable mods on the MK2/MK3 platform. Flatter cornering and sharper turn-in.

 

A lot of people balance the stiffer rear end with a stiffer front ARB, but I prefer to keep the front ARB stock as it feels less understeery.

 

The rear one doesn't add much harshness, if any, but a front one certainly can.

[s1m0n 0]

 

It certainly does make a big difference!. A rear ARB was always one of the most effective, cheapest and most noticable mods on the MK2/MK3 platform. Flatter cornering and sharper turn-in.

 

A lot of people balance the stiffer rear end with a stiffer front ARB, but I prefer to keep the front ARB stock as it feels less understeery.

 

The rear one doesn't add much harshness, if any, but a front one certainly can.

 

I did think you were running a 25mm rear (I guess that should really be "additional" 25mm rear), your spring rates make a lot of sense now and I agree about not up-rating the front, in fact I (generally) disconnect the front as I feel it gives better traction.

 

I run 325 front / 225 rear on mine (ABF/Gemini 6MT/Quaife, with the front bar removed) that's with a MK3 VR6 rear beam (stock bar only), wide-track front with re-valved double adjustable Koni's.

 

I have some single adjustable Ohlins monotubes that I'm going to get re-valved and try this year (when I get time...) but first I want to try some R32 front hubs and get the MK4 rear hubs/brakes on!

 

Cheers

 

Simon