Basic Spring question: Relation between spring rate and ride quality?

[Daedalus]

Sorry for the basic question, but this is something I've never gotten the grasp of (probably because I've never owned a car with aftermarket springs).

 

How will springs effect the ride quality of the car?

 

Say you've got an aftermarket spring with the rate of 39 N/mm and one with 45 N/mm. How will they differ assuming they're damped properly. Will the higher rate spring have that much more jar to it?

 

Can you put this into perspective for me? Thanks.

[Th3Franz]

If the damping is properly matched, it probably won't affect the ride quality much at all.

[Xenonk]

Sorry for the basic question, but this is something I've never gotten the grasp of (probably because I've never owned a car with aftermarket springs).

 

How will springs effect the ride quality of the car?

 

Say you've got an aftermarket spring with the rate of 39 N/mm and one with 45 N/mm. How will they differ assuming they're damped properly. Will the higher rate spring have that much more jar to it?

 

Can you put this into perspective for me? Thanks.

 

 

Assuming that your car is not gaining or losing any weight in the process, the higher spring rate will lessen the roll or pitch of the car (assuming you have the dampening properly matched)..

 

say you have a 100 lbs/in spring vs 200 lbs/in spring.. well, your car isnt changing the forces applied onto the spring (such as braking, accelerating or cornering), we'll keep this simple saying that your car can generate 100 lbs of force to the spring.

 

at 100 lbs, the spring will compress 1" of a 100lbs/in spring whereas a stiffer spring like 200lbs/in will only compress half the distance, or 1/2" in this case.

 

this is one of the ways that the spring in a linear state will act, the car will pitch and roll less and results where the spring compress distance is less.. this is DIFFERENT from suspension travel (distance of stroke).

 

 

that's shock or jarring affect is based on how well the shock controls the differences of the spring's movement.. it's how fast or slow that potential energy is stored the moment when the spring is compressed..

[PhilT]

Some of the aftermarket springs have variable spring rates, this is done by tapering in the end of the spring. So for the first inch of travel it is softer, but then as the spring compresses more it becomes stiffer.

 

How this affects ride and handling, I have no idea

[Th3Franz]

I prefer the feel of linear rate springs over progressive, but it depends on how you like to drive and how you want the car to feel and react.

[tintinet]

I have Ions. Differences: Car has much less nose rise, dip with aceleration, deceleration; much less body roll around corners, much more stable overall.

 

Ride: generally comfortable, but big dips/bumps produce a somewhat more noticable thump, oddly, more pronounced at relatively slow speeds, although, again, somewhat counterintuitively, not so at higher speeds.

[Boulderguy]

My experience with progressive vs linear springs is the progressive springs control side-to-side roll much better. Sort of like having a bigger sway bar. They also have better turn-in precision in corners.

 

The downside is you'll feel bigger bumps more & need more dampening to control them.

[zildjiank]

Ok, all I can say is, I bought swift springs last week, and it made a world of difference...

 

The rate of those springs are on the high side of what I've seen available for springs on our car, which is why I chose them (thinking it would be stiffer and firmer...)

 

Consequently, I'm lower to the ground, and the car just feels flat out SOLID...a great feeling coming from the stock springs...

 

However, I dont' know what you all are talking about when you say you "feel the bumps" and bigger stuff and whatever...I rode over train tracks, solid as a log...didn't feel hardly anything. In all honesty, by the way people state the "stiffness" and "feel of springs over bumps" on here, I thought that buying these springs would sacrifice a whole lot of ride quality...NOT SO...don't believe the lie, ride quality only impoves with stiffer springs...