What kinds of spring weights are you using on your car? It's time for me to order some coilover springs, and I need to know what weight to order.

Thanks

I run 350 front 250 back.

I will be purchasing a new set of rear springs that are closer in rate to the front in the future.

I would not let the two spring rates (front to back) differ more than 50 lbs. These cars are well balanced already. Assuming you won't be using the car for drag racing.

So maybe 325 on the rear and 375 on the front if I plan to do a 6 cyl next year?

same rates here (350 front, 250 rear).

i agree that the rear can be made a little stiffer (to help get rid of some initial understeer). But I think it also depends on your driving style. w/ koni shocks, I would rather go with a 300 or 275 spring in the rear for my car.

350/250

Here's the BMW spring specs for a 323i

SOFT
FR=325 kp
RR=285 kp

FIRM
FR=338 kp
RR=302 kp

It just depends..most companies like HR or suspension tech do not post thier
spring rates.

But like Dhong and the other guys said for coil overs - maybe 350 front 300 rear on the car.

I also posted on the Track racing forum here, and a guy said 550 rear, 450 fronts?!?!?

According to those BMW specs above, most of you aren't running very stiff springs at all. Are your cars all daily drivers and not tracked at all?

I dont track mine. There is a thread about this on here.

edit/ I tried to find it but gave up

edit2/ http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?t=516646&highlight=spring+rate

I also posted on the Track racing forum here, and a guy said 550 rear, 450 fronts?!?!?

According to those BMW specs above, most of you aren't running very stiff springs at all. Are your cars all daily drivers and not tracked at all?

I'm not sure why a car like ours weighing 2200-2400 lbs would need truck springs.

You can have stiff suspension and still use soft springs. It's all in how you spec the valving of the dampers.

The key is to balance out the springs w/ the dampening. YOu want 50% contributed by springs, and 50% contributed by valving.

IMHO...

There was a guy at the autocross once with 1000 lb/in springs on his stripped out honda civic. Depends on the surface you're racing on. Ours was a freakin parking lot so I liked to have the car feel a little squishy as I hopped over transitions in the surface. Mine will be mostly a street car with occasional trips to the autocross and drag strip. It's true though, so much is found in the valving. The springs make a difference with weight transfer.

Bottom line, new springs will cost you 50 bucks a toss so it's ok to experiment a little.

Ok, I think I'll try 300# for the rear and 350# for the front.

When I earlier compared "all your" spring weights according the above posted factory amounts, I didn't stop to think that that is a progressive value.

Thanks!

also, when the people in the track forum [usually E30, E36, & E46 owners] state their spring rates, they usually do NOT have the same coilover/'macpherson strut style' suspension in the rear (as found in the E21). Their rear spring is seperate from the actual strut, and the spring is actually positioned between the frame of the car & the rear trailing arm. So the spring doesn't displace as much as the strut, which is pretty much why a lot of those guys run a much stiffer spring in the rear.


What shocks are you planning to use?
If you're going to be using the stock lower spring perch locations (note: the Bilstein Sports have adjustable perches in the rear), i'd recommend a 6" front spring & a 7" rear spring.

Progressive springs work better on heavy cars...3000lb + . On ours, straight rate springs are not only cheaper, but they allow the lightweight body to actually use up the full travel of the suspension.

It just depends..most companies like HR or suspension tech do not post thier
spring rates.

But like Dhong and the other guys said for coil overs - maybe 350 front 300 rear on the car.


Give them a call, they should have the information for you. I had to call and get the rates for my H&R coilovers on my GTI, the guy was very helpful and took less than 5 minutes.

Ian K

I used 500 lbs Front / 400 lbs Rear and was very happy with it.

I used 500 lbs Front / 400 lbs Rear and was very happy with it.
OT
Are you back in the game yet bro? I did not see your car at the show and shine...
500 front and 400 rear are for a track car, not a street one.

I am going to try 350 front, 300 rear on mine.

OT
Are you back in the game yet bro? I did not see your car at the show and shine...
500 front and 400 rear are for a track car, not a street one.

I am going to try 350 front, 300 rear on mine.


I was still pretty happy with those spring rates on the street.

OT
Nope, I'm not back in the game, still out and will be for a long time. VAC still has the engine, now its just the waiting game till I decide what to do. Honestly I'm about ready to get rid of everything I have and start fresh with something new. Its too much wasted time, effort and money on a car that's not competitive and has no chance at winning anything. Until the time comes that I do decide to get rid of it, it will be taking up space collecting dust in my garage. Unfortunately to say, I'm at a point with the car where I can't really sell it due to the amount I have in it, but yet I don't want to put anymore money into it or else I'll get sucked back into it and waste a lot more of everything.