I guess it depends what you want. I drive 50 miles a day on these springs, and I'm perfectly comfortable, and I drive some horrible roads. The Dampers do a Good job of making it a pretty comfortable ride. What Rate do you THINK is good? I'll see if it can be made available?

 

280lbs/in

 

Dan,

Where are you on the Header WITH high flow CAT ?

I am awaiting ...

Phil

 

Thanks Dan. I wish I was smart enough about it to give you a good answer. On the other hand, it's not that simple, is it? Assuming these coilovers are designed well (and I do so assume), the springs were carefully chosen to match the dampers. If so, isn't it true that changing only the springs/rates will mis-match the system?

I'm still considering them as designed; I was just hoping for an opinion or two.....like you have to ask for opinions from this bunch.....

 

IIRC, Mr. Webb prefers his LEDA's with 250lb/in front and 350lb/in rear. Since the Pilo/Megan shocks are adjustable, it's relatively easy to match the damping with whatever spring rates are installed.

That said, if Dan can take a quick measurement of the spring ID and free length of the front and rear springs, we can purchase whatever spring rates suits our tuning goals, whether it's comfy street or autocross or drag racing or track! Both Hypercoil and Eibach [and I'm sure others] sell a plethora of coil-over linear rate springs. I'm sure Dan could setup with those companies and offer a selection of spring rates for us [just an idea Dan ] If I could be so bold, I'd offer front springs in 250lb/in, 300lb/in, and 350lb/in, and rear springs in 300lb/in, 350lb/in, and 400lb/in. That would let people pick their level of comfort and/or performance.


That's my $0.02. For all the features these coilovers have, buying a pair of springs for the front that are a hundred pounds softer to keep my cars' neutral balance is worth it.

Cheers,
Ryan

 

so, given that there have been many suggestions to keep the spring rate in the 350lb/in range, why are you going with 390 lb? What sort of testing have you (or anyone) done to arrive at this rate? Pilo: did you try another rate on your rig?


by the way they look pretty good, but what lubricates the front "pillow ball"

 

I went with the rate because I find it to work well on the street, and even better on the track. I am very happy with the spring rate. Our Goal was to make a Sporty Coil over that will be competative for both the street user and the track racer. Any Lower, and I think that the track driver may not be happy with this setup.

 

These were designed together. But the Shock being adjustable can be mathed with a diffrent spring, and will work well because of it's large range of adjustment. That is 1 large advantage of an adjustable Shock.

 

Please Keep these post's on topic. You can PM me or post in the performance Mods Section

 

Dan,

Can you subjectively compare your new Adjustable coilovers to others on the market? Feel, harshness etc.

I know that someone else asked for a dyno, but these things don't tell anyone how a damper actually feels in operation. You could probably dyno ten different dampers, all with similar if not exact plots. All ten may feel vastly different on the road.

This looks like a great set-up...I'm a hair nervous about the rates, but what's a mother to do?

Michael

 

I can tell you that these are smoother then when I ran with H-Sport springs and Stock Shocks. These do not Bottom out, so you don't get that huge jolt if you hit a pot hole or speed bump.

 

Springs are cheap though, especially if you're looking in the used or ebay markets.

 

yeh, but probably just rattles your teeth over every imperfection on the road... no? i noticed you don't take my comments seriously.

 

Any chance for a picture of the front strut installed in the car from the top. I would like to see how the four bolts that you use to adjust the camber setting are accessible from the top.

 

I have driven My Fiance's Mini (2004 MCS Unmoded ) on the same roads. Yes, It is a little harsher, then the stock springs in her car, but not so much that my teeth rattle. She has also Commented on how much smoother "Less Harsh" that the car is now on rough roads vs the Stock Shocks and H-Sport Springs that I had. It is a well tuned setup

Not sure about the taking the comments serious remark. I am looking into other springs that could be offered as an option. I take all remarks serious, I just may not respond to all on the boards until I have reseached the info. I try not to post un researched data. I think that most will apreciate that more then an off the Cuff Responce

 

To adjust camber, You will have to raise the car up on the front. Then you will loosen the 3 bolts holding the suspension in (not remove, just loosen) Then you can lower the suspension and adjust the camber by loosening the 4 alens through the top strut tower hole. Then retighten, every thing, and repeat on the other side. I will post a picture of this tonight.

 

Dan,

I'm confused about how the spring pre-load works? I have another question that relates if your answer describes what I imagine this to be...

 

The Shock has a Max Height that it can travel to. You can set the spring to be at that point when totally uncompressed, or you can pre load the spring by raising the spring perch up so that the spring will start to compress towards the max height. This way, when you put the coilover on the car, when the weight of the car is on it, there is more travel for compression then if you did not pre-load the spring.

 

Oh lord... not another preload discussion... These never end well.

My take is that preloading a linear spring is pointless. The advantage of this design is that the manufacturer can reuse more components on different cars. The downside, is that by allowing height adjustment without moving the spring perch, you've also reduced your overall potential shock travel (by making the body shorter so you could add the threaded base).

The primary "advantage" is that the spring doesn't rattle around at full droop. Anyway, I suspect you know all this and are just asking for the vendor's take on the issue.

 

Yes Jeffs, I understand the rationale quite well. And to your point, I wondered if other springs of a different size would work. In a few past applications, I tried to select the shortest, and smallest diameter spring possible. Weight was one of the reasons, and, keeping the spring's motion as linear as possible was another. A tall skinny spring does not always posses a pure linear motion. FYI

This might require a different perch design Dan. Do you have the capacity to work with different spring diameters as well? This shouldn't be too difficult...but then, I've not seen your product.

Dan, by the way, I'm not at all picking on your efforts to date. Bringing a product to market, especially this one, is lots of work. I'm simply curious about your products versatility - and it's quite versatile now!

Michael

 

Right now we are designed for 1 spring diamater. That does not mean that you can't get a custom part made up to allow for other spring diamaters. Though there is a minimum diamater that would be supported due to the diamater of the Shock. Again. I don't have the diamater of the spring on hand. I can get that tonight. I honestly never though the get that measurement. I will get it and let you know. I can also see how much it would be for me to offer Different springs for a custom setup. This of course would raise the price of the coilover a bit. Though at the group buy rate of 5 + plus the custom spring, you should be able to stay below $1200.


I still do not have a definate number or presales, and I need to have your presale yes or no prior to the suspensions arrival date.

 

Working on it.... working on it!

Just doing some final research and figuring out how much i can get for my H&R springs, Kmac Plates, and Stock MCS shocks.

I'm at probable right now, since its a very good deal.

 

Dan

Have you pre-determined ideal setups for given handling charatertistics? For example, the settings (damping/preload) that most closely approximates stock; settings that give you a standard soft vs. taut? It would be nice to have starting points. Also, are there markings on the shock body for the ride height adjustment(s) so you know what you're setting in terms of +/- stock height and to make it easy to match both left and right? In motorcycle shock (rear) setup, like the premium Ohlins brand (world's best), most tuners determine ideal preload settings by measuring the mm of visible threads to the first lock ring. How do you recommend taking measurements? Do you have all this sorted so as to remove some of the guess work? Reason I'm asking is that I'm in the market for shocks for my winter project, and I searching for premium cornering, quiet (repeat, quiet) performance over bumps, and optimum ride quality for street performance.

Thanks!

 

Still, $1,200 is a great value when considering all this kit has to offer.

 

seems like the prudent thing to do would be to road test the car with different spring rates. did you do this, or just guess at the 390lb'ers based on what?