i know this is a supspension question but its integra specific so here it is...

i found koni yellows for 450 shipped now im looking for the ground control sleeves.

whats a good alternative for the off the shelf spring rates?

its a daily driver on crappy texas roads, but would like to perform well during monthly autocross events and spirited driving.

2001 integra if it makes a difference.

 

quick up for the night owls

 

Spring rates are not something someone can really decide for you especially over the internet, there's too many factors. What kind of comfort do you want vs. performance? What rate do you want in front vs. rear (affecting rotation of the car, and this depends on your experience/skill and personal preference, plus other mods you may have like thicker rear sway bar, etc.)? How are your roads? I personally have Skunk2 sleeve coilovers on Tokico Illumina shocks set at 5/5 stiffness in the rear and 4/5 in the front. It's stiff and handles body roll well but some people might not like it that stiff (the spring rates are something like 600 in the front and 500 in the rear). I wanted to get a rear sway bar for more rotation but probably won't because I want to sell the car now. I used to have Eibach Pro-kit springs which are about in the 400-300 range for spring rates and they were comfortable but too soft (plus I didn't like the height on them). It's all about what you'll use the car for, what you like and what you'll be using the car for, and driver experience.

 

This is crude. As someone said before, it's hard to E-engineer someone's suspension.

But as a general rule, go towards the moderate side when it comes to suspension for a street car. You will be much happier.

Autocross spring rates are usually sky high. Street spring rates are usually low.

So meet up somewhere in the middle. I go to a lot of the same events as this guy with a black GSR. 2 weeks ago at road america, I finally had a chance to talk to him. The car was pretty quick around the course, so I wanted to know what was going on under the skin. He said he was running like a 550F/450R lb per inch setup. I'm pretty sure that's what he said anyway. I had a very similar setup on my EK. It was a little softer than his....but my EK was a killa for rilla lol.

Again, that's a crude answer....but anywhere around 350lb/in - 550lb/in should make a generally comfortable ride...and will perform well on most american ROAD RACE tracks...since they tend to be a bit rough. Although, Road america is pretty much glass smooth. Anything much harder than this will perform like **** on your "spirited drives". American roads are bumpy. You dont want the car hopping over bumps. Your car is only fast when the tires are touching the ground.

I think you'd do fine with those rates in autocross as well. Just get adjustable endlinks for your swaybars. That could be a quick, easy roll decrease without having to mess with alignment settings or anything else. Tighten up for the track...loosen up for the street. Easy and sleazy. Adjust the konis for some harder damping while you're at it....obviously dont over do it.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by B serious &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">This is crude. As someone said before, it's hard to E-engineer someone's suspension.

But as a general rule, go towards the moderate side when it comes to suspension for a street car. You will be much happier.

Autocross spring rates are usually sky high. Street spring rates are usually low.

So meet up somewhere in the middle. I go to a lot of the same events as this guy with a black GSR. 2 weeks ago at road america, I finally had a chance to talk to him. The car was pretty quick around the course, so I wanted to know what was going on under the skin. He said he was running like a 550F/450R lb per inch setup. I'm pretty sure that's what he said anyway. I had a very similar setup on my EK. It was a little softer than his....but my EK was a killa for rilla lol.

Again, that's a crude answer....but anywhere around 350lb/in - 550lb/in should make a generally comfortable ride...and will perform well on most american ROAD RACE tracks...since they tend to be a bit rough. Although, Road america is pretty much glass smooth. Anything much harder than this will perform like **** on your "spirited drives". American roads are bumpy. You dont want the car hopping over bumps. Your car is only fast when the tires are touching the ground.

I think you'd do fine with those rates in autocross as well. Just get adjustable endlinks for your swaybars. That could be a quick, easy roll decrease without having to mess with alignment settings or anything else. Tighten up for the track...loosen up for the street. Easy and sleazy. Adjust the konis for some harder damping while you're at it....obviously dont over do it.
</TD></TR></TABLE>

Very well put. Many people may not look at their overall goal when purchasing a suspension setup. Don't overlook small factors such as the addition of a bigger sway bar later on down the road or bigger/smaller tires. Fine tuning a suspension that you'll love isn't cheap, you may go through a few sets of springs and blow a set of struts before you finally find something you'll enjoy all around.

Just as mentioned above, the stiffest suspension isn't necessarily the best. For the roads in this part of the world, look at some softer springs. If your suspension feels too soft, upgrade your sway bars...