H&R G Springs

[jason@scirocco.org (Jason)]

At 06:47 PM 8/17/2002, Scott F. Williams wrote:

>Hey, guess what? You are correct that the 3" estimate was off by a little
>bit. I just took a Bilstein HD front insert and measured the extended and
>compressed lengths. I got 21.5" and 17.625" respectively. Do the subtraction
>and you'll find that the suspension travel comes to 3.875". Whoops, I was
>off by an almost an inch. Still with a 3" drop you'd be left with just
>around 1/2" compression travel. That ain't enough to escape the extreme

Wait Scott -- not exactly.  According to your calculation, the shocks would 
be at full extension at rest.  That's certainly not the case.  So what you 
meant to say was that from "Airborne" to "Slammed" is 3.875".  That means 
total travel from normal ride height is probably closer to half of 
that.  Read: Less than TWO inches of Jounce.

Now -- I have H&R Sport Springs (Progressive) that lowered the front of the 
car approximately 0.75".  The A-Arms are horizontal -- i.e. parallel to the 
ground.  I have about 0.75" of suspension travel left from static ride 
height until bump-stop.  That's with the bump stop cut down to half of its 
original size.  I was about 0.25" from the bump stop before I cut it.

So with 0.75" of travel now, plus 0.75" of drop, we were looking at 
something like 1.5" jounce suspension travel STOCK.  Let's say 2.0" to be 
on the nice side.  Therefore, anything more than a 2" drop is physically 
impossible without coilovers.

Vince, you do what you want -- but Scott's right.... Don't expect anything 
more than a 1.5" drop to be driveable.  In fact, I wouldn't lower my 
Scirocco a whole inch - you're sacrificing handling, ride, and safety for 
no benefit other than having a low car.  But again -- do what you want, 
just don't expect many people to want to ride in your car.  And I wouldn't 
take it over 50km/h -- that thing will be suicide on wheels the first time 
you need to panic brake or make an emergency lane change...

Jason




>danger zone.
>
>My advice holds water. You'll either constantly bottom out your struts with
>regular springs or will be forced to run incredibly stiff springs and
>revalved dampers to keep everything from crashing together in dramatic
>fashion.
>
> > I think if I use the strut mounts (camber plates), with a nice 1.5" - 2"
> > drop on the suspension, I can enjoy a 3" drop without too much headache.
>
>I agree. Just don't even think of attempting this without those camber
>plates installed! Now, think of how amazing your handling performance could
>be if you kept it at a normal ride height. :^) Whatever, you're on the right
>track now.
>--
>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."
>
>
>
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