Coilovers and springs for tack duty
 

Looking for recommendations on coilovers for track duty for a GR86. I prefer my suspension on the stiffer side, but not rock solid…I still have to drive it to/from the track.

What are you using?

Budget?

RCE SS1 and CSG flex A are good street/track coils.
RCE does tamrac Clubsport for track focused setup.
949 racing does XIDA Coilovers if you want to ball with 4k setup.

Following. Time to change my current coilovers. Want something more for track. I occasionally drive it around town. But mostly track car.

What size and what type of tire do you use?

- Andrew

Does it make that much of a difference between 17 or 18 inch tires as long as they are close to stock circumference? Does wider tread make that big a difference?

Mostly asking about tire width here, but the the tire type (compound) makes more of a difference than width anyway.

- Andrew

Can you elaborate on why you prefer stiffer?

$2k or so.

What spring rates do people run on track cars?

The 949 Xida page says 500/500. Goodwin racing offers 400/350. I thought you’re supposed to run a higher rate in the rear because of the suspension geometry. 400-500 sounds low as well.

Not sure where to go to learn more.

I plan to run 17x8 wheels with 245/40/17 or 225/45/17, RS4s…or some other 200TW tire.

I don’t know…I feel like stiffer feels more communicative and responsive. I’m not talking super stiff, but definitely stiff enough a normal person wouldn’t drive it daily.

I have a 2003 Miata running Feal 441 coilovers with 600/500 springs and front/rear sway bars on 225/45/15 RS4s. I love it….feels just right…not terribly stiff, but certainly not soft.

The way the suspensions are designed on a Miata vs 86 those 600/500 springs on your Miata are effectively softer then a 500/500 setup on an 86.

https://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=9936

Then you account for having a chassis that is actually stiff and well here we are.

Generally 86s without aero don’t go past 500/500, sometimes up to 600, but past that and you’re trying to get aero and slicks to work. Sounds like you would be plenty happy in the 400-500 range.

Stiffer rear springs makes sense for multiple reasons, but most off the shelf kits on a budget have either an internal compromise or assume you aren’t actually chasing perfect handling. Get a decent damper with range and don’t be afraid to change springs imho.

imho the chassis is far more sensitive to alignment then spring rate changes so a lot of “different” things can work. And most companies don’t publish their bump stop rates so don’t judge a coil over solely on the springs, you’re really buying a damper, springs sand bump stops are cheap and easy to change.

Great info.

What are some popular setups? 400/400?

400/400 is pretty popular, starting rates on the RCE T2, I’ve driven as split as far as 300/500