Sprangz.

[Vintage Grumble]

Hi there, i'm getting old, and my cars to bouncy/skittish on the road, so want to slap some softer springs in it. I currently have the good ol black n red BC's in it, which are 8kg front, and 6kg back. The fronts are std coil over spec, so finding springs will be easy, but in the back I went for the separate shock/spring set up. Where would one go to get a setof rear springs, in a set rate, like the below (they are obviously quite a bit shorter than a std spring, but the same id/od)

 

 

Also, whats a good rate for an AE86, want it to be betterer on the road, but still be OK on track. Thinking 6kg front and 4kg in the back?

[HighLUX]

Get springs made by someone? Use one of the rear BC's as a template

[Vintage Grumble]

Could well do, but they quite often sag and go all dumb after time. I'm hoping someone may have them off the shelf and that they will be cheaper than having some made.

[Truenotch]

You should be able to buy the right springs in that dia... I'll do some looking. 

[Vintage Grumble]

You ma boy, you, ma, boy.

[kpr]

can't get it to ride nice enough  adjusting damper?   mine drives surprisingly well with damper set lowish,  8kg/6kg. bc gold though.

[Testament]

yeah I was going to say maybe the shocks are worn/just aren't up to controlling springs that stiff

[BobbyBreeze]

My thoughts too. Mate has BC reds in his aw11 and it rides really well. I wouldn't call it harsh at all. You're not running heaps of preload or anything?

[Vintage Grumble]

Shocks are all working sweet, I have them on 3 and 4 clicks (out of 32) and I made sure the springs wernt preloaded, just enough to stop them moving. From what i've been told, 8 and 6kg springs in an 86 are pretty much drift spec hardness. I see a few people on here with ae/ke70's run as low as 3kg in the rear. I've also read that the red/black shocks aint as fancy/good as the golds, and that the golds are quite a bit nicer on the road.

I rang redline, and they stock/can get the springs I need for the rear, so I just need to decide on a rate. I'm pretty sure, even for track work, that I need to run softer springs.

[bobdylan]

My 82 is running MRP Coil overs with 8k front 6kg rear, Found the car handled OK it wasnt until i got the rest of the suspension upgraded with the sway bars, camber toe etc done that it brought out the best in the setup. I was also looking at heavier springs but didnt realize how much the rest of the setup helps the package. I dont mind the harshness of the ride, sort of enjoy it.  I have been told that 6/4 is a much better street setup with the ability to put it on the track every once and a while.

 

I know that doesnt help too much as i only have the FWD version but it may help you a little.

[Truenotch]

FWD's love to be hard for handling though, especially in the rear for track work (you can go even harder or combine it with stiff swaybars as you've done). 

 

 

What swaybars do you run VG? Because it'll be pretty hard in roll if you've got 6KG and a whiteline bar or similar... I still have a standard rear bar on my car. 

[Vintage Grumble]

............ i've got adjustable whitelines front and back, haha.

[bobdylan]

............ i've got adjustable whitelines front and back, haha.

 

Well thats going to make a difference.

 

Going from the stock bar to a fixed whiteline makes a big difference I have found.

[Truenotch]

Yeah, so you'll be feeling the bumps even more mid corner with that bar and the 6kg springs. 

 

 

What's the ride like in the front? You could get started by only doing the rears to see how it changes. 

[bobdylan]

Have you replaced the stock suspenion rubber with UT? That firms it up too.

[Vintage Grumble]

Yeh, it also has UT bushes all round. Why for I make road car into race car, haha.

Is it a good idea to change rears and not fronts tho? Dont want to chuck the whole sha-bang out of whack.

[Truenotch]

It's worth a go. 8's in the front might be working quite well... I run 5's in the back and 10's in the front. 

[bobdylan]

Why for I make road car into race car, haha.

 

Cause you enjoy how the firmer setup effects the mass of your partners chest?

[Vintage Grumble]

Makes my moobs jiggle quite a bit also.

[kpr]

I dont fell at home on this forum anymore, everyone is raising the ride height and going soft.

 

i'm running the stock ae85 bar in the front and the stock lack of back in the rear.   likely why mine is less harsh.   should be able to go a fair bit softer in the rear, as marku sugessted. then adjust that rear bar up some more, if required to get handling back?