Need Advice & Q's On Sways & Springs

[ifbiker]

OP, I see you have made a decision on your future suspension set up, so for what its worth, if you don't replace the stock struts first you won't be able to get the gains from the springs. The simple fact is the KYB unit doesn't have enough rebound dampening to handle the stock spring rate and adding more spring rate just adds to problem. Basically the tire will "bounce" one the ground until the strut is able to dampen the input.

 

Its my opinion that up grading the sway bars is a band aid fix for the real problem with the car which is the spring rate is too low. The low spring rate allows the car to roll over more resulting in severe loss of camber up front at the limit and understeer. I have just installed iON sport spec springs on the LGT wagon and the ride over bumps is greatly improved compared to stock, roll is reduced and the springs are a better match to my Koni struts. I won't have data until the first autocross next year to show the gains made with the springs but I suspect my tires will wear better and have a little bit more even heat across the tread due to reduced roll.

 

Another area to consider is replacing all the rubber bushings up front with STi level or Group N rubber. The stock bushings in the LCA and strut mount are very compliant and allow for a fair amount of movement. Upgrading the suspension will put more force on the bushings allowing the suspension components to move around and some of your upgrade gains will be lost. I first replaced the LCA bushings with Group N in the back and STi up front as was suprised how much better the mid corner feel was. When I replaced my springs I upgraded the strut mount with Spec B units and the on center feel is better as is corner entry.

 

Once you are at this point sway bars and end link can be considered to fine tune the ride. After I replaced the springs I put in a set of AVO endlinks. The reason why I went with AVO is because they use ball joints with rubber boots which should keep dirt out of the joint and keep them running quiet. I did notice that the suspension feeled "freed" up after putting the endlink on. I suspect when the car get lowered the sway bar isn't in the stock position any more and it has a tendency to bind up a little. By putting shorter end links on it helps to return it to its factory position. The extra stiffness helps some too

[BagheeraLGT]

^ alot of good info & advice above.

 

OP, I see you have made a decision on your future suspension set up, so for what its worth, if you don't replace the stock struts first you won't be able to get the gains from the springs. The simple fact is the KYB unit doesn't have enough rebound dampening to handle the stock spring rate and adding more spring rate just adds to problem. Basically the tire will "bounce" one the ground until the strut is able to dampen the input.

 

this, however, i dont really agree with. The Tien H tech, like other aftermarket springs is stiffer than the stock setup. Putting a stiffer spring on a KYB strut will not increse bounce- the spring is stiffer. What it will do is put more stress on the strut to dampen road irregularities. This extra stress and force will cause the strut to wear faster. You will not end up with more bounce and bodyroll- you will have less along with less strut life. That is the nature of a stiffer spring.

 

Im not saying its a bad idea to upgrade to Konis...i wish i had and extra $650 to invest. Then again, if i had more money to put into my suspension setup id go for a more aggressive spring as well. Say I did Konis & Swifts.... thats approaching $1K on a spring/strut combo alone. At that point I prolly would have bought some BC Racing coilovers. Its a whole new arena...and the suspension upgrades (like everything else) add up quick.

[GULLABLE0NE]

i do realize the teins will kill my kybs much faster than the stocks springs would have. and i'm not saying i wanna kill my kybs and spend the money to replace them because i don't. i've rode in my friends 2008 gti with ?? (can't remember brand) coilovers and i was not impressed, then i rode in my friends 2006 accord coupe w/ tein basic coilovers and was pleasantly suprised. when (not if) i blow the kybs i will likely buck up for coilovers even though many members are not satisfied with the ride of coilovers on the street.

[ifbiker]

Under load the KYB doesn't have enough dampening force to keep the spring in check and the front tire will bounce. I have oberserved this when my Koni rebound adjustment is a little light. Under normal conditions the tire should not bounce but the KYB will wear prematurely.