BRZ/FR-S Suspension Options List (Springs and Coilovers)

[avishenoy1]

Anyone know the spring rates for the ST Sport springs?

http://www.revworksinc.com/ST-Suspen...-S_p_1045.html

[JDM4E]

Eibach's springs drop is wrong, Pro kit is 25/20 mm and there are 2 versions US/Euro of their rates

[Jesika]

I'm new to getting technical with my car. I need to upgrade my front sway bar on my 2016 HyperBlue BRZ and want to know what manufacturers are best? i don't want to spend a ton, but I also don't want to go cheap. I've heard Strano and Eibach, but are there others that are better for the twins?

[rx3]

This is from another thread:

Originally Posted by CSG Mike

We're not fans of the Ohlins R&T, but will gladly work with you on a TTX setup.

I've been contemplating about installing the Öhlins R&T (meanwhile I'm not too sure whether they would suit my application, since I would only need them with racing slicks and for that purpose they might be too softly sprung). Would you mind elaborating what you don't like about them?

[Racecomp Engineering]

Originally Posted by rx3

This is from another thread:

I've been contemplating about installing the Öhlins R&T (meanwhile I'm not too sure whether they would suit my application, since I would only need them with racing slicks and for that purpose they might be too softly sprung). Would you mind elaborating what you don't like about them?

If you only plan on running with racing slicks, I would look elsewhere.

I do like them quite a bit, but for that application there are other options that would suit you better.

- Andrew

[CSG Mike]

Originally Posted by rx3

This is from another thread:

I've been contemplating about installing the Öhlins R&T (meanwhile I'm not too sure whether they would suit my application, since I would only need them with racing slicks and for that purpose they might be too softly sprung). Would you mind elaborating what you don't like about them?

The quality and damping is perfectly fine. I don't like the balance; it's heavily understeer biased (as are many coilovers). While they may be the right coilover for some people, it's not the right coilover for me.

If you're only using slicks, you'll want to look higher up the food chain. Why look at (relatively) low end coilovers, when you're using top shelf tires?

PM me if you'd like to consult on your build and figure out what would suit your build and skill level better.

[churchx]

That understeer balance biasing .. is that from square spring rate by chance? IIRC rates in rear should differ from front due motion ratio. But then again several coilovers released for toyobaru have square stiffness for springs, including supposedly good/quality ones. I wonder why such choice, what pros & cons versus staggered rates as per OE? If pros outweight cons, then why staggered choice for OE? Don't know what to think, maybe you can enlighten me?

[Racecomp Engineering]

Originally Posted by churchx

That understeer balance biasing .. is that from square spring rate by chance? IIRC rates in rear should differ from front due motion ratio. But then again several coilovers released for toyobaru have square stiffness for springs, including supposedly good/quality ones. I wonder why such choice, what pros & cons versus staggered rates as per OE? If pros outweight cons, then why staggered choice for OE? Don't know what to think, maybe you can enlighten me?

CSG and I disagree on this a little bit. In my opinion you can build a fast car either way as long as you look at the complete system.

1. Different drivers may prefer a different balance OR different applications (autocross vs. track) may have different needs.
2. Spring rates are not the only variables that control balance.
3. OE is very bumpstop active, so the OE spring rates should be taken with that in mind because it makes a large difference.

In general, with cars using lower spring rates of around 7 kg/mm and below we (RCE) often stick with even spring rates. When we go firmer than that, we start thinking about firmer rear spring rates. But either way, we are always flexible with driver preference and the rest of the set-up.

That's just us.

- Andrew

[rx3]

Originally Posted by CSG Mike

If you're only using slicks, you'll want to look higher up the food chain. Why look at (relatively) low end coilovers, when you're using top shelf tires?

PM me if you'd like to consult on your build and figure out what would suit your build and skill level better.

I guess what I'm trying to understand is, why the coil overs generally available appear to be somewhat softly sprung on the FT86 platform.
I did ask around what the people I'm racing against are running and they appear to be always higher than 10k despite our bumpy courses (unfortunately hardly anyone is running a GT-86/BRZ). Even a small light Citroën Saxo is running 12k on the front axle.
For lack of a better example (I know it's a much heavier car), this stock M4 is running 15k on the front axle and he's usually also winning at the slalom events. [ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q7ptqZ3TMVI&t=8m55s"]Amazing BMW M4 Coupé from Swiss Hillclimb Champion Albin Mächler! with Full-Onboard - YouTube[/ame]

Apparently a stiff suspension does work. On the other hand I was able to win slaloms on the almost stock suspension with racing slicks against Honda Integras DC2 on KW competition coil-overs. (Occasionally I dealt with some tire roll over and I had to turn the tires inside out because they wore quickly on the outside shoulder. But, it did work).

The reason I found the Öhlins appealing, is because there are not many parameters one can tinker around with but I think they might be too softly sprung and for road legality reasons my choices appear to be limited to: Öhlins, KW (only clubsport and competition), Tein and Intrax.
We have 14 slaloms each year (each on a different course and each slalom consists of only 2 practice and 2 race runs) and we only have one practice day to set the car up. So any coil over which offers a lot of knobs/options for fine tuning purposes is overkill to my mind.

[Shark_Bait88]

Originally Posted by rx3

I guess what I'm trying to understand is, why the coil overs generally available appear to be somewhat softly sprung on the FT86 platform.
I did ask around what the people I'm racing against are running and they appear to be always higher than 10k despite our bumpy courses (unfortunately hardly anyone is running a GT-86/BRZ). Even a small light Citroën Saxo is running 12k on the front axle.
For lack of a better example (I know it's a much heavier car), this stock M4 is running 15k on the front axle and he's usually also winning at the slalom events.

Apparently a stiff suspension does work. On the other hand I was able to win slaloms on the almost stock suspension with racing slicks against Honda Integras DC2 on KW competition coil-overs. (Occasionally I dealt with some tire roll over and I had to turn the tires inside out because they wore quickly on the outside shoulder. But, it did work).

The reason I found the Öhlins appealing, is because there are not many parameters one can tinker around with but I think they might be too softly sprung and for road legality reasons my choices appear to be limited to: Öhlins, KW (only clubsport and competition), Tein and Intrax.
We have 14 slaloms each year (each on a different course and each slalom consists of only 2 practice and 2 race runs) and we only have one practice day to set the car up. So any coil over which offers a lot of knobs/options for fine tuning purposes is overkill to my mind.

You might want to check out SACHS performance coilovers. They're very similar to the R&T, quality single adjustables from a well respected manf., but have stiffer rates; 8kf/9kr IIRC. Being in Europe you should actually be able to source them without too much difficulty. Worth looking into at least.

[rx3]

Thanks. I'm not saying that higher spring rates are needed. Maybe this car would do fine with 6k square. I'm just wondering why the rest appear to be running much higher spring rates.

I think Sachs performance would come with the necessary paperwork, but as far as I can tell they don't come with camber plates and those I definitely need. (I do need a coil-over kit which does come with camber plates and the paper work with it, which is why the KW V3 as an example is not an option).

[churchx]

Different people have different driving habbits/patterns. Different coilover manufacturers target different niches. There is no 'best' spring rate that will fit best everyone. For some best is 3K, for some 6K, for some - 12K. Some use toyobaru as track-only car, some daily drive it only + have to listen opinion of comfort of significant other, some mix DD & few track days. To each his own, and what is best and who are those 'some' with opinions depends on threads you visit for info .

[Racecomp Engineering]

Originally Posted by rx3

I did ask around what the people I'm racing against are running and they appear to be always higher than 10k despite our bumpy courses (unfortunately hardly anyone is running a GT-86/BRZ). Even a small light Citroën Saxo is running 12k on the front axle.

Don't compare to other vehicles...12 kg/mm spring rate on the Citroen may mean a vastly different wheel rate than 12k on a BRZ/FRS/GT86.

Anyway, a lot of the off the shelf coilovers are geared towards a road & track compromise set-up. The Ohlins are one of the best of those types of "easy" set-ups...but may not be ideal for you if you want something a little more hardcore. To get something truly track focused, it's best to look beyond the easy off the shelf stuff and talk to someone about a customized set-up. Over here stateside we have a few companies (like ourselves with our custom KWs) that have some track focused coilovers with "default" rates, but we encourage a conversation so we can customize things for each user. CSG I believe is the same with their higher end Teins.

- Andrew

[ya1713]

Do you guys have interest in Taiwan OEM coilovers? thank you!