High end coilover brands with incorrect spring rates?

[supercharged680]

Hi everyone, the purpose of this thread is not to bash on coilover manufactures but to educate everyone on the issues i have been facing.

I have bought 2 very high end coilovers from 2 manufactures ( will not mention the name )


The first has a 580 lbs spring rate in front and rear was 400 and the reason for this was to dial out the oversteer, the car had SEVERE pitch in the front and was undrivable and gladly the company has taken the system back and refunded the amount.

The second has 600 lbs front and 650 in the rear , a bit better than the first but still has pitch in front and the car feels like it has 0 damping i cannot feel what the tires are doing at all, if you ask about settings. Yes i have tested each and every single adjustment range, including what they gave me, i have also dialed in the alignment with a pyrometer and have the numbers aligned perfectly.

Also from what it feels is that it is too bouncy ( not stiff bouncy ) more of soft. I have a 991.1 GT3 and its stiffer than the BRZ but rides very well and absorbs everything.

It is difficult to explain writing this..

Funny enough i felt faster on stock springs and dampers.

I was at the track today and a BRZ running the same tires and his coilovers were a 1/10 of the price has gone 3 seconds faster on a low 1 minute track.

After having these issues i have started to read more about motion ratio and flat ride and how important it is to start with before dialing in the chassis of the car.

If we take into consideration 600lbs front and 650 in the rear , we have an 8% difference where as i read you should have at least a 15 to 20 percent difference before starting out.

I have ordered a 525 lbs spring infront to see if it helps.


Any suggestions would be great everyone, as it is difficult to show the coil over manufacture because they do not have a base here in Dubai so i have to try and explain and like always i get the answer of ( we never had this issue before )

Thank you and Merry Christmas!

[Mike_ZN6]

By incorrect spring rates, do you mean the coilovers you received do not have the advertised spring rates? Or the high end brands selected the wrong spring rates for their coilover kits?

[norcalpb]

What is the tread wear of your tires?

[Pat]

Originally Posted by supercharged680

I was at the track today and a BRZ running the same tires and his coilovers were a 1/10 of the price has gone 3 seconds faster on a low 1 minute track.

There is something else going on. It is mostly not related to spring rates. Ask the driver of the other car to give you feedback on your car. I'm guessing it has something to do with the alignment or driver.

[EndlessAzure]

600 lb/in (~10kg/mm) seems pretty stiff. Like @norcalpb is asking, what kind of treadwear/tire type are you using? Springs that stiff usually overload typical street compound tires.


Also, do you have upgraded sway bars or other suspension mods? I'm surprised your car is tending to oversteer, as the chassis usually tends to understeer.

[marco_mc22]

Tell us the full story....tyres, alignment, wheels, sway bar, engine power, aero mods if any

[supercharged680]

Originally Posted by Mike_ZN6

By incorrect spring rates, do you mean the coilovers you received do not have the advertised spring rates? Or the high end brands selected the wrong spring rates for their coilover kits?

Wrong spring rates for their coilovers

[supercharged680]

Originally Posted by Pat

There is something else going on. It is mostly not related to spring rates. Ask the driver of the other car to give you feedback on your car. I'm guessing it has something to do with the alignment or driver.

Not really the driver or alignment, me and him are running almost the same alignment , driver wise i won in the 911 GT3 category in the same day so it is not that.

[supercharged680]

Originally Posted by EndlessAzure

600 lb/in (~10kg/mm) seems pretty stiff. Like @norcalpb is asking, what kind of treadwear/tire type are you using? Springs that stiff usually overload typical street compound tires.


Also, do you have upgraded sway bars or other suspension mods? I'm surprised your car is tending to oversteer, as the chassis usually tends to understeer.

I am using Nankang NS2R 235/45 R17

Car only has the coilovers, nothing else.

[supercharged680]

Originally Posted by marco_mc22

Tell us the full story....tyres, alignment, wheels, sway bar, engine power, aero mods if any

Nankang NS2R Tires 235/45 R17

Alignment i am running 3.0 front and 2.7 rear. toe out 0.05 deg each , rear 0.13 each.

Sway Bars : Stock

Engine Power : UEL , Drop in filter and OFT tune

Aero : None.

[DarkPira7e]

Originally Posted by supercharged680

Wrong spring rates for their coilovers

Wrong is subjective without context; what is the purpose of the coilovers you bought?
In what regard are they wrong? Were they not designed for track use in mind and behave poorly? Or were they advertised as having a different spring rate than what you received? If so, you need to be talking to their customer service in tandem with what you're doing here.

If it's the latter, that sucks, but I'm sure if they're actually a good brand, they'll be sure to make it right for you. If they're "solowerks" or " Blackflag" I don't think you'll receive a response

[supercharged680]

Originally Posted by norcalpb

What is the tread wear of your tires?

200 TW

[supercharged680]

Originally Posted by DarkPira7e

Wrong is subjective without context; what is the purpose of the coilovers you bought?
In what regard are they wrong? Were they advertised as having a different spring rate than what you received? If so, you need to be talking to their customer service in tandem with what you're doing here.

If it's the latter, that sucks, but I'm sure if they're actually a good brand, they'll be sure to make it right for you. If they're "solowerks" or " Blackflag" I don't think you'll receive a response

Sorry about the lack of info as i was writing the thread with some frustration.

The purpose of the coilovers were 80% track and 20% street ( basically driving to the track and my house ) , Spring rate is what they have told me they will provide , i gave them every bit of info including vehicle weight on all 4 corners , driving style , tire size + TW , local tracks. However it seems like coilover manufactures do not have enough knowledge to choose the right spring, the damper technology is second to none however the spring choice does not suit the car , i have driven a GT86 with Tein SRC and it was absolutely amazing i wish i have bought that instead of ( 3 letters ) here u go a little hint

[DarkPira7e]

Originally Posted by supercharged680

Sorry about the lack of info as i was writing the thread with some frustration.

Totally understandable.

Have you let them know your complaints? Certainly they should be able to provide support for how you'd like the response of your coilover to be.
With that said- driving style is completely unique in some regards.

Imagione if you said " I want a FAST CAR" and someone gave you a big huge ass laggy turbo car with 900WHP. Ok, yeah, it's FAST. But you meant " I want to accelerate extremely quickly" so a small set of twin turbos or a supercharger would work better. or maybe a V8 engine swap?

My point being- they aren't completely at fault; how much have you exhausted the adjustability of the coilovers you received? They may respond much more favorably with a different ride height or rebound setting.
I'm not a guru, just an observer; I still think your bets chance for help lies within their support model. If it's an ineffective system, return them and make another purchase elsewhere