Question on susp. again

[darkkhild79]

I saw on another site that there was a mention of this setup for struts and springs:

Tanabe NF-210 springs on fresh OEM struts/shocks
springrate is same as stock but height is -1.6"

What do you guys think?

[ilovemycb7]

Any drop will compress your stock strut more putting a lot more stress on it. It may not blow, now, or tomorrow but eventually it will blow. Now arguably it will blow sometime anyway, but no doubt the drop will decrease the life of the strut.

That said people ride slammed on stock struts and they hold up. If you feel like trying it go for it. The ride quality should still get a little worse since OEM struts aren't really made to be lower, but I doubt it's going to be bad.

Are you going ONLY for looks? I'm assuming you are.

[darkkhild79]

now assuming could get you into trouble.....
Yes and no. I want a better look to the wagon but also to increase the handling and decrease the roll on curves which will include some sway bars and strut bars down the road.

Just wanted to reassure myself before I go and drop some $500 in springs and struts... you know!
Thanks for the info!

[JoshM]

Just wanted to reassure myself before I go and drop some $500 in springs and struts... you know!
Thanks for the info!

Spend $100 more and get F2 Type-I coilovers and have all the height adjustablity you want.

[darkkhild79]

ok what should I look at for in pricing for Form and Function type 1s?

Something like this:
http://robearracing.ecrater.com/product.php?pid=3772661

[JoshM]

$630 is good. That's the average price on them.

[johnl]

Any drop will compress your stock strut more putting a lot more stress on it. It may not blow, now, or tomorrow but eventually it will blow. Now arguably it will blow sometime anyway, but no doubt the drop will decrease the life of the strut.

If the only change is to the the ride height (i.e. shorter spring with stock rate), then the only difference for the damper will possibly be more frequent bottoming out (especially if the bump stops are in poor condition or non existant). This will be the only source of increased damper stress in this situation, but increased frequency / severity of bottoming out is more than likely...

In a more typical situation where the shorter spring is also of a higher rate, then the damper will work harder because of the stiffer spring and may well fail more quickly than it would have done with a stock rate spring (regardless of spring length). A stiffer spring will stress the damper less in bump, but more in rebound.

Frequent / severe bottoming out aside, it's not the lowering itself but the typical higher spring rate that "stresses" the dampers more with a lowered set up, but this would also be the case with stiffer springs that give a stock ride height.

[darkkhild79]

Or should I go with a simple setup since I am mainly going to be driving it as a daily?
Point in case these:
90-97 4cyl TASPRO LEVEL 1 SUSPENSION KIT from tasauto for $514
I do need to watch my budget, alot! I am going to pump about $250 into the braking system to get that up to par and then some. Also the timing belt agenda is at hand too!!
Thanks guys

[ilovemycb7]

now assuming could get you into trouble.....
!

the reason I made this assumption is because you said that the spring rates you were looking at were the same as stock.

The spring rate is how stiff the spring is, the higher the spring rate the stiffer the spring (harder to compress). So to decrease the body roll, increase handling and stability, you will want a stiffer spring.

The spring you mentioned will give you a moderate drop (not enough imo) and give you a soft spring. This means handling will stay basically the same (ignoring slightly lower center of gravity) and your looks will only be slightly better.

Now as mentioned above the lower spring will cause some more wear on the strut, but not in the same way a stiff spring would on a stock strut.

For a stiffer spring you need a different strut, and for a lower spring you'll want this different strut as well.

As you can imagine the stiffer spring will decompress differently than the softer spring, this is where the different struts come into play. Not only to control the bounce which you can easily feel in a stiff spring'd stock strutted car but to just control the body movements which will affect the handling.

Sorry, I'm not the best at explaining and by no means an expert. there is a sticky on this. I'm just trying to help you out on understanding what springs and struts do so that you'll have a better understanding of what you want.

To sum it up: it sounds like you want a stiffer spring (to increase handling), a lower spring (to aid looks), and a stiffer strut designed for lowered cars (to control body movements and GREATLY improve ride quality of a lowered car.)

A spring strut setup is basically you pick the spring you want, match it to a strut which will work well. The best example is Nuespeed sports (softish, lowish) and Koni's, or Nuespeed Race (stiffer, lower) and Koni's. This is the Nuspeed Cup Kit, and you can pick the spring you want and it comes with koni's. A lot of members love this setup, and for 600 bucks it's a very very good suspension.

The form and fucntions is a full coilover where the spring and strut comes together, and they are made to work together "perfectly." Typically they are a bit stiffer, but not always. They also have height adjustability to a great extent than a spring/strut setupid. (although the cup kit has SOME height adjustability and Koni's (as well as others) offer different damping.) [the dampening of the strut controls rebound of the strut which will give your car a different (soft/stiff) feel in essence. Though this isn't the technical definition, more what you'll feel in the car.)

[darkkhild79]

the reason I made this assumption is because you said that the spring rates you were looking at were the same as stock.

The spring rate is how stiff the spring is, the higher the spring rate the stiffer the spring (harder to compress). So to decrease the body roll, increase handling and stability, you will want a stiffer spring.

The spring you mentioned will give you a moderate drop (not enough imo) and give you a soft spring. This means handling will stay basically the same (ignoring slightly lower center of gravity) and your looks will only be slightly better.

Now as mentioned above the lower spring will cause some more wear on the strut, but not in the same way a stiff spring would on a stock strut.

For a stiffer spring you need a different strut, and for a lower spring you'll want this different strut as well.

As you can imagine the stiffer spring will decompress differently than the softer spring, this is where the different struts come into play. Not only to control the bounce which you can easily feel in a stiff spring'd stock strutted car but to just control the body movements which will affect the handling.

Sorry, I'm not the best at explaining and by no means an expert. there is a sticky on this. I'm just trying to help you out on understanding what springs and struts do so that you'll have a better understanding of what you want.

To sum it up: it sounds like you want a stiffer spring (to increase handling), a lower spring (to aid looks), and a stiffer strut designed for lowered cars (to control body movements and GREATLY improve ride quality of a lowered car.)

A spring strut setup is basically you pick the spring you want, match it to a strut which will work well. The best example is Nuespeed sports (softish, lowish) and Koni's, or Nuespeed Race (stiffer, lower) and Koni's. This is the Nuspeed Cup Kit, and you can pick the spring you want and it comes with koni's. A lot of members love this setup, and for 600 bucks it's a very very good suspension.

The form and fucntions is a full coilover where the spring and strut comes together, and they are made to work together "perfectly." Typically they are a bit stiffer, but not always. They also have height adjustability to a great extent than a spring/strut setupid. (although the cup kit has SOME height adjustability and Koni's (as well as others) offer different damping.) [the dampening of the strut controls rebound of the strut which will give your car a different (soft/stiff) feel in essence. Though this isn't the technical definition, more what you'll feel in the car.)

Man, I was only kiddin. I so greatly enjoy the info on this subject, because it will aid me in making a informed decision on what my car should have for the long haul. Now granted the roads here in Cincinnati are just whores, they will rob you blind of your suspension if your not watching them every minute or have a mindfield of where every one is for that matter.
I am very grateful for all that has been said in this thread.!!
TIA

[ilovemycb7]

Man, I was only kiddin. I so greatly enjoy the info on this subject, because it will aid me in making a informed decision on what my car should have for the long haul. Now granted the roads here in Cincinnati are just whores, they will rob you blind of your suspension if your not watching them every minute or have a mindfield of where every one is for that matter.
I am very grateful for all that has been said in this thread.!!
TIA

Read through the sticky on suspension. It's pretty informative. Then just start reading about other peoples setups and see what you're going for.