what springs to get?
 

i am going to put some spring on my r1. which are the best for my money. does anyone have pics of there cars with springs on them? i am looking for a good spring rate with a good ride. the m2 have a 550 front/450 rear spring rate but how do they ride. thanks in advance.

I'm not exactly sure of the spring rates, but I've heard good things about the H&R's. I've been through the tanabe super downs and eibachs, both were too low for my taste.

550/450 will be stiff, so if you want a comfortable ride, those aren't the ones you want. They would be great for stiffening up a car for AutoX or track work without having to switch to coil-overs, though.

The other "stock style" upgrade springs are much softer and will give a more comfortable ride. Find ones that give you the ride height you want. Tire rubbing sucks, so look out for "super drop" springs.

-Max

lol...I thought you were ray for a second...then I noticed that you're missing an "e" in your name.:D

what about racing beat's?

I've heard that they are very stiff despite "only a 7% increase over stock spring rates". They are linear springs, not progressive like almost everyone else's. SleepR1 uses the H&R springs and really likes them.

I had the H&R Sport springs on my car. If you don't want to open track your car they should be fine. The only time I had a problem was when I hit a dip in a turn at the track. My tire would rub the top of the wheel well. The ride is not bad at all. I would guess they would be good for the autocross because those are typically on flat ground. If I didn't do the open track thing I would still have them. My new springs are coilovers at 550# front 450# rear. Very stiff ride now. There are a lot more creaks and rattles too. This is what they look like on the car.

http://home.att.net/~d.t.landry/Buttonwillow_.JPG

i hope u are getting some shocks with those as well...a lot of springs are progressive out there, like h&r and eibach. it depends what u like, i personally dont lik ethe progressive rate springs. i now have tein ha coilovers with 550f and 450r rates and the shock settign is on 18 out of the 24. 24 being the stiffest. the ride is now more stable and responsive. there is a tad more road noise if any at all and there are less squaks and rattles from the suspenshion. i woudl reccoment u get a real coilover set with helper springs, that makes the ride quiet and has the spring sitting where its supposed to and to sit properly when the suspeshion is extended all teh way out.

There was actually no documentation from H&R in the box or on their web site but I am pretty sure the Sport springs were not progressive. All I have to go off of is that all the coils were evenly spaced. I am told on progressives the coils get closer together at the end. If I have this wrong let me know.

Very few, if any, progressive springs
 

Actually, the only progressive rate springs for a 3rd gen I'm aware of are the PFS Comfort Sports, made by Eibach to PFS specs and no longer available new. The H&Rs are not progressive, nor are any current Eibachs to my knowledge. PFS erroneously kept the description for their Comfort Sport springs on their website when they switched to selling H&Rs, but have now corrected that.
The Comfort Sports are sometimes available used, softer initially than stock, then firmer after a little compression. They lower 3/4" front, 1" rear IIRC. Nice package with Koni yellows.

I use them and love them. I don't think the ride is that rough and the ride hieght is great!

I also have the Racing Beats w/ Bilstein shocks and they ride very nice. Then again, our roads here are very well kept so I guess that also is a big factor. The stance of the car is awesome... they drop the rear a little more compared to the front.

I had the Eibachs, and loved the way they looked and felt. However, I did have to worry about scuffing the front lip when going into Driveways, gas stations, etc.... as they were pretty low. I personally like the look of the lowering, but I have to worry a lot less now about scuffing and bottoming out over speedbumps as I am running the stock R1 setup until I get the money to upgrade shocks and springs at the same time. I have to admit that although I really like the look of the Eibachs(very agressive stance), not worrying is very cool. Boston has the worst roads in the country, so bottoming out is an everyday threat.
For someone in a similar situation, I would think twice about Eibach.
Good luck.

Does anyone have pictures of the RBs from the side? Preferably w/ 17" wheels. Thanks!