Yesterday, we did some modifications to my RCE SS1 coilovers. We swapped the springs to 4 kg/mm (224 lbs/in) rates with a longer free length. The lowering camber plates were removed and OEM top mounts were added. The car has been raised, but is still about a half inch lower than stock. Also added some rallyarmor mudflaps because I had to do that.
Firstly, no...this is not replacing our RCE Rally-x/Safari spring project. Instead, this is an important data gathering exercise we're doing before committing to (very expensive) OEM fitment prototype springs. Coilovers allow us to easily test different spring rates combined with setting different amounts of travel to mimic what we could do with an OEM style shock. We can collect a lot of valuable data on different surfaces with more travel than stock + and different spring rates.
With this set-up, I have almost a full inch more compression travel up front than OEM while being about 0.5 inches lower. Pretty darn cool! In the rear, the travel is just a little more than stock...the rear shock is just more space limited. I don't feel comfortable going any higher front and rear through spring changes.
Initial on-road ride and bump control impressions are fantastic. The front feels really incredible, like I have an endless amount of compression travel. The rear does feel like it has slightly less wheel travel in comparison to the front, but still feels great. I've caught myself laughing while flying over a stretch of jumbled pavement-like surface leading to a 90 degree right then easily putting power down without drama. You still feel the big bumps of course...but you feel the suspension soaking them up without moving you around all that much. It is a slightly different feeling than a top-tier motorsports track coilover with stiff springs...those soak up bumps too but in a different way and sometimes don't do well with repeated or long stretches of bumps.
This is on absolutely miserable Baltimore city roads (construction, massive dips, sharp edges, steel plates, chunked out concrete, etc). On standard 6 kg/mm RCE SS1s with a lower ride height and camber plates, these roads are okay. You still drive carefully but don't really have to apologize to passengers. Now, I'm kinda sorta seeking out the bumps for fun...
I still have to align the car, but I can do that myself early next week (thank you smart strings!). So no real handling notes as of yet other than feeling more body roll than I had before the spring change. Reminder that I'm on winter tires still...I will also put on my Michelin PS4S soon. The spring rates are just slightly lower than RCE Yellows for reference.
As for how this relates to the Rally-x springs:
1. We think we're in the right ball park for spring rates. Haven't been able to really test handling balance yet.
2. The Rally-x springs with +15mm ride height over stock would have less front bump travel and more rear bump travel than this coilover set up.
3. This is reeeeeeally fun and the other RCE guys are pretty pumped too.
4. More, but I just got these on yesterday.
I will update after the alignment. I do have some ideas about how to get more travel in the rear with coilovers, but we're not there yet. I am also planning on a rally-x soon, but have to choose a date.
