Some Suspension Set Up Info....

[Erko]

damn you...

I used to live hear in 2000/01 now I am thinking about how to worm my way back. I get older but they just stay the same dammit!

[SILK RSPEC]

RaceFPV,

I got an rspec typhoon and have had a gutful of the axle tramp etc and have bitten the bullet.

I have just ordered a set of bilstein's and am looking at spring rates,

kings do a 450 pound front and a 260 pound rear for the late model mkII setup as it has a different coil hieght in their low springs.

My question is should I stick with that in a linear spring or should I go to a custom spring rate of 520 pound front and 390lb rear as you suggested or even up to something as stiff as the tein's

How is the ride going to feel on the street with the higher 520/390 combo or even higher and is it worth going linear with an increase or progressive rate?

I assume progressive rate is always from the stock base rate and not a % ratio

e.g. stock spring 450 so progressive would be 450-520 or 450-800 not a percentage making the new rate 700-800 if a 800pound spring was put in.

I was also going to order the 27mm front swaybar and maybe get an adjustable rear bar.

whitelin only does a 22mm bar can they be cutome order e.g. a 20mm adjustable bar?

I was also thinking about sticking some poly air bags in the rear springs so I can adjust them for going to the drags or playing on track days, has anyone used them for this application. I though they may also help with the axle tramp issue in the sedan.

Oh I am changing the squichy lower inner control bushes in the front end when putting the bilstein's in cause it makes sense to do it

my car has stock power at the moment but will most likely have and adapted process west race kit with plenum, cooler etc installed on it once I am happy with the handling and stopping stuff, wasn't sure if the power will make a big difference or not.

[SILK RSPEC]

does anyone know what the spring rates are for the mk2 f6 and rspec? someone told me that 450pound front and 250 pound rear is standard can anyone verify this?

[senna_T]

those figures sound familiar mate, I believe they only change the shocks in our cars, apart from height I believe the springs are the same between XR and FPV.

[Erko]

myt14, the 450/250 lb/in spring rates you mention are stock across all b series i6 applications including fpv afaik. your spring rate assumptions are correct.

the bilsteins are designed as oem replacement so their　valving is set to work with stock to about 20 percent over as I understand. you can have them custom valved however and have kings run a custom spring　set however you would be better off going with tein as they have already done the development. the kings you mention are basically oem spring rate with less travel.

you sound like you have some pretty big plans for it....go with tein road/track coilovers and see what you think about the balance....then add sways later. 27mm front would be the go with stock or 22mm adjustable rear depending on preference / wheel type - ie. with stock 8in rears id try stock rear bar and with 9.5in rears id try 22mm.

regarding custom bar sizes, yes they can be done however not sure about whiteline. I found axle tramp reduced significantly with the teins, however I would also look into the bf2 diff bushing that superpro/fulcrum are developing at the moment. like most car mods, there can be some compromises - ie. a poly diff bushing may transmit more driveline　into the cabin. I will probably change mine as I already have bosch 044 noise in the cabin!

fyi pat - im in tokyo now and heading out to super autobacs tokyo bay.

[iTec]

ｔｒｅｖｓ　－　ｂｉｌｓｔｅｉｎ／ｋｉｎｇｓ／ｌｏｗｅｒ　ｉｎｎｅｒ　ｃｏｎｔｒｏｌ　ａｒｍ　ｂｕｓｈｉｎｇ／２７ｍｍ　ｆｒｏｎｔ　ｂａｒ　ｓｈｏｕｌｄ　ｇｉｖｅ　ｙｏｕ　ｗｈａｔ　ｙｏｕ　ｗａｎｔ　ｆｏｒ　ｔｈｅ　ｍｏｎｅｙ　ｙｏｕ　ａｒｅ　ｔａｌｋｉｎｇ．．ｍａｋｅ　ｓｕｒｅ　ｙｏｕ　ｇｅｔ　ａ　ｇｏｏｄ　ａｌｉｇｎｍｅｎｔ　ｓｅｔ　ｕｐ　－　ｇｏ　ｓｏｍｅｗｈｅｒｅ　ｔｈａｔ　ｄｏｅｓ　ｃｉｒｃｕｉｔ　ｃａｒｓ　ａｓ　ｔｈｅｙ　ｗｉｌｌ　ｋｎｏｗ　ｗｈａｔ　ｔｏ　ｄｏ．　ｔｈｉｓ　ｗｉｌｌ　ｐｒｏｖｅ　ａ　ｑｕｉｃｋ　ａｎｄ　ｓａｆｅ　ｓｅｔ　ｕｐ．　

Other then the lower control arm bushings that is my exact setup... and personaly I love it, off throttle it understeers a little, which I have found lets me get on the throttle out of the corner a little quicker as the rear will come around and follow the front without kicking out (275's on the rear) it makes corners in my opinion alot more fun then the stock setup did.

good to get some scientific confirmation of what I thought was a great setup

[senna_T]

fyi pat - im in tokyo now and heading out to super autobacs tokyo bay.

nice, super autobacs is cool, you should pick up some Raybrig H4 globes. I got some while I was there for about $45, they are awesome and have the cool HID blue look. LOL, it was just about the onlly thing I could buy for my car there! I also picked up some sweet Alpine Star race gloves for a good price.

Say G'Day to the bloke that looks after the "Lindbergh" Book and DVD store upstairs there too, he does a good "G'Day Mate"

If you have time, research a place called Crystal, it is like Super Autobacs but more focused on performance parts. Its out near Chiba if I remember correctly. I actually preferred Crystal because I thought Autobacs was kinda like an expensive Supercheap auto! Crystal is cheaper too!

Edited 24/05/08 06:37 AM by senna_T

[Erko]

raybrig h4s eh....that's the go. I am getting some gloves too and maybe a couple of tshirts

[senna_T]

I've never been so jealous! I wouldn't blame you for wanting to live there!

If you do go to Crystal, Top Secret is about 10-15 minutes drive up the road (or 40 minutes walk if you are a stupid gaijin that caught the train...)

[SILK RSPEC]

Thanks for info,

I am getting a set of custom rate bilstein's sent to me which are the mk1 strut which measure 8 inchs from bottom of coil to the centre of the bolt where as the mk 2 struct is 10 inches in measurement they both fit sounds like ford changed it just to save some money on the length of the springs as there is no ther reason to do it. the reason I am doing this is king spring do not have the right spring rate I want straight off the shelf so I will save quite a few dollars going to the earlier strut. I was thinking of coilovers but don't want to change the ride hieght and can't justify the exrta money for a twin tube shock over a monotube (Ii personally like monotubes quicker response anyway)

The springs I am getting will be a standard hieght 520lb front spring and 310 pound rear spring, I am hoping this combo with the 27mm front and 22 rear should be pretty good.

especially seeing I will put a set of polyairs in the rear which will let me play with the rear rate a little the get it pretty much right.

Will let everyone know once I get the gear in what it is like, I got a friend that has corner scales so I might borrow them off him to see if I can balance the car up a little better as well. Thanks for the help.