King Springs (lows) - How Long Can They Last?

[Spunky Munky]

Hi fellas,

I just got some new 18" rims and am thinking about getting some new springs in my car. I know King Springs won't last forever as compared to say good Tein suspension or coilovers - but this is a shortfix, I am hoping to get 2-3 years out of these springs - does this sound feasible and realistic. It'll be mainly for daily driving and no track at all.

Also, would King Springs lower it nicely so that my 18" rims get close to the guards but I do not want rubbing - OR, should I live it on stock suspension, I don't want it to hit the guards fully, just want it to get as close as possible and absolutely do not want rubbing.

Your thoughts people?

Cheers.

[Sydneykid]

Hi fellas,

I just got some new 18" rims and am thinking about getting some new springs in my car. I know King Springs won't last forever as compared to say good Tein suspension or coilovers - but this is a shortfix, I am hoping to get 2-3 years out of these springs - does this sound feasible and realistic. It'll be mainly for daily driving and no track at all.

Also, would King Springs lower it nicely so that my 18" rims get close to the guards but I do not want rubbing - OR, should I live it on stock suspension, I don't want it to hit the guards fully, just want it to get as close as possible and absolutely do not want rubbing.

Your thoughts people?

Cheers.

The life of a spring is directly proportional to how well the shock absorber controls it. A correctly specified spring (rate, free height and frequency) used with an appropriately valved shock will last virtually forever. So whoever told you that Kings springs won't last should be ignored in future as they have no idea.

BTW, R32/33/34's have coilovers standard.

Try the Group Buy thread as it has some useful info on what does what in Skyline suspension and comments from some of the over 150 happy Skyliners who have kits.

Cheers

Gary

[Spunky Munky]

Thanks mate.... oh, Skylines com with coilovers as standard? Does that mean if I want to lower my car, I'll have get rid of these coilovers and replace them with those springs.

Also, you talked about shocks - now, I'm planning to use my factory shocks on King Springs - is this something that is of an issue?

Thanks.

[scotty014]

if my car already has coilovers cant i just lower it the way it is then and keep the stock springs and shockers?

sorry if its a stupid question but i dont know a great deal about suspension im just trying to learn.

[Spunky Munky]

if my car already has coilovers cant i just lower it the way it is then and keep the stock springs and shockers?

sorry if its a stupid question but i dont know a great deal about suspension im just trying to learn.

Good question - wouldn't mind the same.

Thanks.

[Munkyb0y]

if you have factory coilovers. theyre not adjustable. you cant change the height without changing the spring, or changing the whole coilover (spring and shock).

[r32woohoo]

Stolen from wikipedia - "A coilover is an automobile suspension device, short for "coil (spring) over strut". It consists of a shock absorber with a coil spring encircling it"

You guys are thinking of adjustable coilovers ie: tein's etc where you can adjust the spring seat to lower or raise the cars ride height

Standard suspension isnt adjustable. The only way to lower standard suspension is to change the springs.

And theres a thread about why its not a good idea to run lowered springs on standard shocks, because they aren't designed to sit that low it greatly reduces the life of your shock absorbers.

[niZmO_Man]

I think what Sydneykid ment by skylines having coilovers from factory is, if you have a look at your stock suspension, the coil spring sits on top of the damper ("shock absorber"), hence the term coilovers. Coilovers is generally used as a name for a set of aftermarket suspension. They can have height adjustable capabilities etc etc

If you wanna lower your car, three options: get a set of lowered springs (and shocks to match), aftermarket coilovers (with base height adjustability preferably), or cut your springs (illegal).

I think the kings should last a couple of years if you have good shocks (some KYBs perhaps?) to support them, and generally don't do heavy cornering or off roading (). The weight of your wheels is also a factor

My 2 pence

Edited January 23, 2008 by niZmO_Man

[Magic]

I got my superlows fitted on my 34 yesterday, also had the front shocks replaced with KYBs, forgot the exact model number. Personally I find the stock springs handle better, But it's not a major difference.

[scotty014]

ok i understand it now. Sorry 'spunky munky' for taking over your thread, but i was after the same answer as you because im sick of my car looking so high off the ground. It looks wrong and i only wanted it lowered a little bit to make it look nicer and not like a 4wd.

[Spunky Munky]

Thanks fellas... very informative posts.

For now, as a short term thing - I will dump my car with king springs and use the standard shock absorbers - but in a couple of years will upgrade to Tein springs.

Getting this done this weekend.

Thanks.

[scotty014]

hey spunky munky tell us how it goes because im thinking of doing the same thing with mine because my car came with brand new r34 shockers so they should be alright.

[Spunky Munky]

hey spunky munky tell us how it goes because im thinking of doing the same thing with mine because my car came with brand new r34 shockers so they should be alright.

Will do mate, this is a short-term fix... I don't take it to the track and don't push my car that much, so I think this should be ok for a year or two - wouldn't worry that much - but will of course be upgrading.

Cheers,

Kevin

[scotty014]

im in the same boat as you, mine wont be used on the track or pushed to hard plus ill only have it for a year or 2 cause ill be upgrading to turbo.

thanks for keeping me posted cant wait to see how it goes when you get it done.

[Spunky Munky]

im in the same boat as you, mine wont be used on the track or pushed to hard plus ill only have it for a year or 2 cause ill be upgrading to turbo.

thanks for keeping me posted cant wait to see how it goes when you get it done.

No worries mate... the plan is, I'm putting my 18" on this Saturday (can't wait) - if they look good enough, I won't even dump them as the seller thinks stock looks fine and if lowered further might scrap so we'll see... if I think the gap is marginal will not get springs, but yeah, if gap is too much then King springs are not stand by... pictures will be up in a few days (check back).

Yeah, I don't see why they won't last 1-2 years if you don't push it that hard... besides the look, I like my car average height - as going too low can get you defected, an uncomfortable ride plus just isn't needed....

I'll keep you posted.

[Omurru]

I don't think you understand what has been said here. Spring's don't really wear out....the shock absorbers do. If you put low springs on a long stroke shock absorber (ie. change the springs and not the shock absorber) you'll find that the car bounces around, when you go over a speed hump for example instead of just the normal bump you get now, the car will bounce up and down a couple of times. This in turn wears the shock absorbers out much faster so over time it'll bounce more and more. Handling etc. is effected as well but this example is the easiest noticable difference.

Just to ad some more problems, you will probably find if you lower the car you'll need camber kits as well. As you/the wheel joint wont be able to get the camber back close to 0 degrees (ie. the wheels won't be straight up and down they will be on an angle to the road) and you'll wear one side of the tyre much faster than the other.....

[Spunky Munky]

I don't think you understand what has been said here. Spring's don't really wear out....the shock absorbers do. If you put low springs on a long stroke shock absorber (ie. change the springs and not the shock absorber) you'll find that the car bounces around, when you go over a speed hump for example instead of just the normal bump you get now, the car will bounce up and down a couple of times. This in turn wears the shock absorbers out much faster so over time it'll bounce more and more. Handling etc. is effected as well but this example is the easiest noticable difference.

Just to ad some more problems, you will probably find if you lower the car you'll need camber kits as well. As you/the wheel joint wont be able to get the camber back close to 0 degrees (ie. the wheels won't be straight up and down they will be on an angle to the road) and you'll wear one side of the tyre much faster than the other.....

Cheers mate... this is what I meant... the springs are just a short term fix with the stock shockies until I get the cash and the time to get full coilovers put in - yeah I had guessed that this combo will prove to be of some issues in the long run.

Mate - we'll see how I go, might not even lower it... if the 18 inch rims fit nice enough I might leave it stock as my current set up provides a very comfortable ride and I guess Nissan had design it this way for a reason.

Cheers,

[YoungLine]

Im thinkin bout gettin the same springs mate so tell me how it goes.

my skyline is actually sittin on 18's aswell but with stock springs.. it dosent look to good as it looks high and the wheels come no way near the guards, big gap. But the front bar is about 3mm over the gutter wen i park so i jus miss it, so i dont kno if its a good idea 2 lower it any further as id scratch the fk outa the bar.

[Magic]

If your getting just the 'lows' you would barely even notice a difference in your ride height. I recommend superlows at least if your getting them. I just got these put in my r34 last week so if you plan on LOWERING the car, 'lows' is a waste imo.

[adam-__-]

Getting springs without suitable shocks and then going to proper coilovers later on is a waste of money in my opinion. Do it right the first time.