Ebay Coilover Spring Swap

[Dum-Dum]

Hi all, Ive got cheap ebay coilovers on my car and theyer doing my head in being so soft (when I have one of the heaviest 306s ever made) as they are forever bottoming out and it rolls in corners like a boat so i have a load of questions to ask to decide on an upgrade


What poundage are the Ebay coilover springs as standard?

What free length and ID are they standard (I think its 60mm ID and 9" free length)?

How do I work out what poundage I need/want?

Will a higher poundage spring (with all other factors being the same) increase my ride height?

Can I use longer springs, like 10" or 12" and how does this effect the suspension?

Should I remove my helper springs or do these help the car go super low by stopping the spring dislocating when the car lifts?

The thread at the top of the damper shaft (that goes through the top mount) has a spacer of 10-15mm that looks like it can be removed, If i remove this will it help the car go lower and how?




Oh and Rally Designs do springs at £14.90 each + VAT + Delivery

[Matt]

i need info on this too. i want mine lower but i dont want to take the helpers out as they bottom out already. and without the helpers it will be worse.

so new springs it is. thinkdemon tweeks do the springs

[Daniel306]

i had a set, ended up blowing the seals and covering my disks in oil, was really lots of fun, there currently sitting in a bush at the end of the garden

[Matt]

http://www.demon-tweeks.co.uk/motorspor ... on-springs

[Dum-Dum]

f*ck that, Rally design are cheaper and nicer to deal with

[Matt]

How low do you plan to go? I want to go to about 80/90mm. But no idea what springs I'd have to get. If you are talk to the rallye guys, wanna sort me some too? Are they online?

[Dum-Dum]

http://www.rallydesign.co.uk/index.php? ... _1152_1153


Dont have all their poundages and lengths listed online but its in the catalogue

[Dum-Dum]

Matt I think you need progressively wound springs or a longer helper with shorter main spring.

DT had 4" helpers advertised and IIRC mine are only 2" so a 4" helper and 8" main should help you get mega low without the risk of spring dislocation


I really dont know enough about this, this is why i asked all the questions as theres nothing useful on google (apart from GAZ ones are 325lb)

[Foxy-jim]

Right. I have eBay coilys. The springs are 6" long not entirely sure on poundage but can't be much more then 200.

Basically the set up I going for is...8" springs at 325lbs, no helpers either. This should be a shorter spring then whats on now (spring and helper) then I don't have to wind them down as low to get the car lower if that makes sense? It will mean I have more travel in the shock left to play with, so should handle better and not damage the shock as much! Hope that helps!

[Rippthrough]

There a thread on .net somewhere where I went through this, can't remember offhand what you want though

You want a shorter main and a longer helper IIRC, don't think there's enough travel in just a shorter main to stop it unseating.

[Foxy-jim]

Do helpers actually serve a purpose other then stopping to go lower?

[THE_Liam]

If I remember rightly, a helper spring is meant to be a heavier/stiffer spring to act as a bump-stop when the main spring compresses sharply, so you have a softer main spring so the the ride is tolerable but a harder helper spring to prevent the softer main spring bottoming...

So presumably, progressively wound springs would make helpers unnecessary? I took them out on my AX to be honest

[Dan!]

Once a car is on the ground (i.e not jacked up) the helper springs are fully compressed and do nothing other than act as a spring set for the main spring. Theyre only there so that when a car is jacked up the helper spring 'expands' and keeps the main spring seated, otherwise the main spring would just flop about and may not seat properly again once the car is put back on the ground.

[Matt]

Nice one dan that helps alot

[insert standard issue rep button comment here]

So what length and poundage spring to go for. The current ones can't be more than 200lb springs.
If I go for a higher poundage but the same length of my current spring will this cause the car to be higher?

[Foxy-jim]

Yes it would cause them to be higher seeing as I can lower the front of mine any more. This has thrown a bit of a spanner in y plans to go lower!

[Matt]

But if you use just a higher lb rated spring, no helper, then should be able to go low?

I'm currently running ta technix with standard spring and helper
Wound all the way down and I'm sat about 65mm
Ideally taking the helper out will let mE go down to 120mm on the front.
So get an extra 55mm out of the helper.
So say new springs raise the car by say 20-30mm with no helper I should still be able to achieve 90-100mm?
But tbf I drive round at 60mm I'd only go lower for shows, as I have an epic speed bump at the end of my road haha.

So standard spring 6" long 200lb
New spring 6" long 300lb

How much of a raise would we estimate with the new ones?

[Foxy-jim]

Ye but doesn't it cause a problem when jacking up without the helper? I may go 325lb springs!

[Matt]

http://www.rallydesign.co.uk/product_in ... ts_id=9497

Looking at these, what does the 1.9" at the beginning mean?

[Foxy-jim]

That's ye width. We need 2.25" for coilovers. I would pay a little more then that for maybe a better make. Jacko was looking at some avo ones.

[Matt]

Tbh you should be okay with the 200lb springs on a 1.4 I've got to swap mine out as my engine weighs that much more.

If the helper is only there to stop the spring unsettling then. Running just a heigher lb sring you should be able to still go low without bottoming out

[Foxy-jim]

It rolls a lot even with my little engine in! I want to take the helper out but dan said it may not relocate when the car has been jacked up?

I may get 325lb as i want it to be solid!

[Matt]

http://www.rallydesign.co.uk/product_in ... ts_id=9298

Unfortunately they are 7" long, but once compressed I can't see it being that much different tbh.

I'll probably just get the 300lb ones I don't want it solid, just to stop bottoming out down my road lol. And I still want to achieve my 90mm drop

[Foxy-jim]

Ye that's fair enough. You just going to take the helpers out?

[Matt]

Yeah helpers out, and a slightly longer spring

[mark_airey]

OK, A couple of things here, I have the TA Technix Coilovers with the helpers in and wound right down to the last thread they had maybe 1" of travel left on the shaft before hitting the bump stop so if you go much lower at all then you will basically have no suspension apart from the bump stop which will make the handling interesting I would think!

and also if you remove the helper spring the car will sit higher in theory (as normally you wind the platform to the helper then once you lower the car to the ground it instantly drops 2-3" on the helper plus whatever the main spring compresses, without it you will wind the platform up to the main spring so there is no slack and the car will only drop the amount that the main spring compresses loosing you 2"-3" of drop) unless you sit the platform below the main spring with a gap when the car is raised and then the main spring will unseat every time the car goes over a bump and extends.

Just my 2p on the matter............as you were

[Matt]

How lol is yours then? Mine isn't that low wound all the way down with helpers out

[mark_airey]

How lol is yours then? Mine isn't that low wound all the way down with helpers out

This low AKA low enough while still being able to drive it round here! any lower and I would smash the bumper to bits, the splitter catches enough as it is!



& on the grass at FCS camping 2010

[Matt]

Mine isn't that low though, and I have the same setup as you

I'll find a pic in a sec

[Matt]

That's with 15" steels

I'm putting my 16" lensos back on soon so will be a little heigher

[mark_airey]

*shrugs* Cable tie some paving slabs under your bonnet to add some extra weight and get it down more

No idea, just thought I would add my (probably incorrect knowledge) to the thread before anyone makes an arse of it! As I know at the height mine is there is pretty much no stroke at all left in the shocks before the bump stops! just remove the springs and drive around on the bump stops, I'm sure it'll be fine :roll: