Okay, so let's say I'm gonna get a Koni/GC setup, because someday, a long time from now, I will.

I have a '93 CX with a D16Z6 swap. So let's say I order a set of 430/380 for a DD that makes the odd run through some twisty, hilly back roads and maybe a couple track runs someday. My understanding is that it's hard to make a spring that's exactly 430 ft-lb, so I might wind up with a spring that's actually 435 instead or whatever. So does that mean my other front shock might be 426 instead? If so, should I put the stiffer springs on the driver's side when installing?

Once I have them installed, I'm not entirely sure how to set them up. My understanding is that the springs are all some fixed length, and any ride hight adjustment comes from adjusting the coilovers? I've heard talk of 6" and 8" springs. Do the 6" just drop you two inches, or are they front springs, or what? I haven't seen any place that lets you choose the size, just the spring rate, so what's the deal there?

So here's what I'm thinking for getting them set up. Tell me where I'm going wrong and why. lol

Once I have them installed, crank the ride height all the way up, put zip ties on the bottom of the shock rods, and then get it aligned. (I'm thinking 0.03º out for the front, and 0.04º in for the rear.) Drive it around for a month or so, flying over railroad crossings and such, and see how high the zip ties have climbed up the shock rods. Crank the suspension down to within a comfortable margin of that, and get it realigned. This process should give me the lowest possible ride height without (reasonable) fear of bottoming out, right?

When adjusting ride height, I want to measure from the ground to a point on the car, right? Does it matter what point I choose, or can I measure from anywhere, as long as I'm consistent? Am I correct in thinking that by cranking the ride height down, you increase the amount of weight being supported by that corner? So if I want to shift the weight balance towards the rear, I could lower the rears and/or raise the fronts?

Once I have everything set up, if I do decide to go to a track day sometime, can I just crank everything down another inch and hit the alignment shop on the way to the track?

 

omg. You are so mixed up it isn't even funny.
Read some more. A lot more.
https://www.google.com/search?q=how+...w=1691&bih=846

 

Really, you need to do a lot more homework. Your taking a very simple task and makeing it difficult.

 

Oh, I'd read that the coils were stamped with their spring rate, and I assumed they'd be stamped with the actual spring rate, not the target rate. So if I order a pair of 430s, I might get a 450 and a 422, and they'd both be stamped 430? What margin of error does Eibach allow when matching springs?

If I don't specify a length, what length will they send me? How long are the OEM springs?

It seemed like the most efficient way setting the ride height according to the required suspension travel. What method do you suggest instead?

I'm not looking to get super low. I was more concerned with performance, in a real world application. I don't care about gaps, or not being able to clear a soda can, or any of that stuff.

I chose those spring rates because they're a good bit stiffer than stock, increasing performance, without sacrificing too much ride comfort. If other rates would better accomplish this, then by all means, speak up. As far as ride height goes, I know that lower is generally better insofar as it lowers the center of gravity, which is good, but it also puts a cap on useful suspension travel, which is bad. I want minimum ride height given maximum travel, right? On a smoother surface, such as a track, I can run a lower ride height, since I likely won't need as much travel, right?

How would I recognize that and prevent it from happening?

Okay, cool. I was thinking from the ground to the pivot of the LCA would be a good spot, but I guess the jack points are easier to reach.

 

Call Eibach and make them get you a matched pair/set. We aren't privy to their manufacturing and QC processes. But honestly. You won't even feel a difference and it's not like you're setting up some super precise machine here. Overthinking **** seems to be your issue.

They are called "off the shelf" springs. They are usually 7" but that is based on vehicle application. Call Eibach if you want something different or just want to chat.


Efficient? Hardly. You're just over complicating ****. The same as everyone else. Pick a ride height. Set the car down and if you don't like where it's sitting jack the car back and up and adjust until you get it.

So why are you sweating the ride height issues? Get the Progress CSII 350/500 then and call it a day. More than enough suspension for you.

What do you think? But the regular roads in your town are bereft of speed bumps and potholes? If you're not going "super low" then you have nothing to worry about whether on the track or on the street. Do you actually plan on getting two alignments every time you go to the track and back? Sounds retarded to me. And have you ever ridden on those rates? You may be in for a shocker if you buy them and find out they are way to harsh. Pick a height and leave it. Period.

If you're not lowering your car into the ground you have nothing to worry about. Jeez.

Looks like you want to be spoonfed everything. This will make your road to choosing a suspension muy dificil. In the time you're sitting there dreaming about your future suspension maybe you should be on this suspension forum reading every single post on it.

 

That's entirely possible.

Are OTS springs typically longer or shorter than stock springs?

That strikes me as rather inefficient, not to mention putting the cart before the horse. The goal isn't to figure out how to make the car perform acceptably at a given ride height. The goal is to determine the ride height that gives optimum performance.

It seemed like my method would give me the ability to track the maximum travel required given my spring rates, and with a single adjustment, set the ride height to the minimum required to retain that amount of travel. Your method seems to be more along the lines of, "I guess I'll go -3 and see how that looks. Oops, I bottomed out the car; I guess I'll go -2.75. Oops; maybe -2.25. Hey, I haven't bottomed out in a while; maybe I should go to -2.5. Oops. I guess I need higher spring rates."

My method seems far more efficient, in fact, but I didn't know if I was missing something important.

I thought I explained that.

Okay, now I see what step you were trying to save me; determining the proper height, as you've already determined it for my car. Thanks! <3

I am having a little trouble with unit conversion though. How many inches per low and how many lows are in a super?

You don't think dropping the ride height by an inch for a day would require a realignment? How much would it affect toe?

Umm, yeah. You've mentioned that already.

No. I've ridden OEM shocks mostly, which I find to be a bit soft. I currently have these on the front, and I think they're ****. Of course, they were slapped on there by the kid that had it before me. I'm considering going back to the OEM springs, but I also realize that it still has OEM shocks on it. Hell, for all I know, it could have the original shocks.

Now that my car is "roadworthy," I'm getting to the point where I feel like if I'm going to replace something, I'm going to replace it with "the right part," so that got me to thinking about shocks, springs, and setup thereof.

Form follows function.

No, I was looking for some helpful input. Perhaps something like, "Hey, travel will increase a bit as ride height decreases, so give yourself a good margin when lowering," or maybe, "I can pretty much guarantee you're good to an inch and a half, and the OTS springs take off an inch anyway, so go ahead and crank it down a half when you start."

 

The GC OTS springs are alot shorter that your stock spring. That shouldn't matter since it's coming with the threaded sleave.

I really hope your a female, if not don't heart us again.

 

Generaly, when you lower the car you LOOSE travel.

You really are making this hard on yourself, and you wont except it.

The sprngs don't take a inch off. The spring sits on a threaded pearch you thread up to rasie, and down to lower.
With OTS rates, you can't really go that low. The spring rates are just too low.

 

Umm, with the zip tie…

Well, right. I'm not trying to build some magical suspension that's impossible to bottom out under any circumstances. I figured if I tracked the actual maximum travel over a month, I'd have a pretty good idea of what a reasonable ride height would be for the driving I do and the springs I have.

Maybe in a month I'll instead decide that the springs are too hard/soft/chocolatey for my taste and swap them, but once I do settle on a spring rate, I'm still going to need to set the ride height accordingly.

Right. Hence my concern about lowering it "too much" and restricting my travel beyond a reasonable limit.

Is there a method whose difficulty lies somewhere in between my method — connecting a zip tie and checking it in a month to see how much it moved — and simply choosing arbitrarily and hoping for the best, which isn't technically a "method" in the strictest sense of the term?

I was just trying to come up with a method for determining minimum "safe" ride height for a given set of springs, and wondering if my method was sound, and if anyone knew of a better method. Sorry to have caused such a ruckus.

 

With the spring rates you have in mind, I would say with confindence is plently to support a mild drop.

Now, I missed it earlier, but any, I mean any change in ride height will have an affect on the toe. Which could cuase some inner wear on the tires. Even more sence you have already stated you were considering having the front end toe'd out. .03 isn't much, but it's still toe out which is normally the tire killer, even more so when it's mixed with some negative camber.

 

Right. That's why I was talking about having it realigned whenever I changed the ride height.

 

I reccomend taking a look at a lifetime alignment.

 

lol Yes, I already got one. $65 at one of the local chains.

 

$65 for a lifetime?! I think you meant just one.