I've tried searching all over the forum and I can't seem to find the answer to my question. Maybe you guys can answer them.

I'm going with the Koni Yellow/GC combo - reason being that they are both lifetime warranty, and they handle well(from what I can tell on my friends EG). I've ordered my Yellows already, now I'm looking to shop for my GCs, but I'm not sure what spring rates I should get.

My car is mostly daily driven, but i will be also be using it for road racing/autox during the summer. I've done some searching and found that one of the most popular choices is 400 front/ 450back, I'm not sure what's best for road racing/autoX, more stiff in front and softer in the back? Softer in the front, stiff on the back?

I've seen some people discussing the inches of the spring. Some say go with 8" in the front and 7" in the back, and others say to go with 8" on front and back. What difference does it make? Would there be any difference if I went with 7" in front, and 8" in the back with those spring rates mentioned above(400f/450r)?

 

Ground control is very helpful if you call them up and tell them what you want to do with the car, if you are going to buy springs from them. Call them up tell them that you are interested in buying this set up, but you need help choosing spring rates. (make sure you tell them you are on koni yellows as they have different part for this shock.

400/450 will probably be great for what you want.

I'm currently running 450/600, and it's really too stiff for the street. My girlfriend refuses to ride in the car, and I regularly hit my head on the roof when I hit a bump. Thankfully my civic is not a daily driver.

 

I would follow Crazydave's advice...

In addition: a good option for a car that is mostly street driven, is to go with 400f/250r and buy an extra pair of 500lb rear springs. When you get to the track, take a few minutes to swap your rear springs out for the stiffer ones. That should only take you 15 minutes to do the two.

Also, the reason some people like to use the same length front & rear is so they can swap springs around for tuning purposes. Obviously if you go with longer spirngs at one end, you won't be able to lower the car as much at. If you go with shorter springs, you won't be able to raise the car as much at one end. If the spring length is altered by 1 inch, it will affect ride height by almost 1.5"...

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Crazydave &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Ground control is very helpful if you call them up and tell them what you want to do with the car, if you are going to buy springs from them. Call them up tell them that you are interested in buying this set up, but you need help choosing spring rates. (make sure you tell them you are on koni yellows as they have different part for this shock.

400/450 will probably be great for what you want.

I'm currently running 450/600, and it's really too stiff for the street. My girlfriend refuses to ride in the car, and I regularly hit my head on the roof when I hit a bump. Thankfully my civic is not a daily driver.</TD></TR></TABLE>

lol... that's what i don't want, to hit my head for every little bump. this is my daily driver were talking about, and cali streets aren't that great around here.

i daily drive 45 minutes to work, and 45 back home, from Irvine to LA. would that 8"x400/8"x450 still be a good suggestion?

I guess i'll call GC tomorrow morning and see what they say. I'll probably end up buying two sets of springs. One for daily driving/spirited driving, and another to swap out at the track.

 

450 in the rear is definetly better than 600,
try it out, and see how it works.

the only thing you will want to be careful with changing springs, is that depending on the rates you get, your alignment could change after the spring swap.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Crazydave &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">the only thing you will want to be careful with changing springs, is that depending on the rates you get, your alignment could change after the spring swap.</TD></TR></TABLE>

To keep your alignment settings you will have to make sure NOT to disconnect any control arms from the chassis or hub during the spring swap (just remove both shock assemblies). It is also extremely important to maintain the same ride height before and after.

It's easiest & most consistent to measure ride height from the center of you your wheel up to the fender arch. Then adjust each coil-over up or down to get the ride height back to where it was. Make sure to measure each corner separately before you start because they are not the same from side to side...

 

400/450 might be a little harsh, but what's "harsh" depends on personal preference.

ran 450/550 on a 2900 lb prelude and it was pretty plush, but not sure what's "comfy" on a 2600 lb teg/civic. that said a/x-trackday spring rates are generally softer in front and stiffer in the rear.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by bad-monkey &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">400/450 might be a little harsh, but what's "harsh" depends on personal preference.

ran 450/550 on a 2900 lb prelude and it was pretty plush, but not sure what's "comfy" on a 2600 lb teg/civic. that said a/x-trackday spring rates are generally softer in front and stiffer in the rear.</TD></TR></TABLE>
i see... okay, well my hatch is pretty much gutted in the back, i took out the backseats. By comfy, i mean i don't want to be riding and hitting a bump and knocking my head, or going down the road feeling like i'm going down stairs on a bike.

 

Probably best to order the set with the stiffer rates. Then if it's too uncomfortable for street driving, purchase a pair of 250lb rear springs from the "Racing Springs FS/WTB/WTT Thread" thread at the top of the RR/AX forum...

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 94eg! &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Probably best to order the set with the stiffer rates. Then if it's too uncomfortable for street driving, purchase a pair of 250lb rear springs from the "Racing Springs FS/WTB/WTT Thread" thread at the top of the RR/AX forum...</TD></TR></TABLE>

i disagree and say you should start soft and go stiffer if you want.

 

I read an article someone had linked in their h-t sig that said if you have to ask the question, "What spring rates should I get?" then you probably don't need to ask that question. Just get the standard GC rates and go from there.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by speedball3 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I read an article someone had linked in their h-t sig that said if you have to ask the question, "What spring rates should I get?" then you probably don't need to ask that question. Just get the standard GC rates and go from there.</TD></TR></TABLE>

http://www.norcalcrx.org/tyson/coilover.html


Modified by Tyson at 1:20 PM 5/2/2006

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by bad-monkey &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">400/450 might be a little harsh, but what's "harsh" depends on personal preference.

ran 450/550 on a 2900 lb prelude and it was pretty plush, but not sure what's "comfy" on a 2600 lb teg/civic. that said a/x-trackday spring rates are generally softer in front and stiffer in the rear.</TD></TR></TABLE>

00 gsr, 2815 lbs with driver. 400/400 spring rates. Its tolerable enough for daily use. In fact, since I got the rear bumpstops trimmed correctly, it rides very good imo, to the point where I wouldn't want softer springs. Obviously personal comfort is subjective, but I love more responsive suspension. Comptech rear swaybar set to stiffest helps with rotation with the "softer" rates I'm running compared to some people on here.

I found the best way to add some comfort back to the stiffer rear spring setup was to go get some Toyo Proxes 4 tires. The sidewall is stupidly soft. My gf hated the ride with RT-615 Azenis, but finds it perfectly acceptable with the Proxes and around 28 psi.

 

Good Info. Thanks.