I am looking to beef up the suspension on my GSR for next spring/summer autocrossing, and was looking for new spring/shock combo's.

Would Ground Controls be a good idea for a daily driver/weekend autocrosser? What kind of spring rates would be good for the front/back for the setup to ensure that I would have a fairly stiff suspension for my autocrossing, but maintain the drivability for the streets?

Where can I get a set of ground controls for the cheapest price, and are they a quality piece for my car? I was also thinking about using KYB AGX with my GC's, are these good enough for a stiff ride, or should I save up for the Koni Yellow's, I am new to autocrossing, so I am wondering if the Koni's would be over the top right now, or a good investment for the future?

Thanks for any replys
HondaJon

 

Those Koni Yellow's are a SOUND investement coupled with Gound Control Coilovers. That's the combo I'll be purchasing in the next couple days, I'd recommend it to anyone else!

 

Do you know if you can get stiffer spring rates on the coilovers for a more aggressive setup, or are the GC's a standard spring rate and ready to be driven hard on the autocross track?

What are ideal front/rear spring rates for coilovers on an integra for auto x / daily driver?

Thanks again!

 

ttt, come on guys, I know quite a few of you have GC's and could tell me if you have the regular spring rates and how stiff they are, or tell me what spring rates you can get on them, and what rates would be good for a daily driver / auto x on the weekends

 

Sup Jon.. I run the following on my car:
Bilstein HD shocks/struts
Ground Control threaded sleeves
Eibach ERS 450lb front springs
Eibach ERS 600lb rear springs
Comptech 22mm rear anti-sway bar.

It's stiff on teh road, but good for autox and lapping days if you know how to control it. I would suggest some lower rates.. say 350/400 or 350/450 or 400/450 until you get the hang of using oversteer to your advantage.

Hope this helps, if not feel free to ask any questions.

 

Thanks Dave,

So when you order ground controls, you can ask for specific spring rates, or do you have to purchase those springs seperately. Because if you can choose your spring rates when you purchase them I would do that, but if you bought them seperatley, I would just stick with the original rates from Ground Control, because I don't have that king of cash right now.

Also, where did you get your GC's and how much did you pay?
Do you reccommend your Bilsteins, how about KYB AGX or KONI. I am looking to spend like $400-500 on the shocks, so let me know would be the best for the money, and could handle a ~1.5~ inch drop, and weekends on the auto x scene.

Thanks Again Dave,
Jon

 

I got mine from Trey at Import Specialists ( email him at: trey@import-specialists.com ). You can get the custom rates with them, I think they charge like 10 bucks or something to do the custom rates at the time of purchase versas the normal rates.

I love the bilsteins, they work great for everything I use the car for. AutoX, lapping days, daily driver, etc. Koni's would be my second choice but I don't want to play with the rebound setting to get it right, the bilsteins work fine with no adjustability for me.

 

So what spring rates do you reccomend for a daily driver, who does auto x twice a month during spring/summer/fall here with the harsh winters in cincinnati.

I know that the Integra Type R has spring rates something like 250f/120-250r. How comfortable and streetable would the ride be on say 350f/400r or 350f/450r?

I want the car to be mainly a daily driver, but still have pretty mean handling for those weekends of auto x and occaisonal spirited driving.

I am looking at these for a christmas present for myself, and want to get the right setup the first time to avoid buying my suspension over again, like so many others on this board have already done.

Thanks a lot for the help Dave,
Jon

 

Also, do you reccomend piecing together your own combination of suspension parts (ground controls, and good shocks) opposed to just going ahead and buying a full coilover system like Tein or Zeal for about the same price, what are the advantages/disadvantages?

Thanks,
Jon

 

HondaJon - I've run GC's for 2.5 yrs now with 4 different sets of spring rates! First off, don't even think about KYB... I've blown 4 of 'em now & a friend has blown 4 as well.

Second, the suspension is complete system that the springs and shocks are only a part of. The spring rates will act slightly differently depending on what else you've done to the suspension, ie. sways, ties, strut braces, bushings, etc. Assuming you haven't replaced EVERYTHING (yet), then I'd recommend the 340-380 progressives on front with 350 rear. That's a fairly stiff setup, with still a hint of understeer, bordering on neutral.

This past season I ran 400/400 and had a ton of oversteer! It took a while to learn how to use it, but pretty aggressive setup, but not very comfortable as a daily driver!

If you've replaced ALL the other suspension parts including ER bushings, then even their special 315-340 prrogressives on front with 250 rear (exclusive Eibach for GC springs), which is what I call my "Winter setup", will STILL give you oversteer! I find it totally amazing, but true! Much better daily driver though...

Lastly, I recommend buying directly from GC as you'll be able to get free tech support and deals on replacing springs when you're ready.

 

Well, my springs are too harsh for the street. But my H&R Sports were too soft IMO.. so for me, I think 350/400 or 350/450 would both be good rates on the street. But it really depends on what you think is too harsh. So, I can't provide anything but my opinion on this one, but I think that either of those rates would be fine assuming your don't have deep *** potholes like Toledo has last time I was up there...

As for Tein/Zeal setups. I would have considered one of them, but I already have the Bilsteins and the VERY quick delivery of the custom rates and threaded sleeves is what made me get the ground controls. I received the setup in one week from ordering, something that wouldn't have happened most likely if I got the Zeals.. also the Zeals I would want are way more expensive than my setup. And I'd still have to get custom rates anyways and I doubt any US dealer/distributor of those products would have stock on custom rates

 

Geez Max, I'm going to be running at least 600/900 next

 

So 350f/350-400r would be good for daily driving, and still provide pretty much neutral handling all around?

Thanks for all the help Max and Dave, you guys seem very knowledgable about suspensions (experience I guess)

 

Another thing on my mind....

While I am in there replacing my springs/shocks, should I go ahead and buy the rear lower control arms from the type R and get the GC's and Koni's that fit the type R in the back, or is that overkill?

Thanks,
Jon

 

drumsey or others:

How much did you guys buy the coilovers and shocks for ?..hows about instalation.DIY

 

I'm thinking about purchasing the same setup: GC sleeves, custom spring rates and KONI Yellows, because I think my springs are too soft. I have a set of the
V-Spec II Coilovers, and I have never been able to find out the spring rates on them. Does anyone have a guess as to what they might be? I kinda need to know because I want a stiffer setup than what I have, but if I don't know what the V-SPec spring rates are, then I have no basis for comparison. I tried calling the company, but no one had an answer. Is there any way to find out?

 

What class you planning on running?
Been so long since I've been out to autox in Cincy.
1998 Cincy SCCA DSP champ
1998 CSSC DSP runner up (damn wabbit's!)

I got out of autox when SCCA decided to bump me in MID SEASON! to CSP.

 

On my car, those rates would be nice for daily driving. Still stiff, but not that stiff IMO.

As for the ITR LCAs.. it really depends.. I don't know enough about the Koni's to really answer that. Does the Koni's have a shorter stroke for the ITR? I know Bilstein makes a Sport model of their shock for the Type-R that has a short stroke and I believe (but not 100% sure) revalved for more dampening.

IMO, unless you plan on doing Zeals/Teins/etc down the road, I wouldn't upgrade to the ITR LCAs....

 

The out of box rates on ground control coilovers is around 380/250 for integra. We have plenty of customers that run that rate on the street and the track and they are all very happy with it. Most of them are running Koni yellows including myself. If you want custom rates the ground control for koni have the same price, no extra charge from us. $329.99 for the springs, standard or custom rate. and the koni yellows are still on special for $494.99 also. The ground control for Koni have special sleeve inserts that make it a direct fit for the shocks, they just slide right on http://www.diabloautosports.com/specials.php

 

HondaJon - I wouldn't bother with the LCA's from ITR... not necessary at all, and it will potentially bump you up into an auto-x class you may not be competetive in!

Dave - 600/900? I'm guessing you'll have oversteer to spare!

 

Max: One can only hope. Testing out the current setup at sebring in two weeks.. if I don't like it yet.. time to up the rates more.

 

I am building a SCCA ITS car out of my 94 GSR and am starting with 500 fronts and 700 rears as per GC recomendations. I know a guy who is running 900/1200!