Blue Gumby

I'm gonna need either one for my coilover with 6" springs. Seems like most coilovers comes with helper springs but never spacers. The purpose of the helper spring is to prevent main spring from coming off the perch. If I only need two inches to set the spring tight to the upper spring mount without pre-loading the spring, won't it make more sense to use the spacers? Spacers has no moving parts compare to helper springs, so it should be better right?

Suspension

A spacer is only good for one ride height. If you want to lower your car, you'll need a new size spacer. If you want to raise your car, you're going to have to compress the stiff ride spring. The helper spring allows you to change ride height easily. And unless your car is in the air, the helper spring is completely compressed and, essentially, is not a moving parts.

robrob

Disregard this post, both statements are wrong


I would add: "The helper springs allow you to change ride height easily" + with very little suspension pre-load change--you compress the lightly sprung keeper spring to change ride height.

With a spacer you change pre-load a lot as you adjust ride height--you're compressing the main spring (unless the coil-over has ride height adjusters at the top of the shock).

macr88

Why is it that neither of these answers sound correct.

It sounds like your concern is a loose spring when the car is jacked up, a spring spacer won't do anything for you except allow you to run a shorter spring. If you buy a 2" spring spacer you'll have to adjust your preload adjuster two inches lower to remain at your current ride height. You'll end up with a floppy spring and spring spacer at that point when the car is jacked up.

What you want is a helper spring if you want the main spring to always be captured when the car is jacked up.

robrob

Mac, you're right. A spacer will change ride height so like you said helper springs are required to keep the springs secure at full droop unless the coilovers have ride height adjusters (at the top of the springs).

IntegraR0064

One more confirmation - I have both spacers and helper springs installed at the same time. The reason you use a spacer is if you have too short of a spring for the ride height you want. It does not do what helper springs do, which is take up slack when uncompressed.

slightly2ned

Is it possible instead of using a spring + helper spring; to just replace with a longer spring with the same stiffness that will eliminate the helper spring?

macr88

You own a book that has this information in it

Answer is no.

IntegraR0064

No, that's the same thing we're talking about here with the spacer. Having a longer spring is the same thing as having a shorter spring with a spacer.

Imagine you have the situation that requires a helper spring - i.e. you have the correct ride height but your spring is not long enough to fill all of your max shock length. So there's no slack in the spring while the car's on the ground, but if you jack up that corner there will be extra space that the spring doesn't fill. If you were to then go to your spring making machine and make a spring that was the same rate but exactly the right length to fill the empty space, then you'll have a longer spring of the same rate as before, so when you drop the car back on the ground your ride height will be higher. Then you'll lower the bottom perch to drop the ride height, thereby making more space between your spring perches again, and if you jack up the car after adjusting ride height, you'll have exactly the same amount of empty space you had before.

So the only way to have that rate spring with that ride height with no slop is to either move the top spring perch down, or to use a helper spring.

Blue Gumby

The reason I needed the spring spacers in front was because the 6" springs was slamming the car. Even with the spring perch at the highest setting the front was too low to drive, spring spacers helped with the problem, but not solve it. Even though I'm using linear springs, I think I'm preloading the main spring too much to achieve the ride height. The rear had problems of having too much droop. My shock builder is adamant against using helper springs or spacers. I'm gonna send them back sometime this month, he's talking about droop limiters to fix the problem.