Jump to content
SAU Community

Im so Confused - Suspension

OOHSAM
 Share

Recommended Posts

OOHSAM Collaborator

OOHSAM

Posted
Posted

Hey guys,

I've read nearly every article on suspension, read every post on nearly every forum about suspension. The time has come to lower my car. By the way I drive an s14a (used to have a 32 and a 33 so relax guys!!).

Have seen some s14's with King springs (what I wanted to get) with lows and super lows. Some ppl say the are great, some say they are too bumpy etc. I know its all personal opinon, but im concerned. I want the car to look Schmick (guards and top of tyre at same level) and still want some decent ride...doesnt have to be ultra smooth (I drove an XF with chopped springs for 1 year...belive me, thats bumpy).

What I want to do is get the king springs (not sure if someone can reccommend lows or super lows - the car is very high at the moment stock suspension) and get some shocks to match...maybe the Bilstiens, as I have only heard exellent ratings with them.

So if someone could help with this ->

1. Lows or super low king springs?

2. Does the spring determine the height of the car or does the shock or both?

(I thought the spring does and the shock will adjust to that height)

3. Is my idea/combo good..will the car look 'schmick'..lol..

4. I think I may get excessive camber from lowering the s14...will just a simple camber kit from Whitline fix this ($300..does that sound right)

5. Why the hell is suspensin so friggen confusing..... :)

Thanks guys.

ps - I've been lucky with all my other cars, they came lowered with kick ass suspenion so I never had to worry about it...this is one of the only things I will never understand...too many things to chose from, too many things that can be done with suspension....

Link to comment
https://www.sau.com.au/forums/topic/47584-im-so-confused-suspension/
Share on other sites
Sciby Experienced

Sciby

Posted
Posted

1. Contact King Springs and ask them how much height change there will be with the different springs. I'm not sure what it'll be for your S14A, but for an R33, the Lows give a 30mm drop, afaik.

2. Spring determines height of car. The shock is there to make sure the spring behaves itself over bumps, etc. Remember, the lower/shorter the spring, the higher rate it will be to avoid driving the wheels up through the guards on bumps, so less travel and harder ride. Good dampening will help with that, but can only do so much with the small amount of travel it'll have.

3. Depends on your definition on 'schmick'. Ultralow (scrubbing tops of tires) can sometimes look rather shite. Depends on the car though.

4. Yup, adjustable camber kit is what you want.

5. Because if it was easy, everyone would do it. :)

The problem with suspension is that there's so many variables and so many governing factors and so many parts that make a profound effect on the handling and ride of the car in question.

tipper Rookie

tipper

Posted
Posted

I have kings and koni's in my S15. It is not a bad setup if done right. If i was to do it again I would by a setoif coilovers (although they will cost about 2 1/2 time more)

Make sure you get camber kits front and rear, you may also want a castor kit available from whiteline. I purchased all of my gear from mercury motorsport. I bought it online and got a local suspension shop to install it.

  • 3 weeks later...
  • 2 weeks later...
Silver Fox Newbie

Silver Fox

Posted
Posted
Hey guys,  

I've read nearly every article on suspension, read every post on nearly every forum about suspension. The time has come to lower my car. By the way I drive an s14a (used to have a 32 and a 33 so relax guys!!).  

Have seen some s14's with King springs (what I wanted to get) with lows and super lows. Some ppl say the are great, some say they are too bumpy etc. I know its all personal opinon, but im concerned. I want the car to look Schmick (guards and top of tyre at same level) and still want some decent ride...doesnt have to be ultra smooth (I drove an XF with chopped springs for 1 year...belive me, thats bumpy).  

What I want to do is get the king springs (not sure if someone can reccommend lows or super lows - the car is very high at the moment stock suspension) and get some shocks to match...maybe the Bilstiens, as I have only heard exellent ratings with them.  

So if someone could help with this ->

1. Lows or super low king springs?  

2. Does the spring determine the height of the car or does the shock or both?  

(I thought the spring does and the shock will adjust to that height)

3. Is my idea/combo good..will the car look 'schmick'..lol..

4. I think I may get excessive camber from lowering the s14...will just a simple camber kit from Whitline fix this ($300..does that sound right)  

5. Why the hell is suspensin so friggen confusing..... :)  

Thanks guys.  

ps - I've been lucky with all my other cars, they came lowered with kick ass suspenion so I never had to worry about it...this is one of the only things I will never understand...too many things to chose from, too many things that can be done with suspension....

Go to a professional suspension shop, tell them what you want and let them suggest what you need for your car. That way, if it is wrong, they have to fix it.

predator Grand Master

predator

Posted
Posted

this is very true.. they'll also be able to ask more specific questions such as just what you're going to use it for, what tyres you have and maybe spot existing wear problems, maybe even how you drive. .. show you a few different springs and explain the differences, etc, etc.

It can really depend a lot on the type of car, and then even amongst each individual car they might spot things that might make a noticeable difference (basic bushes being replaced, etc).

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
 Share
Go to topic listing


  • Similar Content

  • Latest Posts

    • GTSBoy
      Unpeeling the Orange

      By GTSBoy · Posted

      The rain is the best time to push to the edge of the grip limit. Water lubrication reduces the consumption of rubber without reducing the fun. I take pleasure in driving around the outside of numpties in Audis, WRXs, BRZs, etc, because they get all worried in the wet. They warm up faster than the engine oil does.
    • Dose Pipe Sutututu
      Unpeeling the Orange

      By Dose Pipe Sutututu · Posted

      When they're dead cold, and in the wet, they're not very fun. RE003 are alright, they do harden very quickly and turn into literally $50 Pace tyres.
    • GTSBoy
      Unpeeling the Orange

      By GTSBoy · Posted

      Yeah, I thought that Reedy's video was quite good because he compared old and new (as in, well used and quite new) AD09s, with what is generally considered to be the fast Yokohama in this category (ie, sporty road/track tyres) and a tyre that people might be able to use to extend the comparo out into the space of more expensive European tyres, being the Cup 2. No-one would ever agree that the Cup 2 is a poor tyre - many would suggest that it is close to the very top of the category. And, for them all to come out so close to each other, and for the cheaper tyre in the test to do so well against the others, in some cases being even faster, shows that (good, non-linglong) tyres are reaching a plateau in terms of how good they can get, and they're all sitting on that same plateau. Anyway, on the AD08R, AD09, RS4 that I've had on the car in recent years, I've never had a problem in the cold and wet. SA gets down to 0-10°C in winter. Not so often, but it was only 4°C when I got in the car this morning. Once the tyres are warm (ie, after about 2km), you can start to lay into them. I've never aquaplaned or suffered serious off-corner understeer or anything like that in the wet, that I would not have expected to happen with a more normal tyre. I had some RE003s, and they were shit in the dry, shit in the wet, shit everywhere. I would rate the RS4 and AD0x as being more trustworthy in the wet, once the rubber is warm. Bridgestone should be ashamed of the RE003.
    • Kinkstaah
      Unpeeling the Orange

      By Kinkstaah · Posted

      This is why I gave the disclaimer about how I drive in the wet which I feel is pretty important. I have heard people think RS4's are horrible in the rain, but I have this feeling they must be driving (or attempting to drive) anywhere close to the grip limit. I legitimately drive at the speed limit/below speed the limit 100% of the time in the rain. More than happy to just commute along at 50kmh behind a train of cars in 5th gear etc. I do agree with you with regards to the temp and the 'quality' of the tyre Dose. Most UHP tyres aren't even up to temperature on the road anyway, even when going mad initial D canyon carving. It would be interesting to see a not-up-to-temp UHP tyre compared against a mere... normal...HP tyre at these temperatures. I don't think you're (or me in this case) is actually picking up grip with an RS4/AD09 on the road relative to something like a RE003 because the RS4/AD09 is not up to temp and the RE003 is closer to it's optimal operating window.
    • Dose Pipe Sutututu
      RB20DE NEO smallbox clutch.

      By Dose Pipe Sutututu · Posted

      Either the bearing has been installed backwards OR the gearbox input shaft bearing is loosey goosey.   When in doubt, just put in a Samsonas in.
×
×
  • Create New...