matthew121

I have stechs, and the ride is too soft for me, I am looking for something stiffer.
I am thinking about sprint springs, I want lower too.

imput1234

iTrader: (6)

https://www.rx8club.com/rx-8-multimedia-photo-gallery-6/%7C%7C-hey-l00k-lowering-springs-%7C%7C-158035/

matthew121

I am more concerned with the spring rate than the ride height tho

Gr8White

I'd also be interested in something along these lines. I'm looking to lower the car a bit but i don't want trade off body roll for looks.

Juice

iTrader: (1)

https://www.rx8club.com/series-i-aftermarket-performance-modifications-23/spring-springs-springs-90198/

As far as I know most aftermarket lowering springs are pretty close in spring rate. Tein S-Tech is one of the stiffer springs for our car.

If you are looking for something stiffer, have you considered adjustable shocks? A set of Koni yellows will not only allow you to stiffen the ride, but since they are a low pressure gas shock they also decrease ride height another .25 inch or so. That seems like exactly what you want. You can also add bigger anti-sway bars to reduce body roll even more.

matthew121

yea, it seems that might be the way to go.
how do you guys feel about those Dspecs? I am sure there is threads out there about them.
but like I said I want something pretty damn stiff. would adj shocks do the trick?

dozer

iTrader: (3)

i recomend RSRs, i got em

LionZoo

Dampers don't change the spring rate at all so if you want stiffer spring rates it can't really be accomplished with a damper change. I am helping to develop a kit that'll allow users to run standard race springs; that might be what you're looking for.

shaunv74

Why do you want stiffer springs...

Targatheory

Hey I have Sprint springs all around. Got them for 286. They lowered my car way much the only problem is I'm experiencing an uncomfortable ride because I'm still on stock shocks. Once, they die out, I will be looking for the softest shocks possible to counter this.

There's a lot of research to be done here, it only took me a few minutes to skim through various threads such as "springs, springs, springs" to figure out most of what I wanted to know.

SouthFL

Contrary to what you need.

shaunv74

Yes. Stiffer springs need stronger shocks.

Again to the OP. Why do you want stiffer springs? What is your goal. Stiffer springs are not the only answer...

Gr8White

As far as why i'm going for stiffer springs, Utah roads are horrible in my opinion due to the constant freezing/unfreezing cycle of the winters here. I'd like the stiffer springs for better cornering as well as the reduced body roll. When it comes down to it, this car is for street only so I'm trying to get most enjoyment possible legally from cornering power. hence the stiff springs, lowered body, and upgraded anti-sway bars.

I know the big issue is going to be ride comfort to most people, but honestly i like feeling the road, no matter have crappy, as it gives me a better "flying by the seat of your pants" feel to the vehicle.

shaunv74

Okay you're making an assumption that stiffer springs will give you the best cornering power. That's not necessarily true. It depends on the combination with the sway bars and shocks plus your alignment. You will probably get the best cornering power from a setup that was designed to work together like the racingbeat springs and sways with Koni shocks. Then get a performance alignment. If you search some of the suspension threads some of the autox guys are going with -2 degrees camber up front and -1.5 in the rear then dial in as much caster as you can get up front. You can't get that with the stock springs but should be able to with the Racingbeat or Tein setup.

Since it's going to be for street I would go with that over coilovers.

stuntman

IMO I would upgrade the dampers with stiffer/lower springs. Better yet I would suggest getting a quality coilover so you can get the exact rideheight your looking for.

A stiffer spring (either swaybar (which is a spring) or the springs themselves) results in less body roll, transfers teh weight faster, and also reduces grip to an extent.


Two great coilover options for the RX8 would be the:

KW Variant 3 - double adjustable (separate compression and rebound)
JIC FLT-A2 - single adjustable.


KW:
http://www.kw-suspension.com/en/
KW is the OEM supplier for the Nurburgring Production Car track record holder - Dodge Viper ACR

KW comes as standard OEM equipment on: Viper ACR, Mercedes CLK63 Black Edition, and is the aftermarket supplier for famed Ferrari Tuner: Novitec Rosso, and many more that I can't remember... They also make aftermarket coilovers for Porsche Boxter to Carrera GT, Ford GT, Nissan GTR, Ferrari Enzo and FXX, F430, RX8, Many BMWs, Nissan 350Z, S2000, NSX, Chrystler 300/Dodge Magnum, Viper, Mazda 3/Mazdaspeed3, Corvette, and many many more..

The double adjustable feature allows for much more fine tuning of the car's handling. Their aren't too many options on the market that are double adjustable. The highspeed compression that controls the car over bumps or when hitting curbs are pre-set by KW engineers and allows for a compliant car and GREAT ride quality on the street. KW's philosophy is to use the softest spring rates possible, softer springs generate more grip anyway (some GT cars in Grand Am run spring rates 200-500lbs!) -keeping the tires on the ground and generating grip. Low speed compression is adjustable to control body roll during cornering, and rebound is separately adjustable.

KW has won many championships in FIA-GT, WTCC, and many more european racing series and are well-known and regarded in Europe, as well as the supplier to Flying Lizard ALMS Championship-winning GT2-class Porsche RSR.



JIC:
I really like the performance, handling, and characteristics of the FLT-A2 on the RX8. a FLT-A2-equipped RX8 qualified 6th at Mid-Ohio for the Grand Am Cup (Koni Challenge) ST class competing against 3-way adjustable race dampers like Moton, JRZ, and Koni.
www.jic-magic.com


E-mail if you have any questions on either - Billj747@hotmail.com

I8U

iTrader: (1)

What team did that? And when? The Koni's are nice, and I have played with JIC's...but I like JRZ's, ehh except for the price. haha

stuntman

Grand-Am Cup (Pre-Koni Challenge) 2008 - ROAR Racing - Mid Ohio on off-the-shelf JIC FLT-A2.

I agree, Koni Yellows (single -rebound adjustable) are one of the best replacement shock options out there.

JRZs/Moton is one of the leaders in racing dampers in the U.S. I don't know what company is bigger, but I have the feeling the KW is a bigger company and more reputable in Europe than JRZ/Moton.

***KW is the only suspension manufacturer that I know of that has a 7-post (aka: Shaker rig) chassis dyno which they put every platform they make suspension for on, to find out the roll centers, roll moments, Center of Gravity, etc... to find the best spring rate and damping for each application.

KW says that their suspension is far superior than Moton/JRZ (KW speaking, not me -but what company won't say that) but due to their racing background and pedigree, and having driven on both of their racing systems, I wouldn't necessarily disagree.


I believe the KW V3 costs less than JRZ/Moton applications for the RX8

shaunv74

You guys are cracking me up!

Senna

I've been researching coilovers for my purchase. Tein appears to have a couple of options in the flex and monoflex. I believe at least one person mentioned here that the external reservoir on the KW V 3's was hitting the A-Arm on his car. I've also heard of reliability issues with the JICs.

In my case I'm wanting something primarily for track purposes so a shock/spring combo may not bring the best results but I don't want to pay 2-4K for a suspension system either. And so I wait.

I8U

iTrader: (1)

I guess he didn't get my joke! haha


Mid-Ohio was a great track for us at qualifying...not so good to us during the race once the rain moved in.

stuntman

Can you show me a link or validate that someone had a problem with the external reservoir was hitting the a-arm? With all of the R&D that KW does on the shaker rig, i'm pretty sure they would make sure that something fundamental like this wouldn't happen. But I could see this problem happening if installed backwards.


Suspension is the single component that affects the quality of riding in your car every second you are in it -both street or track. I always recommend investing in a good set of suspension. I've been there and bough that (and now race/test many different options) and far too often I see people spending 1/2 as much or even as little as hundreds less on an inferior product that will bounch, jar, and beat them to death while not being what they want. Only after buying suspension 2 or even 3 times do they purchase something they should have in the first place and end up spending much more than saving up and investing in a good set of suspension the first time.

I'm not saying that a set of Koni yellows and springs would be a bad, but just giving my $0.02 on the importance of suspension.

stuntman

Lol... I wonder who qualified the car 6th...?

I8U

iTrader: (1)

HAHA, I was just playing with ya man.


To the OP, I understand most people can't just go out and buy a full race coilover kit, I currently am running TEIN S-Techs w/ stock shocks and Hotchkis sways. I love it set the way I have right now, strictly because I do more city driving than I do spirited driving. Now, if I had it my way I would have a set JRZ 3-way adj. coilovers on the car right now but then even getting them used from the team will cost me the price of a Greddy turbo kit! HAHA! I will upgrade my shocks soon, probably settle for a set of Tokico D-specs.

Gr8White

After doing some browsing and the suggestions I've gotten so far, I think I'm going to go with Tein Flex coilovers and a set of RB sways. I don't have the budget for racing spec coilovers nor do i think i need them for spirited driving and hard cornering. I went with coilovers for the height adjustment and space and Rb sways seem to be everyones favorite from what i can tell. Let me know what you think.

stuntman

KW V3 is a very high performing (and better ride quality than stock) coilover.

KW also offers a single (rebound)-adjustable V2 and a non-adjustable V1 that share the same internal design and spring rates as the double-adjustable V3.

MSRP:

V3 - $2,295 - RX8 price.

V2 - $1,795 - ballpark
V1 - $1,595 - ballpark

PM for more information/pricing.

FYI - a Mitsubishi North American Rep drove a KW V3-equipped EVO X and commented the ride was "MUCH" (yes caps) better than stock.