Need help with JIC coilovers...
04-08-2003, 09:25 AM
#31
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RT, I'm talking about these:
Slick Rick, I am not going to be able to make it to Sears Point. I have finals for law school during the first half of may, so I can't make it to any track days until after May 16. Besides, I'm totally poor now that I had to buy another set of springs. I was in the car while it was corner balanced and aligned. I took the spare, toolkit, etc. out of the trunk because that's how I will run the car on the track. With the spare in the car (or a passenger), I imagine the balance is probably improved considerably.
Cdelena, it's just so you can know the precise setting (I'm currently running 10 all around).
Mav, yeah - they come with 7k/8k. I had wanted to order them with stiffer springs from the get-go, but I was told there would be a long delay. After seeing how things work there, I don't think it should have caused any delay at all and it would have saved me a ton of money. The 12K springs are 180 mm front and 150 mm rear, so those are a little more expensive than the 200 mm springs the coilovers came with and then there's still the additional cost of the helper springs, but I really would have preferred to just pay an extra $150 or so to do it right from the start. I should warn you tho - 12 K is pretty stiff... you might want to go with 10 if you drive on rough roads or your S.O. likes to bitch about your car being uncomfortable, etc.
Gfacter, Adding preload will make the car ride a little stiffer, but the main reason they caution against it is that it puts stress on the top of the shock pison, so you risk breaking it off if the suspension suddenly becomes unloaded. They said this is only really a problem when you're running more than 5 mm of preload (which would require cranking at the thing with the wrenches for a while). Hand tightening is fine - they did that with mine yesterday. Changing the preload will affect your balance a little, but we found yesterday that the car is well balanced already and it's difficult to get much more balance just through adjusting the coilovers (you really need to move the battery and other heavy items to balance the car much more than how it comes from the factory). I weigh 190 lbs, so that was part of the reason we had trouble balancing my car completely. If you are lighter and especially if you leave the spare in, I don't think you need to worry too much about the balance. I think we lifted my back right wheel like 5 mm higher and there wasn't all that much change to the weights on the scales, so don't expect to get too much magic just from cornerbalancing. Frankly, I think it was kinda a waste.
Slick Rick, I am not going to be able to make it to Sears Point. I have finals for law school during the first half of may, so I can't make it to any track days until after May 16. Besides, I'm totally poor now that I had to buy another set of springs. I was in the car while it was corner balanced and aligned. I took the spare, toolkit, etc. out of the trunk because that's how I will run the car on the track. With the spare in the car (or a passenger), I imagine the balance is probably improved considerably.
Cdelena, it's just so you can know the precise setting (I'm currently running 10 all around).
Mav, yeah - they come with 7k/8k. I had wanted to order them with stiffer springs from the get-go, but I was told there would be a long delay. After seeing how things work there, I don't think it should have caused any delay at all and it would have saved me a ton of money. The 12K springs are 180 mm front and 150 mm rear, so those are a little more expensive than the 200 mm springs the coilovers came with and then there's still the additional cost of the helper springs, but I really would have preferred to just pay an extra $150 or so to do it right from the start. I should warn you tho - 12 K is pretty stiff... you might want to go with 10 if you drive on rough roads or your S.O. likes to bitch about your car being uncomfortable, etc.
Gfacter, Adding preload will make the car ride a little stiffer, but the main reason they caution against it is that it puts stress on the top of the shock pison, so you risk breaking it off if the suspension suddenly becomes unloaded. They said this is only really a problem when you're running more than 5 mm of preload (which would require cranking at the thing with the wrenches for a while). Hand tightening is fine - they did that with mine yesterday. Changing the preload will affect your balance a little, but we found yesterday that the car is well balanced already and it's difficult to get much more balance just through adjusting the coilovers (you really need to move the battery and other heavy items to balance the car much more than how it comes from the factory). I weigh 190 lbs, so that was part of the reason we had trouble balancing my car completely. If you are lighter and especially if you leave the spare in, I don't think you need to worry too much about the balance. I think we lifted my back right wheel like 5 mm higher and there wasn't all that much change to the weights on the scales, so don't expect to get too much magic just from cornerbalancing. Frankly, I think it was kinda a waste.
04-08-2003, 10:34 AM
#32
Originally posted by The Reverend
RT, I'm talking about these:
..................
.
RT, I'm talking about these:
..................
.
BTW, that's what I was talking about in my first post
Originally posted by RT
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...............
The only concern I'd have is if the spring is loose enough to fall off the perch at full extension (which probably won't happen anyways unless you're jumping the streets of San Francisco). In that case you may consider using tender springs in series w/ the main spring to keep things tight at full droop.
.............
...............
The only concern I'd have is if the spring is loose enough to fall off the perch at full extension (which probably won't happen anyways unless you're jumping the streets of San Francisco). In that case you may consider using tender springs in series w/ the main spring to keep things tight at full droop.
that's some stiff a$$ sh!t !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Tell us how they work on the track 
.
04-08-2003, 01:21 PM
#35
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Yeah, David and I are running the same setup (JIC's with 12 K and rear helpers). And yes, it IS some stiff ass sheeit 
. Hopefully it'll rock at the track.
. Hopefully it'll rock at the track.
04-08-2003, 01:52 PM
#36
Thank you,
I think I may have 2-3mm of preload. I weight 190 also and balanced the car with the spare in. (forgot about that, doh) that said only a few turns were needed. I should have saved my money.
This is how the car balanced out with 193lbs in the dr seat
LF 745 RF 712
LR 780 RR 730
2774 LBS W/O driver and 1/2 tank of fuel
George
[QUOTE]Originally posted by The Reverend
[B]RT, I'm talking about these:
Gfacter, Adding preload will make the car ride a little stiffer, but the main reason they caution against it is that it puts stress on the top of the shock pison, so you risk breaking it off if the suspension suddenly becomes unloaded.
I think I may have 2-3mm of preload. I weight 190 also and balanced the car with the spare in. (forgot about that, doh) that said only a few turns were needed. I should have saved my money.
This is how the car balanced out with 193lbs in the dr seat
LF 745 RF 712
LR 780 RR 730
2774 LBS W/O driver and 1/2 tank of fuel
George
[QUOTE]Originally posted by The Reverend
[B]RT, I'm talking about these:
Gfacter, Adding preload will make the car ride a little stiffer, but the main reason they caution against it is that it puts stress on the top of the shock pison, so you risk breaking it off if the suspension suddenly becomes unloaded.
04-08-2003, 02:00 PM
#37
Why would preloading the springs change the spring rate (or stiffness)? Preloading the springs should just change the position of the damper while the car is at rest. It seems to me that the only reason to change the preload is to optimize damper travel.
04-08-2003, 02:18 PM
#40
Originally posted by cdelena
I have not measured the spring rate but I have observed that preloading them does do two things; it raises the ride height and reduces spring travel that is left. Since I want to do neither I only used enough load to hold the spring firmly. When I want to change ride height I change the length of the body.
I have not measured the spring rate but I have observed that preloading them does do two things; it raises the ride height and reduces spring travel that is left. Since I want to do neither I only used enough load to hold the spring firmly. When I want to change ride height I change the length of the body.