Spring Rates- What do they actually mean?

[Reggie91]

Hi guys, been running my spoon springs for almost a year now and its perfect for the road, but on track is doesn't corner as flat as I'd like. So naturally I'm looking to get myself some coilovers

I was just wondering what the spring rates mean? What affect does it have on the handling?

Cheers

Reggie

 

[Mark_teg]

The higher the spring rate the more difficult the spring is to compress, resulting in a firmer ride.

There's also damper rates and ARBs to take into account of course.

 

[Reggie91]

So higher Spring rates are more beneficial on track then. This is complicated haha.

Was looking at the area Motorsport version of the yellow speeds which have have highe Spring rate then normal ones.

 

[Eight Speed]

If you look at a spring with markings on as such:

62 180 010

62 = Internal spring diameter

180 = Spring length in mm uncompressed

010 = Spring rate (in this case Kgf/mm)

These are 10Kgf/mm springs. The higher the number the stiffer the spring.

 

[Indi]

The Area motorsport versions works very well on track 8kg front and 16kg rear spring rate. OEM DC5 spring rates are pretty much same ratio split by having the rear double the front (3.7kg F 7.4kg R) AFAIK. So it seems to work well on this chassis

 

[Reggie91]

Thanks chaps. I will be looking to get a set in the next month or so or hold out for the xmas sales haha.

Does anyone know if I need anything else in order to install them? I've got front camber bolts, rear camber arms and RCA ball joints at the moment.

 

[Indi]

You wont need anything else, just get the alignment setup re-done

 

[Reggie91]

You wont need anything else, just get the alignment setup re-done

Perfect

I know some coilovers require you to change steering arms or track rod ends

 

[Fez]

Perfect

I know some coilovers require you to change steering arms or track rod ends

Depending what coilovers you buy, some require ep3 track rod ends.
And afaik the steering arms are for if you go quite low/ lots of camber.

 

[spooke]

The damper adjustment should be a huge improvement on track also, I'd say get some of the Hardrace adjustable tie rods else it will be a PITA when you come to align the car and you can't get the settings you want (speaking from experience here ).

 

[Reggie91]

I'm probably going to go for the track versions of the yellow speeds.

As I'm no longer using my car daily the I will be aiming for a more aggressive setup so more camber etc. So will see what TGM recommend

 

[Lukeyboi89]

Reggie, I would look at the meister r new versions. Similar price to the yellow speeds with area setup, but have UK customer support etc and look superbly engineered!

 

[Fez]

Reggie, I would look at the meister r new versions. Similar price to the yellow speeds with area setup, but have UK customer support etc and look superbly engineered!

I was looking at the meisters, any they look great, but for that little bit more you get better rear spring rates and caster front top mounts, which are about £2/300 on their own iirc.

 

[Reggie91]

I was looking at the meisters, any they look great, but for that little bit more you get better rear spring rates and caster front top mounts, which are about £2/300 on their own iirc.

That's why I'm looking at the yellow speeds. They have the caster adjustable top mounts to get that little bit more camber as ultimately I would like to run wider wheels plus they come with the Eibach stiffer rear spring.

Reggie, I would look at the meister r new versions. Similar price to the yellow speeds with area setup, but have UK customer support etc and look superbly engineered!

I think the meisters would be perfect if I was stilling using it daily, but I've just done 1000miles since April so hardly use it. Area motorsport offer 18months warranty of the yellow speeds they sell as they take them apart and rebuild them themselves so I think that should cover any issues I might have

 

[Indi]

I've had my yellow speeds coming up to two years now, ran this set on my previous dc5 and then swapped them on to current DC5 and still going strong after lots of track days and few Nurburgring trips. Shortened Steering arms are only really needed if you plan on running high negative camber. My OEM steering arms were fine to dial in up to -2 degree camber. Area also supply shortened arms if needed though.
Also OEM track rods are fine with yellow speeds, it's meister R coilovers that need EP3 rods.

 

[Reggie91]

I've had my yellow speeds coming up to two years now, ran this set on my previous dc5 and then swapped them on to current DC5 and still going strong after lots of track days and few Nurburgring trips. Shortened Steering arms are only really needed if you plan on running high negative camber. My OEM steering arms were fine to dial in up to -2 degree camber. Area also supply shortened arms if needed though.
Also OEM track rods are fine with yellow speeds, it's meister R coilovers that need EP3 rods.

That's good to know Indi. Now I'm not using mine daily I'm looking to get 17x9j's so might need to shortened steering arms.

Looks like ill be paying Area motorsport a visit instead haha

 

[Indi]

Nice!! Im running -3.2 up front, not the best setup for the road at low speeds as it does tend to tram line but makes up for it on track

 

[Reggie91]

Nice!! Im running -3.2 up front, not the best setup for the road at low speeds as it does tend to tram line but makes up for it on track

Something to look forward too haha!

Im only running 17x8's with -1.5 up front and mine tram lines a lot

 

[Lukeyboi89]

Something to look forward too haha!

Im only running 17x8's with -1.5 up front and mine tram lines a lot

What's your current set up?

As mine tramlined a lot and it turned out my wishbone bushes were shot, so I had those replaced with energy suspension ones and it helped fix that...

Then again yours is lower mileage so I doubt that's a case but might be worth checking.

 

[Reggie91]

What's your current set up?

As mine tramlined a lot and it turned out my wishbone bushes were shot, so I had those replaced with energy suspension ones and it helped fix that...

Then again yours is lower mileage so I doubt that's a case but might be worth checking.

17 x 8 et 48 all round on 225/45/17 AD08rs's
-1.5 Camber 0 Toe (front)
-1 Camber on rear .05 toe in (rear) I think

I doubt its the wishbone bushes as I had them upgraded to hardrace bushes when I fitted the suspension bits.