I've got a DC2 currently with Omni street coilovers with springs advertised as "10K front, 8K rear". I'm thinking I'm going to go with the off the shelf Koni Yellows and GC coilover sleeves, but I'm wondering what spring rates to run. By the time I do this, I'll also have the ASR brace/ITR rear swaybar combo installed, and from what I understand, you can run softer rear rates with the bigger sway bar. It seems GC lists their rates differently than what Omni does, I don't know if Omni lists it as metric (kg) or what, but the numbers don't seem to cross over.

My first question is, if GC lists rates as lbs. per inch of compression, what does "8K/10K" mean from Omni?

EDIT: I've done some searching, and the rates refer to kg/MM compression. So nevermind on this question, I can do the conversions myself...

Second question: I'm not a racer or anything, I just like having a tight handling street setup. I like the rates that came with my Omnis, I just don't like how the damping has degraded over time, as I bottom out occasionally in the front now after 20k miles or so, and the lack of damping adjustability. What would be good rates for me to run, considering I'll be installing the 22mm ITR rear sway bar soon? Again, I don't race the car, but I'd like to be able to should the itch ever strike me. This will be a daily driver with possible aspirations of occasional track use. I value ride quality over ultimate performance at this point, so I guess I'm just looking for a somewhat soft comprimise. If you guys could recommed me rates based off your experience and usage, that'd be great. I've spend a bunch of time searching, but it seems most of what I've found relates mostly to track use, and street use is quite subjective. Thanks in advance!


Modified by nitrofish420 at 1:41 PM 4/8/2007

 

Street use is entirely subjective. I currently run 400/400 rates on my 00 GSR, and while most guys riding shotgun don't seem to think its that uncomfortable, some girls complain about needing a sports bra. I enjoy it most of the time, but really really hate sections of some of the freeways around here with it.

That said, if I was going to use my car purely for street use, I'd probably end up with something in the range of 400-550 in the front (stiffer as ride height is reduced to avoid bottoming depending on desired height), and 250-400 or so in the back.

However, since I use the car for autocross and HPDEs, I'm going to be swapping to 600/600 rates soon.

 

As stated above, street use is subjective. What is suitable for some to drive everyday may be nowhere near suitable for someone else.

 

I appreciate the input guys. If I've done my conversions correctly, the 10k/8k rates I'm currently running comes out to 560lb/in front and 448lb/in in the rear. I suppose what I'll do is find GC rates similar to what I've got and go from there.

 

the corresponding rates are about 550 and 450 in gc... I think I'll have the same setup as you, as I ordered the exact same stuff, ASR, koni, and GC. I have an ek coupe though... I'll let you know how it goes.