Jump to content
SAU Community

Recommended Posts

When I enquired with Just Jap they didnt believe they could get it to above stock height - they thought they could get JUST to stock height.. but no higher. They, apparently, asked the workshop next to them who fitted the BC's to their workshop/demo car and that was what they thought also. I are teh confused.

Don't be teh confuse...

I'm with Iain on this one. You can get around an inch (possibly more) over Std height on an RS or RX.:thumbsup:

Edited by Daleo

i can only go by my own.

is it possible the two different type also have different adjustment capabilities?

Possible. Or they had no idea what was going on. You woulda thought they'd do what they can to get the sale - but they actively discouraged me from getting them because I wanted to go a touch higher than stock.

Don't be teh confuse...

I'm with Iain on this one. You can get around an inch (possibly more) over Std height on an RS or RX.:thumbsup:

Its possible their demo car was an ARX I guess; which may account for that "Not going higher than stock" issue they had (Given the ARX sits 2cm higher than RS/RX).

Irrespective, if Dale and Iain are suggesting they'll go higher than stock RS/RX then that's good enough for me :thumbsup:

Its possible their demo car was an ARX I guess; which may account for that "Not going higher than stock" issue they had (Given the ARX sits 2cm higher than RS/RX).

Irrespective, if Dale and Iain are suggesting they'll go higher than stock RS/RX then that's good enough for me :thumbsup:

yeh i would be saying its an ARX but just out of curiosity. why would you wanna go higher then stock??

OK guys, I'm after some insight on spring rates. I've read this thread (& more) & still not sure what the deal is.

Looks like I will be getting BC's but was wanting a softer ride, without bouncing/wallowing etc, and was told spring rates can be specified +/- 2Kg/mm from normal. I guess that is so they are not too far from the ideal match for the dampers. Great, it all makes sense so far.

So, I start writing down the spring rates from various c/overs (beginning of thread) and I see that most have the fronts higher than the rears. Eg Silk Road F16 R10, Dolphin F9 R8, HKS F10 R6.8, AiStar F8 R7 & on & on.

Then there are exceptions with rears higher than front. Eg Nismo F8.3 R9.2, Tein GF Wgn F10 R11, Tein Superwgn F6 R7.2 and BC's (BR) F10 R12

Then there are a few with equal rates, or very close, & one very low (Kenstyle F5.4 R5.4).

What does all this tell me then? Maybe there is bugger all difference between a few kg/mm when you're bum is in the seat. Surely the difference between 5.4kg/mm and 16kg/mm would be noticeable, but I'm not sure that 8 - 10 or 10 - 12 would make a huge difference. Should the rears be higher? It would help if putting big loads in the back...

Does anyone have anything constructive (anecdotal or fact) to add before I go and order my BC's with 2kg/mm less on the front and rear? BTW that would put them pretty close to Nismo specs - at least you'd think they would have done some testing LOL ???

Cheers, Leon.

Edited by Commsman

It's a shame you're not close enough for a test drive; I think you'd be surprised at how compliant the BC's actually are; if you rode in my car you would never know it had coilovers.

yeah id have to agree, with a softer spring you may find it does wallow around a bit. its a VERY heavy car so firmer spring rates wont be as noticable than say a 1200kg silvia or something.

I have to say with the 16kg front springs, though it seems overly firm on paper, the ride is not too bad...

sure hitting a pothole at high speed's gonna rattle you a bit but usually its pretty civil...

The thing with the spring rate is; it's just a raw number.

You need to take into account the attachment point is almost halfway along the lower arm; front and rear, so you have a fair amount of machanical advantage acting on the spring, which certainly justifies a heavier rate.

And as Iain & Jet have said when correctly matched to a damper, the spring rate manifests differently.

I'm far from an expert, but as I say, the ride in mine is not at all harsh. My missus wouldn't tolerate it after my last car.:whistling:

Thanks guys. I've heard everyone say they're happy before, but I'm hard to convince pinch.gif . I understand (a bit more now, thanks) there is no relevance between spring rates in other cars & ours, due to different weights/mounting points etc, but why such a big spread of numbers available for the same car? I mean, just how soft would 5.4kg/mm springs be? Probably ridiculous, but then you go up to 16's & they are obviously firm (Silk Roads, seriously?).

I wish I was able to go for a quick spin in one of your cars. That would make the decision really easy I reckon. However, since I'm stuck with "opinions", let me pose this question: What difference does damper adjustment make compared to spring rate when determining ride compliance (softness)?

Eg, I've heard that most people using BC's have their damper setting at the low end of the scale for everyday use. Probably in the softest or bottom 3 or 4 clicks at most. Except for Scotty (with the V1's) who uses about the middle (15) & everyone says it is comfortable. See, I'd be happier with the 10/12 rates supplied if most guys were about middle of the adjustment scale for everyday use, & perhaps knocked it back 8 clicks for carrying their Grandma (or pregnant wife) around & increased it a few clicks for driving hard (track?). But when you are already at the softest setting, you've got no where to go except harder.

Is there a logical answer to my question (in bold)?

BTW, I appreciate everyone's patience. This is one decision that is hard (expensive?) to undo if I get it wrong :blush: .

Edited by Commsman

I live near you (well just up in brisbane) and i have the BC's fitted on my, you are welcome to come a take a test drive with me

Thanks guys. I've heard everyone say they're happy before, but I'm hard to convince pinch.gif . I understand (a bit more now, thanks) there is no relevance between spring rates in other cars & ours, due to different weights/mounting points etc, but why such a big spread of numbers available for the same car? I mean, just how soft would 5.4kg/mm springs be? Probably ridiculous, but then you go up to 16's & they are obviously firm (Silk Roads, seriously?).

I wish I was able to go for a quick spin in one of your cars. That would make the decision really easy I reckon. However, since I'm stuck with "opinions", let me pose this question: What difference does damper adjustment make compared to spring rate when determining ride compliance (softness)?

Eg, I've heard that most people using BC's have their damper setting at the low end of the scale for everyday use. Probably in the softest or bottom 3 or 4 clicks at most. Except for Scotty (with the V1's) who uses about the middle (15) & everyone says it is comfortable. See, I'd be happier with the 10/12 rates supplied if most guys were about middle of the adjustment scale for everyday use, & perhaps knocked it back 8 clicks for carrying their Grandma (or pregnant wife) around & increased it a few clicks for driving hard (track?). But when you are already at the softest setting, you've got no where to go except harder.

Is there a logical answer to my question (in bold)?

BTW, I appreciate everyone's patience. This is one decision that is hard (expensive?) to undo if I get it wrong :blush: .

I live near you (well just up in brisbane) and i have the BC's fitted on my, you are welcome to come a take a test drive with me

Thanks, I might just take you up on that :thumbsup: . I'll be passing thru Brissy a few times in the next few weeks. Otherwise, are you able to make the cruise on the 9th of July (if it's still on)?

Cheers, Leon.

I had mine adjusted to the hardest setting up front for the past few days...can't really tell a huge difference....

BTW is it easy to f**k up the adjustment knob? I'm always scared I've overtightened it and pissed $1k down the drain...

I had mine adjusted to the hardest setting up front for the past few days...can't really tell a huge difference....

That's interesting. So what you're telling me is your suspension is either hard or rock hard lol.

Guys with the BC's reckon they can tell the difference with just a click or two.

That's interesting. So what you're telling me is your suspension is either hard or rock hard lol.

Guys with the BC's reckon they can tell the difference with just a click or two.

Really? Mine is only 8 click adjustable. The bcs are 30 clicks. Mmm beats me.....this IS my first car with coilovers though...

yup the softest setting on mine is pretty pussy, but its firm, like a new car.

i run mine around 7-8 at the rear, and about the same at the front, maybe a little softer so it doesnt rattle the entire front end off the car

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now



  • Similar Content

  • Latest Posts

    • Hey Dave, welcome aboard! Good to see another soon-to-be Stagea owner here. The wagons are awesome — plenty of space, still got that Skyline DNA, and loads of potential if you’re into mods. Definitely post up pics when you get it, everyone here loves seeing new builds. What model/year are you looking at?
    • See if you can thermal epoxy a heatsink or two onto it?
    • The other problem was one of those "oh shit we are going to die moments". Basically the high spec Q50s have a full electric steering rack, and the povo ones had a regular hydraulic rack with an electric pump.  So couple of laps into session 5 as I came into turn 2 (big run off now, happily), the dash turned into a christmas tree and the steering became super heavy and I went well off. I assumed it was a tyre failure so limped to the pits, but everything was OK. But....the master warning light was still on so I checked the DTCs and saw – C13E6 “Heat Protection”. Yes, that bloody steering rack computer sitting where the oil cooler should be has its own sensors and error logic, and decided I was using the steering wheel too much. I really appreciated the helpful information in the manual (my bold) POSSIBLE CAUSE • Continuing the overloading steering (Sports driving in the circuit etc,) “DATA MONITOR” >> “C/M TEMPERATURE”. The rise of steering force motor internal temperature caused the protection function to operate. This is not a system malfunction. INSPECTION END So, basically the electric motor in the steering rack got to 150c, and it decided to shut down without warning for my safety. Didn't feel safe. Short term I'll see if I can duct some air to that motor (the engine bay is sealed pretty tight). Long term, depending on how often this happens, I'll look into swapping the povo spec electric/hydraulic rack in. While the rack should be fine the power supply to the pump will be a pain and might be best to deal with it when I add a PDM.
    • And finally, 2 problems I really need to sort.  Firstly as Matt said the auto trans is not happy as it gets hot - I couldn't log the temps but the gauge showed 90o. On the first day I took it out back in Feb, because the coolant was getting hot I never got to any auto trans issues; but on this day by late session 3 and then really clearly in 4 and 5 as it got hotter it just would not shift up. You can hear the issue really clearly at 12:55 and 16:20 on the vid. So the good news is, literally this week Ecutek finally released tuning for the jatco 7 speed. I'll have a chat to Racebox and see what they can do electrically to keep it cooler and to get the gears, if anything. That will likely take some R&D and can only really happen on track as it never gets even warm with road use. I've also picked up some eye wateringly expensive Redline D6 ATF to try, it had the highest viscosity I could find at 100o so we will see if that helps (just waiting for some oil pan gaskets so I can change it properly). If neither of those work I need to remove the coolant/trans interwarmer and the radiator cooler and go to an external cooler....somewhere.....(goodbye washer reservoir?), and if that fails give up on this mad idea and wait for Nissan to release the manual 400R
    • So, what else.... Power. I don't know what it is making because I haven't done a post tune dyno run yet; I will when I get a chance. It was 240rwkw dead stock. Conclusion from the day....it does not need a single kw more until I sort some other stuff. It comes on so hard that I could hear the twin N1 turbos on the R32 crying, and I just can't use what it has around a tight track with the current setup. Brakes. They are perfect. Hit them hard all day and they never felt like having an issue; you can see in the video we were making ground on much lighter cars on better tyres under brakes. They are standard (red sport) calipers, standard size discs in DBA5000 2 piece, Winmax pads and Motul RBF600 fluid, all from Matty at Racebrakes Sydney. Keeping in mind the car is more powerful than my R32 and weighs 1780, he clearly knows his shit. Suspension. This is one of the first areas I need to change. It has electronically controlled dampers from factory, but everything is just way too soft for track work even on the hardest setting (it is nice when hustling on country roads though). In particular it rolls into oversteer mid corner and pitches too much under hard braking so it becomes unstable eg in the turn 1 kink I need to brake early, turn through the kink then brake again so I don't pirouette like an AE86. I need to get some decent shocks with matched springs and sway bars ASAP, even if it is just a v1 setup until I work out a proper race/rally setup later. Tyres. I am running Yoko A052 in 235/45/18 all round, because that was what I could get in approximately the right height on wheels I had in the shed (Rays/Nismo 18x8 off the old Leaf actually!). As track tyres they are pretty poor; I note GTSBoy recently posted a porker comparo video including them where they were about the same as AD09.....that is nothing like a top line track tyre. I'll start getting that sorted but realistically I should get proper sized wheels first (likely 9.5 +38 front and 11 +55 at the rear, so a custom order, and I can't rotate them like the R32), then work out what the best tyre option is. BTW on that, Targa Tas had gone to road tyres instead of semi slicks now so that is a whole other world of choices to sort. Diff. This is the other thing that urgently needs to be addressed. It left massive 1s out of the fish hook all day, even when I was trying not too (you can also hear it reving on the video, and see the RPM rising too fast compared to speed in the data). It has an open diff that Infiniti optimistically called a B-LSD for "Brake Limited Slip Diff". It does good straight line standing start 11s but it is woeful on the track. Nismo seem to make a 2 way for it.
×
×
  • Create New...