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RalliTEK Lowering Springs - In Depth Review

sirsimon

By sirsimon
in Suspension/Brakes

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Ridgeracer Mentor

Ridgeracer

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But of course.....This will be a "tri-state review" since I travel up to Bridgeport, CT as well..For starters, I have the fronts at 1.5 turns from soft and the rears at 1 turn from soft.
"Gimme mines Balboa...Gimme mines".....Clubber Lang - Mr. T
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Jimaa66 Contributor

Jimaa66

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Great Review...Great thread

This site still amazes me at how much all of you are into your rides. Good information, and challenging thoughts thru all the feedback. It makes it easier to get the answers we all have on improving on already pretty damn good cars...

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biz77 Proficient

biz77

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Just put the Rallitek springs on Koni's last night (along with Centric Premium rotors and Stoptech pads at all four corners.) Installed with stock GT top hats front and rear. No hose or anything else added on front springs and no noise to report. Currently running Konis at 1/2 turn from soft front and 3/4 turn from soft rear. Car stays much flatter in cornering, braking and acceleration and the ride quality is very close to stock. Still rides noticeably nicer than my stock suspension 2005 STi.
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Ridgeracer Mentor

Ridgeracer

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I think Koni did a good job nailing down the compression dampening. I'm still playing around with the rebound adjustment. I got a little noise going over some bumps with the springs again. Not as bad as it use to be however. Maybe this weekend I'll look everything over again and replace the rear sway bar links.
"Gimme mines Balboa...Gimme mines".....Clubber Lang - Mr. T
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addison Proficient

addison

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Rallitek & Forum,

 

I love these springs. However the fronts did clunk. I took them out and put them in two other times, tweaking where the spring was sitting. The problem is the spring has a very small gap under the spring where it contacts the bottom of the strut. To fix this problem I installed 1/2" hose around the bottom coil to isolate the spring from the strut. It fixed it! So no more clunk. Woo, quite suspension. No more clunk over RR and speed bumps.

 

So everyone struggling with the clunk from this or other springs, grab yourself some 1/2" hose and put it over the bottom coil of the spring. You'll need about 12" or so of it per spring, and some silicone spray to help get it on. You'll also need a friend of two, cuz it's a PITA.

 

To Rallitek; You may want to start selling this wrapped with either special spring wrap or tell the customer to grab some 1/2" hose before they do the install.

 

-Apexjr

 

 

bit the bullet and took my fronts apart again and put hose on the lower coil of my front springs and now theres no more clunk! so +999999 to what Apexjr said

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Ridgeracer Mentor

Ridgeracer

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I really can only speculate that the Rallitek springs in the front might be slightly smaller in diameter than stock where it sits in the lower spring perch. I seem to notice that area as a point of movement.

 

On another related note, I'm happy so far with the Koni/Rallitek combo in NYC. My only wish was for slight firmer springs. I'm thinking that Swifts might be the ticket but they may be lower than I desire which kills overall suspension travel. I currently have the rebound dampening in front set at 1.5 turns from soft and the rear set at 1 turn from soft. I'm very amazed at how well they setup the non adjustable compression dampening on them. Coming from coilovers I would say in the corners this setup is 80% as good but over bad roads its 200% better. All in all a good compromise of performance and comfort..

"Gimme mines Balboa...Gimme mines".....Clubber Lang - Mr. T
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Rallitek.com Community Regular

Rallitek.com

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I really can only speculate that the Rallitek springs in the front might be slightly smaller in diameter than stock where it sits in the lower spring perch. I seem to notice that area as a point of movement.

 

Our springs are the exact same diameter as stock. They are made by Eibach. The only difference from ours vs the Eibach brand are the rates/height. Springs are not causing any noise. Only install. There have been only a few folks with noise out of hundreds of sets sold. Find the install issue. Springs are under load at all times and can not cause a noise. There is no design issue whatsoever.

 

Sean S.

http://www.RalliTEK.com

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Ridgeracer Mentor

Ridgeracer

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Sean I don't really know what I could possibly be doing wrong with the install of my front springs. I used a spring compressor as well to insure that the strut bolt was bottoming out. I lined up the upper coil of the spring on the imprint left by the stock springs. Its a simple enough install so I really can't see how some of us are having noise issues. Any other suggestion as to what could be the problem?
"Gimme mines Balboa...Gimme mines".....Clubber Lang - Mr. T
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Rallitek.com Community Regular

Rallitek.com

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Sean I don't really know what I could possibly be doing wrong with the install of my front springs. I used a spring compressor as well to insure that the strut bolt was bottoming out. I lined up the upper coil of the spring on the imprint left by the stock springs. Its a simple enough install so I really can't see how some of us are having noise issues. Any other suggestion as to what could be the problem?

 

Not sure. We have never had noise issues when we install them at our shop. Less that 1% of sales have ever reported noise. 100% of the noise concerns mentioned have been from this forum. (dosent mean others have not had noise, but they have never told us.) Eibach has no noise concerns they are aware of either.

 

We could include insulators on the springs, but since all the weight of the vehicle is on the insulator, there is a very good chance the insulators will fail over time. We have checked our springs vs stock, vs Swift, vs Eibach, vs JDM.... They all have the same measurements at the base. We have spent alot of time addressing this concern just to find no differences in our springs vs any others. We do not have noise as we install them. Most others have no noise.... No other brand including stock have insulators at the bottom of the springs. Why do only a few people have the issue, and 99% do not? If the springs are having friction as they lay in the strut, there will be wear marks. Someone please send pics of these marks.

 

I have not had anyone local bring us a vehicle making noise. I have requested anyone local with what they think is noise from a spring install, bring me their vehicle.

 

Anyone who wants help finding their noise, bring me your vehicle. I will diagnose it for you. No charges.

 

Sean S.

http://www.RalliTEK.com

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Ridgeracer Mentor

Ridgeracer

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I got some pics on my cellphone. In one pic you can see the paint is worn off the top of the first lower coil that sits in the perch. Another pic shows a wear spot in the perch where the lower coil butts up. I also have a pic of the complete strut assy laying on the side so you can see the orientation of the spring. I reviewed the Spec B/Bilstein install you posted on Youtube and of note your spring was tight inside the completed assy. With mine the spring could be move around slightly (well at least when installed in the car and no weight on the strut). I'll send them tonight to your email...sean@rallitek.com ?
"Gimme mines Balboa...Gimme mines".....Clubber Lang - Mr. T
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Ridgeracer Mentor

Ridgeracer

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Yeah I know. This was my initial attempt to fix the problem. This did not work. My second attempt, I did what everyone suggested to do by using a piece of rubber hose on the lower coil that sits in the spring perch. It's alot quieter now.
"Gimme mines Balboa...Gimme mines".....Clubber Lang - Mr. T
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norbs Explorer

norbs

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My mate and I just swapped these springs out today on both our GTs (both running Konis). So far these have lived up to what has been mentioned in the initial review. For anyone looking at a compliant, non jaw bone crushing ride (I had Eibachs before and they were stiff :eek:), with a slight drop over stock (1inch), then these are the springs for you.

 

Big thumbs up and thanks to RalliTEK !!

 

Oh yeah, both our cars do not have any knocks.

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SlickSpur Rising Star

SlickSpur

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My mate and I just swapped these springs out today on both our GTs (both running Konis). So far these have lived up to what has been mentioned in the initial review. For anyone looking at a compliant, non jaw bone crushing ride (I had Eibachs before and they were stiff :eek:), with a slight drop over stock (1inch), then these are the springs for you.

 

Big thumbs up and thanks to RalliTEK !!

 

Oh yeah, both our cars do not have any knocks.

 

Glad you've had success, sounds like RalliTek makes a quality spring!

 

On a side note, I thought Eibachs and RalliTeks would ride rather similar?

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norbs Explorer

norbs

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Yes, I had the Eibachs, but this is going back more than a year and had to revert to stock springs as they were too stiff for me. The must have been the pro-kit. Not sure as my suspension shop ordered and installed them. I still have them so may be possible to get a part number.

 

Just an update. Did my usual run into work today and these springs are simply fantastic !!!!!!!! Finally after many attempts, my suspension is sorted.

 

The story:-

 

1). Stock

 

Floaty rear end. Good ride. Not confidence inspiring.

 

2). TEIN Comfort Sport coilovers.

 

Nice ride height. Bouncy ride. Not overly impressive handling.

 

3). TEIN CS + Fullcrum offset lower control arm bushes

 

Improved front end grip/steering, but not overly impressed with the ride and handling.

 

4). Koni inserts + Eibach springs + Fullcrum LCAs + Whiteline Front and Rear sways

 

Initially I thought very nice. Looks great. However due to the stiffness of the springs, had to wind up the Konis and then the ride became too hard. Also, something not right with the steering??

 

5). Koni inserts + Eibach springs + Fullcrum LCAs + Whiteline Front and Rear sways + Roll Center Height Adjusters

 

Steering fixed. Obviously the roll centers were out due to the significant drop in ride height. Still not getting used to the harsh ride. Would make a great combination for the track though.

 

6). Back to stock springs + Koni inserts + Fullcrum LCAs + Whiteline Front and Rear sways + Roll Center Height Adjusters

 

Much better. Not 100% happy. Saggy butt, slight nervousness in the handling. Still in search of springs :mad:

 

Note that the Roll Center Height adjusters are not having any effect in this setup.

 

7). Koni inserts + Fullcrum LCAs + Whiteline Front and Rear sways + Roll Center Height Adjusters + RalliTEK springs

 

Don't know why it took so long, but I finally found this thread which had convinced me to get these springs.

 

I am so glad I did as the car rides and handles superbly!! Most of all the ride is not harsh, rather it is compliant.

 

So after a long search involving much trial and error, I have finally found the perfect setup "for me". Finally the legacy handles as I expected it should.

 

Thank you once again RalliTEK !!!!

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