ok, i've been searching through the archives for awhile and keep finding mixed reviews about this..

i'm looking to replace my front 8" 500lb springs with a set of 350's but am unsure what length to buy. a few people have said that when using 7" springs up front their wheels (15") are tucked in the wheelwell even with the perch set at it's highest point.. i've also found a few people that disagree and say their ride height is fine and can be set to near stock height with the 7" springs. i'm sitting at about 1.5" lower than stock right now and wish to remain at this height with the new springs.. are 7" springs too short to keep me riding this high? this is my street car primarily (weekend auto-x'er) so i'd rather not lower it anymore..

the reason i ask is i'm finding quite a few sets of used 300-350# springs in 7" but none in 8".. i'd like to save a few pennies and pick up a used set if i can (i'm a poor student).. the car is a delsol w/koni yellows if that makes any difference.. thanks guys..

 

what coilovers are you using...GC?

 

yep, gc sleeves with koni yellows..

 

With my '90 Civic hatch, I have Konis and GC's and 7" ERS springs front and back. There is tons of perch, so I can tuck the wheels and slam the car to the ground, or I can have 2-3 inches of fender gap. Either way, no problems.

edit: ah, I see it's a del sol, I'd think it'd be similar?
anyway, just measure how much more perch height you have left on the sleeve. since you know you're losing an inch, you know how much you have to work with.

 

For comparison purpose: On a GSR with Skunk Works, i swapped the coils front/back. Both are 7" springs. The 350#(6kg/mm) ended up front, and the 450#(8kg/mm) ended on back. Even with the perch at the top, it was Too Low... Too Low! The 205/50/15 tyres was just tucked under the wheel well. That's ok, but the shocks (Tokico Illuminas) were very near the bumpstops. I guestimate just about 1" travel left. It was scary going through Big Bend and Downhill at LRP. I also had to fight to keep the car off the curbs, didn't want to hit bumpstops. The amount of weight on the front will affect your static height. On the GSR it was 1850lbs front, 800lbs rear when I took it to the track.

What I did after that track day was put a 3" length x 2" diameter metal pipe under the coils to raise the perch and that seemed to work. I haven't been back on the track w/ that setup yet.

I am assuming the follwoing following?
1850/(350*2) = 2.64" compressed spring at static
1850/(450*2) = 2.05" compressed spring at static
That would mean my setup swapped front to back, I got almost .60" additional drop.

 

yeah, i think i just need to get off my lazy *** and get down there to measure it myself..