Bilsteins + B&G's = Go-cart?

[87DXHatch]

I've got a set of front revalved Bilsteins sitting in my room awaiting installation on my coupe (when spring and $$$ start rolling in).

I looked over the spring %'s that Jim posted, and these look like they'd be the best.

They are a progressive spring, right? So I won't sacrifice ride quality NEARLY as much as say Ground Controls?

Do most of them lower the 1.6" that they're supposed to, or do most of them go further?

Can someone give me some suggestions of what THEY would run and why, if they had a pair of revalved Bilsteins in front, and Koni specials in rear...

[Jims 86LXI HB]

Mark is the only one that has had problems with B&G's sagging that I've seen. The springs are $169 from www.shox.com . I did not ask them if they were progressive. They might not be progressive in the front, mark would be the person to ask.

The Bilsteins I sold you are stiffer than standard Koni's. Short of getting some revalved Bilsteins for the rear, running Koni's special's is the best way to go. You are likely to feel what I felt. That the front and rear ends of the car are not always on the same page. Since your rear spring rates will be much higher than that of the H&R's I was running, that sensation should be more pronounced. I worked for me, but it could be downright weird sometimes. My plan was, once the front revalved Bilstiens passed my tests, to get GC's and rear revalved Bilsteins. I had no intentions of running standard Koni's, but that was me.

[AZmike]

I thought the B&G were linear. At least they look that way in the somewhat generic photo on the B&G website:
http://www.b-gsuspension.com/springs.html
(same coil diameter, wire size, and coil spacing throughout spring means linear rate)

[markmdz89hatch]

Honestly, I'm not sure if they're linear of progressive (it's been so damn long since i'v seen the friggin' springs.), but whatever it is, the answer is simple: with the B&G's you WILL sacrafice lots of comfortability. You feel every single little pebble b/c of just how damn hard they are. Now maybe it's a little worse for me b/c it dropped me so damn much more then 1.6, but that's my story and I'm stickin' to it. If you check out my thread, you'll see that AccordSi just posted saying the same about the saggy B&G's. ..and actually I've received a few e-mails/PM's from another member (can't remember his name) mentioning that the B&G's like to hang low.

Don't get me wrong, I love the ride that the B&G's deliver, and add that with a set of revalved billsteins, and you're in the money! Just make sure that you keep the number of the place you bought them from so you can make a warranty claim on them if you have to.

I've already spoken to B&G a few times mentioning the sag problem that I've been having, but now that I've got some ammo (the fact that I'm not the only one), I might be able to convince them to further their R&D on this application so that they can get it right once and for all. They must have calculated the corner weights wrong, or may have hastened a batch in production.

[87DXHatch]

What would you (Jim or others) suggest for a spring set that provides a little more comfortable ride but still has the beefy spring rates? Or am I saying something like "where can I get a bigger engine, but still keep the light weight of my car?"

Thanks

[bobafett]

lol i "think" (but i am no expert) that beefy spring rate = stiff spring = harsh ride quality. i know my H&R's made the ride WAYYYYYYYY more stiff and bumpy... people complain, but i hate riding in regular cars now... and H&R's are the softest i think... i will let you know how to compare them though, because pretty soon i will have the ground controls to try out!

[markmdz89hatch]

Originally posted by 87DXHatch
What would you (Jim or others) suggest for a spring set that provides a little more comfortable ride but still has the beefy spring rates? Or am I saying something like "where can I get a bigger engine, but still keep the light weight of my car?"

Thanks

Dave, i think I may have given you the wrong impression. You entitled the thread Bilsteins + B&G's = Go-cart?, so I assume you may be looking for the best handling ride?

What I guess we need to know is just what type of ride quality you're looking to maintain, and what type of performance you're looking for. There surely is a spring out there that can at least come close to fitting your needs. Also, just what do you plan on doing with the car? (ie. Auto-X, drag, or just every day driving).

Hook us up with that info and someone will come up with a good suggestion for you.

[AZmike]

The H&Rs seem like a good compromise between comfort and perfornce to me (they're what I'm planning on getting). The larger increase in rear stiffness (v. increase in front stiffness) should reduce understeer.