Hello all,
Just like the header says; any one changed the spring rate on your after market coil-overs?
just pokin' around to see what the CL fam has to say about this.
Reason for asking? I would like to change my spring rate (change out springs) on my TEIN CS ver.2.
I would like a stiffer spring so that I can lower the car a few centimeters more with-out bottoming the shock out. I haven't asked TEIN themselves if they can do this. I would like to hear you guys opinions first.

 

What are the spring rates on the CS2's? From what I remember, you shouldn't go up/down more than 2k with regards to your spring rates without having them revalved. I have 16/12k Swift springs on my Fortune Auto coilovers (they used to be 12/10 if I recall correctly, but they've since changed to 14/12). Although, if I could go back I'd probably do an 18/14 or 20/16 just because I like riding low. Still, I'm very happy with the 16/12 for the time being. I won't lie and say it rides like stock because it doesn't unless the road is perfectly smooth, but it's not uncomfortable (even to my wife) and very controlled without being overly stiff or even the slightest bit bouncy.

 

Hey, what's up NorthStyle..
On the TEIN website the spring rate for the version 2's are listed in pounds per square inch. for the front the spring rate is 500 lb/in and for the rear it's 620 lb/in. I want to ride a bit lower too but as I said I don't wanna have to buy another set of coil overs. or trade mine in. If I could sum it up in a few words I would like to sacrifice some comfort for a bit more performance, but without the bounce. Stiffer is acceptable; she's not a daily driver anymore and my wife has her own car..lol. Maybe I should just go ahead and ask TEIN what they can do for me. I know their gonna want an arm and a leg for what ever needs to be done..lol Thanks for chiming in.

 

My $0.02:

If you measure your coilovers, you might find out that they are equivalent springss available at other vendors. You'd need the ID, OD and free length AFAIK. Summit racing is one vendor that'd have coilovers that might work for reasonable prices....

 

Only problem with changing spring rate is usually the damping is matched to a certain spring rate from factory (TEIN) with adjustable damping you can go up or down usually 2-4kg/mm depending on the adjustment range buy there are always other factors. If the damping range is small increasing spring rate will require maxing out the damping and possibly be under damped. This will be bouncy and uncontrolled, "loose" feeling.

Most of the available coilovers for Lexus cars are quite soft. Retaining the factory ride and comfort was paramount in engineering a coilover setup for these cars. However when you remove 3" of available travel and keep a factory like ride (soft springs) the car bottoms out quite easily, depending on coilovers style,either single height adjust vs full length adjust this will either be bump stop (bouncy) or wheel to inner fender contact (damage) or car to road contact (damage) hence you see all of the insanely low static VIP cars in japan running spring rates completely unheard of to normal people, sometimes in the neighborhood of 60/40kg/mm vs a TEIN comfort spec of 9/8kg/mm. They need to control travel in MILLIMETERS vs inches. Ride will definitely suffer no matter how well damped !!

Anyways. You could try upping the spring rate, but my recommendations would be to go with a more aggressive coilover like a Stance, Megan, BC, or even a TEIN flex (TEIN quality is very high) If comfort is a concern Stance hands down is the winner, their damping is superior and ride quality is awesome. All of the coilovers listed are monotube except the flex which is still twin tube, they don't offer the mono flex for GS and they're quite expensive anyways. But just for reference the spring rates on the flex are 16/12kg/mm standard.

But ya. That was long.

G.

SERIALNINE sedankings.

 

SERIALNINE sedankings.

 

Thanks for the input.. guess i just shoot a email to TEIN and see what they say, I know they are gonna want an arm but it might be better than buying a whole new set of coilovers...

 

Just bumping this thread to see if anyone else has any input.

I have BC extreme lows, with 10k all around. WAYYY too soft... I am thinking of doing 14k all around, but upgrading to Swift Springs as well. I am aware that BC will need to revalve the shock bodies for this... I just want to know if anyone else has any experience with these springs rates without making a new thread.

Thx <3

 

How low do you plan on riding? As I stated above, I'm running a 16/12 on Fortune Auto coilovers with Swift springs. I'd recommend them for mild to moderate lowering, but if you want a street sweeper, I'd go for an 18/14 or 18/16 and up. They dont ride as harshly as people might expect as long as they're valved properly. The Swifts springs are a great upgrade.

 

I have a set of BC lows on Swifts also. They are pretty aggressive compared to most setups but I would prefer going with a higher spring rate also. When they were first installed, the ride height as super low and had issues with the UCA tapping the wheel well when I drive over a hard dip. Instead of replacing the springs and revalving the dampers, I decided to increase the preload as much as i can while maintaining the same super low ride height. It solved my UCA tapping problem and I still ride super low. One thing I really like about the Swifts is that they can resist high tension so they dont bind.

 

I am pretty low right now. rear is tucking tire on 18s, fronts are just above the tire...


I can run outside and measure...but I'm pretty satisfied with the ride height. My goal is to be able to travel with 4 people in the car without any major issues.
So you think an 18/16 isn't insane?


What are your spring rates?

 

I'm running 18/10 but in hindsight would like 18/14 actually at least.

 

wow, really? what ride height are you at? how is it as far as spring saggyness/ firmness/etc?

 

i have 18/16k on my BC extreme lows on my ucf11
i could easily tuck wheel and travel with a full car if i wanted and no rubbing
but thats mostly due to my tire sizes being stretched, some negative camber, and fender work

love how they can take a huge bump like its nothing since they are dampened accordingly =]]

 

Yeahhh, if your wheel specs and suspension set up is dialed in correctly, you shouldnt really need stiffer springs unless you're hauling fat people. I'm not as aggressive as others don't get me wrong, 19x9.5 +20 with a 215/35/19 and -5* camber all around but I get around fine with people loaded up,I'm on blown stances though, don't ask I got them like that -_-

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