Looking into buying some Stance GR+ Coilovers with 9k/7k spring rates. Could someone who has maybe installed these coilovers give me an idea about how much stiffer then stock ride these will be? I want something I can daily drive without loosing the fillings in my teeth.

Thanks!

 

from what i heard the stock springs suck.

 

lol thanks for the insight.

 

I have lower rates than that on my auto-x car (375/275) which come out to about 7k/5k and they are not something I'd like to live with on a daily basis. If you have any sort of uneven pavement, the ride will be jarring, even with great dampers.

 

there going to be stiff (but thats the trade off for better handling) if your roads are nice youll be fine but if its like where i live it will be rough

 

It's all about your preference as with the beauty and frustration with suspension kits.
The stiffer, the more you'll feel EVERYTHING and undriveable.
The softer, the more remote you'll be and more comfortable.
Keep in mind the stock ones are around the 0 (dead like mine) to around 2k at the very most.

 

I have a bad Back..and with the stock suspension the car was responsive to Steering,Not bad on Rough streets..Now with Megans,Ouch..The Handling is Beautiful!..every turn of the wheel you just GO!..like Radar!..but of course the Downfall is when you run over a Pebble it sort of Shoves it up your ****!...(you feel every bump in the road)..but would I go Back to stock?...Not unless I HAD to..(got poor,blew my engine,and have to sell something to rebuild!..but I love them!).

 

Megan have horrible dampers. I know cuz i have a set. It improves the handling, but compared to the other brands, the dampening is horrible.

apparently Stance has very good dampening, but it doesn't reverse the stiffness of the spring rates.

 

Instead of 9kg/7kg, get 8/6 or even 7/5. That should help a bit.

I have the GR+ Pro's in 8/6, and my damping level is set 4 clicks from soft for street driving. It doesn't feel too bad, even on rough roads.

 

It doesnt have to be harsh just because it's coilovers.
I think it's the FC with those spring rates.
I'd suggest lower than 8/6 for FC
From what I was informed, I'm on 8/6 Spring Rates and it's crazy for me.
I was on 10/8 before on tein ra.
My FD has 14k/14k and it's smooth, yet handles amazing.

Hey Maczpayne
How's your ride on 8/6 and damper set to 4?
Mine is on 12 now from stiffest. still a bit hars or rougher roads.
I dd on some shitty roads. flatter roads/highways are great.

 

Please stop bringing up FD's, cause the suspension dynamics is totally different.
Comparing springs rates is a royal waste of time like this.


-Ted

 

Oh crap, here we go with the "stiffer equals better" theory again.
Wrong, just plain wrong.

Since this car is a daily driver, it should be set up to comfortably handle the conditions it sees most of the time. If it's bouncing and skittering on the boulevard just so you can take that one off ramp a day, then you've done it wrong.

Street cars have to deal with conditions that race cars never see and it's silly to expect that it can handle everything with aplomb. Even race cars- which are running on "groomed" pavement and more importantly, making the same maneuvers over and over again- can only hope to get it right for most corners and then just deal with the rest.

Finally (although this screed could go on forever), if you can feel every bump/irregularity on the road, that means the suspension isn't absorbing the input- it's just getting passed on to the chassis and eventually you'll end up with the proverbial "bucket 'o bolts" car, where everything squeaks and rattles.

For a street car, softer is almost always better.

 

Those spring rates are something like 3 to 4 TIMES stiffer than stock, so no, it won't ride well. I've got 7/5 springs in my car, which are some of the softer coilover springs people use, and due to the car's degraded ride comfort, I reccomend that unless you're taking the car to the track or are autocrossing regularly, stick with lowering springs if you want to get it a bit stiffer and lower. The ride's not terrible with coilovers, but it's definitely firm and you feel the bumps much more than in the stock car. QUALITY dampers (shocks) make all the difference though. A cheap coilover set with low quality dampers will ride worse on softer springs than a good set on harder springs.

 

My ride's actually pretty good. I've got it on all the way soft, and the suspension absorbs road imperfections and bumps quite well when I'm driving around town.

I just did an auto-x recently, and besides hating my tires, the transitions and turn in were great, with the coilovers set at 2 from stiff front and rear.

For road courses, I usually set them at about 5 or 6 from stiff, front and rear.

 

its all down to driver preference. You get used to the ride quality. Whenever i havent drove my car in a while, it brings back fun when im behind the seat.

Honda people run ridiculously high spring rates in those light cars... i recall up to 11k+.
now if you happen to be a passanger, its not fun at all..

If your worried about ride quality, then coilovers or car modding is not for you. Try rocking coilovers and low profile tires for the ultimate harshness. If you got some sidewall, that adds some cushion. You will feel the difference between tires too.

Once you start putting all kinds of stuff on your car, you are not going to want to daily it as much.

 

Older Hondas use double A arm suspensions with a much lower motion ratio, meaning that it makes a stiff spring feel softer. So an 11k spring there might feel softer than a 7k spring on an FC.

Yes you get used to the ride and it's down to driver preference, but if you're not tracking the car or something, there's no need to compromise on ride quality, besides, it'll probably handle better on the street with softer springs, especially as the roads get worse.

 

I have 8/6 on my teins and they ride rough on full stiff dampening, on full soft they are not bad. i kind of want to try the 7/5k combo but i just don't want to disassemble the coilovers and but new springs since it is not my daily. i live in NYC so i don't drive all over since the streets are garbage, but if i had to daily my car i would get the softest combo available since it is still harder than stock.

 

The really humorous thing in all this debate is if you actually read up on chassis design and setup you will find that not only does stiffer not equal better, but in many cases (especially uneven surfaces like public roads) stiffer is actually worse for handling.

My track FC has 400f/275r springs and a big front sway bar. That's for a nice smooth track. If I were to take it on the road the ride would be very harsh and more importantly it would probably handle like crap.

Here's the reason: for handling, you want the car's tires to grip. It's the duty of the suspension to absorb the bumps in the road and keep those tire in contact with the road. If your springs and shocks are too stiff, you will bouncing over these bumps. If you are bouncing, you are not gripping. If you are not gripping, then you don't have good handling.

There is of course more to it than what I present. If you want to learn more go out and read some good books on chassis setup. There are many out there. I suggest you may want to start with Carroll Smith.

Good luck,

-b