H&R G Springs

[sfwilliams@comcast.net (Scott F. Williams)]

Vince wrote:
> I'm looking for a 3" drop up front,
> without bottoming out. So I know I need it to be freakin stiff.

This is a recipe for disaster, my man. Slamming your car may look good to
you, but it will render your car nearly useless for driving on real streets.
A major problem with our cars is that they were not blessed with enough
suspension travel. In fact, we only got about 3" from the factory. Slamming
your car that low will essentially remove *all* available travel.

This isn't just about using a high enough spring rate to keep the car from
bottoming. In fact, if you drop the car that far you won't even need any
springs because the damper's pistons will *be* your bumpstops! In order to
go that low you'll be forced to install dampers with shortened shafts. This
will provide more critical compression travel, but will eliminate the same
amount of droop travel. -not good at all...

Keep in mind, also, that your car will handle and ride like utter crap. The
likelihood of chassis, suspension, and wheel/tire failure will be greatly
increased. Every pebble and paint strip on the ground will launch your car
into the air. Clearing speed bumps without punching your struts through the
hood will be a challenge. Just forget about playing CDs... My advice is to
drop your car a maximum of 1.5". That is, *if* you care at all about how the
thing drives on the street.

If all this will be is a show car... then do whatever you want and don't
even worry about your spring rates. Why bother to optimize a situation that
can't be helped? This is like giving a suicide bomber a physical exam before
sending him on his mission.

> My question (finally) is this:  What kind of shock should I get
> to dampen these springs?  I don't have a huge budget but I want something
> that will handle being slammed for a few years.  Also, I ordered some
> new upper strut mounts at the same time, is there anything else I should
do?

What you're attempting to do is foolish -not to mention impossible. Either
build the car for shows or build it to actually function. As much as I
question the validity of coilovers for the street, you seem like a great
candidate for them. Drop the thing all the way down once you get to your
parking spot and crank'm back up on the way out.

What you really should do (you asked) is decide on whether you are a driver
or a parker and build your car to suit. I realize that this advice may
disappoint you. It may even sound overly conservative. It's your perogative
to heed these warnings or follow them. Just, make sure you have fun either
way!
--
Scott F. Williams
NJ Scirocco nut
'99 Subaru Impreza 2.5 RS
Mazda 323 GTX turbo "assaulted" vehicle
Golf GTI 16v "rollycar"
ClubVAC: "Roads found. Drivers wanted."