So Sick of SWAYING

cntchds

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I'm on a set of different springs in the front, and stock springs in the back, and after 200k miles, they are in need of replacing. I want to get something stiff, because I feel so much sway whenever I go into a turn that I want it to STOP. I just don't know what I should be looking for in terms of spring rates, ride heights, etc. I need it to be high enough that I don't have to worry about my exhaust, even if there is a speed bump, but low enough that I don't feel like I could drive in mud and make it out safe (4x4). I'm not worried about shocks/struts just yet, more just the springs.

Also, my steering feels SO light at 50+ and I would assume that is a lot different than it is supposed to be. Is there a way to get more weight on the front end to keep the steering feel? Will lowering springs help since there is less air flow under the car? Anything else to help with sway?
 

SRT Handz

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You need some Sway Bars son.

IMO, Sway bars make the Biggest "Night & Day" difference when it comes to suspension mods.
 

Mr Jones 4.6

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Yes by bringing your front end down or the whole car itself you will correct the front-end floaty feeling. I have somewhat the same setup where I have Eibach pro-kit in the front and stock cut springs in the back just because the fronts were basically given to me. and I trimmed I think a coil of the back and removed the ISOs from the front and installed Tokico blues all around with energy suspension front sway bar links and bushings. The car goes into turns real good and it does not float at all anymore. Also your floating could be due to bad struts, possibly wornout and cannot recover as quickly as needed.

Good Luck
 

ReplicaR

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Here is a thing about high rate spring rates. You can't have a stiff spring with out having a quality shock to dampen it all. So you're left with two choices really. You can get whatever shocks and and medium stiffness spring (eibach prokit or something similar) and then get a set of sway bars because the car is gonna need more stiffness. You can also a high rate spring (H&R Race or better), and a good quality shock to dampen it, and be set. In either case, the car will handle very similar, and you end up spending about the same money, but the key difference is that one of those combos has room to grow and the other one is done for.
 

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ReplicaR said:
Here is a thing about high rate spring rates. You can't have a stiff spring with out having a quality shock to dampen it all. So you're left with two choices really. You can get whatever shocks and and medium stiffness spring (eibach prokit or something similar) and then get a set of sway bars because the car is gonna need more stiffness. You can also a high rate spring (H&R Race or better), and a good quality shock to dampen it, and be set. In either case, the car will handle very similar, and you end up spending about the same money, but the key difference is that one of those combos has room to grow and the other one is done for.

Replica, you are the man :coolsmiley:
 
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cntchds

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ReplicaR said:
Here is a thing about high rate spring rates. You can't have a stiff spring with out having a quality shock to dampen it all. So you're left with two choices really. You can get whatever shocks and and medium stiffness spring (eibach prokit or something similar) and then get a set of sway bars because the car is gonna need more stiffness. You can also a high rate spring (H&R Race or better), and a good quality shock to dampen it, and be set. In either case, the car will handle very similar, and you end up spending about the same money, but the key difference is that one of those combos has room to grow and the other one is done for.
I'm always glad to see you post in my threads since I know you seem to be the most knowledgeable when it comes to suspension pieces. Could you tell me what spring rates I should look for in either of the two suggested set ups? I'm basically going to buy whichever I find on craigslist or CaliforniaFords for cheapest, then build on that direction. I wish I had the money to just bite the bullet and get the best of the best and not look back, but I don't so this is the direction I have to follow.
 

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I'm not the most knowledgeable, but I'll give it a shot anyway.

First and foremost, you need to ask yourself, what do I want to do with the car? Are you planning on taking it to the track on regular bases, are you planning on drag racing it, are you planning on just driving on the street, but still want an aggressive setup. This is where you also have to be honest with yourself, because it will keep you from overspending in the areas you don't need to. Let me know what you want to do, and I'll point you in what I think is the right direction.

P.S.: where in California do you live?
 
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cntchds

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San Jose.

I plan on taking my car to the track as often as I can, which is probably going to be 3 times a year tops. I don't plan on doing drag racing on a regular basis, so that isn't a priority to me. With that said, an aggressive street set up will probably be the most efficient use of money. I'm a kid, so I can deal with a stiff ride on the road more than some of the older guys would be willing to deal with. I will be driving it every day, everywhere. So speed bumps, driveways, etc need to be factored in. I need to figure out how to tuck my exhaust as close to the body as possible, but other than that, it should be a straight "bolt-on" type swap preferably. All the rest of the suspension stuff like sway bars, struts, control arms I want to replace, I just don't have the cashflow to do that. Would following a different path give me more instant results than trying to jump on springs first?

Thanks.
 

ReplicaR

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San Jose places you in a good spot. You’ve got Laguna Seca, Thunderhill and Buttonwillow if you are willing to drive for a bit. I figured if you were closer to me (SoCal), you could come down and drive the car and see how you like the spring stiffness. I’ve got H&R Super Race rear springs and MM Coilovers which add up to same stiffness as H&R Super Race front.

Onto the suspension: you weren’t kidding when you said limited budget. If you can’t afford to do atleast some kind of aftermarket shock, I would highly recommend to stay away from aftermarket springs. You may be able to get away with a Pro-Kit or H&R Sport, but anything stiffer than that you can just forget about. The car will ride very poorly, and the suspension will be too bouncy and as a result it will be unable to utilize the added spring rate. You will be all over the place, and it will handle very poorly. To me it sounds like you want to get a drop and a slight increase in stiffness, but you don’t want to get aftermarket struts, which leaves with the springs I’ve mentioned earlier. Both has very close spring rate to factory stock, so shock would still be able to keep up. Both will drop you about 1.5 inches front and back, which is not much at all. Eibach should be cheaper than H&R, and if you can find them used, that makes it even better.

If you are serious about tracking the car, you need to understand that it is a very expensive hobby, and will leave you feeling like the car is never good enough. Every track event I uncover yet another flaw, and always try to fix it. So far I’m 2500 dollars deep into suspension, brakes and chassis, and I just ordered more stuff to go on this month before an event on 30th. If you want to start tracking the car, I’d do it in a completely stock suspension vehicle, so after you start playing with suspension, you will see what works and what doesn’t and therefore get much more out of every single part.
 
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cntchds

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A slight drop would not be bad. Money is not that huge of a problem, but keeping a couple hundred bucks on hand without itching way too much to spend it can be hard at my age. :hammer: I always thought of shocks/struts as the lesser important of the two, but if it's worth it to do both at one time, then I would be willing to save up for a little while. With any drop, you should get C/C plates, right? I don't want to mess up my tires if I put on new springs and don't have the correct camber for even a small drop.
 

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Yes, camber caster plates are very important to get the proper alignment. Usually, it's the screwed up toe angles that will wear out your tires rather than a lot camber. As of late I'm running a -1.6 degrees of camber up front and the tire tire is getting worn pretty much even across the whole patch.

Shocks are EXTREMELY important, and if anything they are probably more important than the springs. If you want to get good shocks/struts, you can go either with Koni or Bilstein. Both are valved to handle a good deal or spring rate from the box. Both can be revalved to handle more. Bilstein costs more upfront, but is a LOT cheaper to service later down the line. I went with Koni before I found out how much it would cost to revalve them, and now I kinda wish I did Bilstein instead.
 
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cntchds

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How often would shocks like those need to be revalved? Sorry I'm just not nearly experienced enough to know simple things like that. :dunno:
 

ReplicaR

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You'd only have to re-valve them when they blow out or you want them to handle more spring rate, ie. more aggressive valving. Unless you spend the whole day bottoming the shocks out, you will be fine for a while more than likely. I'm pretty sure those shocks come with pretty good warranty anyway, so you should be safe either way.
 
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cntchds

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I was offered Koni Racing springs that drop the car 1.5 inches all around for $80. I think it sounds like a pretty good deal, but I don't want to dive into it and need to buy shocks/struts right off the bat. Any input on those springs? Too stiff for the stock shocks?

I appreciate your help.
 

ReplicaR

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I've checked high and low, but I could never find any concrete information on the Koni spring set. I know they come in the same kit with Koni Single Adjustable shocks and they drop the car anywhere from 1 to 1.5 inches, and that's about it. I've never seen spring rates being disclosed anywhere.
 
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cntchds

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Well I am for sure going to pick them up, but I think I'll just wait til I find a decent set of Shocks/Struts before I have them installed. :dunno: I don't want to put them on until I buy C/C plates too, so it'll be a while.
 

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ReplicaR said:
You'd only have to re-valve them when they blow out or you want them to handle more spring rate, ie. more aggressive valving. Unless you spend the whole day bottoming the shocks out, you will be fine for a while more than likely. I'm pretty sure those shocks come with pretty good warranty anyway, so you should be safe either way.
you think with normal and some aggressive driving they'd last 20k miles before needing revalved?
 

ReplicaR

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Mine have been on the car for about 12k miles already, and have been tracked 5 times since February, and they feel/work fine.
 

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i find it rather useless to get springs and plates unlessyou get the struts and shocks to support it all. :eek:uttahere:
 
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cntchds

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xploder17s said:
i find it rather useless to get springs and plates unlessyou get the struts and shocks to support it all. :eek:uttahere:

Isn't that what I said in my last post?
 

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