Changing coilover Springs

[sip]

My Silkroads are too bouncy for my roads. It's not that they are too stiff on a sudden bump, it handles those quite well. I can hit a pothole and be ok. It just seems to bounce up and down on roads that have dips it them.
I was looking at changing my spring rates. Has anyone done this. What were your impressions? Will this help my problem or is the dampening the aspect i need to address?

Thanks.

[breakindrifts]

Your still uncomfortable even at the softest setting?

So what are you are going to go with a softer spring rate?

A general rule of thumb is to stay + or - 2k from the original spring rate.

A softer spring rate will help with the "comfort"

BUT

My advice: Man the fuck up, or sell the silkroads and get a softy spring/shock pussy setup.
Silkroads are a pretty damn comfortable coilover compared to most.

[gotta240]

How old/blown are your struts

[racepar1]

Springs generally won't make the car bouncy unless they are significantly too stiff for the shock valving. It sounds to me like your coilovers need to be rebuilt. How long have you had them and did u buy them new or used?

[sip]

I thought they would be more comfortable then they turned out to be.

They are on the softest setting. It is not good for performance when I can't control the accelerator (gas pedal) due to me bouncing around in the car. The roads are pretty bad here.

Yeah i was wondering about 6/5 rate combo.


I bought them new and they have less than 2000 miles on them

I'm thinking about ditching them for some Tein Flexes, I heard they are the best "comfort -wise". It will cost me $500 to changes springs on the silks.

[yokotas13]

ill gibe you 600 for hte silkroads

[sip]

I'm sure you will Grant.
I don't know if I want to sell them yet, but I'd want $800+.

Can you lend some help with my question, ...you know, given your breadth of knowledge.

[yokotas13]

yeah, talk to Logan from aspec
ask him about some Sprint springs

should onl be like 250 for 4 springs

[sip]

$95 PER Spring on aspec site.
$99 per spring from Silkroad.

[gotta240]

sprints SHOULD be cheaper than that. You don't have to stick with the same brand as your coilovers.

[aznpoopy]

full soft to 4 clicks on silkroads are pretty much useless unless you live in an area with very nice roads

turn up the damping

[sip]

full soft to 4 clicks on silkroads are pretty much useless unless you live in an area with very nice roads

turn up the damping

That seems counter intuitive. Why would going firmer be better for crappy roads?

[Jung918]

fuck them cheap china made springs. Buy some real springs. SWIFT or go home.

[aznpoopy]

That seems counter intuitive. Why would going firmer be better for crappy roads?

spring shock system = oscillation and damping system, like a pendulum

if you shock is not able to damp the spring oscillation, (i.e. damper stiffness set too low) then the spring oscillates i.e. goes up and down multiple times before coming to rest i.e. bounces.

if the shock is set properly for the spring, the suspension will absorb the bump and resettle to normal state within one oscillation cycle in the shortest time. ie = no bounce. iirc this is called critical damping. thank you linear algebra / math models of real world systems. college teaches you something.

if the shock is set too stiff, then it does not allow the spring to absorb the bump and you get a stiff ass ride. this also makes the system take longer to settle to resting state.

this also plays into how alot of japanese coilover shocks are crappy, in that the adjustment never gives you the right combo of compression & rebound for it to be comfy. its either too bouncy or too stiff.

[sip]

So what you're saying is that changing springs won't help me. \

I have played with the dampening, the smoothest ride was on full soft. I'll go try again though.

[aznpoopy]

i definitely did not say that

lol

changing to softer springs probably will help if you're deadset on riding around on them at full soft.

[sip]

I played around withthe dampening. It seems to make very little difference. After 7 different setting pairs, the best setting I found was 6 front and 5 rear (from soft). The ride is slightly less bouncy, and slightly more jarring.

I'm perplexed. Maybe I'll try the different spring rate, but fromt he sounds of your (azn) explanation, the strut might be OVER dampened.

[aznpoopy]

i have silkroads too. that's generally where i keep it as well. a little harsh but no bounce.

imo its not overdamping, rather
not the right mix of rebound/compression
the right ratio simply isn't build into the adjustment

[sip]

i have silkroads too. that's generally where i keep it as well. a little harsh but no bounce.

imo its not overdamping, rather
not the right mix of rebound/compression
the right ratio simply isn't build into the adjustment

Humm, that's cool. We both found the same setting, completely independant of one another. That is comforting that you found 6/5 too be the best as well, because after 5 or 6 run tests, I was beginning not to be able to tell the difference.

So Nothing I do will make much of a difference in terms of ride quality. That sucks. I bought Silkroads because everyone I talked to said they were perfectly dampened. Guess not.
Have you ever owned any other coilovers?
How do they compare?

[yokotas13]

fuck them cheap china made springs. Buy some real springs. SWIFT or go home.
spring and swift are both fantastic springs

[!Zar!]

What's you're preload set at?

[aznpoopy]

Humm, that's cool. We both found the same setting, completely independant of one another. That is comforting that you found 6/5 too be the best as well, because after 5 or 6 run tests, I was beginning not to be able to tell the difference.

So Nothing I do will make much of a difference in terms of ride quality. That sucks. I bought Silkroads because everyone I talked to said they were perfectly dampened. Guess not.
Have you ever owned any other coilovers?
How do they compare?

i have not owned any others but i have sat in a few

k-sports - suck. 6 months old. felt like they were blown. and maybe they were.
tein flex (in an evo) - impressed
megans - lol. car was fucked up though.
nismo r-tune - wow. too bad they are $$$ and not dual height adjustable.

[sip]

What's you're preload set at?

Just touching the perch.


AZN POOPY:
So the Tein Flex's where more comfortable than your Silkroads. Too bad it wasn't on an S13 so it would give a good comparison.

[Dunkee]

I doubt Flex are more comfy then the silkroads..then again I've never driven w/ the silkroads. I have Flex and thought they were bouncy for these roads..I changed the spring rate to 4 in the back (S14) and its a LOT better now. Goes over bumps smoother w/out have to go super soft on the damper but I also don't have the car slammed so that helps too.

[sip]

I doubt Flex are more comfy then the silkroads..then again I've never driven w/ the silkroads. I have Flex and thought they were bouncy for these roads..I changed the spring rate to 4 in the back (S14) and its a LOT better now. Goes over bumps smoother w/out have to go super soft on the damper but I also don't have the car slammed so that helps too.


Actually that does help. My car isn't slammed either ( tried it 1 day and scraped on EVERYTHING) so now i keep about 1 inch of wheels gap.

So you just changed the back to 4K, and kept the front a 7K?

[aznpoopy]

yes and no on the flex
it was on an EVO, not a 240sx. so take it as you will.

the comfiest coilovers i've ever experienced for a 240sx are by FAR nismo R-tunes. too bad they are expensive and only single height adjustable.

[sip]

Dunkee:
So you just changed the back to 4K, and kept the front a 7K?




Anyone: The springs on the front are the same as the springs on the rear, right?
That would make it easier on me because I could put the 6K from the rear on the front and buy some 4.5K ones for the rear.

[JRas]

maybe try some tein basics this time?

[sip]

maybe try some tein basics this time?


overpriced, no pillowball mounts and crappy hight adjustment (if you can even call that height adj.) i'd have to be :loco:

[Dunkee]

Flex is 6 in front so 6/4. Comes originally 6/5 for S14. Btw most comfy coilovers I've been in are the Zeal functions..those things are smooth perfect balance.

[babowc]

I want some swift springs for me coilovers..
i heard they make shitty coilovers magically turn FABULOUS!

[sip]

I want some swift springs for me coilovers..
i heard they make shitty coilovers magically turn FABULOUS!


Where did you hear this from?
I can't see why swift spring would be better than the one that came with the coilover, unless you hange the spring rate to better suit the damper/driving.

[A Spec Products]

yeah, talk to Logan from aspec
ask him about some Sprint springs


Nah man

SWIFT Springs only

The supreme Japan spring manufacturer for motorsports

Pretty much any free length, spring rate, and inner diameter you want

For all major coilovers I already have the specs so you just have to tell me what spring rate + free length you want and its done

As far as them turning your coilovers FABULOUS, that's pretty relative to the user

I can't sit here and tell you yes or no (that would be pretty unrealistic), you just gotta make the decision for yourself if you need to change your spring rates

[JRas]

overpriced, no pillowball mounts and crappy hight adjustment (if you can even call that height adj.) i'd have to be :loco:

you can pick them up used for cheap because people dislike them so much

you can get pillow mounts for them ( I have em )

why crap height adjustment?

They came with the car I bought and I can't say anything bad about them....

checkout this thread:
http://www.zilvia.net/f/showthread.php?t=157870

the general consensus seems to be tein basics and tein flexs

[babowc]

i was just joking..
sheesh.

i just heard they make the coilovers feel much more solid than springs that come from factory on some.

[sip]

i was just joking..
sheesh.

i just heard they make the coilovers feel much more solid than springs that come from factory on some.


Well I ordered them, so I shal see very soon if they make a difference and will post a review.

[babowc]

noice.
what'd it run ya, if you dont mind me prying ;)

[sip]

noice.
what'd it run ya, if you dont mind me prying ;)

$130 for 2 shipped.

[mmdb]

Springs generally won't make the car bouncy unless they are significantly too stiff for the shock valving. It sounds to me like your coilovers need to be rebuilt. How long have you had them and did u buy them new or used?

I agree with what he's saying, but in my experience most japanese coilovers lack dampening altogether, so it just might be inherient to your shocks. See if you can get your shocks revalved.

[sip]

I agree with what he's saying, but in my experience most japanese coilovers lack dampening altogether, so it just might be inherient to your shocks. See if you can get your shocks revalved.

I wonder if it is possible to put a new strut insert into a coilover. Something like a koni yellow inserts into stock strut housing.
Has anyone tried this?