Hello fellow members! I'll try to make this quick...

I try to autox once or twice a month (if i'm lucky) and I'll have more time now that the summer is here. I was looking to upgrade my suspension and I was going to go with Ground Controls and Koni yellows. However, someone at a local shop suggested that the Eibach Road-Race Kit or Pro-Kit would be fine. 1) Because the Ground Controls are noisy and harsh on regular pavement and 2) because of the cost.

If you could please add to or correct this train of thought I would greatly apprectiate it. Again, I only see track time 1 or 2 times a month tops. Thanks in advace.

 

Apples and Oranges. Both springs are made by Eibach, so you can make them as similar or as different as you want by choosing your springs. It's the flexability that most people are after with the GC kit, and you can't beat Koni yellows for the $$$.

 

I have pro-kits. They are great for what they are - daily driving/occasional spirited driving, but they are a bit soft for autox imo. The rear springrate is just too soft and it makes way too much understeer. If i had to do it over again, id definitely be looking at the custom gc/koni yellow combo.

Ive ridden in a civic with roadrace springs and it was very stiff, better suited for the track but it dumped the car a good 2". Not terrible but you may want to look into GCs for their height adjustability.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by travis &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Apples and Oranges. Both springs are made by Eibach, so you can make them as similar or as different as you want by choosing your springs. It's the flexability that most people are after with the GC kit, and you can't beat Koni yellows for the $$$.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Thanks for the responses guys!!

I have another question...is it possible to get custom spring rates for the regular eibachs or just with the Ground Control kit? Because I could still save money by just getting custom spring rates.

Also, I gathered from reading some posts from the search function that the rear spring rates where too soft with the pro-kit. Is there another remedy?

 

Ive got a set of GC's with KYB agx .. it was alittle extra for a custom spring.. 300F 400R .. 98 civic

 

eibach pro kit with rear sway bar really wouldnt be a bad option.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Tyson &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">eibach pro kit with rear sway bar really wouldnt be a bad option. </TD></TR></TABLE>

Anybody wanna second this opinion? I was told that you should balance the front and back with strut bars too. Can you have the sway bar without the strut bars?

 

Strut bars are a poor use of money until everything else has been done IMO. And yes you can have sway bars coming out of your a$$ without any strut bars. Strut bars stiffen the chassis (assuming they work), sway bars are a suspension component. Do a search for more info.

Also, one thing I want to add... from the sounds of things you're looking to spend $800-1000 on a new suspension. That's a lot of coin to spend based on advice from people you've never met and who may or may not know what they're talking about. Most of the people around here are very knowledgeable and can be a huge help, but I would suggest saving your money until YOU know exactly what YOU want for YOUR car.

Good luck and have fun this season.

 

I'm running the Pro kit with the ST rear bar and full polly bushings. The car is really well behaved, and does real well at autoX. I'm looking at going to GC's to be able to corner weight the car. Other than that, I'm happy. Running illumina shocks too. I just took a 3rd out of 23 with it in the Street Unlimited class (only rule is DOT tire). If I did it again, it'd be GC's, and I'm getting a chance to do it again with an Si Hatch I'm picking up.

 

$800-$1000 will buy you a street-oriented coilover kit.

As far as GC setup being harsh, that all depends on the spring rates you choose.

 

I've got the Koni/Eibach Pro Kit on my NSX and it's entirely too soft for competitive use, even if they shocks are on full hard. &lt;== Sounds funny.

 

The big differences between coilovers and sport springs are...

- Adjustability
- Spring rate

A coilover kit, while marginally more expensive, is infinitely more flexible. First, you can do cornerweighting (do a search on this). Second, you can use linear rate springs. Most sport springs are progressive...soft at first, then increasingly firm as they compress. Linear rate springs like most people use (competitively) with coilovers are x punds per square inch *right now* with no extra give for ride compliance.

I had a set of Progress sport springs years ago, and the lower center of gravity and slightly higher spring rate did improve handling. But when autocrossing or driving on track, the progressive rate springs' changes during a single compression made for some spooky handling changes mid corner.

"Coilovers" ride quality, like RJ said, depends bery much on spring rate. And ride quality is also subjective. I drove my car around on 375F/425R springs for a long time and thought it rode just as good as the sport springs...sometimes better, since they didn't bottom out as much. FWIW.

 

forget about strut bars dude. it has nothing to do with sway bars and suspension. btw, have you read my FAQ? link is in my sig and the forum sticky. honestly, youre not getting the right answer because your understanding of suspension doesnt show you have done much research in this by you not asking the right questions.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Tyson &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">forget about strut bars dude. it has nothing to do with sway bars and suspension. btw, have you read my FAQ? link is in my sig and the forum sticky. honestly, youre not getting the right answer because your understanding of suspension doesnt show you have done much research in this by you not asking the right questions.</TD></TR></TABLE>

I totally agree that I may not be asking the right questions. I do, however, think that I have received some good responses. No one answered whether or not you can get custom spring rates from eibach without getting the Ground Control kit. Also, I think that for my personal use the Pro-kit will suffice based on the money I'm willing to spend and the time that I spend at the track. I'm still somewhat of a beginner and I can progress with time. Thank you again for your repsonses.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by phillycx &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
No one answered whether or not you can get custom spring rates from eibach without getting the Ground Control kit. </TD></TR></TABLE>

this is what i mean as a dumb question. yes, you can get custom spring rates. if you understand how the adjustable spring kit (ala coilovers) work, you can get wahtever you want. HOWEVER, you must have the right perch to mount to the shock, GC, skunk, cheap ebay piece of $Xit even, no brainer. but if you MEAN to ask if you can get a custom wound spring kit that will fit like Pro kits, then thats just another stupid idea. no way would you be able to get a custom made spring kit that would just plop in like oem springs.

 

Correct me if i'm wrong: the Ground Controls are adjustable springs and the Pro-kit is non-adjustable. I wanted to know if you can get non-adjustable springs with a custom spring rate? If this is a stupid question I apologize.

 

Yes, you can purchase custom rates in the stock configuration if you have them custom made but not as Eibach Pro Kits. They are sold at one rate only specially designed for your model of car.

If you intend to race Solo II forget the Pro Kit springs or any street kit springs they are just too soft to be competitive accept on a local level.

Spring rates are not adjustable, the perches for the springs are adjustable with GC's but you can purchase different rate springs. Yes, I understand what you ment.

 

Thanks

Would you know who makes these non-adjustable custom springs?

 

If you live in a good size city look in the phone book under auto springs, there is likely a manufacture in your town that can wind custom rate springs. I live in Vancouver, BC Canada so any local manufacture in this area would likely not be much help to you. http://www.chamberlainspring.com/ , http://www.dendoff.com/

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by phillycx &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote"> Thanks

Would you know who makes these non-adjustable custom springs? </TD></TR></TABLE>

Everyone makes "custom springs" If you want custom springs but not adjustable perches then just call up ground control and tell them -
1) Diameter
2) Height
3) Spring rate

and they will sell you whatever you want.

You can also call Hypercoil or look in the back of GrassRoots or SportsCar mags for any one of many vendors who will sell you whatever spring you want. The problem is - do you know what you want? And I think the answer is no.

So go and get some advice. There are plenty of knowledgeable folks in the philly region who can help you -

Mark Sirota
Frank Gonzales
Allen Kugler
Ken Buck
Chris Shenefield
Vern Lyle

Go to an event, seek them out, ask your question and LISTEN without trying to prove how much you know.

Regards,
Alan

 

Do some research...