Lowering Springs

[ar24458]

what is the main difference and purpose of progressive springs compared to linear springs?

which is stiffer and hindi mabilis bumaba yung car pag sinakyan?

what brand yung ok? eibach,jamex, h&r,etc....??

baka may may experiences na kayo sa mga springs na to..i wana know pros and cons sana...


thanks

[Type 100]

Linear springs have one spring rate for the entire length of the spring. That's why it's called "linear." Progressively-wound springs on the other hand have progressively higher spring rates as you get to the top of the spring. This is obvious when you notice that progressive springs get coiled tighter at the top.

If you uncoil and stretch out linear and progressive springs for the same car, they will actually be the same length. It is the tighter coiling and higher spring rate that causes the "drop" in your vehicle's ride height.

Given enough time, all springs will sag due to gravity, weight and age. On our old AE101 Corolla, we never changed the stock springs and it gradually sagged over the eight years we had it.

All the brands you mentioned are OK, Jamex being more popular in Europe than locally.

[ar24458]

ah ok..which is stiffer bro? what is recommended?

[Type 100]

Try looking for a chart of spring rates, given your car model, to address your question on stiffness. Some suspension manufacturers (e.g. TEIN) publish this data, along with the expected drop in ride height.

I'm not sure where you can get information for STOCK spring rates though.

Also worth mentioning: one suspension manufacturer may release different lines of springs, with different amounts of drop and stiffness. The first one that comes to mind is Tanabe (their NF/GF/DF lineups are all lowering springs but are made with different specs)

[ar24458]

ah..ic..thanks...do you recommend to automatically replace the shocks to gas types if I install lowering springs?

[niky]

If you're getting springs with high spring rates, yes. Some springs are merely cosmetic, and won't stress your shocks as much... but you'll really have to research to find out which lowering springs are softest. They'll still be stiffer than stock, but not terribly so.

[ar24458]

what brand can you suggest guys...especially for mazdas...even old mazda.....basta i want yung stiffer at matigas...yung iba kasi pag nag try ako sakyan at ugain, lumulubog agad....parang malambot?

eibach, jamex, h & r, etc..???

[niky]

Try looking at mazdas247.com/forums for fitment guides for springs. There's a chart there comparing lowering springs for my generation of Familia (the Lynx), but I don't know if there's one for the older Familias.

[Type 100]

ah..ic..thanks...do you recommend to automatically replace the shocks to gas types if I install lowering springs?

I'm not going to be particular with the type of shock absorbers, but as a general rule you should "match" your lowering springs with proper, uprated shock absorbers.

Why?

Stock shocks are built to match stock springs. Both have a common range of travel. If the maximum compression of a stock spring is 4", the stock damper should also travel 4" before hitting its bumpstops.

Imagine now that you got 2"-lowering springs and kept your stock dampers. The shocks now have much less travel (2") than they're built for (4")---even when stationary. When you hit a nasty bump with this configuration, you can also imagine how much easier it would be to hit your bumpstops and break the shocks. This is why a lot of people who get aggressively-dropped lowering springs only, retaining their shock dampers, have the said dampers going kaboom in the span of 6 months. They're just not matched.

If your drop is relatively mild (1" thereabouts) you could just about get away with retaining your stock shocks.

HTHs. I'm also looking into getting new springs and shocks so I'm doing all the research I can on these things.

[ar24458]

very well said....i agree with what you are saying actually....maybe gas type shocks will best fit with lowering springs i think.....

comments pls......