I am soon to be the owner of a set of Cusco Zero 2-R coilovers with 13k front and 10k rear springs (stock is 7k/6k which is about the same as JIC FLT-A2), but I had a little question. Has anyone here ever run a spring this stiff on anything besides a honda civic? I don't know what level springs you coilove guys have, but I'd like to see if anyone has at least 8k+ on the front end so I can take a ride sometime. The max I've seen on an impreza was 900k/800k on an STX prepared WRX wagon. Obviously I wont be keeping these on in the wintertime (suicide) so I might think of getting rid of the V5 WRX suspension I have now and swapping it out with a good condition normal old GC 2.5RS suspension. Once I remove the v5's in the spring I'll take stock of their condition and value and trade off with anyone (plus money on top of course) who is looking for a v5 setup.
Zak, i think you mean 9kg/8kg. and it was actually run the other way around, with the heavier springs in the rear. that was done to loosen up the rear end. 13k F/10k R seems a bit much, especially for a GC8. if i were you, i'd order a set of 10k springs for the front, and leave the 10k in the rear. the rear end of the car being light, i think that should make it loose enough, if it's not, you can always move the 13k s you have around to the front or rear as needed. Steve Garnjobst suggested Hypercoil springs, as their cheap and good enough. when i order my replacements, I'm going with a full set of 9 Kg springs from Swift USA. they've given me a partial sponsorship, so i can get a good deal from them. if i need to adjust, then i can just use the stock 8k springs which came with my JICs. Nice score on the coil overs though...
P.S. Steve still has all his setup information in his VBGarage over on MNAutox. it's somewhat helpful... http://forum.mnautox.com/forums/vbgarage.php?do=view&id=167
first off! i still have my OEM springs from my L. they are sitting in my colest i believe. if you are interested i would MOST definately trade you +cash for the V5 springs. secondly, i have 500lb/in F 450lb/in R springs on my car. i am not exactly sure what that comes out to in kgs, but i bet its about 9 or so. your welcome to give it a test drive if you want. just beware that my struts have no wee near enough dampning.
Ok, i found a conversion chart. Spring Rates: Kg-Lbs 4---224 5---280 6---336 7---392 8---448 9---504 10--560 11--616 12--672 13--728 14--784 15--840 16--896 17--??? 18--1008 19--??? 20--1120
So these are 672/560 in Lbs so far as i can tell. theyre 12kg/10kg Stiff! I'll probably just order a set of swift springs in the 500lbs/400lbs category for a lighter duty set
For spring rates, I'd recommend equal rates for our AWD Subarus. It helps the rear stay flat and gives you some more oversteer to what you already have. if it is 13k F and 10k R, that's like track setup. I only plan on running like...probably 10k front and rear.... I'mma stick with STi tarmac springs first though.
well considering that this car will probably spend as much time on the track as it does on the street, then the rates don't bug me too much, I just want to test it first i guess. usually the track and autocross setups have about 20% more spring rate in front than back. Almost all of the off the shelf coilovers are about that ratio as well. If anyone wants to get rid of a stock 2.5RS suspension in the springtime let me know, i'll be in the market for that for my wintertime backups.
actually, after many a chat with steve G about susp setup, he told me that he finally resorted to going to about a 1-2k stiffer spring in the REAR to help the car rotate. But i do think he may be a bit oversteer happy. That's why i've chosen to run matched rates at this point, and try to adjust Over/Under using dampening and swaybar adjustments.
Zak?! Don't you remember my car? :shock: Anyway... I am currently running 9k/9k with custom valving on the JICs. I have Steve's old 10k springs that I may try out on the rear, but no way on the front. I actually fear that the 10k in the rear will be too much for track days, but manageable on the AutoX course. We'll see. Don't even bother running higher springs in the front, you will kick yourself. Make sure the struts are valved to match the springs or it will be a nightmare with 13k springs! I would suggest no more than 10k on your car as they are considerably lighter than the WRX. Additional note....Steve's settings on his WRX != optimum settings on the RS. He drove my car, as is, and his only complaint was that it was a bit neutral for him (personal preference) and that the turn-in wasn't crisp. He suggested a bigger front sway to cure that. You have yet to ask for a co-drive so I have to say that your lack of knowledge is your own fault! :twisted: Once the snow is gone...you are welcome to take it out for a spin....bring your kidney belt.
Well, what I do know is that I don't know if the struts were valved for the 13k springs, I'm going to go ahead and guess no, since they don't sell them that way and Cusco doesn't rebuild in the USA, but these are coming from japan so it could be a whole different ball game. When they get to the USA (stll a few weeks) I'll know a lot more. I am told on the stock settings the struts can take between a 6k and 13k spring. I plan on seeing what the 13k springs are like for a while and ordering up another set. I may actually just order the other set before I put them on the car so that i can make adjustments right as the season starts, but I think maybe even just getting another 10k set and evening it to 10k all around might be a good start, but i'd like to go a bit softer if I could. I have a whiteline 21mm front sway and a whiteline 22mm non adj. rear in there already. and springs are relatively cheap so i can hunt around for the right setup. I can get sets of hypercoils or swifts for under $170 shipped so I might just get a nice grab bag (2 8k, 2 9k) and play mix and match until I find something I like. Then I'l have a total of 2 10k, 2 9k and 2 8k to work with. I had better buy a spring compressor.
