1st Gen Spring Rates
 

Hey Guys, Im about to purchase the Ground control coilover kit for my Fb
and im just curious what spring rates you recommend?
This car is my DD

what spring rates are offered? What will you use the car for?

This car will continue to just be my dd
and i dont know what i can choose from
the website doesnt give me anything to choose from
it just says Desired Spring Rate and has a box for me to type it
here is the link
http://www.ground-control-store.com/...hp/II=40/CA=87

However it does say all street/show spring rates are available

you should call, they almost literally do have every spring rate.

i'm running 350/175 in a really light car, and its ok, for a DD id get something more like 250/150

Thanks for the info.

For spirited daily driving go with ~200-250 front and ~150-175 rear. More than that will require better struts, and will be rough on the kidneys. On a side note my 2200lb subaru has 450/350, I love the way it handles, but the kids are afraid for their fillings.

Yeah im probably gonna go with some Tokico HP struts

All 4 of my struts are bad. Any good ones out there for dual purpose (daily driver and track car)?

lol, you live in Georgia, but you're going to buy from Ground Control? :)

You might want to take a look at Respeed before you make your decision. At the very least, you'll save on shipping. :)

www.re-speed.com

I run 275 front and 150 rear. This is for a daily driver/weekend autocrosser.





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and is that pretty comfortable for the driving back and forth to work?

When I got my re-speed coilovers I got the softest Billy had listed 200 / 150 and its about as firm as I would want for a DD, but hey I'm an old guy who has grown tired of harsh suspensions. I may even try something softer. Even the 200/150 is stiffer than stock, but not by alot.

Thanks for all the advice guys
I want something stiffer but i dont want something thats gonna be so uncomfortable no one enjoys riding in my car.

I have the RB springs, and they're WAY too soft IMO. I think they're somewhere around 175/100. I have to keep my front Illuminas on setting 4 to keep from bad rubbing. I still rub w/ 205/50R15 on +7 Enkeis at 4, and on 5 it hops off of the ground. Do yourself a favor and go with what Kentetsu suggested: 275/150, with a set of Illuminas.

The rates I run are not comfy soft, they are firm and sporty. I drove the car from Michigan to NC two years in a row without issues.

If you are unsure of what you want, or want to change it for a different feel, then go with Illumina adjustable shocks. That, along with the coilovers, will let you go from comfy to racey in a matter of minutes.

Just talk to Billy about it. Hell, you could probaby stop by his shop, Georgia isn't that big of a state, so he's practically local to you. :)

I have ground control 325 front and 175 rear with classic garage koni shocks. Not to harsh at all. I was shocked. I was scared that they would be way too stiff after reading some posts here but I'm totally happy with them. My car is not a dd but it could be. Very comfortable ride! I think good shocks are the key! Just a guess.

Does anyone know the length of the ground control springs that come with the rx7 kit? (I don't have my car here to measure).

The guy that welded my perches on welded them about a half inch lower than the ground control instructions and my car is too low. I want to buy springs that are an inch or two longer to make things right.

i have the old pro7 kit, so its GC but from like 1999... the top of the coil over adjuster sits level with the strut gland nut. spring is 7" long.

Thanks man. I went ahead and called ground control today. They said that the 85 rx7 kit comes with 6" springs. I went ahead and ordered 8"ers from them. I hope he was correct in what he told me.

I just re-read what you wrote and now I'm reading it to say that the top of the threaded part sits level with the strut gland nut? If so, that was probably my problem. The threaded part they sent me is not that long, maybe 4"-5" at most. Maybe it would have been better for me to request a longer threaded section......doh

I guess it's also possible that the directions they sent me were not for our cars because my measurements had my perch welded only a half an inch lower than the instructions.

PS2man,

Sorry, not trying to hijack the thread, I just thought I might get some answers to my questions here and maybe provide useful info on my experiences with the gc coil over. If I were you, I'd recommend just buying from Billy (re-speed). He supports our old cars so we should support him so he can continue to make parts that no one else will :)

you're over thinking this. if the car is together and its too low with the perches all the way up, you order a 1" longer spring. the length of the spring is on the spring.

Yeah, i could measure the spring if I had it here but unfortunately, the car is at another location. I went with the longer springs anyways, they should be here in 2 days.

Thanks guys.
Hopefully ill have my Sa sold here in a few so i can focus on my Fb.
and yeah im def gonna give respeed a call.
the only downfall to these cars are the lack of aftermarket parts.
compared to 240sxs and cars like that.
So its cool to find guys who actually support these cars and make parts that people want.

Billy is always on this forum too. Answering questions, helping out, taking requests for new parts, etc. In fact, when he heard that I got hit by a drunk driver, he offered to send me whatever he had laying around that I could use, up to and including a complete shell. That goes well beyond customer service.

But that's just how he is. At the Deals Gap Rotary Rally this spring, I saw him spend the majority of the weekend helping a forum member (dj55b) replace his differential, even found the parts for him too. Anyway, obviously I have no problem recommending him to people. :)

You should talk to him about your plans (if you haven't already). Send a PM to either Bwaits_ or Respeed.com

As a matter of fact, if you have an SA you are trying to sell, maybe you could even work out a deal of some kind. Just a thought... :)


Oh, and a few more details on my setup; the rates I run are considered pretty light, especially for racing. But my theory has always been (and Billy seems to agree) that you should spring light, and use swaybars to control body roll. This combination gets the same results as springing stiff, but you get more overall traction out of it.

In my opinion, the right setup for you would be something similar to mine. It's a blast to drive on the roads, and I can go to autocross races on the weekends and beat up on Miatas that are using Hoosiers (no small feat). Check out the videos in my signature line when you get a chance.

So, if I were to "write you a prescription", it would be something like this:

Front: 275
Rear: 150
Shocks/struts: Illumina adjustable
Respeed tubular front swaybar (with this, the car will take the hardest of corners and still remain flat)

Another thing to consider would be bushings. If they have not already been replaced, then now would be a good time to do it. You can get a urethane bushing kit from Billy as well.

Anyway, best of luck with your project. :)

I'm going to hop in on this.
I'm planning on getting a ReSpeed coilover/suspension kit (like Kentetsus but possibly with a tubular rear swaybar and strut brace as well) once I get the money for it. I was hoping to lower my car an inch or two from the stock height. What length of springs do you recommend for the minor drop in height?
On and I'm new to the FB world, but I have an 1985 GSL-SE. Not sure if the SE model makes things any different.

i was thinkin of pickin these up this weekend was wonderin if any of you guys know if these would fit my 82gsl Universal Coil Overs they look like they may fit the rear. also is 200lbs too much for rear? the car is my dd but dont mind it a lil stiff.